Blue Jays pay heavy price for former Cy Young winner in stunning trade with Guardians

Ross Atkins is wide awake ahead of the MLB trade deadline and has just made a splash for a starting pitcher. Per reports early Thursday, Atkins acquired Shane Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for Khal Stephen. This is the second pitcher Toronto has snagged this week, and the first new member of their rotation.

Bieber has been a great pitcher in his career, winning a Cy Young and a pitching triple crown back in 2020. He is also a two-time All-Star, but has also sat on the injured list in 2025. He is finally healthy and just had a productive rehab outing in Double-A, tossing four innings while allowing three hits, one earned run, and striking out seven. Once he is up to the big leagues, he will boost this rotation tremendously, but who he'll replace remains the mystery.

The Blue Jays cannot put Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, or Jose Berrios in the bullpen. It would be tough to put Max Scherzer there too, along with Eric Lauer, who has arguably been their best starter. Does Bieber become a long reliever to limit innings? There are so many questions about what role he will have, and they luckily have time with his rehab to figure it out.

Bieber's last season where he pitched a good chunk of innings came in 2023, where he posted a 3.80 ERA with a 3.87 FIP and a 7.52 K/9. He has the stuff, but staying healthy has been his problem.

Blue Jays shake up starting rotation depth with Shane Bieber acquisition from Guardians.

In return, the Blue Jays give up another top prospect in Stephen. MLB Pipeline had the 2024 second-rounder as the fifth-best prospect in the organization after his incredible start to the season. He has posted a 2.06 ERA with a 2.66 FIP and 9.72 K/9 this season. That's a big loss to this farm system that also lost a key prospect in Juaron Watts-Brown in the Seranthony Dominguez trade.

Bieber will likely be a free agent after this season, but there is a chance he stays with Toronto, given his injury history, if he finds it comfortable down the stretch. He has a player option for 2026, and since he has not thrown many innings since 2023, he may want to take the guaranteed spot. This looks like a great pickup for the Blue Jays and his debut will be very exciting for the playoff push.