José Berríos agrees to 7-year, $131 million extension with Blue Jays, per report

The Toronto Blue Jays are set to secure starting pitcher José Berríos for the foreseeable. Berríos has agreed to a contract extension of seven years, per Jon Morosi. Ben Nicholson-Smith is reporting the deal with worth $131 million.

Berríos is coming off a 2021 season in which the Minnesota Twins dealt him to Toronto at the trade deadline for a pair of prospects. Prior to the deadline, he was 7-5 across 121.2 innings over 20 starts with the Twins. He had an ERA of 3.48 and a FIP of 3.58. In 12 starts over 70.1 innings with the Blue Jays, Berríos was 5-4 with a 3.54 ERA and a 3.28 FIP.

Berríos earned two All-Star appearances with the Twins, in 2018 and 2019. He was going to be arbitration eligible this offseason and then due to hit free agency after the 2022 season. The Blue Jays have a few players hitting free agency this offseason.

The team is going to try and bring back LHP Robbie Ray, who is likely to win the AL Cy Young award this week. Ray could command a hefty contract and will likely wait until he receives a few offers from other teams before considering a return to Toronto. 2B Marcus Semien is the other big name. He also should get a ton of money, which will make it difficult for the Blue Jays to retain him and Ray after also signing Berrios to a big extension.