During the game, Martínez joined Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez in the broadcast booth to chat about a handful of topics. Among them was Martínez mentioning that he had offered his services to work with José Berríos during the off-season…

Shulman: “You had a chance to talk before the game to John Schneider and Don Mattingly, who’s now the bench coach for the Blue Jays. What was that conversation about?”

Martínez: “We were touching on a few different subjects and one name that came up, since he’s so similar to me, was José Berríos.

I told them about some of the things that I see from the otuside, from being an analyst with MLB Network and TBS. I’m keeping an eye on these kids, and believe it or not, Carlos Beltrán told me [Berríos] needs help and I think you can help him. So I offered myself, during the off-season, if he was open to do whatever he wants to do.

I enjoy teaching, passing the baton to the next guy. I think Berríos is one of those guys, just like the guy on the mound today for Detroit [Eduardo Rodriguez], I took under my wings in Boston, and he did really well… [Berríos] is full of talent as well. I would love to do the same thing with Berríos.”

Martínez made his big-league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a 20-year-old in 1992 but blossomed into a star after being traded to the Expos in exchange for Delino DeShields a few years later. He pitched 18 seasons with the Dodgers, Expos, Red Sox, Mets, and Phillies and won three Cy Young Awards, made eight All-Star appearances, and won the World Series in 2004. Martínez was inducted into Cooperstown on his first ballot in 2015.

Berríos is off to a rough start this season following the worst performance of his big-league career in 2022. Through two starts, Berríos has logged just 9 2/3 innings and he’s allowed 12 earned runs on 15 hits and three walks while striking out 12. Berríos ERA last season over 32 starts was 5.23, well down from the 4.04 ERA he had for his career coming into the season.

ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO