Is it time to worry about José Berríos?

The 2025 MLB season got underway on Thursday when the Toronto Blue Jays welcomed the Baltimore Orioles to Rogers Centre for Opening Day.

While the vibes were high initially thanks to José Berríos getting the Opening Day start, the Orioles ended up getting the best of the Blue Jays in a 12-2. Berríos struggled in the loss, and allows six earned runs in five innings. He also allowed three home runs, making him the third Blue Jays pitcher ever to allow three or more home runs on Opening Day.

Should concern be growing over José Berríos' tough start?

Thankfully, it's just one start and the Blue Jays' Opening Day pitcher will have a chance to redeem himself soon enough. Everyone has a bad game, but having a bad game on Opening Day is particularly brutal. But that doesn't mean that we should lose hope.

But if Berríos continutes to struggle, it's fair to wonder if the Blue Jays would consider some other options to take some stress off him as the season goes on. One option the team could try later in the year is inserting Alek Manoah into the rotation once he returns from the 60-day IL. They could also try and run a six-man rotation if they think Berríos need some rest, but that seems like a last ditch effort.

Berríos is an elite pitcher. Last season, he had a 3.60 ERA in 192 1/3 innings pitched with a 16-11 record and 153 strikeouts. He has 99-78 record in his career with a 4.10 ERA through 1,410 2/3 innings with 1,348 strikeouts. Anyone who thinks he's slowing down or going to have a bad season based on one performance is just overthinking. He has proven himself worthy of being trusted to-bounce back and have a better performance in his next game, and we think that's exactly what we will see.

Berríos won't see the mound until April 1 when the Blue Jays take on the Washington Nationals. While Washington is a plucky team, their lineup isn't on the same level as Baltimore's. Hopefully, he can bounce back in a big way and help the Blue Jays pick up a victory.