Blue Jays face their own costly contract dilemma as Angels move on from Anthony Rendon

In the coming days, there will be a different kind of champagne celebration among Los Angeles Angels front office employees. Not celebrating postseason victories, but instead, the sweet taste of finally moving on from Anthony Rendon's troubled free-agent contract. The circumstances surrounding the ill-fated Rendon contract are not unique to Anaheim.

Other clubs, notably the Toronto Blue Jays, are no stranger to poor contracts. The question is whether or not the team can absorb a bad contract and still succeed. Can a franchise trade the player and attempt to recover some lost value? Or are they completely stuck?

The Blue Jays are fortunate that they can still contend even with a bad contract or two. Anthony Santander anyone? Of course, all long-term contracts can get a bit ugly at the back end. Having said that, the José Berrios seven-year, $131 million deal is looking pretty bad in the current moment.

José Berrios' contract looms over the Blue Jays like a bad headache

Not only did the native of Puerto Rico fail to pitch at all in 2026 because of elbow issues, but his 2027 outlook is looking extremely murky after he underwent Tommy John Surgery. After he inevitably opts-in to the final two seasons on his deal, who knows if/when he will pitch for a Toronto club that hasn't seen him since late September of 2025.

So, the Blue Jays will be paying $24 million in each of the next two seasons for a guy who has posted a 53-39 record with a 4.09 ERA, 1.245 WHIP in 139 games (138 games started) since landing in Toronto at the 2021 trade deadline.

Worse off, the inherent mystery surrounding his initial diagnosis only leads to more questions about what he will look like post-Tommy John. This is the same guy who had been so durable earlier in his career with the Minnesota Twins, regularly starting 30-32 games each season.

Berrios' performance upon being traded in Toronto is what got him paid in the first place. Things took a turn for the worst as he posted a horrid 5.23 ERA in 2022. He turned things around in 2023, including his solid AL Wild Card start later that October.

While he put together a decent 32-start campaign in 2024, with a 3.60 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, he only posted a 19.5% strikeout rate. The box score is never pretty with Berrios, and eventually those problems caught up to him.

What makes it similar to the Rendon situation is the ramifications it has wrought off the field. Rendon infamously made comments about how he didn't like playing baseball. Berrios never intimated such sentiments, but his actions during the 2025 World Series certainly raised eyebrows around the Blue Jays.

That $24 million figure is comparable to some of the highest-paid pitchers in the sport, who are contributing positively in various degrees. His contract is tied for fourteenth among starting pitchers in total annual value in baseball.

The front office is stuck because Berrios' trade value is next-to-nothing at the moment. Even if they manage to talk someone else into taking him onto their roster, the Blue Jays would likely be forced to eat most of the money in any deal.

The old saying is that you can never have too much pitching. The real problem lies in the back of the rotation. The Berrios situation is bad because it prevents a team from making long-term decisions about the future of their pitching staff.

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