Shane Bieber's implosion may have just warped Blue Jays' trade deadline plans

Shane Bieber has had to battle a lot this season, from sitting out the first few months with an elbow injury to a whole lot of rust in his first few starts upon returning to the Toronto Blue Jays. Thankfully, the All-Star Break proved to be the remedy to his troubles, as the right-hander began the second half with two excellent starts, allowing just one run across 13 innings.

All was going according to plan, as Bieber's trade value was on the upswing and the front office looked set to capitalize. He entered his July 28 start against the Nationals with nothing but good vibes, knowing that it was likely to be the last of his Blue Jays tenure.

Then, disaster struck. Bieber completely imploded, allowing four runs in two-thirds of an inning, while his command completely betrayed him He walked 67% of the hitters he faced, setting a franchise record in the process.

It's safe to say that contending clubs won't be terribly interested in a pitcher who can only find the strike zone on 15 of his 42 pitches. With his next start not schedule until Aug. 3 (just after the trade deadline passes), it now falls on Blue Jays' GM Ross Atkins to convince buyers that this start was nothing more than an aberration.

Blue Jays need to readjust expectations for Shane Bieber's trade market after disastrous start

The good news is that there's no report of an injury or any setbacks; it appears that Bieber truly just lost the zone from the moment he took the mound. The bad news is that he might have just done serious damage to the front office's chances of completely retooling ahead of the 2027 season.

The 31-year-old has now walked 18 batters (against 22 strikeouts) in his 31.1 innings this year. In five of his seven starts, he's walked multiple batters. In one of the other two, he allowed four runs in less than four innings of work.

That's the profile of a wholly unreliable pitcher, one who just reopened the door to a lot of questions after a nice two-start stretch at the onset of the second half. Add on the fact that he's a rental playing on a $16 million salary, and you've got a recipe for a player whose trade value is sinking at the wrong time.

Because of how few sellers there are this summer -- not to mention the excessive and universal need for pitching among contenders -- there will be a market for Bieber. But if the Blue Jays were hoping to get a haul for him and planning their deadline strategy around his burgeoning stock, this latest start may force the front office to reassess those plans.

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