Berríos has Tommy John surgery, will miss all of '26 and more

NEW YORK -- The long and troubling case of José Berríos’ elbow troubles have led to the worst outcome, a full Tommy John surgery performed Wednesday by Dr. Keith Meister.

This was no sure thing when the surgery began, with the Blue Jays still holding out hope that a more minor repair would be enough to clean up “loose bodies” that were a product of the stress fracture in Berríos’ right elbow. Unfortunately, once surgeons began the procedure, they saw more.

“The bone in the elbow was on the ligament. Not ideal,” manager John Schneider said. “We kind of decided that, when they go in there, if that’s compromised at all, we’ll fix it. It was. He’ll be down for 12 to 14 months.”

There’s some finality to this, as the Blue Jays and Berríos finally have an answer, but that won’t soften the blow for anyone.

This past year has been tough on Berríos, who fell out of the Blue Jays’ rotation in late 2025 and soon hit the IL for the first time in his MLB career with the first signs of this elbow issue. While the Blue Jays played the Dodgers in the World Series, Berríos chose to be at home in Puerto Rico.

This has felt like such an unexpected shift for the ultra durable right-hander who has been the Blue Jays’ Opening Day starter three times. For nearly a decade, Berríos has been one of the most reliable pitchers in Major League Baseball, a yearly lock for 32 starts. His nickname of “La Makina” -- The Machine -- is well earned.

“Since we acquired him, he’s just been steady. He’s been part of what we’re doing and reliable,” Schneider said. “It’s weird not having him. We were looking for him to get back to normal, and he was hoping for that, too. It’s definitely weird and frustrating for him, too.”

Over five years with Toronto, Berríos has given the Blue Jays a 4.09 ERA, but outside of his outlier struggles in 2022, he has been rock solid for this organization. Now, his future is suddenly very uncertain.

“There’s always risk, right? There’s always risk when you’re throwing a ball,” Schneider said. “Pitchers know that and we know that. It’s frustrating because, in order to be durable, there’s so much that goes into it. It’s in between your starts, your offseason, all sorts of stuff that he’s so good at. With durability comes a lot of wear and tear, a lot of innings over however many years, and the risk goes up as you do that.”

Berríos signed a seven-year, $131 million extension with the Blue Jays soon after they acquired him from the Twins in 2021 for top prospects Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson. He’s now on the doorstep of a player opt-in following the 2026 season, with two years remaining at a salary of $24 million each. This is now a no-brainer for Berríos to opt in and continue his long rehab with the Blue Jays, and in a perfect world, perhaps he’s able to return at the tail end of the 2027 season.

More realistically, Berríos could be looking down the road to the 2028 season, which would be his final one with the Blue Jays. Can Berríos work his way back to being a usable starting option for Toronto by then? So much can change over the next 18 months, from acquisitions to prospect development.

Thursday, Berríos begins his rehab with Day 1. There’s a long road ahead of him now. It’s an unfamiliar one, too, for a pitcher who has been a model of durability.