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Shane Bieber set to make Blue Jays debut on Friday
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Photo credit: © Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Aug 18, 2025, 17:45 EDTUpdated: Aug 18, 2025, 17:47 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays’ ace will pitch this week.
It was announced by manager John Schnieder that Shane Bieber will make his Blue Jays debut on Friday in Miami against the Marlins. The ace-calibre pitcher was acquired on the day of the trade deadline for Khal Stephen.
Since the trade, Bieber has made three rehab starts with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, posting a 2.04 ERA and 3.51 FIP in 17.2 innings pitched, with a 24.6 K% and 3.1 BB%. His last outing on Friday saw him go seven scoreless outings, earning a win in the Bisons’ 2-0 victory.
Bieber has the potential to be the front-end of the rotation starter that the Blue Jays have desperately needed this season. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Bieber won the American League Cy Young Award thanks to a 1.63 ERA and 2.07 FIP in 77.1 innings pitched,  with a 41.1 K% and 7.1 BB%. 
He continued his ace-like production with the Cleveland Guardians in 2021 and 2022, posting a 2.97 ERA and 2.92 FIP in 296.2 innings pitched, with a 27.8 K% and 5.8 BB%. Bieber’s 2023 season was injury-filled, as he missed significant time with an elbow injury. When he was able to pitch, Bieber had a 3.80 ERA and 3.87 FIP in 128 innings pitched.
Bieber pitched just 12 innings in 2024, where he didn’t give up a run and struck out 44.4% of the batters he faced. Unfortunately, Bieber went under the knife for Tommy John surgery and hasn’t pitched in a big league game since.
If he can find his 2020-2022 form, that’ll be a huge boost for the Blue Jays. Heading into Monday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, their starters have a 4.38 ERA and 4.64 FIP, the former being tied for 10-worst, and the latter being the fifth-worst in the league. A big reason for that is the longball, something that still plagues the team even as the rotation has improved.
As for other injury news, Anthony Santander will join the team in Miami to continue to ramp up. If he can find his 2024 form, that makes an incredibly dangerous offence even more dangerous. Yimi García doesn’t have much of an update, and Nick Sandlin could pitch from a mound soon enough.
Even with all the injuries, the Blue Jays enter Monday’s game with a 73-52 record, the best record in the American League and the second-best record in MLB. They also have a five-game lead over the Boston Red Sox for the top spot in the American League East.
What an exciting time to be a Blue Jays fan.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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