Blue Jays Facing Jose Berrios Decision After Shane Bieber News

Jose Berrios' Role in Serious Doubt

With Bieber’s Blue Jays debut upcoming, the team must decide how to address the starting rotation, which now features six capable starters.

As Toronto gears up for a return to the postseason, Jose Berrios may be the odd man out in a loaded rotation full of veteran arms.

Blue Jays Facing Tough Decision on Berrios in 2025

Berrios arrived in Toronto at the 2021 trade deadline from the Minnesota Twins and finished ninth in AL Cy Young voting that season, prompting the Blue Jays to extend him to a seven-year, $131 million contract through the 2028 season.

Since then, Berrios has been reliable but hasn’t performed up to the expectations Toronto hoped he would grow into.

In his fifth season with the Blue Jays, Berrios has struggled in the second half, posting a 4.94 ERA and striking out 24 batters in 31 innings pitched. With Berrios now profiling as a backend starter and performing the worst out of every pitcher in the rotation, Toronto must decide his status if Bieber returns even remotely close to his Cy Young-level form—when he posted a 1.63 ERA and struck out 122 batters in 77.1 innings pitched.

Berrios could shift to the bullpen in a potential five-game series in the playoffs, adding a high-leverage option to work in bulk. With right-handers Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, and potentially Shane Bieber all possessing higher ceilings than Berrios, he could be the odd man out.