As the Toronto Blue Jays were led in Opening Day by Kevin Gausman, another pitcher on its staff that fans have been wondering about is Shane Bieber, as he continues to deal with an elbow issue. While the Blue Jays pitcher in Bieber didn't have a timeline to return before Opening Day, he will take a major step in his recovery.

According to Arden Zwelling, Bieber is “expected to pitch off a mound for the first time this spring sometime next week,” as he has been throwing off flat ground during spring training. The elbow designation appears to be fluid, as he was originally listed as having “forearm fatigue” by manager John Schneider after an MRI was done on Bieber in the offseason.

Either way, the news of him pitching off a mound is huge, as he had been throwing balls on flat surfaces, which Zwelling reported, along with Schenider saying that Bieber has been “hitting every benchmark.”

“Shane Bieber (forearm) continues to throw from flat ground at Blue Jays camp,” Zwelling wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on March 19.

“He’s progressing well, feeling good, hitting every benchmark he needs to hit. Not putting a timeline on it, but we’re looking at hopefully touching the mound here fairly soon,” Schneider said.

At any rate, Bieber made seven starts for Toronto last season in helping them to a reach the World Series, though he had to recover then as well as the 30-year-old had returned from Tommy John surgery. He would record a 3.57 ERA to go along with 37 strikeouts and a 4-2 record in 40.1 innings pitched.

It remains to be seen when the former Cy Young-winner will come back and pitch for the Blue Jays as the 2026 season is underway.