The Toronto Blue Jays are down in Florida to face the Miami Marlins and will have a new face on the mound this evening. Shane Bieber, the right-hander acquired at the trade deadline from the Cleveland Guardians, will be making his Jays debut when he toes the rubber in “The Sunshine State”.

Bieber has been on the shelf since last April, with the veteran hurler landing on the IL and eventually undergoing Tommy John surgery. At the time of the trade, Bieber was beginning the rehab process in the Guardians’ farm system and continued that trek once he landed with the Jays.

The 30-year-old has made three starts in Triple-A Buffalo up to this point, allowing four earned runs through 17 2/3 innings off of 15 hits and two walks. Bieber struck out 16 batters in that time and authored a 0.962 WHIP through his limited time with the Bisons. Through his seven rehab appearences split between the two organizations and multiple levels in the minors, Bieber authored a 1.86 ERA and racked up 37 punchouts through 29 innings. Bieber is touching 93-94 MPH down in Buffalo and is mixing his slider and changeup well.

One of the main reasons the Blue Jays picked up Bieber was because of his potential impact down the stretch.

Toronto’s rotation has seen its fair share of ebbs and flows this season. If Bieber is healthy upon his return and can find his previous form, the right-hander will likely be a go-to arm for the squad as October baseball comes into focus.

Injuries have affected the veteran’s arm over the years, but his track record remains solid. He owns a 3.22 ERA and a 3.09 FIP through 843 innings since 2018, authoring a 1.115 WHIP and a 10.2 K/9. He’s kept control of the free passes (2.0 BB/9) and earned the AL Cy Young Award in 2020 when he posted a 3.2 bWAR with a 1.63 ERA and 122 strikeouts through 12 starts during the abbreviated season. While he struggled in his first postseason outing in 2020, he bounced back with the Guardians in 2022 in the AL Wild Card and the Division Series, striking out 15 batters while allowing just three earned runs through 13 1/3 innings.

While he could hit the free agent market this winter (he has a player option worth $16 million), the advantage he brings to Toronto’s rotation is the upside if he can find that previous form. It’s a gamble that he becomes the dominant form post Tommy John, but the Jays front office thought it was worth sending prospect pitcher Khal Stephen to try and bolster the starting rotation with postseason aspirations on the horizon.

In a perfect scenario, he provides the same results as Hyun Jin Ryu did in 2023 when he returned from his injury (3.46 ERA and 38 strikeouts through 52 innings) and gives the rotation some length as the season winds down. A bonus would be that he exercises that player option is around next season as well, although that’s not a guarantee at this point.

Bieber will make his debut against the Marlins tonight at LoanDepot Park, facing a Marlins squad that has lost seven of their last ten games and sits seven games below .500.