Berrios apologies to teammates, fans for absence during Blue Jays’ post-season run

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher José Berríos warms up at Spring Training in Dunedin, Fla. on Wednesday Feb. 11, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

DUNEDIN — Jose Berrios is sorry he missed the Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series appearance last year.

Berrios formally apologized to his Blue Jays teammates after arriving at spring training and was contrite Thursday in his first interview with media since last autumn. Berrios was excluded from Toronto’s playoff rosters with tendon inflammation in his right elbow and bicep and, instead of staying with the Blue Jays to support his teammates in major-league baseball’s championship series, he decided to go home to Puerto Rico.

“Whatever happened last year is already in the past, I just made maybe one bad decision to go back home, to keep working on my rehab and stay close to my family,” said Berrios. “In that moment I thought I wasn’t pitching, and I wasn’t feeling great, and I want to be close to my family.

“I didn’t bring them to Canada because they were going to miss days of school, so I was thinking of that. But, like I said, I apologize. I made that bad decision to go back to my home.”

Berrios had a 9-5 record with a 4.17 earned-run average and 138 strikeouts over 166 innings pitched last season when Toronto put him on its 15-day injured list on Sept. 25, the first time he has ever missed time due to injury in his 10 years in the majors.

Most injured players stay with their major-league club during the playoffs as a show of solidarity.

Shortstop Bo Bichette, as an example, didn’t play for the Blue Jays in their American League Division Series and Championship Series wins over the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners as he recovered from a sprained left knee. But he was still in the dugout during games.

Berrios left the club when they played the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series with little notice to his teammates, a decision he said he regrets.

“I talked to the Latin guys and some of the players who are closest to me,” said Berrios. “But at this spring training, I already apologized to them. I told them, ‘I understand if you don’t agree or are unhappy with me, but that’s what I did, and I apologize for that.

“I just want to turn the page the fastest I can, and (I want to) just keep working on the same goal (we had) last year, we almost get it. So this year we have an opportunity.”

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said he had a lot of respect for Berrios clearing the air with his teammates.

“He was frustrated with his health, his performance, and the circumstance with where we were in the season, right?” Schneider said outside of the Blue Jays’ spring training clubhouse. “I think that’s great that he’s being accountable and talking to his teammates.

“I think that when you have the track record that he has, it’s easy to kind of get in front of it and say, like, ‘Hey, I messed up.’”

Schneider said it wasn’t all on Berrios, either.

“There were things I wish I did differently in that situation, too, but you’re so locked into the World Series, you kind of put it off to the side,” said Schneider. “I think just him being himself is the most important part.”

Shane Bieber, who Toronto acquired last July in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians, exercised his US$16-million player option Nov. 5, rather than test free agency.

Veteran starting pitcher Dylan Cease signed a seven-year, $210-million contract with Toronto on Dec. 2. Eight days later, journeyman pitcher Cody Ponce agreed to a three-year, $30-million deal with the Blue Jays, returning to major-league baseball from South Korea’s KBO.

Those three transactions meant Berrios was potentially pushed out of Toronto’s rotation.

However, it was announced Tuesday that Bieber won’t be available to start the season as he addresses forearm fatigue. Bowden Francis, another possible starter, will miss the entire season as he has Tommy John surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament.

That puts Berrios back in the mix to be a starting pitcher.

“Obviously, they signed starting pitchers and I am a starting pitcher too,” said Berrios. “I never had a guaranteed spot, so I’ve been working really hard trying to win my spot every year.

“I’ve never come to spring training and said ‘Oh, I will be one of the five men in the rotation,’ so I had to earn that spot.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2026.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2026.