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Jose Berrios underwent full Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, sidelining the Toronto Blue Jays veteran well into the 2027 season.
The Blue Jays hoped Berríos — who missed Toronto’s World Series run last fall with elbow inflammation — would need less invasive surgery to repair a stress fracture and remove loose bodies from his right elbow.
But manager John Schneider said a loose body was found on the ligament, necessitating the Tommy John procedure by Dr. Keith Meister in Texas.
“It’s kind of like, got an answer,” Schneider said before the Blue Jays faced the New York Yankees. “It’s too bad for him, it stinks for us. I know he’s going to attack the rehab. It’s just the time when it stinks. Not having him here stinks, too.”
Berríos, 31, looked healthy at the start of spring training. But he opened the season on the injured list with the stress fracture and posted a 10.67 ERA while showing reduced velocity and battling a sore elbow in four rehab starts.
“When you have something, guys are usually OK when it’s not surgically (repaired) at first,” Schneider said. “Really didn’t see this coming.”
Berríos and teammate Patrick Corbin are the only pitchers to make at least 30 starts in each of the last seven full seasons since 2018. Berríos, in the fifth year of a seven-year deal signed in November 2021, is 53-39 with a 4.09 ERA since being acquired from the Minnesota Twins in July.
“Since we bought him, he’s just been steady, he’s been a part of what we’re doing and obviously reliable,” Schneider said. “It’s weird not having him. I think we were looking for him to just get back to normal a little bit. And he was hoping for that, too.”
Berríos’ season-ending surgery is another blow to an injury-plagued Toronto rotation. Shane Bieber has yet to start this season due to right forearm stiffness. Cody Ponce, who signed with the Blue Jays after four seasons in Japan, suffered a season-ending right knee injury in his first start on March 30. Bowden Francis, who made 27 starts the previous two seasons, underwent Tommy John surgery in February.
Veteran Max Scherzer has been limited to five starts because of forearm and ankle injuries, while Trey Yesavage, a rookie sensation in the playoffs last year, was set to make his fifth start Wednesday after missing the first month with a right shoulder impingement.
Schneider said Scherzer is scheduled to do a bullpen session Thursday, while Bieber could begin a rehab next week. Bieber would likely need at least four or five starts before becoming an option for the Blue Jays, who entered Wednesday at 21-27 and 11 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
Report from the Associated Press
