Whit Merrifield disapproves Blue Jays' decision to pull starter Jose Berrios early vs. Twins: "I hated it, frankly"

Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Whit Merrifield expressed his complete disapproval of his team's decision to remove starting pitcher Jose Berrios in the fourth innings against the Minnesota Twins.

The Puerto Rican ace made a promising start, striking out five while walking one and allowing only three hits in three innings. Berrios walked Twins rookie Royce Lewis in the fourth, after which he was removed.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider brought on veteran southpaw Yusei Kikuchi - a move that ultimately didn’t pay off. Instead, it raised a lot of eyebrows and even more questions.

Kikuchi was involved in both runs that the Blue Jays allowed. He conceded a hard-hit single to Max Kepler and a walk to load the bases, which eventually led to Carlos Correa opening the Twins’ account for the night. Kepler went on to score on a double play to double their advantage.

Kikuchi was taken off shortly afterward in the bottom of the fifth, which made Schneider’s call to introduce him all the more baffling. However, it didn’t seem to be a decision taken by him alone but rather, a tactic discussed well in advance by the entire Blue Jays coaching staff, taking analytics and data into account.

The Twins had four left-handed hitters in their line-up. According to data, Kikuchi has done better than Berrios against lefties in 2023 – holding them to a .214 average with only six home runs allowed, compared to Berrios’ .261 and 18 homers.

After the game, Whit Merrifield didn’t hold back and expressed how much he "hated" the decision, and the thought process behind it. However, Merrifield also acknowledged that Jose Berrios’ removal wasn't the only reason why they lost the game:

"I hated it, frankly. It's not what cost us the game, but it's the kind of baseball decisions that are taking away from managers and baseball, at this stage of the game." - Whit Merrifield on the Blue Jays taking Jose Berrios out early (via Mitch Bannon)

At the end of the day, they had only two runs to overcome and the Blue Jays’ toothless offense failed to do so. They never looked like scoring, so their loss cannot be attributed to the Berrios decision alone.

John Schneider explains Jose Berrios decision

According to Blue Jays manager John Schneider, the decision to remove Jose Berrios was planned in advance.

According to Schneider, Berrios was well aware of the strategy in place:

"Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Schneider on the decision to pull José Berríos early in the game." - Sportsnet

However, as Merrifield stated, this decision alone didn’t decide the game or the series. The Blue Jays offense never looked like scoring, and the Twins were far superior in comparison.