Why Blue Jays may be slow playing deadline acquisition Shane Bieber's rehab process

When Toronto Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins acquired Shane Bieber in a deadline day deal with the Cleveland Guardians, it was with one goal in mind - Bieber is supposed to pitch in a World Series game for Toronto.

That's no pressure at all for a guy who hasn't pitched in the Majors Leagues in over a year! Bieber, who won the 2020 Cy Young award, has been rehabbing all season, coming off of Tommy John surgery. He got into some minor league games last month and has also had one outing for Toronto's Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons.

Bieber went six innings, struck out six hitters and had his average fastball velocity sitting at 93 MPH. All great signs for a guy that could be a staff ace for a team with big time playoff aspirations. The sooner he can get to the big leagues the better for all involved.

However, a recent post on X (formerly Twitter) by Blue Jays report Shi Davedi, hinted their may be more at play with Bieber than the results showed in Buffalo.

The timeline suggests that Bieber will start again this weekend and will then get another start at Triple-A after that. If they put him in on a normal four days of rest, that third start wouldn't come until August 14 at the earliest and if the term "go from there" means bringing Bieber to the big leagues, he could make his Blue Jays debut on Tuesday, August 19 against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

The Blue Jays have a relatively soft spot in the schedule at that point with the Pirates, the Marlins and the Twins as the opponents, and it wouldn't be out of the question for Toronto to want to "ease" Bieber back into MLB action.

While it's never easy to win at this level, those are three teams whose offenses shouldn't exactly scare anyone, especially a team who is leading the AL East. Although, the Marlins did just recently sweep the Yankees.

The Blue Jays could not only be setting Bieber up for his best chance of success in the big leagues by playing non-playoff teams, but they could also be trying to massage this relationship as best they can in the hopes that Bieber will not only be pitching in the 2025 World Series for Toronto, but maybe making an Opening Day start for the defending champs in 2026.

Bieber has an opt-out at the end of this year and at 30-years-old he has every right to be looking for a pay raise on his $16 million option. If things go well from now until the end of the season, he would be among one of the most sought-after pitchers on the market, with some of the other high-end names being Dylan Cease, and Framber Valdez. With Bieber's track record and a strong finish to 2025, he will be hitting the market at a good time.

However, the Blue Jays are in a position to showcase themselves over the next two and a half months as the place Bieber will want to spend more time in. Similar to what they did after trading for José Berrios in 2021, the Blue Jays could be trying to get ahead of the curve, sign Bieber to an extension before he gets to free agency and lock down a crucial rotation piece for the next few years.

There's also a chance they just don't feel comfortable with where he is at physically. As Ken Rosenthal recently reported, "His command, velocity, and stamina will all be under the microscope in the coming weeks. And given the limited window before the postseason, there won’t be much room for setbacks or struggles."

Rosenthal likens this to the Marlins bringing back Sandy Alcantara from Tommy John surgery this season and the former Cy Young award winner has struggled in 2025, with Rosenthal pointing out that Bieber’s return would be an even shorter timeline, at just 16 months.

For the Blue Jays, going to extra lengths to make sure Bieber is well set up for the stretch run will not only help build on the positive mutual feelings between Bieber and the front office, but could be the best case scenario for their goals as an organization.