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Inside The Blue Jays

New Information, Few Answers Yet About Blue Jays Starter's Injury Setback

The results of the scan from Jose Berrios' elbow have finally come to light.
Maddy Dickens|
Feb 28, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios (17) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the first inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Feb 28, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Jose Berrios (17) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the first inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

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Toronto Blue Jays

To say injuries have been crippling for the Toronto Blue Jays season would be downplaying it to the 1000th power, as every aspect of their roster has been affected, specifically the starting rotation.

Even though Trey Yesavage is officially back, he had missed more than a month to start the year, which was a brutal blow, especially after Cody Ponce went down in what seems like a few pitches into his debut.

It had appeared that Jose Berrios was only inches away from returning to the ballclub but after a pair of rough starts in Triple-A, followed by concerning statements regarding the soreness in his arm, he underwent another MRI on May 5.

MLB.com's Keegan Matheson reported the results as announced by manager John Schneider. The skippper said the MRI revealed inflammations and "small changes to that initial injury," which was a stress fracture in his throwing elbow.

Now Berrios is set to meet with Dr. Keith Meister on Tuesday, who is a renowned orthopedic surgeon specializing in elbows, Tommy John surgery and the internal brace procedure he helped pioneer.

Instead of Berrios possibly returning to the team for his next start, he will have to see another doctor to see what is going on with his million-dollar arm.

A Lack of Depth Inside the Starting Rotation

At some point or another, the Blue Jays now have been without an unfathomable amount of starters:

  • Bowden Francis (UCL Reconstruction): Went on IL Feb 18, will not return this season
  • Cody Ponce (ACL Surgery): Went on IL March 30, likely done for the year
  • Trey Yesavage (Shoulder impingement): Went on IL to start the season, activated April 28
  • Shane Bieber (Elbow Inflammation): Went on IL to start the season, potentially could return by the end of the month
  • Max Scherzer (Forearm Tendinitis and Ankle Inflammation): Went on IL April 27, timeline TBD
  • Jose Berrios (Stress Fracture): Went on IL to start the season, timeline TBD

For most of the year, it has been Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, and Patrick Corbin who have held down this rotation and given the Blue Jays a chance to keep their heads above water.

The idea of Berrios coming back this month is starting to feel more like a pipe dream. There is no reason to panic just yet, but when the Jays get more information on Tuesday, they might have to get aggressive and go find another pitcher.

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.

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