'We always learn from everybody': Blue Jays' Jose Berrios a student of the game

Team officials, reporters and camera operators often gather behind the chain-link fence near the gang mounds at the Blue Jays' player development complex to watch bullpen sessions during spring training.

Right-hander Jose Berrios is usually mixed in among them.

The veteran starter — a real student of the game — uses the opportunity to study his teammates' techniques during their throwing sessions.

"I'm just trying to know them more and see how they move, see how the pitch is doing" Berrios said Thursday. "That way you can learn."

The standing area is just a couple feet behind where the catchers crouch down, providing a stellar view of the pitcher's arm angle and ball movement. Berrios will work his way along the fence to soak up as many sessions as possible.

"When you see them [throw], they all have different mindsets with little things," he said. "Seeing their pitches, seeing how they throw it, you can get better too. We always learn from everybody."

Berrios had a solid 2023 campaign after a down year in '22. He was 11-12 over 32 starts last season, trimming his earned-run average by over a run and a half to 3.65.

The two-time all-star had 184 strikeouts and earned his first career Gold Glove.

"The way he navigated the season [by] getting back to his normal self — the Jose that we're accustomed to seeing his whole career — was great," said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. "In the off-season, I [had] a lot of conversations with him, he wants to even be a better pitcher [and] a little bit more vocal, a little bit more of a leader in the clubhouse, being comfortable here now.

"He's about as locked in as I've ever seen him since we acquired him."

Berrios spent parts of six seasons with Minnesota before being dealt to