Shane Bieber gave the Blue Jays exactly what they were hoping for in 2025: a healthy stretch run after arriving as a rehabbing gamble. But the bigger question was never whether Toronto could squeeze value out of him for one season. It was whether the team would be buying into something stable enough to matter beyond that.
That question has only gotten louder.
Bieber accepted his $16 million player option for 2026 shortly after the World Series, a move that made plenty of sense once his season began with a trip to the injured list. What was supposed to be a week-to-week issue stretched into a months-long absence, and when he finally came back, it took time to find the form he showed in 2025. Just as he was getting there again, he got hurt once more.
When he’s on the mound, Bieber still looks like a useful starter. The issue is that Toronto can’t build around “when healthy” anymore. The Blue Jays need pitchers they can actually count on for 2027.
There was at least a brief moment after Toronto kept him at the 2026 trade deadline when Bieber looked like the kind of arm worth keeping around. His best outing as a Blue Jay came on August 20, when he threw seven shoutout innings against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, struck out seven, and allowed only three hits to the eventual American League East champions. In the start before that, he held the New York Yankees to one run over six innings.
Then came the injury list again, and Bieber never pitched another inning for Toronto. At that point, the pattern was hard to ignore.
Since the beginning of 2023, he has thrown 236 regular-season innings, which is roughly 20 more than Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins has logged this year alone. Alcantara is a vintage workhorse, and even that comparison underlines how rarely Bieber has been able to stay available every fifth day.
That makes him a reasonable target only for a team with a surplus of rotation depth. The Blue Jays are not in that category.
As things stand, Toronto only has Dylan Cease, José Soriano, and Trey Yesavage as trustable arms projected for the 2027 rotation. Cody Ponce was already a question mark and is now coming off a season-ending leg injury.
José Berríos is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and has been in decline for several years. This is a staff that needs innings, and it needs them from someone sturdier than Bieber.
Ross Atkins has done well with proven starters on the open market, and the Blue Jays should have choices if they’re willing to spend. A reunion with Gausman would make sense as a stabilizing fourth arm behind the top three, while his Chicago Cubs teammate Shota Imanaga could also fit as the left-handed option Toronto needs.
The free-agent class isn’t loaded, but there are paths forward if the Blue Jays are aggressive. What they can’t afford is betting again on Bieber’s health. For a team trying to line up its 2027 rotation, that’s a risk too big to take.
In Other News...
Josh Donaldson Just Turned Blue Jays Fans Against Vladdy Again
Josh Donaldson is back in the Blue Jays conversation for the kind of reason that always gets attention in Toronto: he had something pointed to say about Vladimir Guerrero Jr. On the Get It Done League podcast, Donaldson weighed in on Guerreros 2026 season and made it clear he does not view the slugger as a $500 million player, framing the debate around Guerreros recent production and the expectations that come with his name.
For Blue Jays fans, the critique lands in a familiar place because Guerrero is still judged not just on what he does, but on what he is supposed to become. Donaldson pointed to the home run totals and argued Guerrero looks more like a line-drive hitter than a true power bat, which only sharpens the ongoing discussion about his overall value and where he fits among the games highest-paid stars. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Suddenly Have A Pitching Battle Worth Watching
The Blue Jays found real value in the Rule 5 Draft with Spencer Miles, who quickly grew into an important part of the pitching mix and gave the organization a reminder that help does not always have to come from outside. Now, with 2027 in view, Toronto is staring at a deeper internal competition than it has had in a while, with several arms in the system making a case for major-league roles.
Dylan Cease, Jos Soriano and Trey Yesavage are among the names in that conversation, and the Blue Jays still plan to scout the Rule 5 Draft for another possible bargain. Even so, the bigger picture points toward Toronto leaning more heavily on what it already has in house, while leaving room for a free-agent relief addition or two if the market lines up the right way. [Read more 🡒]
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Now Has To Win Blue Jays Fans Back
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. spent the final homestand doing what he could to smooth over a rough public stretch, apologizing to fans and teammates for comments he made about his contract and the level of support around him. Before the Blue Jays opened that home stand, he said he regretted the remarks and promised to keep working to live up to the kind of deal that comes with a massive spotlight.
Guerrero also pointed to his fathers advice as part of what pushed him to address it directly, a reminder that the episode has become as much about image and trust as it is about baseball. For Toronto, the larger question now is whether the apology is the start of a reset or just the first step in a longer effort to win back a fan base that expects more from its biggest star. [Read more 🡒]