José Berríos hasn't let the rocky finish to his 2025 put a damper on his off-season.
The veteran Toronto Blue Jays starter was back home in Puerto Rico this week, giving back to the community through his "La Makina Foundation" with a celebrity softball game that supports local charities.
On Tuesday, Berríos joined MLB Network to break down the event, but of course, the conversation turned back to the end of the Blue Jays season and the injury that kept the right-hander from joining the club in the post-season.
"It was an unbelievable year," Berríos said. "The guys (gave) 100 per cent every day out there. It was fun, and I enjoyed it all year long.
"I battled all year long with my elbow, my bicep, but the way that the team competed out there, I was trying to (stay) out there and go out there and compete every five days with them."
Berríos 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 was unable to return for Toronto's run to the World Series. The IL move came days after the longtime starter was moved to the bullpen as the Blue Jays worked to align their pitching plans for the playoffs, which Berríos said he wasn't happy about at the time.
He ended the year 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.
"Late in the season, I (couldn't) hold it any more, that feeling I had in my arm," Berríos said of the injury on Tuesday. "So I just put my hands up and tried to see what I got there... It was bicep tendon inflammation, so nothing major. We attacked that real quick, and that's why I didn't pitch in the playoffs."
Berríos said that he's five weeks into his off-season throwing program and tracking to be back on the mound when Toronto reports to spring training early next year.
However, with the World Baseball Classic set to return in March, Berríos — a veteran of Team Puerto Rico at the event — is eyeing a spot in his country's rotation.
"I want to pitch in the WBC. I have that in mind," he said. "That's my goal right now. First of all, get through spring training healthy and strong and then get ready for the WBC.
Berríos first pitched for Puerto Rico in the 2013 tournament at just 19 years old and has continued to pitch in the WBC at every opportunity. In 2023, he made just one start for his country, allowing five earned runs and five hits in one innings of work.
This time around, Puerto Rico is set to host the Pool A round robin, which will also include Canada, Cuba, Panama and Colombia travelling to San Juan in hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals.
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