Shane Bieber opting into Blue Jays contract makes a lot more sense after injury update

When the Toronto Blue Jays officially opened up their offseason following their World Series defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, many Blue Jays fans were shocked to see Shane Bieber quickly jump at the chance of opting into his contract to stay another season with Toronto. After all, as a former Cy Young award winner and one of the best in the business for quite some time now, Bieber would have likely landed a massive deal in free agency had he opted out of his deal instead.

However, after hearing about his latest injury update, everything ultimately makes a lot more sense now. Apparently, Bieber currently has forearm fatigue, as per Mitch Bannon, and will need to delay his ramp-up activities this spring, putting the start of his regular season with the Blue Jays in jeopardy. In other words, the 30-year-old right-hander is still likely not at 100% after recovering from his Tommy John surgery that took place almost two years ago.

Shane Bieber opting into Blue Jays contract makes a lot more sense after injury update

Yes, Bieber eventually made his valiant return to the majors last season after he was dealt by the Cleveland Guardians to the Blue Jays at the trade deadline during his rehab. In doing so, he posted a 4-2 record with a 3.57 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, along with 37 strikeouts in 40.1 innings over seven starts down the stretch for Toronto. Those were certainly solid numbers, but he clearly wasn’t overly-dominating by striking out more than a batter per inning, which he has done in the past.

Moreover, when playoff time hit, Bieber actually struggled a bit, failing to go more than four innings in two of the four postseason starts that he made. Not to mention, as much as Isiah Kiner-Falefa appeared to be the scapegoat for Game 7 of the World Series, it was a slightly ineffective Bieber that ultimately gave up what turned out to be the series winning home run to Will Smith of the Dodgers. So there were warning signs that Bieber wasn’t totally at his absolute best at the time, but was doing all that he could to give the Blue Jays the best chances at winning.

Consequently, it all makes sense that Bieber likely wasn’t going to expect a prospective team to invest huge dollars and years in him if he wasn’t totally 100% ready to deliver the goods. With some proper load management, he can build back up his strength and stamina with the Blue Jays this year, then aim to head back into the free agent market at full value upon the conclusion of the 2026 season. 

As a result, all of this could mean both good and bad news for Toronto. The good news is due to his current ailment, the Blue Jays would get his elite services for another season to give them another chance at a World Series title.

The bad news is no one will know when Bieber will officially get over his arm fatigue and whether it will be a worrisome recurring issue over the course of the season. Nevertheless, for someone with potential Cy Young-calibre level of pitching, it is a risk that the Blue Jays needed to and had chosen to take.