How a questionable move at trade deadline may have just saved the Blue Jays season

Honestly, who though Shane Bieber would do what he did against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night? The Toronto Blue Jays got the start they needed from their hired gun and picked up a necessary win in Game 3 of the ALCS.

Bieber went six solid innings while striking out eight, and giving up just two earned runs on four hits. Thanks to that effort from Bieber, the Blue Jays now trail 2-1 in the best-of-seven series as they beat the Mariners 13-4.

How a questionable move at trade deadline may have just saved the Blue Jays season

Biebers performance could be looked at as a minor miracle considering his previous outing was less than stellar. In his first start in a postseason game in a Blue Jay uniform, Bieber only lasted five outs in Game 3 of the ALDS at Yankee Stadium in a game that New York would go on to win 9-6. While Bieber was only tagged for the two earned runs, he wasn't locating the ball well and needed 54 pitches just to get those five outs.

It's also a minor miracle that Bieber is in this position at all, considering where he was at the end of July. Coming off Tommy John Surgery, Bieber had just started his rehab stint and was playing in Cleveland's minor league system when the trade deadline rolled around. The Guardians were also eight games behind the Tigers in the AL Central and 3.5 games back in the Wild Card race.

Of all the pitchers that got moved at the deadline, Bieber seemed like the most unlikely. The injury, the uncertainty in what he could bring to a big league club in 2025, his potential to opt out of his contract, and the fact that Cleveland didn't really feel like a team that was ready to move on from their ace.

But Toronto GM Ross Atkins made them an offer they couldn't refuse by dangling an intriguing prospect in Khal Stephen. Stephen started the season in Single-A and had pitched well enough to move up to Double-A before the trade, racking up 99 strikeouts in 91 innings.

Cleveland took the bait, and they may end up with a long term piece that contributes in their next window of contention as the 22-year-old Stephen has plenty of time to develop. But Cleveland also won their division, stealing it away from the Tigers right at the end of the season and could have used a pitcher like Bieber as they bowed out in two games in the Wild Card series to those Tigers.

Instead of the Guardians utilizing their one-time ace to get by the opening round of the MLB Playoffs, they are sitting on the sidelines watching said ace carve up the Mariners in Game 3 of the ALCS for the Blue Jays.

It didn't look like it was going to be a great outing for Bieber. He gave up a two-run home run to Julio Rodriguez in the bottom of the first to put Toronto in the hole. But he immediately bounced back, striking out Josh Naylor and getting out of the inning.

From there Bieber dominated. He struck out the side in the second, faced four batters in the third, got a three-up-three-down inning in the fourth and had another four batter inning in the fifth, which ended with Bieber punching out Cal Raleigh to end the frame. Bieber then had a three-up-three-down inning to end his night in the sixth before turning things over to the bullpen with the Blue Jays ahead 12-2.

While there is still plenty of work to do for the Blue Jays to achieve their ultimate goal, Bieber's performance on Wednesday night may stand out as the best trade Atkins has made in his entire tenure as the Blue Jays GM.