Blue Jays Trade Deadline Acquisition Prepares for Huge Spring Training
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When the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Shane Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline last summer, it was a surprising move, but it made one of the top rotations in the American League that much deeper. Maybe the biggest surprise of the move being made was that the right-hander was coming off Tommy John surgery and had not made a start in 2025.
Bieber ended up starting seven games for the Blue Jays following the deal, going 4-2 in 40.1 innings with a 3.57 ERA. He had a 37 to 7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in the regular season. When it came to the postseason and Toronto's run to the World Series, Bieber made five appearances and four starts.
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Following the season, Bieber opted to exercise his $16 million player option after the World Series to return to the Blue Jays in 2026. As spring training begins this week and pitchers and catchers get ready for their first workouts, all eyes will be on Bieber to see how he returns from an offseason where he reportedly entered it with some forearm fatigue, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com.
Blue Jays Need a Healthy Shane Bieber in Spring Training
Matheson was breaking down Toronto's logjam in the starting rotation and where José Berríos fits in after the Blue Jays signed Dylan Cease in free agency. Manager John Schneider will have to figure out where all the pieces will fit in the rotation. When Bieber's name came up, there was something that fans should keep an eye on, according to Matheson.
"Speaking of Berríos and the rotation jam … Bieber reportedly dealt with some forearm fatigue at the end of 2025. That’s not terribly alarming just yet, given that Bieber was coming off a long rehab from Tommy John surgery, but it’s absolutely worth monitoring this spring. If Bieber is throwing his normal bullpens in the early days, exhale and carry on. If anything is delayed or slowed, this gets interesting,'' wrote Matheson.
There is no doubt that when you have a pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery and then he has arm fatigue, that begins to raise some red flags. However, if Bieber faces any setbacks, Schneider has options to plug into his rotation to begin the season. The addition of Cease gives the Blue Jays one of, if not the top, rotations in the American League East.
The first couple of weeks will go a long way toward determining how Bieber's arm is feeling. If there are no setbacks, it's full steam ahead with workouts. Toronto lost Bo Bichette over the winter, but they loaded up with pitching and it wouldn't be surprising to see them take a cautious approach with Bieber at the beginning of the long haul of a 162-game season.
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Scott Roche has covered both college and professional sports for nearly three decades for various outlets. Scott has covered the MLB, NHL, and college sports and he is someone always looking for a good rumor, no matter which sport it is.