When will Jose Berrios get traded?
The Toronto Blue Jays have had an up and down relationship with Jose Berrios.
Berrios has been in the starting rotation for the Blue Jays for just over four years now. He has been a consistent performer and very durable over his tenure. However, the additions of Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce are putting the squeeze on his roster spot. With Shane Bieber returning and the rise of Trey Yesavage, and now the rotation is more crowded.
The futures of Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt further complicate Berrios’ situation. If the Blue Jays decide to bring one of those arms back, they are virtually booking Berrios a one-way ticket out of Toronto.
One Toronto insider has revealed that without any further additions, Berrios could be traded. However, it’s only going to happen under a certain set of circumstances.
When Are The Toronto Blue Jays Trading Jose Berrios?
MLB insider Keegan Matheson recently wrote an article addressing some of the biggest questions that the team will face this upcoming season. Chief among them was the future of Berrios.
Matheson begins by explaining how we got to the point of discussing a potential Berrios trade.
“Berríos ended the season with a move to the bullpen and a trip to the IL — the first IL stint of his 10-year MLB career — and he was ‘not happy’ with being left off the postseason roster,” Matheson wrote on February 7, 2026. “Now the Blue Jays have five other starters on the roster. This could become an awkward game of musical chairs.”
With this in mind, Matheson then shared thoughts about when a Berrios deal could (or could not) happen.
“The Blue Jays do not want to trade prospects to unload salaries,” Matheson wrote. “Plus the free-agent market still has plenty of starters available for needy teams. Expect this to stretch through camp, one way or the other.”
To answer the question posed in the title of this section, the Blue Jays are going to trade him when the time is right. According to Matheson, right now is not the right time.
If the Blue Jays are going to trade Berrios, it’s likely to be after Spring Training has started. After all, there are still great options left on the market. However, once these pitchers sign, we might begin to see some Berrios trade chatter pick up.
Which Pitchers Have to Sign Before Berrios Becomes an Appealing Option?
According to The Athletic, the best remaining starting pitcher on the market is Zac Gallen. Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell, Bassitt, and Scherzer are the other remaining top arms availble on the starter market.
The Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, and Blue Jays are all in the mix to add another starter to their respective rotations.
However, once two or three of these five pitchers sign, that might be the time when teams come calling Toronto. If the Blue Jays sign Gallen, they can deal from an even greater position of strength, and perhaps ignite a bidding war in the process.
It’s likely that a couple of these teams only have interest in one or two of these five arms. So once their top option is gone, a trade become a more likely avenue to explore an upgrade.
Jose Berrios Was Not Happy During World Series
With Berrios, you know what you are going to get. In 2025, he finished with a 4.17 ERA, 138 strikeouts, and a 1.30 WHIP in 31 games.
Berrios will make a cool $19 million for the 2026 season. At the conclusion of this year, he has an opt-out before being tabbed to earn $24 million for the last two years of his current contract.
Earlier in the offseason, Matheson also reported on Berrios’ absence from the team during the World Series.
“He was not happy,” Atkins said via Matheson. “He was disappointed that he wasn’t in our rotation and he handled it well. But, then when it came down to roster selection, he wasn’t on it. It’s always tough when someone of his pedigree is not in the rotation.”
“I’m sure he was not excited with that decision. Having to be the one who makes it, makes it very difficult.”
Regardless of what happened then, it appears that Berrios is ready to prove his worth at Spring Training. It will only benefit the player and the team to have him performing at his best.
If Berrios plays excellent baseball during Spring Training, it will put him in good standing with the coaching staff. It will also catch the wandering eyes of other MLB GM’s, who might experience a change of heart and become more interested.
Things will get interesting with the Blue Jays over the next month, one way or the other.
Caleb Kerney Caleb covers the NHL for Heavy.com. He has covered professional hockey since 2022, including bylines at Dobber Prospects, The Hockey Writers, and The Hockey News. More about Caleb Kerney
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