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Blue Jays’ José Berríos struggles in latest rehab start as decision on return looms large
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Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Michael Coyle
May 3, 2026, 19:49 EDT
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On Sunday, Toronto Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos made his fourth and final rehab start with the Buffalo Bisons as he prepares to join the Blue Jays’ 26-man roster, working his way back from a stress fracture in his pitching elbow.
Just like in his third rehab outing, Berríos faced the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, and just like his previous outing, Berríos struggled. 
Berríos’ pitching line finished at 3 2/3 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 1 K, struggling to keep the ball in the yard as all seven of the RailRiders’ runs off him came from the long ball. Once again, Berríos’ velocity was down, averaging 90.1 MPH with his sinker, topping out at 92.1 MPH, but it should be noted that the temperatures sat around 10 degrees Celsius. The 31-year-old was removed after 70 pitches, the same total Berríos reached in his third start.
The New York Yankees’ number six-ranked prospect, Spencer Jones, did damage early, driving a first-pitch sinker to the right field bleachers to open the game’s scoring in the bottom of the first inning. 
Berríos allowed three base runners over the next two innings but was able to avoid damage by inducing a double play in the second innings and picking off Duke Ellis at second base. 
Oswaldo Cabrera started the fourth inning by winning an eight-pitch battle, eventually lofting a single to left field. Seth Brown stepped up next and tagged a 1-2 fastball to right-center field for his fourth home run of the season. 
Berríos would go on to load the bases after giving up a single, a walk, and a hit by pitch before Jones, once again, took Berríos yard, smashing a sinker 406 feet to blow the game wide open. The home runs would end Berríos’ day, walking off the mound after another outing that leaves some room for doubt whether or not “La Makina” is ready to make his next start at the big-league level. 
It is worth noting that in Berríos’ third start, it was both Jones and Brown who homered off him, so much of the damage has come from two left-handed bats that profile as power hitters. All 12 of the earned runs Berríos has allowed have been driven in by the Jones-Brown tandem, limiting any damage from the rest of the bats. 
Sunday, May 10, remains a likely option for Berríos’ return, as that will be the next time that Eric Lauer’s turn rolls around in the rotation, giving the Blue Jays management a week to decide what the next step is for their former deadline acquisition. 
In good news from the rehab front, Addison Barger made the most of his first start. After grounding out in his first at-bat, Barger stepped up to the plate in the fourth inning with a runner on and launched a two-run home run to right-center field. 
Barger, who was in the designated hitter spot, worked a four-pitch walk in the sixth before being removed before his at-bat in the eighth. If all goes well, Barger will likely rejoin the Blue Jays before Friday’s series opener when they host the Los Angeles Angels at the Rogers Centre. 

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