Ex-GM says this Blue Jays deal was the steal of the 2025 MLB trade deadline

At the 2025 MLB trade deadline more than 50 trade transactions took place, making for one of the wildest and busiest deadlines in recent memory. Among them included some big-time overpay in prospect capital by the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres to secure key bullpen arms for their roster.

But on the other end of the spectrum, it appears as though the Toronto Blue Jays may have done even better than expected with one of their deadline moves. Former MLB GM Jim Bowden of The Athletic believed that the Blue Jays acquisition of elite starter Shane Bieber was the best trade of the 2025 MLB trade deadline (subscription required). He even went so far as to claiming it as a “steal” of a deal.

Ex-GM says this Blue Jays deal was the steal of the 2025 MLB trade deadline

Bieber is a former CY Young winner who also finished in the top 10 Cy Young voting three times, along with being a two-time All-Star. Over his seven-year MLB career to date, the star right-hander has posted a strong 62-32 record with a 3.22 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, along with just 188 walks and 958 strikeouts in 843 total innings pitched. Bowden cites these credentials as one of the reasons why he likes this trade so much for Toronto.

While Bieber may have undergone Tommy John surgery last season, that shouldn’t take anything away from the potential impact and value he could provide down the stretch. As history has shown, many elite pitchers have come back just as strong or sometimes even better following TJ surgery, including recent notables Garrett Crochet, Jacob deGrom, Chris Sale and Zack Wheeler.

More shockingly, for someone of Bieber’s caliber, the Blue Jays didn’t even need to offer their top pitching or positional prospects to get the deal done. All Toronto had to give up was a breakout pitching prospect in Khal Stephen, who has shone during his time in Single-A and High-A with the Jays organization, but was just getting started in Double-A.

To top it all off, as Bowden indicated, Bieber has looked “spectacular” in his rehab starts, giving great optimism that the Jays are getting “prime Bieber” when he makes it back to the majors. If that is indeed the case, look for the talented 30-year-old to be the ace the Blue Jays have needed to go on a deep playoff run.