Blue Jays injury woes go from bad to worse with latest hit to pitching staff

You know things aren’t going your way when you lose your star players during the stretch run. The Toronto Blue Jays lost Bo Bichette due to a knee injury at the beginning of the month. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Blue Jays would lose another key piece from their starting rotation when Chris Bassitt went down with lower back inflammation with a week remaining in the 2025 MLB regular season.

But when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, it just did for Toronto in the midst of their fight to hang onto the American League East division title. On Thursday, the Jays took another hit to their pitching staff when José Berríos landed on the injured list due to an elbow injury.

Berríos had never landed on the IL previously throughout his MLB career. In a corresponding move, Toronto recalled pitcher Paxton Schultz from Triple-A Buffalo to take his spot on the roster.

Blue Jays injury woes go from bad to worse with latest hit to pitching staff

Apparently, the elbow had already been ailing Berríos for quite some time according to Jays manager John Schneider, as per Sportsnet. That made total sense as it likely had been the culprit that has led to his struggles in recent weeks.

In fact, the 31-year-old right-hander had been recently relegated to the bullpen by the Jays with hopes that he could rediscover his effectiveness heading into the postseason. He made his first relief appearance in almost eight years on Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox just prior to his ailment. In the game, Berríos went two innings, giving up three runs on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts. 

On the season, Berríos has posted a respectable 9-5 record with a 4.17 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, along with 138 strikeouts in 166 innings pitched over 31 appearances that included 30 starts. With the 10-year veteran now on the sidelines, it has left the Jays pitching depth, in particular their rotation, relatively thin heading into the MLB Playoffs.

As of right now, Toronto has only two sure things in Kevin Gausman and Shane Bieber to anchor their starting rotation for the postseason. After that, they are left with a struggling Max Scherzer and an inexperienced Trey Yesavage as their potential options to make starts during the playoffs, likely creating a lot of uncertainty and nervousness among Jays’ nation.

Hopefully either one or both of Bassitt and/or Berríos ends up making it back in time for the games that matter most. Otherwise, it could be another disappointing early exit once again for Toronto for the third time in four years.