Former Twins ace Jose Berrios watching old team celebrate is heartbreaking

Blue Jays ace Jose Berrios didn't deserve to lose Game 2 of the AL wild card series against the Minnesota Twins. John Schneider did.

But that's beside the point as Berrios was forced to watch his former team celebrate on the field after the Twins booked a ticket to the division series.

Berrios spent six good seasons in Minnesota and had the kind of feel-good story that's shown in movies: the Puerto Rican ace was drafted by the Twins back in 2012 and worked his way up to become a reliable starter in the rotation, earning two All-Stars in the process.

This year, Berrios returned to Target Field carrying feelings of nostalgia for the organization that took a chance on him all those years ago while also hoping to rain on the Twins' parade. As the named starter for Game 2, he started off blazing-hot and was lights out for the first three innings.

Then, the Blue Jays shot themselves in the foot. Manager John Schneider made the controversial call to pull Berrios in the fourth inning and not let him go through a second time through the order. Schneider's plan backfired when Barrios' replacement, Yusei Kikuchi, immediately allowed two runs on two hits, one of which was an RBI single to Carlos Correa.

The Blue Jays would go on to lose 2-0, and after the early exit, Barrios lingered in the dugout and was pictured watching his former team celebrate their first playoff series victory in 21 years.

This picture of Blue Jays ace Jose Berrios will break your heart

Brutal. Just absolutely brutal.

Toronto gave Berrios a seven-year, $131 million contract that will run through 2028 just so that the star pitcher, who was cooking in a must-win matchup, could get yanked in the most important game of his career. Make it make sense.

Guided by analytics, Schneider was likely trying to manage -- or rather, overmanage -- Berrios' workload. That potentially game-deciding moment was simply not the right time to do so.

This was a redemption season for Berrios, too. The 29-year-old bounced back in 2023 with a 3.65 ERA to quell Blue Jays fans' worries about his monster extension. The way he played and conducted himself during and after the playoff loss also endeared him to the city of Toronto. As for Schneider's actions? It'll be a full-on witch hunt.

The Blue Jays will face another long and hard winter perhaps filled with personnel changes from top to bottom. In the end, Toronto suffered from more than just Schneider's perplexing decision to pull Berrios, as the club stranded a combined 17 runners over the two games of the series and couldn't get runs when they needed it most.

While the Twins will go on to face the Astros, everybody in the Blue Jays organization -- especially Jose Berrios -- will be reflecting on what could have been.