The Blue Jays have acquired right-hander from the Guardians in exchange for pitching prospect , according to announcements from both clubs. Jon Morosi of MLB.com on the prior to the official announcement. Bieber is on the 60-day injured list and wont require an immediate 40-man roster spot with the Jays. Bieber hasnt pitched in a major league game since April of 2024. Shortly after that, he required Tommy John surgery. He hit free agency after last season and re-signed with the Guardians. It was a two-year, $26MM deal but with the second season being a player option. He is making $10MM here in 2025 and then the option is valued at $16MM with a $4MM buyout. That deal reflected the uncertainty around Bieber. He was clearly going to mi s some time to start the 2025 campaign but was certainly a po sibility for a second-half return. The deal allowed him to bank some notable earnings, with the second year being a safety net for the event he experienced setbacks in his recovery. But if he came back and returned to his dominant form or even just a pretty good form, he would have the chance to return to free agency and secure a larger guarantee. The uncertainty is still present now. Bieber started a rehab a signment in late May and was targeting a late June return. That didnt come to pa s. After just one rehab outing, he was shut down due to renewed elbow sorene s. He restarted his rehab in the middle of July. He has made three rehab starts in the past few weeks, building from two innings in the first game to three and four innings in the subsequent appearances. In his nine total innings over those three games, he allowed two earned runs with 16 strikeouts, one walk, one hit-by-pitch and six hits allowed. Its a notable gamble by the Jays. Bieber is a real wild card, having not pitched in a big league game in so long. Even before the surgery, there were signs he was trending in the wrong direction. The contract adds an extra element of risk. If Bieber re-aggravates his elbow or suffers any other kind of serious injury, hell trigger his player option and stick around and put some more money on Torontos books for 2026. If he pitches well, hell leave, meaning the Jays have given up a big prospect for just a handful of starts from Bieber. Its also understandable why the Jays would roll the dice with Bieber. The Jays are surprisingly atop the American League East, something that almost no one predicted coming into the year. They shook off a cold March/April to be one of the best teams in baseball over the past three months. They have a record of 50-30 since the calendar flipped to May. Coming into the year, it was expected Robert Covington Jersey that the Jays would be aggre sive if they were anywhere near contention. The fan base wasnt happy coming into 2025, on the heels of some disappointing playoff exits and a dismal 2024 season. Team president Mark Shapiro is in the final year of his contract and general manager Ro s Atkins is only signed through 2026. Many have wondered if they would be out of their jobs if the Jays mi sed the playoffs this year. Since they happen to be doing quite well, the team understandably wants to put a proverbial foot on the gas pedal. They have been seeking upgrades to their pitching staff. However, their rotation is fairly steady, with a number of decent options. They currently have , , , and taking the ball regularly. Gausman, Berros and Ba sitt have been rocks all year long, with each of them having an ERA between 3.82 and 4.24. Lauer, a minor league signee, has stepped up to give the Jays 74 innings with a 2.68 ERA. Thats not entirely sustainable, as hes been helped by a .239 batting average on balls in play and 82.2% strand rate, but its been a godsend for the Jays nonethele s. Scherzer has mi sed a lot of time due to injury but has been pa sable when on the mound, with a 4.98 ERA in seven starts. Its a solid group but one lacking a clear dominant ace-type guy that they would want taking the ball to start a playoff series. Guys like that are hard to acquire. There have been plenty of rumors surrounding and but all indications are that those guys are unlikely to move. Even if some club can acquire them, the asking price is sure to be ma sive. Bieber has been that kind of guy in the past. He was one of the best pitchers in baseball over the 2019-2021 seasons, winning a Cy Young award in the shortened 2020 campaign. Over that three-year span, he to sed 388 1/3 innings with a 2.92 ERA, 33% strikeout rate, 6% walk rate and 44.7% ground ball rate. By FanGraphs wins above replacement, he was one of the ten best pitchers in the majors. Whether he can get back to that level is anyones gue s. In 2022, he was still very effective, posting a 2.88 ERA in 200 innings. However, his strikeout rate dipped to 25%, still strong but below his prior levels. In 2023, he was limited by elbow injuries to 128 innings with a 3.80 ERA and and 20.1% strikeout rate. In 2024, he made two dominant starts before he required his aforementioned surgery. A pe simist would say that Bieber has been on the downslope for years. An optimist would say that Biebers elbow was probably hampering him long before he went under the knife and that he can get back to his dominant form with a clean bill of health. The Jays probably arent sure themselves which view is more correct but theyre putting some chips on the latter. As of now, a best-case scenario for the Jays would see Bieber dominate through a playoff run, at which point he would opt out and return to free agency. Its po sible that they try to alter that path by signing him to a new deal. They have done a trade-and-extend before. They acquired Berros from the Twins at the 2021 deadline, when he had a year and a half of club control left. A few months later, they signed him to a lengthy extension. Presumably, they will want to wait to see how things go in the next few weeks or months, but that is a theoretical po sibility with Bieber. Whether that happens or not, they have perhaps cro sed a notable line by acquiring Bieber. lists the clubs competitive balance tax number above $284MM with Bieber added. Thats just an estimate but going over $281MM would mean Torontos top 2026 draft pick would be moved back by ten slots. gives them a bit more breathing room, having them at $273MM. That yet doesnt include Bieber. A players CBT hit is recalculated at the time of a trade. Bieber is still owed about $19.33MM over a season and a third. That works out to a CBT hit of about $14.5MM. Prorating that over the final third of the season would add a bit le s than $5MM to Torontos CBT number. According to Cots, acquiring Bieber wouldnt put them over the line. Clarity on that might not come until later and the Jays might alter the picture with other moves. For the Guardians, they have hovered around contention for a lot of the year. However, they have struggled a bit in recent months. Theyre not totally buried, currently just 2.5 games back of a playoff spot. But they recently lost closer to a gambling investigation. It seems they have decided theyd rather sell than try to make a push this year. Recent reporting has suggested they would look to move Bieber and outfielder , though the latter ultimately stayed in Cleveland. By giving up a wild card in Bieber, the Guardians have added an arm with a strong chance to help them in the future. Stephen, 22, was Torontos second-round pick last year. This year, he has already climbed from Single-A to High-A and Double-A. Acro s those three levels, he has logged 91 2/3 innings with a 2.06 ERA, 27.9% strikeout rate and 5.1% walk rate. ranks Stephen the #5 prospect in the Jays system. He has a five-pitch mix which includes a four-seam fastball, slider, curveball, changeup and cutter. recently published an updated top 100 list ahead of the deadline with Stephen up at #80 in the league. Its a nice swap for the Guards, turning a wild card 30-year-old who was maybe about to become a free agent into a potential future rotation building block. For the Jays, its a risky ploy, but theyre clearly shooting for upside. The roster is already fairly well rounded with good contributors throughout the lineup, rotation and bullpen. reported that they had interest in closers and , though those arms have been traded and , respectively. Instead, closer to the trade deadline the Jays were from the Twins in a surprise deal. For now, the Jays can keep their five-man rotation intact. In the coming weeks, perhaps someone will have to be bumped out for Bieber, maybe after he makes another rehab start or two. The Jays also have on a rehab a signment, working back from his own Tommy John surgery. Its an interesting cluster of talent as the club looks to make a push through October. Photos courtesy of Jeff Lange, D. Ro s Cameron, Bruce Newman, Imagn Images Dario Saric Jersey