After signing Dylan Cease to a Cody Ponce to multi-year deals, the Toronto Blue Jays have a full starting rotation for 2026. Those two figure to pair with Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and Kevin Gausman in the rotation, leaving the likes of Jose Berrios, Eric Lauer and Bowden Francis on the outside-looking-in.
Berrios and Lauer certainly figure to play a role in the major league bullpen, as of today, while Francis has an option remaining and can be stashed in Triple-A.
We’ve addressed the possibilities of trades already, but now, I want to address the emotion of it all. Specifically, if you were Berrios at this moment, how would you be feeling?
Let’s examine it:
The Berrios file
Now 31 years old, Berrios is a 10-year veteran of the Minnesota Twins and Blue Jays. A two-time All-Star, he’s 108-82 lifetime with a 4.08 ERA.
After a solid season in 2024, he regressed in 2025, going 9-5 with a 4.17 ERA. His ERA was better than his FIP (4.65), suggesting that some regression to the mean is possible, which is bad news for him and the organization. He only struck out 138 batters in 166.0 innings.
Why might Berrios want to leave the Jays?
Let’s make this clear: Major League Baseball isn’t the NBA. Players don’t go around demanding trades, but still, there’s a chance that Berrios could actually prefer to be dealt: Here’s why.
1) He wants to start. This seems pretty obvious, right? Berrios has made 275 appearances in his career, and 273 of them have been as a starter. That’s what he’s always been, it’s clearly what he likes to do, and it’s what his arm/routine are built for. He’s also had a lot of success that way.
2) The money. So, this is fascinating also. Berrios has three years and $67 million left on his contract. That’s certainly a comfortable amount. However, he has an opt-out available after the 2026 season. If he stays in Toronto and serves as a bullpen arm, he’s probably more likely to opt-in to his Jays deal, as he may not get a better offer in free agency before 2027.
However, if he wants to opt-out after the offseason and chase one more lucrative payday that would be bigger than the two years and $48 million remaining? He will have wanted to be a starter this year, and he won’t easily get a chance to do that in Toronto.
Of course, looming labor unrest could make being a free agent next offseason undesirable also.
Why might Berrios want to stay?
All kinds of reasons!
1) He may just like Toronto and his teammates.
2) While the Blue Jays got to the World Series, Berrios didn’t. He was injured all postseason and if he wants to experience that for himself, Toronto is the best place for him.
3) He’ll get his chance, eventually: Yesavage will probably deal with some workload restrictions and Bieber will too, coming off Tommy John surgery. There’s always injuries, unfortunately, so there will always be a chance for Berrios to make an impact as a starter.
4) How about 2027? Bieber and Gausman are free agents after the season. Could Berrios just slot back in then? That’s something he’d have to think about.
You can see more of my thoughts in the video player above.
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