The Toronto Blue Jays aren’t messing around. The team wants to rewrite the narrative, and they have started that process with their first significant signing of the winter. Reports swirl that the Blue Jays and Dylan Cease have agreed to a $210 million, eight-year deal. If true, Cease joins a rotation that includes Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, and Jose Berrios.
However, the signing of Cease is a stroke of bad news for one of those aces. To the point that one insider believes that Berrios is expendable.
Jose Berrios is Now Expendable to the Toronto Blue Jays
The addition of Cease makes the starting rotation in Toronto a little more crowded. If swingman Eric Lauer is included in the arithmetic, the Blue Jays have six potential starting pitchers to fill five spots.
However, Mitch Bannon believes that the pitcher who is (potentially) going to get the short end of the bat is Berrios.
“A trade could open the money and roster space for a more significant addition, too. They’d have a candidate in Berríos,” Bannon wrote for The Athletic on November 27, 2025. “While Berríos was one of baseball’s most reliable starters for his entire career, the righty posted a 4.17 ERA in 2025, suffered an elbow injury, and lost his rotation spot at the end of the year. Owed $18.7 million in 2026 before a player opt-out, the Jays could look to move Berríos after four years in Toronto.”
“Even if the 31-year-old remains with the Jays, he’ll have to earn a rotation spot again in spring training, another reason to add more depth.”
Losing his spot on the rotation because of an injury was bad news for Berrios. Naturally, he couldn’t do much about it. Luckily for the Blue Jays, they had the arms to make up for the loss of Berrios to punch their ticket into the postseason.
What Other MLB Teams Would Get With Jose Berrios
Berrios has been a starter for his entire career. The 10-year veteran has started 273 of the 275 career games that he’s played.
He’s been very durable throughout his career. Berrios started at least 30 games in a season in seven of his 10 years. Four of those years, he was exclusively with the Blue Jays.
In terms of quality starts, he has been very consistent on this front as well. He’s had at least 12 quality starts in eight of his 10 seasons. Berrios is only one season removed from tying his career-high of 21 quality starts.
In 2025, he posted a 9-5 record in 30 starts. Berrios threw 138 strikeouts in 166 innings. He also recorded a 1.30 WHIP to go along with a 4.17 ERA, the second-worst in his career.
He may not be the strikeout machine that Cease is, but Berrios has value as a consistent starter. For a team that is looking to bolster its starting rotation, he could become an in-demand asset for an organization that strikes out on the free agency market.
Berrios is set to collect a $19 million paycheque for 2026. After that, his deal has a player opt-out. If that is not exercised, he will earn $24 million for two more seasons, according to Spotrac.
Berrios’ situation will be one that Blue Jays fans will want to watch very closely as the winter rolls along.
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