The Blue Jays are headed into an offseason with plenty to sort out on the mound, and one familiar name is already being pushed toward the exit.
Toronto entered last season with bigger goals after coming within 90 feet of a World Series title the year before, but injuries and underwhelming starts kept John Schneider’s club from reaching the postseason. Missing the American League playoffs stings even more when the league’s path was so open, with the AL West winner finishing 81-81 and the third and final wild-card team, the Chicago White Sox, ending up just six games above .500.
Now the focus shifts to what comes next, especially with a potential lockout looming on December 1 before the normal offseason business gets underway. For the Blue Jays, that means figuring out how to improve the roster once baseball returns, and starting pitching sits near the top of the list.
According to Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report, Toronto could move on from Shane Bieber in free agency this winter. That would line up with the uncertainty surrounding the rotation, which is expected to look different by the time spring training arrives.
Bieber’s season never really found traction. Forearm fatigue kept him out until late June, and after he returned, he made only 11 starts.
He finished 5-2 with a 4.37 ERA in 55.2 innings. His final outing came on August 20, when he worked seven innings and gave up one run on three hits in a 5-1 win over the Rays before another setback followed.
The concern here is obvious: Bieber’s injury history makes him a risky bet. Toronto already has Dylan Cease and Trey Yesavage set to anchor the rotation, and Jose Soriano is back in the mix after arriving at the trade deadline from the Los Angeles Angels when Kevin Gausman was dealt to the Chicago Cubs.
Even with those pieces in place, the Blue Jays still have plenty of questions after Cease, Yesavage and Soriano. Reuter’s prediction suggests Bieber may not be part of the answer, and with the Blue Jays trying to keep pace in a loaded AL East, the club may decide it can’t afford to roll the dice on bringing him back.
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The complication comes if the Blue Jays follow through on a bigger infield-and-outfield shuffle and add players such as Seiya Suzuki and Brandon Lowe. In that kind of setup, Clement could still matter, but his role would likely shrink into more of a utility lane than the everyday run he has carved out, leaving Toronto with a familiar front-office question: how much do you preserve a player like Clement when the pursuit of higher-end talent starts changing the shape of the lineup? [Read more 🡒]