Extending José Berríos set the offseason tone for the Toronto Blue Jays
In mid-November, the Blue Jays gave right-hander José Berríos a seven-year, $131 million extension. After being sent to the Blue Jays from the Minnesota Twins just before last season’s trade deadline, Berríos posted a 3.58 ERA/3.28 FIP/1.095 WHIP in 12 starts covering 70.1 innings for Toronto the rest of the season.
What the Blue Jays saw in him was enough to know they wanted to keep him as part of their long-term plans, so the seven-year extension was a way to not only let Berríos know how much they valued him, but also to set the tone for what the team wanted to accomplish this offseason.
And don’t forget that the Blue Jays traded two prospects (including a former fifth overall pick in Austin Martin) in order to land Berríos in the trade, so keeping him for more than just a short time was important for the franchise.
With Robbie Ray now a part of the Seattle Mariners rotation, Berríos could well be in line for his third career Opening Day start (after two in Minnesota in 2019 and 2020). If it happens, what better way for the top overall move of the offseason by the Blue Jays to begin his 2022 campaign?