For the first time since September, José Berríos was back on a big-league mound.
Berríos started the Toronto Blue Jays‘ third spring-training game on Monday, tossing 2.2 innings with three hits, two earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts.
After exiting the game against the New York Mets in Dunedin, Fla., Berríos — who finished last season with his first-career IL stint due to an elbow injury — said he felt “pretty healthy, pretty strong.”
“Honestly, last year, at this time, I had doubt in my mind already,” he said, per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.
The Blue Jays eventually lost Monday’s game 4-3.
“Jose’s been around long enough… knows when he’s good to go and kind of pull back,” John Schneider told Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae on Monday. “If there was ever a point we didn’t feel safe or feel good about him throwing, we wouldn’t have.”
Berríos got off to a typically reliable start last season with a 3.26 ERA over his first 17 appearances, but he faltered down the stretch with a 5.63 mark over his final 14 games.
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The Blue Jays begin their ramp up to the 2026 with spring training action in Florida. Sportsnet will broadcast 23 spring training games on TV and Sportsnet+.
The Puerto Rican was eventually moved to the bullpen before hitting the IL. He did not appear in the post-season.
“I figured out in September it was my biceps tendon that had inflammation and that was involving my elbow,” he said.
Berríos added that the elbow pain forced him to change the way he pitched.
“I’ve never been in that situation before. I just was dealing with that. Everything was new for me. I never saw myself (not pitching), so that’s why I kept trying to fight and compete with my team,” he said.
The pitcher stepped away from the team during the World Series, but apologized to his Blue Jays teammates for what he called a “bad decision” upon his arrival at camp this spring.
The 31-year-old ended 2025 with a 4.17 ERA over 166 innings and 31 appearances.
It was the fewest starts and innings that Berríos had thrown in a full season since 2017. He had made exactly 32 starts in six of the previous seven seasons, with the lone exception being the shortened 2020 campaign.
