The right-hander is slated for an injured list stint at the start of the season, but how long will it last?
With less than two weeks to go until the start of the regular season, it's known that Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Shane Bieber will start the campaign on the injured list.
Bieber returned from Tommy John surgery in the second half of 2025 to help the Blue Jays get to the World Series, but he's been set back in spring training by some forearm fatigue. According to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, the Blue Jays will hope to have him on a mound in a week. He's going to continue a regular throwing schedule up until then.
Bieber opted in to the final year of his contract over the offseason, which some people found surprising. He went 4-2 in seven regular season starts for the Blue Jays, pitching to a 3.57 ERA. He was 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 18.2 playoff innings.
About Bieber
Now 30 years old, Bieber is an eight-year veteran of the Cleveland Guardians and Blue Jays. The Cy Young winner in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he's 66-34 lifetime with a 3.24 ERA. He is a two-time All-Star who won a career-high 15 games in 2019.
About the Toronto rotation
With Bieber on the shelf at the start of the year, the Blue Jays will likely use Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce and Max Scherzer in the rotation. The team is planning to slowly build up Yesavage, which means we could see him piggyback with the likes of Jose Berrios or Eric Lauer. Both pitchers have been pushed from the rotation with the signings of Cease, Scherzer and Ponce.
In other Blue Jays news
--Multiple members of the Blue Jays will play this weekend in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Dominican Republic will play against Korea on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. ET. Former Blue Jays ace Hyun-Jin Ryu will start that game for Korea. Beyond Guerrero, Ernie Clement and the Americans will play against Adam Macko and Canada at 8:00 p.m. ET. Kazuma Okamoto and the Japanese team will take on Venezuela (Andres Gimenez) on Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. ET.
--Speaking of Americans and the WBC, Blue Jays reliever Tyler Rogers has been added to the roster for the quarterfinal round. He'll give manager Mark DeRosa some more options out of the bullpen as the tournament continues to progress. He signed a three-year deal with the Blue Jays this past offseason.
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