Toronto Blue Jays Jose Berrios discusses injury, World Baseball Classic
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jose Berrios discusses his injury and plans for World Baseball Classic.
The veteran Blue Jays starter was back home in Puerto Rico giving back to the community through his "La Makina Foundation" with a celebrity softball game that supports local charities.
Berrios joined MLB Network to break down the event, but of course, the conversation turned back to the end of the Blue Jays season and the injury that kept the right-hander from joining the club in the post-season.
Berrios discusses injuries and the season that was
"I battled all year long with my elbow, my bicep, but the way that the team competed out there, I was trying to (stay) out there and go out there and compete every five days with them."
Berrios was placed on the IL on Sept. 25 with right elbow inflammation, the first time in his MLB career that he'd missed time due to injury, and was unable to return for Toronto's run to the World Series.
The IL move came days after the longtime starter was moved to the bullpen as the Blue Jays worked to align their pitching plans for the playoffs, which Berrios said he wasn't happy about at the time.
He ended the year with a 4.17 ERA over 166 innings and 31 appearances.
It was the fewest starts and innings that Berrios had thrown in a full season since 2017.
He had made exactly 32 starts in six of the previous seven seasons, with the lone exception being the shortened 2020 campaign.
"Late in the season, I (couldn't) hold it any more, that feeling I had in my arm," Berrios said of the injury on Tuesday. "So I just put my hands up and tried to see what I got there... It was bicep tendon inflammation, so nothing major. We attacked that real quick, and that's why I didn't pitch in the playoffs."
Berrios said that he's five weeks into his off-season throwing program and tracking to be back on the mound when Toronto reports to spring training.
However, with the World Baseball Classic set to return in March, Berrios a veteran of Team Puerto Rico at the event is eyeing a spot in his country's rotation.
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JANVIER 3 | 276 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays Jose Berrios discusses injury, World Baseball Classic Do you think Jose Berrios will have a bounce back season in 2026? | ||
| Yes | 159 | 57.6 % |
| No | 71 | 25.7 % |
| Too early to tell | 46 | 16.7 % |
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