Addition of Shane Bieber Could Be Game-Changer for Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have been residing in first place in the American League East for quite some time now, and their mindset has to be to start thinking about October.

It has been a great stretch for the Blue Jays, who overcame a sluggish start to the season and are now one of the best teams in the AL.

With Toronto seeking playoff success, they were expecting to be active at the trade deadline, and that was certainly the case.

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The Blue Jays made a couple of notable moves, with a focus on improving their bullpen. They were able to accomplish that starting with the addition of Seranthony Dominguez and Louis Varland.

Both of these pitchers are going to be improving the bullpen for Toronto, and that unit being good in October will be key to their success. In addition to those two, they also added some infield depth with Ty France.

While bolstering the bullpen was important, the Blue Jays also took a bit of a risk with the addition of a former AL Cy Young award winner.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the addition of Shane Bieber potentially being a game-changer for the Blue Jays in the second half of the year.

“He hasn't pitched in the bigs yet this season, but we know what he used to be capable of. Also, getting traded at the deadline before playing a game didn't do much of anything to keep Tommy Edman from impacting a World Series run last year.”

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While there is some concern about Bieber since he hasn’t pitched in nearly two years in the Majors, he does provide Toronto with some upside that other options at the trade deadline likely couldn’t.

Bieber is going to be making his first rehab start as a member of the Blue Jays on Sunday, but this will be his fifth start overall.

So far, he has performed extremely well during the rehab assignment, and that should provide some optimism that he will be able to make an impact right away.

As shown with Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins, who is also a former Cy Young award winner, not every pitcher comes back from Tommy John and finds success right away.

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Depending on how the rehab continues to go, Bieber could be back with the Blue Jays soon to try to improve their starting rotation. If the right-hander can find his groove right away, he could be a Game 1 starter for Toronto in a potential playoff series.

Overall, even though the price to acquire him might have been steep, a healthy Bieber is a game-changer for the Blue Jays.

For more Blue Jays news, head over to Blue Jays On SI.