Berríos to visit Dr. Keith Meister, Scherzer receives cortisone injection, Kirk to begin hitting progression and more Blue Jays injury notes

The Toronto Blue Jays shared a lengthy injury report prior to Friday’s series opener versus the Los Angeles Angels.

Before every home game, manager John Schneider starts his pre-game media availability by sharing the latest injury updates as reporters gather around the desk in his office, and this time, he led off with injured starter José Berríos.

The 31-year-old righty is scheduled to meet with Dr. Keith Meister to review the MRI of his right forearm from earlier this week, which revealed some inflammation and “small changes to that initial injury with the elbow,” according to Schneider. He’s been dealing with a stress fracture in that arm since spring training, but he had been pitching “pain-free” up until now, after reporting discomfort following his most recent Triple-A start on May 3.

“I think kind of just going to see him [Dr. Meister] is the next step,” the Blue Jays’ skipper added.

Berríos, who began this season on the 15-day injured list, hasn’t done any throwing since his last rehab outing with the Buffalo Bisons. He made a pair of starts at that level, during both of which his fastball velocity dipped considerably, sitting 90-91 m.p.h. while also battling cold and wet conditions.

The Blue Jays were hoping to see him turn the corner in his latest start, but he trended the other way, allowing seven runs (all earned) on six hits — including three home runs — and four walks (six total in two Triple-A starts thus far) while only striking out one in 3.2 innings. With symptoms in his right elbow/forearm surfacing, there’s now even more concern about his 2026 availability.

After previously being just one rehab start away from joining Toronto’s rotation, Berríos’ season debut must continue to wait even longer following this ominous development.

More injury updates and notes from Schneider:

Scherzer shut down from throwing after cortisone injectionMore bad news for Blue Jays starters as Max Scherzer received a cortisone injection in his right forearm to help address his lingering tendinitis, meaning he’ll be sidelined from throwing for roughly five days. That should put him on track to resume playing catch by mid-week after his shot was inserted on Thursday.

The left ankle discomfort/sprain isn’t much of an issue anymore, but Scherzer still hasn’t been able to build back up due to his forearm injury since landing on the IL on April 25.

Kirk will begin hitting progression this weekend

On a more positive note, Alejandro Kirk is expected to swing a bat this weekend at the club’s player development complex for the first time since fracturing his left thumb in early April. Since this will be just the initial step of a hitting progression, he won’t be hitting a ball or anything quite yet. It’ll just be dry swings. But any progress is notable at this point.

Outside of hitting, Kirk has been throwing down at the PDC, though he’s yet to resume catching while his injured thumb heals.

Barger returning Saturday versus AngelsThe plan is for Addison Barger (left ankle sprain) to return to the Blue Jays’ lineup on Saturday against the Angels. After homering twice in three Single-A rehab games, the 26-year-old slugger is flying back from Dunedin on Friday and will rejoin the team following his travel day off.

It’s also worth noting that Los Angeles is starting left-hander Reid Detmers in the series opener. So, by delaying Barger’s return by an extra day, he’ll have a softer landing spot with a pair of righties — Jack Kochanowicz and José Soriano — starting the final two games over the weekend.

And since the Rays have lined up lefty Shane McClanahan for Monday’s series opener, there’s a strong chance Barger won’t be in the starting lineup for that contest, especially if he ends up playing on Saturday and Sunday.

Bieber set to face live hitters next week

For the first time since Game 7 of the World Series, Shane Bieber is slated to pitch to opposing hitters on Tuesday at the PDC, throwing his first live batting practice session of ’26.

The 30-year-old starter, working his way back from right elbow inflammation/fatigue, felt great coming out of the two-up (or two-inning) bullpen session at Tropicana Field on Wednesday. Now that he’s set to face hitters, it means he’s that much closer to heading out on a rehab assignment. But we’re still probably a week or two away from that progression.

Lukes begins running program

Almost two weeks since hitting the IL with a strained left hamstring, Nathan Lukes has started a running progression at the PDC, an important step in his recovery timeline. From here, the biggest hurdle he’ll need to leap is running the bases.

Once he clears that, next up will probably include a few rehab games before returning to the majors.

García completes first FCL rehab outing

The Blue Jays continue to feel encouraged about Yimi García’s progression, which advanced to the rehab assignment stage on Thursday, as the 35-year-old reliever threw two-thirds of an inning in his first appearance down in the Florida Complex League.

García, who’s several months removed from off-season elbow surgery, faced four batters and allowed one run on a couple of hits. But the results don’t matter here; what does is that he’s currently on track to return from the 60-day IL when first eligible on May 25.

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