For the first time since September, José Berríos was back on a big-league mound.
Berríos started the Toronto Blue Jays‘ third spring-training game on Monday, tossing 2.2 innings with three hits, two earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts.
After exiting the game against the New York Mets in Dunedin, Fla., Berríos — who finished last season with his first-career IL stint due to an elbow injury — said he felt “pretty healthy, pretty strong.”
The Blue Jays eventually lost Monday’s game 4-3.
Berríos got off to a typically reliable start last season with a 3.26 ERA over his first 17 appearances, but he faltered down the stretch with a 5.63 mark over his final 14 games.
The Puerto Rican was eventually moved to the bullpen before hitting the IL. He did not appear in the post-season.
“I figured out in September it was my biceps tendon that had inflammation and that was involving my elbow,” he said.
Berríos added that the elbow pain forced him to change the way he pitched.
“I’ve never been in that situation before. I just was dealing with that. Everything was new for me. I never saw myself (not pitching), so that’s why I kept trying to fight and compete with my team,” he said.
The 31-year-old ended 2025 with a 4.17 ERA over 166 innings and 31 appearances.
It was the fewest starts and innings that Berríos had thrown in a full season since 2017. He had made exactly 32 starts in six of the previous seven seasons, with the lone exception being the shortened 2020 campaign.