At this point of the 2024 regular season, there's not a whole lot of positive storylines left for followers of the Toronto Blue Jays. Through and through, this year has been one that's been mired in injuries, suspensions and just an overall sense of poorly played baseball.
That's how the club made it this far just to sport a 73-83 record. A 19-game deficit in the AL East, one of the worst run differentials in the league and no clear-cut offensive stars that aren't named Guerrero will do that to a team.
On the pitching side of things, there's been an overwhelming sense of, well, being underwhelmed this year. Only just recently has the rotation picked things up and while they've gotten better, the bullpen is still atrocious in every single way. One storyline to monitor as we enter the final week of play is one surrounding right-hander Jose Berrios.
At multiple points during his tenure on the Blue Jays so far, Berrios' trade and contract extension were made out to be moves the Jays should not have made. However, we're officially at a point (we were at this point last year, really) where those talks can be put to bed for good. The two-time All-Star is all the way "back", and he is likely going to get one more shot at a significant career milestone: 100 wins.
As of right at this moment, the nine-year veteran isn't listed as the starting pitcher in any of the Blue Jays' remaining games. Chris Bassitt, Bowden Francis and Kevin Gausman are listed as the starters for Toronto's upcoming three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.
An off day on Thursday will lead the Jays into their final series of the regular season as they host the Miami Marlins for one more three-game set. As of right now, all three starters for that series are listed as "TBD".
Since Berrios' last start came last Friday against the Rays, he's clearly going to be one of the hurlers to take the mound against the Marlins. In doing so, he'll get one last shot at reaching the 100-win landmark.
Since coming over to the Blue Jays in a 2021 trade, Berrios has at times been shaky (mostly in 2022) but recently he's been worth every cent of the extension the Jays handed him. Dating back to last year, he's been as durable as they come (not missing a single start), posting a 3.51 ERA and 118 ERA+ across 379 innings of work. Truthfully, he's not talked about enough as one of the most consistently solid pitchers in baseball.
For years now, even dating back to his days with the Twins, Berrios has quietly flown under the radar. It feels like the most he's ever been on baseball fans' radars was when he struggled through that 2022 campaign. In virtually every single other year, he's been solid as a rock and has nearly identical stat lines all throughout his career. He's the picture of consistency and seeing him reach 100 wins is going to be the latest accomplishment for him in what's already been an outstanding big league career.
Berrios (16-10) took the loss Friday against Tampa Bay, allowing one run on six hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out six.
Berrios was excellent Friday, blanking the Rays through five innings before ultimately surrendering a lone run on a Jonathan Aranda solo shot in the sixth. However, that one swing proved enough to stick Berrios with the loss in an eventual 1-0 defeat. The loss snaps a seven-game winning streak for the right-hander, though he's now held opponents to two runs or fewer in each of his last eight outings, posting a 1.51 ERA in that span. Berrios will carry a 3.38 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 149:51 K:BB into his final start of the year, likely to come at home next week against the Red Sox.
Berrios was chased early and never found his footing. He coughed up three runs in the first inning and two more in the second. His wild pitch in the third inning allowed a sixth run to score before he left the contest. Berrios had allowed two or fewer earned runs in eight straight starts before Friday's hiccup. Despite the poor outing, he posted a strong 2.95 ERA in 12 starts after the All-Star break. Overall, he finished his 2024 campaign with a 3.60 ERA and a 153:54 K:BB through 192.1 innings.
Jose Berríos continued his impressive performance on Friday, marking his eighth consecutive quality start despite suffering a tough 1-0 loss to the Rays. Though he missed the chance to secure his 100th career win, Berríos demonstrated remarkable consistency with a 1.51 ERA and 0.88 WHIP over the past six weeks. While his slurve pitch excelled, a sixth-inning mistake led to the game's only run, denying the Blue Jays a chance to support him offensively. Manager John Schneider praised Berríos' reliability, noting he's become one of the best pitchers in the league. With one final start remaining, Berríos is eager to achieve his milestone before the season ends.
Berríos aims to secure his 100th career victory in his upcoming start against the Red Sox at Rogers Centre. With his family supporting him from Puerto Rico, the milestone presents a significant personal achievement he hopes to complete.
Despite the missed opportunity for a win, Berríos' consistent quality pitching underscores his rise as a key player for the Blue Jays. As he approaches a notable career milestone, fans and teammates hope to witness this achievement soon.
