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The AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays swung for the fences with a trade deadline deal that landed the team Shane Bieber. The move was risky as the former Cleveland Guardians ace hasn’t pitched in over a year while recovering from Tommy John surgery. But the Blue Jays envision Bieber helping the team win this season and in the future.
When asked how Toronto felt about the veteran righty remaining with the team beyond 2025, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins expressed excitement. “We’re open. We are obviously extremely interested, or we wouldn’t have given up such a significant piece. But for now, we’re just focused on the impact this year,” Atkins said, per MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson.
Ultimately, the Blue Jays added Bieber with the hope of winning a championship. And Atkins acknowledged that the best case scenario after the trade would be “That he’s pitching in a World Series for us. And starting a game or two and is effective throughout those.”
Blue Jays envision Shane Bieber leading the rotation in 2026
While he hasn’t yet had a chance to pitch in a World Series, Bieber has been effective throughout his career. After debuting with Cleveland in 2018, Bieber dominated over the next four seasons. He won the Cy Young Award in 2020 and completed the pitching Triple Crown that year as well.
However, Bieber’s career took a major hit when he underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery in April 2024. He made just two starts that season and has yet to return to a major league mound.
Bieber’s road to recovery has been rocky. After beginning a rehab assignment, he suffered a setback in May and needed to be shut down due to discomfort in his surgically repaired elbow. But Bieber persevered and restarted the recovery process in July.
A strong rehab start with the Akron RubberDucks earlier this week convinced Toronto that Bieber would return to his pre-surgery form.
The Blue Jays got hot at the end of June. The team swept the New York Yankees and took the lead in the AL East during a 10-game winning streak. Toronto kept up its hot streak in July, going 19-4 and running its division lead up to 6.5 games.
However, the Blue Jays closed out the month losing four of their last five matchups. Conversely, the Yankees won four of their last five contests, dropping Toronto’s AL East lead to 3.5 games at the beginning of August.
