TORONTO — Shane Bieber turned into more than just a deadline rental for the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday after the former Cy Young Award winner decided to forgo free agency, exercising his $16-million player option for 2026, according to two industry sources.
The decision is somewhat surprising after Bieber, acquired from Cleveland on July 31 for righty pitching prospect Khal Stephen, made a strong return from Tommy John surgery over the season’s final two months that seemed to position him well for the open market.
In seven starts, he posted a 3.57 ERA in 40.1 innings, and he then appeared in five post-season contests, four starts, pitching the Blue Jays to important wins in Game 3 of the ALCS against Seattle (six innings, two runs, eight strikeouts) and Game 4 of the World Series (5.1 innings, one run, three strikeouts), while also coming out of the bullpen for the 11th inning of Game 7, when Will Smith homered.
After the gutting finale, the impact his limited time with the Blue Jays made on him was clear when he described the team as “a really, really special group” and added that, “I’m very grateful to be a part of it.”
“This group is unlike any that I’ve ever been a part of,” he continued later. “That’s a sentiment we all kind of share personally. That’s very clear. There’s a lot of love in this room.”
In picking up the option, Bieber also dramatically changes a Blue Jays rotation picture that had been in flux due to some internal expectation that he’d test the market, as well as the free agencies of Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer.
He joins a mix that also includes ace Kevin Gausman, who is entering the final season of his $110-million, five-year contract; Jose Berrios, who finished the season on the injured list with right elbow inflammation; rookie Trey Yesavage, who provided a sensational late-season boost but may require some workload guardrails next season; swingman Eric Lauer, who helped stabilize the staff when he came up at the end of April and made 15 starts among his 28 appearances; and Bowden Francis, who broke camp in the rotation but hit the IL in June with a right shoulder impingement and didn’t fully get right until October.
Prospect Ricky Tiedemann could work himself back into the mix after spending this year recovering from Tommy John surgery, while other depth options in the organization include Easton Lucas, Lazaro Estrada and Adam Macko. Another interesting wild-card is Angel Bastardo, a 2024 Rule 5 pick who spent this year on the IL recovering from Tommy John and must accumulate 90 days of active service time in order to remain with the organization.
Bieber gives the Blue Jays a top-end option to bolster a rotation that needs to be a strength again next year as they try to defend their AL East title, and is still expected to be an area of focus for the club this off-season.