The Toronto Blue Jays acquired Shane Bieber in a trade Thursday with the Cleveland Guardians, betting that the former Cy Young Award winner will be able to quickly bounce back from injury rehabilitation.
The first-place Blue Jays sent right-handed pitching prospect Khal Stephen, a second-round draft pick from Mississippi State, to the Guardians in the trade, which was announced Thursday.
Bieber won the American League Cy Young in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and was consistently one of the league’s best starting pitchers before suffering a season-ending elbow injury after two starts in 2024. He re-signed with the Guardians in the offseason for a $10 million salary in 2025 and a $16 million player option in 2026.
Bieber, 30, has not pitched in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2024 but has made three minor league rehab starts in recent weeks. The right-hander worked four innings in his most recent outing Tuesday with Double-A Akron, striking out seven on 57 pitches, and was expected to rejoin Cleveland’s rotation at some point in August.
The Blue Jays now have a very deep rotation, with Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Eric Lauer, Jose Berrios and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, in a year in which they have surged to the top of the American League East standings. If Bieber comes back to be anything close to what he was with the Guardians, he could be a high-end option for Game 1, 2 or 3 of a playoff series.
There is no financial adjustment to Thursday’s trade, sources said, with Toronto taking on the remainder of what is owed to Bieber for the rest of his deal.
Bieber is 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA over parts of seven seasons with the Guardians. The two-time All-Star is the second pitching acquisition this week for the Blue Jays, who also brought in hard-throwing reliever Seranthony Dominguez in a trade Tuesday with the Baltimore Orioles.
The Blue Jays, who entered Thursday with a four-game lead over the New York Yankees atop the AL East, have a team ERA of 4.27, the ninth worst in the majors.
Stephen has had a promising season, compiling a 2.36 ERA in 18 appearances that include 17 starts.
Rival executives told ESPN that, in recent days, the Guardians — who lost star closer Emmanuel Clase to an MLB investigation earlier this week — have signaled they are ready to trade away players. Outfielder Steven Kwan also may be on the move before MLB’s trade deadline at 6 p.m. ET Thursday.
