Former Cy Young winner and ace Shane Bieber is headed to the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays in a deal with the rebuilding Cleveland Guardians.Â
Bieber, who is working his way back from April 2024 Tommy John surgery, has made five rehab starts. His most recent outing was Tuesday for Double-A Akron, in which he allowed one run on three hits and struck out seven in four innings. His next rehab start was scheduled for Sunday.
This is a gamble by the Jays, considering that Bieber had his rehab interrupted back in May – he was originally supposed to be back in the majors in June, if all had gone to plan. Instead, his rehab shut down after a single start due to elbow soreness, and did not resume until July 15.Â
With that in mind, this trade is more about what Bieber could potentially bring to Toronto’s postseason roster than its regular season one: if Bieber returns to the majors and fully shakes the rust off by the time October rolls around, then the Jays’ rotation would have a major upgrade on its hands.Â
Bieber had spent his entire career in Cleveland, including winning the AL Cy Young Award in 2020. He has a career record of 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA and 958 strikeouts in 136 games, with 134 starts since his debut in 2018.
He agreed to a one-year, $14 million contract last fall with a $16 million player option for 2026, so this trade also represents a potential rental for Toronto. Of course, if Bieber opts out of the deal, that means he’s shown himself to be healthy and productive enough to gamble on himself on the open market; Toronto would likely take that trade, too.
Cleveland is getting right-hander Khal Stephen from the Blue Jays in return. The 22-year old Stephen has a combined record of 9-1 with a 2.06 ERA in 18 games, with 17 starts, in the Blue Jays’ farm system this season. He was a second-round selection (59th overall) by Toronto in the 2024 amateur draft. He made one start for Double-A New Hampshire following his promotion on July 20 before being placed on the injured list with right shoulder impingement.
The Guardians began trade deadline day in second place in the AL Central, nine games behind the Tigers and potentially in the wild-card race, but their moves – they also traded Paul Sewald to the Tigers – signal this has become a spiraling season.
Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase, a three-time All-Star, was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a Major League Baseball investigation into sports betting earlier in the week.
Luis Ortiz also is on non-disciplinary leave through Aug. 31, stemming from an investigation regarding in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by the right-hander that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting integrity firm and forwarded to MLB.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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