Blue Jays Ace Jose Berrios Apologizes to Teammates for Pitiful Playoff Antics

The Toronto Blue Jays have heard an apology from their star pitcher.

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays have received an apology from former All-Star starting pitcher José Berríos after a controversial situation this past October which resulted in him leaving the team.

During the playoff run to the World Series which nearly ended in glory, Berríos -- who was on the injured list at the time -- was not happy with his situation and returned home to Puerto Rico, something he now calls a mistake.

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General manager Ross Atkins at the time said Berríos was frustrated and "not happy" he was not in the playoff rotation, and this issue between the right-hander and the team is what fueled most of the trade speculation this offseason.

With Berríos still in Toronto -- largely because of a large contract that has the team on the hook for nearly $70 million over the next three years -- and now healthy, he wants to turn the page and focus on the season.

Berríos Gives Sincere Apology to Blue Jays Teammates

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berríos | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

"I made one bad decision to go back home to keep working on my rehab and stay close to my family," Berríos said via Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. "At that moment, I wasn’t pitching and I wasn’t feeling great. I wanted to be close to my family. I didn’t bring them to Canada because they were going to miss days in school, so I thought of that. I apologize. Maybe I made a bad decision to go back to my home...I just want to turn the page as fast as I can and keep working on the same goal."

Whether or not the organization has forgiven Berríos internally likely cannot be known outside the walls of the clubhouse, but with the way things are going right now, it's looking like they are going to be relying on him.

Shane Bieber is dealing with a fatigue related injury which could cut into his season, and it was also announced that Bowden Francis is going to undergo Tommy John surgery. This leaves a gap in the rotation and a potential opening for Berríos in Toronto.

Berríos Can Still Help Blue Jays Rotation This Season

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berríos | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Despite the late season injury that Berríos was unable to work his way back from in October, the performance from the 31-year-old was not a disaster by any means. With a 9-5 record and an ERA of 4.17, he had a bWAR of 1.3 across 31 appearances.

He may not be the ace he used to be anymore, but if he could get close to his form from 2023-2024 (3.63 ERA and 4.7 bWAR across 64 starts), it would be a massive boost to a rotation which all of the sudden may not be very deep if the Bieber injury is serious.

Clearly, he and the team are ready to put all the dramatics behind them and focus on winning games in 2025, something which Berríos all of the sudden seems like he will be a big factor in doing.