Shane Bieber opting in on Tuesday had to be incredibly welcome news for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Bieber could have been in line for a hefty payday in free agency this winter, but we’ll never know that answer for sure. He exercised his $16 million player option, part of his one-year contract that was originally signed with the Cleveland Guardians, to pitch his first full season after returning from Tommy John surgery in August.
Adding Bieber back to the mix, especially at such an affordable price and without a long-term commitment, is a huge boon to the defending American League champions’ offseason plans. But it also sounds as if Blue Jays fans can rest assured that more help is on the way.
On Tuesday, after news of Bieber’s opt-in broke, Blue Jays beat writer Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reported that the Blue Jays not only still expect to sign more starting pitching this winter, but should be targeting long-term commitments to offset Bieber’s one-year guarantee.
“Work remains for the Blue Jays’ rotation, but the early slots could line up with Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Bieber and José Berríos,” Matheson wrote. “(Chris) Bassitt and Max Scherzer are free agents now, but the Blue Jays are still expected to address the rotation aggressively, leaving Bowden Francis, No. 6 prospect Gage Stanifer and others to compete for depth roles.
“Keep in mind that both Gausman and Bieber are free agents at the end of ‘26, so the Blue Jays will be targeting long-term options at the top end of the market, not just stopgaps.”
To Matheson’s point, not much about this Blue Jays rotation is guaranteed beyond next season. Yesavage is still technically a prospect, though he dominated in the postseason and looks to have star potential, and Berríos was left off the postseason roster after a mediocre age-31 season.
Assuming the Blue Jays have the green light from ownership to spend big on free-agent pitching, it wouldn’t be at all a surprise to see them land at least one arm to a contract even larger than the one Bieber would have projected to earn, perhaps even eclipsing the $100 million mark.
We haven’t seen Bieber make 30-plus starts since 2022, but if he does so next year, the Blue Jays are likely to love where their rotation’s numbers end up with the former Cy Young Award winner in tow.
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