As Shane Bieber was stupendous in his Toronto Blue Jays debut on Friday night against the Miami Marlins, it is another instance of the team stamping their current dominance in the AL East. While Bieber's first impression on the Blue Jays was exceptional, former player Dan Plesac would call out other teams on social media, including the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
After not pitching in the MLB for over 500 days, Bieber would have an effective stat line, pitching six innings, striking out nine batters, while allowing only one run, two hits, and earning his first win of the season. Plesac would take to X, formerly Twitter, and say that Bieber's outing is not good for New York and Boston, who are trying to catch up to Toronto in the standings.
“Not good news for the [Yankees] or [Red Sox],” Plesac wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Shane Bieber looks tremendous tonight in his [Blue Jays] debut in Miami debut in Miami … [through] 5IP … sharp, looks healthy, and his off-speed arsenal is mid-season like …. 7K’s w/NO BB’s [through] 5IP … the Jays may have won the trade deadline. Jays lead 3-1 going T6.”
Not good news for the @Yankees or @RedSox …… Shane Bieber looks tremendous tonight in his @BlueJays debut in Miami … thru 5IP … sharp, looks healthy and his off speed arsenal is mid season like …. 7K’s w/NO BB’s thru 5IP … the Jays may have won the trade deadline. Jays lead… pic.twitter.com/ccgULYLPP9
— Dan Plesac (@Plesac19) August 23, 2025
With Toronto having acquired Bieber last month, the MLB Network analyst would go as far as to say that the team “won” the trade deadline
“The [Blue Jays] WON the trade deadline. Good night to all,” Plesac wrote.
Shane Bieber speaks on Blue Jays debut
It was no doubt an emotional game for the Blue Jays pitcher, who looked true to form, almost akin to his 2020 campaign when he won the AL Cy Young award with the Cleveland Guardians. Despite the long recovery process, there seemed to be not much of an adjustment period for Bieber, saying everything “felt very familiar,” according to MLB.com.
“I was able to fall into a nice little rhythm pretty early tonight, and that’s a big part of pitching, especially for me,” Bieber said. “It felt very familiar. I was happy with how everything felt. It didn’t feel foreign whatsoever.”
“I’m very happy with how tonight went,” Bieber continued. “It’s been a long road. I’m happy to continue to build off how I was 16 months ago. I feel like I’m continuing to get better. A lot of positive signs. It’s just a matter of continuing to put one foot in front of the other and building.”
At any rate, Toronto is 75-54, first in the AL East, while the Red Sox are second at 70-59 and New York at third with a 69-59 record as of Saturday morning.
