Where was Jose Berrios and what’s next for Blue Jays starter?

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Where was Jose Berrios and why wasn’t he with the Blue Jays during the World Series run?

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It was one of the perplexing developments of the Blue Jays postseason surge — not that Berrios wasn’t in the lineup, elbow injuries forced that. But why wasn’t he with the team during the Fall Classic, absent from the clubhouse, absent from player introductions and absent from the tight-knit team?

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Nothing to see here, according to general manager Ross Atkins.

“He just had to be with his family,” Atkins said at the season ending press conference this past week at the Rogers Centre. “Everything’s fine.”

Without getting into details, Atkins left it at that. Essentially it’s the players choice whether to be with the team or not when on the injured list. Players such as starting pitcher Bowden Francis, reliever Yimi Garcia and DH Anthony Santander were all with the team throughout the playoff run, for example.

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It was a disappointing season all around for Berrios, who broke camp with plenty of confidence after earning the opening day assignment. After getting swatted around in that game, he struggled at times and for the first time in his career, was placed on the injured list in September for what the team described as elbow inflammation.

Though that ailment kept him out of consideration for addition to the postseason roster for any of the three series the Jays participated in, Atkins said he expects Berrios to be fine when pitchers and catchers report to Dunedin for spring training on Feb. 10.

“His status is good,” Atkins said of Berrios. “He’s in a good position physically. He should have completely normal off season and be ready for spring training.”

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And that’s when the true read on the veteran right hander’s “status” will be gauged.

What about the rest of the rotation?

Atkins certainly acknowledged that addressing the rotation will be a focus and priority this off-season, as it should be every year given the never-ending need for starting depth.

As it stands now, the only certainties are Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and whatever version of Berrios we see come spring. Both Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer are free agents while Francis and Eric Lauer remain under contract.

“(We) do feel good about the free agent market and the starting pitching area relative to most years,” Atkins said. “It’s a little bit better, seemingly. And we’ll get to work on that trade front as well.

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“Have started that somewhat, but we’ll have a little bit better answer for you in the coming weeks.”

Is Louis Varland an option?

Atkins was asked about the possibility of moving Louis Varland, a key bullpen arm down the stretch and into the postseason, to a starting spot.

It’s difficult to say how seriously the Jays would consider that for Varland, who was acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline, but Atkins didn’t dismiss the possibility.

“He has the arsenal, the durability, the athleticism and the mindset to start, but that’s something we would want to talk to him about more,” Atkins said. “It could be something that, if he were open to that, we would want to dig into a little bit further.”

What to expect from Trey Yesavage?

Obviously one of the great stories of the 2025 season was the emergence of 22-year-old rookie Trey Yesavage as one of the most potent arms in the post season.

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The task now is to continue the development for the right hander, who was a first-round pick of the Jays in 2024, and ensure his September and October brilliance can translate into a full season of success in the big leagues.

“I think so,” Atkins said when asked if Yesavage is an automatic for the rotation going into 2026. “But I also know and he knows that there’s a lot of work to do this off season to ensure he’s putting himself he’s in the best situation to make sure that happens.

“I think he’s in a pretty good position (workload) wise. We’ll talk through that with him but it’s more so not resting and making sure we’re getting better.”

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