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Former Toronto Blue Jays player blasts team for Berrios move

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
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Sep 24 2025, 9:14 pm
Former Toronto Blue Jays player blasts team for Berrios move
Dan Hamilton/Imagn Images

A former member of the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t hold back when discussing the decision to move Jose Berrios to the bullpen.

Whit Merrifield, who spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with Berrios and the Blue Jays, didn’t take too kindly to John Schneider’s decision to take the 31-year-old out of the starting rotation last week.

Though the 2025 season has been a rocky one for Berrios, his former teammate, Merrifield, believes the two-time All Star would have been able to get back on track and should have been given the opportunity to do so.

“I am so glad that Jose came out and showed his frustration, and showed that he’s pissed off about what has happened. Because now I can be pissed,” Merrifield said on the 6ix Inning Stretch podcast. “If Jose’s pissed, it is a deserving reason to be pissed. Every single day, that man steps into the locker room, that man is doing what he can to be a better baseball player, to help his team, and to be a better teammate.”

Merrifield, who enjoyed a nine-year MLB career, also said he has never had a teammate who works harder than Berrios both on and off the field.

“That’s the kind of guy you rally behind,” Merrifield said. “That’s the kind of guy that teams gather and say, ‘I don’t care what’s going on with me. When this guy’s pitching, I’m giving it what I got for this guy because he deserves it and I don’t want to let him down.'”

The Jays ‘ decision to move Berrios to the bullpen didn’t seem to go over very well with the veteran pitcher, though he made it clear that he’s putting the team ahead of himself.

“Honestly, I don’t feel happy to talk about it,” Berrios said last week. “But, putting that aside, I put my team first.”

The Jays’ decision to move Berrios to the bullpen came in favour of 22-year-old Trey Yesavage, who dazzled in his first career start but struggled through four innings versus the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

Despite recently having been moved to the bullpen, however, Berrios could be called upon to make a start as soon as Thursday. Shane Bieber was expected to start that game, but has been pushed back to Friday. Yesavage will get the call on Saturday, while Max Scherzer is set to pitch on Wednesday against the Royals.

The opening spot in the rotation comes as a result of a lower-back injury suffered by Chris Bassitt, who was placed on the 15-day IL this past Saturday. It doesn’t sound to be a very serious issue, suggesting the 36-year-old will be ready to go once the playoffs begin.

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