Jose Berrios insurance debacle could throw wrench in Blue Jays rotation

The Toronto Blue Jays have built up some massive depth for their starting rotation ahead of the 2026 season. In addition to returnees Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Max Scherzer, José Berríos and rookie Trey Yesavage, the Blue Jays have also added Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce into the mix, giving them a luxury of riches that they never had before. As a result, the starting pitching situation could be fluid over the course of the season.

Unfortunately, things may have gotten just a bit more complicated for Berríos in his quest to return to the starting five with the Blue Jays. That is because his World Baseball Classic insurance debacle could potentially throw a wrench in his rotation plans heading into the 2026 season.

Who replaces Jose Berrios in projected Blue Jays rotation?

Berríos had been hoping to represent his home country of Puerto Rico at the WBC. However, he was denied not once, but twice as a fallout of him undergoing medical testing for insurance purposes. In doing so, one has to wonder why Berríos didn’t get the clearance to play. Speculation suggests an underlying health issue could be present.

As per Sportsnet’s David Singh, Blue Jays manager John Schneider responded to the potential worrisome situation for the 31-year-old right-hander.
“We’re getting all the information that we can from all the things that he (Berrios) had to do medically to say, OK, why wasn’t he granted insurance? So we‘ll gather more information and really take it day by day,” Schneider explained.

When asked about whether or not Berríos was hurt, the Blue Jays manager indicated that his starting pitcher “felt good”  with the team “waiting for some other opinions and things like that”. Nevertheless, all feedback from Berríos had been relatively positive.

However, any indication of potential underlying health issues could ultimately impact the Blue Jays rotation picture going forward. Recall that it was a struggling Berríos who lost his spot in the rotation towards the end of the 2025 season where he was ultimately relegated to the bullpen. Added to the big additions of Cease and Ponce this offseason, many believed that Berríos would need to work to earn his spot back this spring training.

So far, the 31-year-old right-hander has been doing exactly that, compiling a solid 1-0 record with a 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, along with seven strikeouts in 10.2 innings pitched over three starts. More importantly, Berríos supposedly stated that he is feeling healthy and strong this spring, unlike last season which may have ultimately affected his performance later on that year.

With Bieber unlikely ready for the start of the regular season, Berríos had appeared to be on track to secure an Opening Day spot in the rotation. However, he could now be on a short leash pending on the outcome with his health assessment, along with the consistency of his performance.

Not only that, the Blue Jays will have the likes of Lauer and Ponce ready to jump in if Berríos ends up faltering. Lauer may be struggling a bit so far this spring, sporting a dismal 8.64 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, giving up eight runs in 8.1 innings of work over four starts. But he confidentially showed last year that he is a legitimate starting option for the Blue Jays, posting a strong 6-3 record with a 3.77 ERA, 1.26 WHIP with 74 strikeouts in 74 total innings over 15 starts for Toronto.

Ponce, on the other hand, has been pitching the lights out so far this spring, going 1-0 with a tidy 1.50 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, with zero walks and five strikeouts in six innings of work over three starts. 

Moreover, the sooner that Bieber returns from injury to rejoin the picture, the more pressure it puts on Berríos to perform right from the get-go. But with this sudden mystery cloud surrounding his health, along with the fierce internal competition for a starting spot, things might just have gotten a little messier for the Blue Jays rotation with the regular season fast approaching.