DUNEDIN \u2014 Shane Bieber is trying to remind himself that he\u2019s had a longer wait to start a Major League Baseball season before.<\/p>\n
Bieber spoke to the media on Wednesday, a day after the Toronto Blue Jays announced that he would not be ready to start the season as he struggles with forearm fatigue. The star pitcher \u2014 possibly the ace of Toronto\u2019s starting rotation \u2014 missed most of last year as he recovered from Tommy John surgery.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to know, and you want to have a date in mind, but they do a good job of trying to keep me week to week,\u201d said Bieber in the clubhouse of the Blue Jays\u2019 Player Development Centre. \u201cUltimately, I\u2019m just going to bed every night feeling happy that I feel good within my progression. We\u2019re going to take it slow and be smart. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not about how you start, it\u2019s about how you finish, and we definitely know that, judging off the last year. I know this group\u2019s hungry. I\u2019m extremely hungry, and I can\u2019t wait to get back there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bieber started last season on the injured list of the Cleveland Guardians, the team he spent the first seven years of his career with, as he recovered from the operation on his ulnar collateral ligament <\/p>\n
The 2020 Cy Young Award winner was traded by Cleveland to the Blue Jays on July 31 for pitching prospect Khal Stephen. The 30-year-old then made his season debut for Toronto in Miami on Aug. 22. <\/p>\n
He was instrumental in the Blue Jays\u2019 run to the World Series, including taking the loss in Game 7 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/p>\n
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Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in Game 4 of baseball’s World Series, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Brynn Anderson) Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning in Game 4 of baseball’s World Series, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/Brynn Anderson) <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was my first time going through TJ, first time pitching that deep in the post-season, so there were a lot of new elements, right? A lot of new factors,\u201d said Bieber. \u201cLooking back, those are the most intense innings I\u2019ve ever thrown, right? <\/p>\n
\u201cSo it all makes sense, and I\u2019m happy to have a plan going forward and feeling good right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Right now, that plan is just a protracted spring training, taking more time at each stage of a starting pitcher\u2019s usual progression.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all want to be out there and compete and perform. I\u2019ll be competing in my own right, and trying to get back out there ASAP,\u201d said Bieber. \u201cUltimately, I try not to focus on that stuff and the future, but it\u2019s easier said than done, right? <\/p>\n
\u201cWe all know that in our lives, but I\u2019ll try to focus on the here and now, and I\u2019m just feeling good within my progression, and you\u2019ve got to hit every stop along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n