Blue Jays are are left in a bind after José Berrios undergoes Tommy John surgery

When it was discovered recently that Toronto Blue Jays pitcher José Berríos needed to undergo surgery to treat what was speculated to be a stress fracture in his elbow, many had expected he would be out for a significant period of time. Depending on whether the surgery will be used to just treat the fracture, clean up loose bodies, or even address potential ligament issues, the time frame for recovery could range between a couple of months to almost one and a half years, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.

Unfortunately on Wednesday, the worst-case scenario that the Blue Jays had feared most about his surgery outcome materialized. Berríos had to undergo full Tommy John surgery in the end to rectify his elbow issues and will now be out of action for all of 2026 and potentially 2027 as well. With that, the Blue Jays’ starting rotation picture for the foreseeable future goes from bad to worse.

Blue Jays offseason pitching plan has completely derailed

Entering the 2026 MLB season, one of the main strengths of the Blue Jays was the built-up depth for their starting pitching in which they had up to nine players that could effectively slot into the rotation. Among those included Berríos, who was looking to bounce back from the lacklustre back half of his 2025 season where he ultimately lost his starting role down the stretch. The 31-year-old had a strong spring showing in which he posted a 1-0 record with a 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, along with seven strikeouts in 10.2 innings pitched over three starts.

But when Berrios was slated to join Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic, he was turned down the opportunity due to a surprising insurance issue that arose. That issue was the beginning of his current injury woes with his pitching elbow, which even through recovery and rehab has now spiraled into the season-ending injury he currently faces. With that, he now joins the likes of Cody Ponce, Bowden Francis, Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber and Lazaro Estrada on the sidelines on the Jays’ pitching staff infirmary, leaving the Toronto rotation in panic mode.

Without question Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease and Trey Yesavage form the current staples in the Blue Jays’ starting five. But after that, the uprising of Patrick Corbin has now struggled in his past two starts, giving up a combined six runs on 15 hits with four walks and four strikeouts in 8.2 innings pitched, failing to get past the fifth inning in both instances.

As for the fifth spot in the rotation, the Jays have been relying on the use of an opener along with a raw Spencer Miles to help fill the void. But whether or not either options end up holding up for Toronto is unknown.

In addition, Scherzer will try to regain his mojo from his impressive 2025 postseason showing with the Jays. Otherwise what we saw earlier this season prior to his injury may be a signal that Father Time has finally caught up to him.

There’s also the question of how effective will Bieber be even when he eventually returns, given his slow progress to date. With the Jays’ starting pitching picture in a troubling state, one thing is for sure, Toronto will likely be looking for pitching help once again when the trade deadline rolls around.

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