*Photo from Call to the Pen*
He may have already been under contract, but the Toronto Blue Jays still wanted to lock up a key figure of their pitching staff. The Blue Jays and RHP Jose Berrios have agreed to a 7 year, $131 million extension, according to Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. The Blue Jays have confirmed the contract.
Also included in the extension for Berrios is an opt out after 5 seasons, so he can become a free agent again after the 2026 season. There is an 8 team no trade list attached to the contract, and there are incentives that can add up to $10 million to the deal, maxing out the value at $141 million. It's a big splash for the Blue Jays, that's for sure.
Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins said of Berrios that "José has one of the best reputations in baseball. We can see why. We were able to spend time with him to understand some of the things that make him tick, and it’s well beyond the performance on the field. The power and finesse that you see? That doesn’t come naturally. That comes from years of work, years of preparation that he continues to improve upon."
Last season, spent with the Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins, Berrios combined for a 12-9 record with a 3.52 ERA. Berrios struck out 204 hitters and walked 45, throwing an even 192 innings, starting 32 games, 20 for the Twins, and the final 12 with the Blue Jays after being acquired at the trade deadline.
In 6 seasons in the big leagues, Berrios has a career 60-47 record to his name, with a 4.04 ERA, striking out 857 hitters while walking 266, throwing 851 2/3 innings, making 147 starts and just one relief appearance in his major league career. He has just 3 games of postseason experience under his belt, due to the Twins playoff losing streak.
Berrios was excited for the future, saying that "I can promise that we’re going to do a lot of good things for the city. We’re going to have a lot of fun, and you guys are going to enjoy it from the stands. It’s not only the contract and all of that stuff, it’s about how we feel here, my family and I. We’re so glad and grateful for this new opportunity."
The extension signed by Berrios makes his contract the second largest in Blue Jays history, trailing only the 6 year, $150 million deal signed by George Springer in free agency last winter. Outside of the surface numbers, the peripheral stats show that Berrios is poised to be the same dependable and dominant arm he always has been, with his walk and strikeout rates remaining around the same mark his whole career, as well as his fastball velocity of 94 MPH.
Atkins continued on about Berrios, saying that "The durability and reliability is second to none with José. He’s been as consistent as any professional athlete in the world, really. Part of it is learning more about his routines and what has gone into that. We obviously could do that from afar, but not nearly as well as we could up close. The second thing that’s arguably as important is the athleticism in his delivery and how consistent it is. The combination of those things gives us a lot of confidence."
With his new extension, Berrios becomes the face of the rotation in Toronto, leading a group that includes Hyun-Jin Ryu and Alek Manoah, with top prospect Nate Pearson also in the fold, as is Ross Stripling. The Blue Jays are also looking to re-sign Robbie Ray and Steven Matz, both key pieces of the 2021 rotation, that are now free agents. They are also looking to re-sign 2B Marcus Semien.
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