José Berríos was in fine form in his second rehab start on Wednesday night.
Pitching for the class-A Dunedin Blue Jays, Berríos worked four scoreless innings, allowing three hits and no walks while racking up five strikeouts against the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels — an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.
Berríos got off to a quick start on the night, striking out the side in the first inning to strand a lead-off single.
After leaving a runner on third to end the second inning, Berríos didn't allow a Mighty Mussel past second in his next two frames, retiring eight of the final nine hitters he faced.
Berríos tossed 55 pitches — 37 for strikes — averaging 93.5 m.p.h. with his fastball. He also mixed in a sinker, slurve and changeup.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters that the goal was for Berríos to throw around 60 to 65 pitches in the outing.
Wednesday's start was Berríos's second of his minor-league rehab stint. Last Thursday, he allowed five hits and five runs over 2.2 innings and 47 pitches.
Berríos began the season on the injured list with a stress fracture in his elbow. He was seemingly healthy entering spring training, but as he went through a physical in an attempt to join Team Puerto Rico at the World Baseball Classic, an MRI revealed elbow inflammation.
The stress fracture was then diagnosed after meeting with Dr. Keith Meister in Texas.
Berríos had made two starts for the Blue Jays in the spring, including an impressive four-inning shutout appearance against the New York Yankees.
The issue is separate from what sidelined the 31-year-old at the end of last season.
Berríos threw 166 innings in 2025, recording a 4.17 ERA over 31 appearances and 30 starts.
He was placed on the IL on Sept. 25 with right elbow inflammation — the first time in his MLB career that he'd missed time due to injury — and did not return for Toronto's run to the World Series.
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.
The Blue Jays are hoping that Berríos can return sooner rather than later to boost a battered rotation, which is also missing injured starters Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber and Cody Ponce.
