Shane Bieber has surprisingly exercised his $16MM option to remain with the Blue Jays, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He’s passing on a $4MM buyout, so he’ll pick up an extra $12MM to remain in Toronto for a second season.
The decision removes one of the better starting pitchers from the free agent market. Bieber was midway through a Tommy John rehab when he hit free agency for the first time in his career last offseason. He re-signed with the Guardians, then the only organization he’d known, on a two-year deal that allowed him to opt out after season one. Bieber was on a minor league rehab assignment when the trade deadline rolled around. Cleveland, then believing they were out of contention, traded him to Toronto for pitching prospect Khal Stephen.
The Blue Jays made one of the more fascinating risk-reward decisions of the deadline. They surrendered a legitimate prospect for a potential rental starter who hadn’t pitched in an MLB game in more than 14 months. It worked out well, as Bieber returned as the #3 caliber starter he had been with the Guards in 2023. He made seven regular season starts and turned in a 3.57 earned run average across 40 1/3 innings. Bieber fanned an above-average 23.3% of opposing hitters against an excellent 4.4% walk rate.
Bieber added another 18 2/3 frames over five postseason appearances. He pitched pretty well overall, allowing nine runs (eight earned) with 18 punchouts against six free passes. Bieber did surrender three playoff home runs, including the World Series-deciding Will Smith longball in extra innings of Game 7. It ended in disappointment, but Bieber was effective for the Jays both in the regular season and October.
That seemingly positioned him well for a return free agent trip this winter. Bieber turns 31 in May. While he’s unlikely to recapture the ace form that earned him the Cy Young in the shortened season, he’d certainly have gotten plenty of interest as a mid-rotation starter who is still relatively young for a free agent. A nine-figure deal didn’t seem entirely out of the question. At the very least, he looked set for a higher average annual value on a two- or three-year deal that allowed him to opt out after the first season if he wanted to return to the market following a full 2026 campaign.
More to come.
