The biggest issue is his contract, as he’s owed $67 million over the next three years. Despite the large chunk of change he is owed, when healthy, Berríos is a reliable innings eater, and the Jays will likely have to eat some of the money to make a deal happen anyway.
Here are three teams that could be interested in him if the Blue Jays are willing to eat some money in a deal.
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have more questions than answers in their rotation heading into 2025.
The Angels have money; owner Arte More has consistently invested in the team. The issue for them has been spending that money on the wrong players. He’s never shied away from a reclamation project and may be enticed by a former All-Star at a discounted price.
San Francisco Giants
The Giants lack quality depth after ace Logan Webb and Robbie Ray — enter José Berríos as a solid number three option.
A move to San Francisco could be exactly what Berríos needs to get back on track. Oracle Park ranked as the fifth-most pitcher-friendly in all of baseball by Statcast Park Factors. It graded as the second-toughest place to hit home runs, which would be good for Berríos, considering he’s given up at least 25 of them each of the last four years.
New York Mets
The Mets desperately need proven starting pitching and have unlimited money, so this is about as good a match as there is.
Berríos would give New York something its current group sorely lacks: reliability. They learned the hard way last year that pitchers who throw 170 innings every year with an ERA around 4.00 don’t grow on trees. Youngsters Nolan Maclean and Jonah Tong are exciting building blocks, but Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga were disasters.
The fit is there on paper, especially if the Mets don’t land one of the big free agent starting pitchers. Acquiring Berríos also wouldn’t cost the Mets much of anything in terms of prospects if they are willing to take on most of his money, which they certainly could, given Steve Cohen’s ability to spend.