Blue Jays right-hander José Berríos undergoes Tommy John surgery

NEW YORK (AP) — José Berríos underwent a full Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, sidelining the veteran Toronto Blue Jays starter well into the 2027 season.

The Blue Jays hoped Berríos — who missed Toronto’s World Series run last fall with elbow inflammation — would need a less invasive surgery to repair a stress fracture and remove loose bodies from the right elbow.

But manager John Schneider said a loose body was found on the ligament, which necessitated the Tommy John procedure by Dr. Keith Meister in Texas.

“It’s kind of like, got an answer,” Schneider said before the Blue Jays faced the New York Yankees. “It sucks for him, it sucks for us. I know he’ll attack the rehab. It’s just the time part of it sucks. Not having him here sucks, too.”

Berríos, 31, appeared healthy at the start of spring training. But he opened the season on the injured list with the stress fracture and posted a 10.67 ERA while displaying reduced velocity and battling a sore elbow in four rehab starts.

“When you have something, guys are usually OK when its not surgically (repaired) initially,” Schneider said. “Really didn’t see this coming.”

Berríos and teammate Patrick Corbin are the only pitchers to make at least 30 starts in each of the last seven full seasons, since 2018. Berríos, in the fifth year of a seven-year deal signed in November 2021, is 53-39 with a 4.09 ERA since being acquired from the Minnesota Twins in July 2021.

“Since we acquired him, he’s just been steady, he’s been kind of part of what we’re doing and reliable, obviously,” Schneider said. “It’s weird not having him. I think that we were looking for him to kind of just get back to normal a little bit. And he was hoping for that, too.”

Berríos’ season-ending surgery is another blow to an injury-battered Toronto rotation. Shane Bieber has yet to make a start this season due to right forearm stiffness. Cody Ponce, who signed with the Blue Jays after four seasons in Japan, suffered a season-ending right knee injury in his first start March 30. Bowden Francis, who made 27 starts the previous two seasons, underwent Tommy John surgery in February.

Veteran Max Scherzer has been limited to five starts by forearm and ankle injuries while Trey Yesavage, a rookie sensation in the playoffs last year, was slated to make his fifth start Wednesday after missing the first month with a right shoulder impingement.

Schneider said Scherzer is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Thursday while Bieber could begin a rehab stint next week. Bieber would likely need at least four or five starts before he becomes an option for the Blue Jays, who entered Wednesday at 21-27 and 11 1/2 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Jerry Beach, The Associated Press