The Toronto Blue Jays are hoping to get to the bottom of the elbow issues plaguing one of their pitchers.
Jose Berrios, who was scratched from his Thursday spring training start with right elbow inflammation, will head to Texas for an in-person assessment with Dr. Keith Meister next week, Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling reported Friday.
According to Zwelling, Berrios will not throw between then and now.
Meister, an orthopedic surgeon based in Arlington, Texas, is renowned as one of the top elbow reconstruction specialists in sports medicine. He focuses on UCL (Tommy John) reconstruction and arthroscopic surgeries for professional baseball players.
Berrios has made two starts for the Blue Jays this spring, including an impressive four-inning shutout appearance against the Yankees last Saturday.
He was set to join Puerto Rico for the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic; however, the elbow inflammation was revealed during the insurance process, preventing him from joining the team.
The issue is separate from what sidelined the 31-year-old at the end of last season.
It remains unclear how the issue will impact his availability for the start of the new season, which begins on March 27.
Berrios threw 166 innings last season, posting a 4.17 ERA — the second-highest mark of his career when throwing 100-plus innings.
Additionally, Zwelling reported that Shane Bieber, who has not yet thrown from a mound this spring, will continue throwing from flat ground over the next several days.
The plan all along was for Bieber to have a slower ramp-up this spring after the Blue Jays announced he was dealing with arm fatigue in early February. They'll evaluate if he's ready to return to the mound late next week.
The 30-year-old right-hander ended up making seven regular-season starts for Toronto, throwing 40.1 innings while striking out 37 and posting a 3.57 ERA. He added five appearances (four starts) for the Blue Jays in the post-season, registering a 3.86 ERA and striking out 18 over 18.2 innings of work.
