The Toronto Blue Jays made a bold move to acquire former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline.
Bieber can be a legit No. 1 starter for the Blue Jays, but he’s rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, so it’s a high-risk, high-reward deal. However, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins felt confident in Bieber’s health and his fit for the team.
“(Bieber’s) a really good fit for us,” said Atkins. “We have some staff members that know Shane well, and you know, we do a lot of work on understanding every player in the game, but we felt like we had a little more insight into him.
“So, a really good fit from a teammate, from a character and just a drive and competitiveness standpoint, also where he is from a rehab standpoint. He fits very well with our already solid five-man rotation. Any good baseball team needs depth and options, and we added that.”
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Bieber has already made four rehab starts, and Atkins says he will be in Toronto on August 1 to discuss next steps. But, Atkins is confident Bieber is on the right track and will be back in the majors soon.
“Obviously, the guy has performed very well and on really big stages, has been the best pitcher in the game at certain points, so that was important to us,” Atkins said. “We’re going to take it one start at a time. He just made a rehab start, and he’ll make another one in the coming days.”
Atkins isn’t sure if Bieber will be able to get to his Cy Young self this season, but he is confident he will be an important pitcher for the Blue Jays.
Bieber is earning $10 million this season and has a $16 million player option for next year. But, Atkins is hopeful Bieber will re-sign with Toronto and be a long-term answer for the rotation.
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