Jose Berrios avoids the worst: he won’t need surgery

Recently, Jose Berrios learned that he had inflammation in his elbow. So he underwent tests to determine the cause—especially since it wasn't the same inflammation he had in 2025.

It was expected to miss the start of the 2026 season, and that is indeed what the Blue Jays announced.

The pitcher has a stress fracture. It sounds serious, but it's not a major issue. He isn't in pain and will heal with some rest over the next few days.

He'll take a short break and pitch despite the injury afterward. Doctors aren't concerned that it will worsen if he pitches despite his condition.

The plan is to monitor it, Schneider said. Berríos doesn't feel pain, he's told the team. “Stress fracture” certainly doesn't sound great, but if Berríos can pitch through it and the doctors are comfortable with him pitching… full steam ahead. — Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) March 18, 2026

This means that of the Blue Jays' eight starting pitchers, two will begin the season on the injured list: Jose Berrios and Shane Bieber, who hasn't pitched in spring training.

That leaves Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Max Scherzer, Cody Ponce, Trey Yesavage (who won't be ready to pitch six innings right from the start of the season), and Eric Lauer.

Blue Jays upcoming scheduled starters — Thurs Mar 19 vs NYY — Cody Ponce — Fri Mar 20 @ MIN — Max Scherzer Sat Mar 21 @ PIT — Kevin Gausman Sun Mar 22 vs TBR — Dylan Cease Eric Lauer will throw four innings in a minor league game at the Blue Jays complex on Wednesday, March 18 — Arden Zwelling (@ArdenZwelling) March 18, 2026

I expect Lauer and Yesavage to pitch on the same day early in the season, so we have a long reliever ready to eat innings when Yesavage finishes his first few starts.

And after that? We'll see. It's too early to say.

With Dylan Cease set to make a start on March 22—the team's final spring training game—I fully expect to see him pitch the second game of the season, following Kevin Gausman. But after that, we'll see how John Schneider manages his rotation.

And above all, we'll see what he does once his injured players are healthy.

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