Missing World Series was ‘bad decision’

Toronto Blue Jays righty Jose Berrios says he’s apologized to his teammates for being absent for last fall’s World Series, calling it a “bad decision.”

Not on the postseason roster, Berrios chose to rehab his injured elbow at his home in Puerto Rico instead of staying in Toronto for his team’s seven-game loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

José Berríos says he’s feeling healthy now and is eager to turn the page from 2025 after he’s apologized to his #BlueJays teammates.

“I’m a competitor. I have three kids. I want to show them that when we fall down, we have to stand up and keep going.”

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) February 12, 2026

Speaking at the team’s spring training complex in Dunedin, FL, Berrios says he’s eager to get going in 2026.

“I’m a competitor,” Berrios said. “I have three kids. I want to show them that when we fall down, we have to stand up and keep going.”

Blue Jays manager John Schneider expressed similar sentiments as camp opened earlier this week.

“I think Jose realizes that it probably could have been handled a little bit differently – on everyone’s end, really,” Schneider said on Tuesday. “Looking back, I wish that we did things a little bit differently, and I’m sure he does as well. But he’s the normal Jose that’s coming in ready. He’s had conversations with guys that he needed to have conversations with. And we just want to put that behind us.”

Berrios, 31, heads into his 11th big league season and sixth with the Blue Jays. He finished 2025 with a record of 9-5 in 31 outings with an earned run average of 4.17 and 1.301 WHIP over 166.0 innings pitched. He was removed from the rotation in September before being placed on the injured list on Sept. 25.

After appearing to enter the season on the periphery of the rotation, Berrios has become more important to the team’s pitching plans with news that Shane Bieber is likely to begin the season on IL with forearm soreness. Bowden Francis, who was also fighting for a role after missing most of 2025, will now miss all of 2026 recovering from Tommy John surgery.