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The Toronto Blue Jays are shaking up the rotation, and Jose Berrios is the bullpen casualty.
Berrios was officially moved to the bullpen on Friday, but he is now publicly addressing the move. To say he isn’t happy is an understatement.
“Honestly, I don’t feel happy talking about it,” Berrios told Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. “Putting that aside, I put my team first. I was able to be out there to help my team and that’s the way I see it.”
Berrios has only gone past the sixth inning once in last 10 starts, and he has pitched past five innings six times. In all 10 starts, he’s thrown at least 70 pitches, showcasing that he just isn’t efficient when he takes the mound.
That’s not to say he can’t be upset by a demotion, but the move certainly isn’t unwarranted. If it didn’t happen now, it was all but a guarantee to happen in the playoffs.
“He definitely expressed his opinion,” Schneider told Matheson regarding Berrios’ thoughts. “Rightfully so. He’s earned that. He’s also bright enough to understand where he’s at, what his second half has been and things like that. As frustrated as you may be in real time — and Eric Lauer was the same way — we’re asking some guys to do some things that are uncomfortable. He’s there now, but he was professional and honest, like he always is with anything.”
Berrios now has to adapt to pitching out of the bullpen which is much more of an adjustment than many people realize. While he doesn’t have all of the answers, he knows he can guarantee one thing.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know how to respond,” Berrios told Matheson. “How I can help my team right now is to just be a good teammate, be here for them, support them and always be a positive guy around the clubhouse.”
This decision for the Blue Jays may not be permanent, and it leaves the door open for Berrios if he can work through his inconsistencies as a reliever.
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