Browsing: Bieber

TORONTO — Just days into the offseason following their loss in Game 7 of the World Series to the Dodgers, the Blue Jays have already tallied their first win.

Shane Bieber has opted in with the Blue Jays for $16 million in 2026, a source told MLB.comâ€s Mark Feinsand, an unexpected move that immediately boosts a Blue Jays rotation in need. Bieber could have chosen to hit free agency at 30, but by picking up his player option, heâ€ll now have a shot at further re-establishing his value before hitting the open market a year from now.

The club has not confirmed the news.

The former Cy Young Award winner was widely expected to test the market immediately, fresh off Tommy John surgery and his return to the mound with the Blue Jays. After being traded to Toronto by the Guardians on July 31, Bieber put up a 3.57 ERA over seven starts down the stretch, then a 3.86 ERA over five appearances in the postseason.

Speaking after the Blue Jays†Game 7 loss to the Dodgers recently, Bieber was one of many veterans in the Blue Jays†clubhouse to praise the unique culture they had built. Itâ€s what had fellow veteran starter Chris Bassitt, now a free agent himself, saying through tears that he hoped heâ€d get another shot with this group. The 2025 Blue Jays captured something special, and now, Bieber is coming back for more.

“A lot of intangibles. Some things that are difficult to describe,†Bieber said. “The grit. The perseverance. The togetherness. Theyâ€re pulling for one another. Itâ€s not just one guy, thatâ€s the whole clubhouse.â€

Given that Bieber was still on the home stretch of his recovery from Tommy John when the Blue Jays acquired him, itâ€s hard to frame his 2025 season as the “full†version. We certainly saw flashes, perhaps the brightest of them in Game 3 of the ALCS in Seattle, when Bieber sidestepped an early stumble to dominate the Mariners. Itâ€s reasonable to believe that a full offseason and Spring Training will help Bieber, though, bringing a step closer to the pitcher who posted a 2.91 ERA from 2020 to ‘24.

For the Blue Jays, this is some much-needed good news. Frankly, this will be some of the best news they get all offseason. To have Bieber for one more season at just $16 million is a dream come true for the Blue Jays.

Work remains for the Blue Jays†rotation, but the early slots could line up with Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Bieber and José Berríos. 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.

This move also gives the Blue Jays added flexibility elsewhere in the market, but they were already sitting in a position of strength there. Bo Bichette will be the headliner this offseason, but on top of Scherzer and Bassitt, Seranthony Domínguez, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ty France are also free agents. Along with Gausman and Bieber being a year away, George Springer and Daulton Varsho are entering the final years of their deals. Rogers ownership has already shown a commitment to spending, but coming off the World Series run that reignited a love for baseball across Canada, the time has never been better to spend big, both in the short and long term.

This could easily end up being the best one-year pact the Blue Jays have had since Marcus Semien came north for a year in 2021 and launched 45 home runs. Now that the Blue Jays have tasted the biggest stage in baseball, they want to run it back. The news of Bieberâ€s player option is the best start they could have hoped for in early November.

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Right-handed pitcher Shane Bieber opted into his $16 million player option with the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2026 season, choosing to forgo free agency, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

The 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner signed a two-year, $26 million deal with the Cleveland Guardians last winter while he was still rehabbing from elbow surgery. As he was set to return to the big league team following four minor league rehab starts, Cleveland dealt him to Toronto at the trade deadline for prospect right-hander Khal Stephen. Stephen was later ranked by ESPN as the 60th-best prospect in baseball.

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Bieber made seven starts in the 2025 regular season for Toronto, posting a 3.57 ERA. He then made five postseason appearances, including winning Game 4 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Bieber’s performance this year was in line with his previous seven campaigns, all with Cleveland, including gaining some fastball velocity (up to 92.7 mph on average) to return almost all the way back to what it was in 2021 (92.9 mph).

For his career, Bieber, a two-time All-Star, has a 66-34 record in 141 starts with a 3.24 ERA and 995 strikeouts. He won the Cy Young Award in the 60-game 2020 season, when he finished with an 8-1 record, a league-low 1.63 ERA and AL-best 122 strikeouts.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel contributed to this report.

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TORONTO — Six months ago, Trey Yesavage made his professional debut in Single-A, where sparse crowds scatter themselves through the stadiums recently abandoned by the buzz of Spring Training.

Saturday morning in Toronto, the 22-year-old climbed the steps of the Blue Jays†press conference room, then looked out to see a crowd that could rival his Dunedin debut. A stunning season of development — and five teams — have led him here.

Yesavage is the Blue Jays†Game 2 starter in the ALDS, manager John Schneider announced. The 22-year-old who has shot through the organization like a rocket ship isnâ€t just here to tag along. Heâ€s here to beat the damn Yankees.

“I canâ€t really repeat what he said,†Schneider said, laughing to himself. “But he was very excited.â€

Thereâ€s an edge to Yesavage, one that hides behind the well-mannered rookie who gets right to the point in his interviews, short and sweet. Heâ€s incredibly confident, but manages to remain subtle about it. Perhaps itâ€s because of how matter-of-fact he is about things.

Baseball is complicated. Players coming up today are already drastically different than those from a decade ago, given how much player development has changed — and in some ways accelerated — but there still comes a point where a player is thrown into the deep end. Sink-or-swim time comes for everyone, and the more you complicate an already complicated game, the less likely you are to stay above water.

Yesavage makes this all sound so simple. When he was promoted, the final step after playing for all four Minor League affiliates in 2025, he deadpanned that there are 5-year-olds who play baseball. Heâ€s 22. Heâ€d be just fine.

Sitting there Saturday, all of the cameras and another room of unfamiliar faces looking at him, Yesavage didnâ€t blink.

“Iâ€m built for this,†Yesavage said.

With Yesavage pitching Game 2 at home, Schneider said that part of the strategy is to keep the rookie away from Yankee Stadium, which can quickly become a “hostile†environment. Yesavage is surely built for The Bronx, too, but even the fastest-rising prospect in baseball needs to pace himself.

“I’ve experienced a lot this year. This is my fifth team I’ve been with. I’ve met the entire organization,†Yesavage said. “But being here in this spot, I couldn’t have drawn it up any better.â€

By pitching Game 2, Yesavage could also come back around in a bullpen role for a potential Game 5, if the Blue Jays need, but thatâ€s a conversation for down the road. The Blue Jays already enter the ALDS with the advantage of setting their rotation fresh with the Yankees coming from the Wild Card Series and have to feel confident with Shane Bieber, the former Cy Young Award winner, leading them into New York for Game 3.

The coming days will tell the real story, but the plans have been laid exactly as the Blue Jays wanted them. This has all been allowed by the progress of Yesavage, who has already flashed dominance and earned the respect of teammates for his demeanor just as much as his big fastball and baffling splitter.

“He seems unfazed by a lot of things,†said George Springer, who knows October as well as anyone on this roster. “I think he’s outwardly calm, and I think that perception for him, it does a lot for us. You would expect somebody to appear nervous, but he doesn’t. And I think that just shows who he is as a player, who he is as a human being.â€

Yesavage is a long way from where he started. Heâ€s a long way from facing the Jupiter Hammerheads, Lakeland Flying Tigers and the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels.

Heâ€s finally where he belongs, not at one of the many stops along the way, living out of suitcases in another hotel with an uncertain check-out date. The Blue Jays just keep betting on him, though, and they havenâ€t been wrong yet.

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Aug 25, 2025, 02:00 PM ETNews flash: A Cy Young Award winner and two-time, top-15 overall fantasy point scorer, was…