Bieber on health, recovery: Blue Jays take cautious approach

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At ease, fans, Shane Bieber and the Blue Jays have a plan to get their star pitcher healthy for the long MLB season.

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Bieber spoke Wednesday in Dunedin, Fla., about the status of his forearm fatigue and the likelihood that he won’t be ready for Opening Day.

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“You want to know, and you want to have a date in mind, but they do a good job of trying to keep me week to week,” Bieber told The Canadian Press in the clubhouse of the Blue Jays’ Player Development Centre. “Ultimately, I’m just going to bed every night feeling happy that I feel good within my progression. We’re going to take it slow and be smart.

“It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish, and we definitely know that, judging from last year. I know this group’s hungry. I’m extremely hungry, and I can’t wait to get back there.”

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said on Tuesday that Bieber will be brought along slowly during spring training and should join the rotation early in the season.

Not ready for Opening Day?

The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon reported that Bieber is playing catch as part of his long-toss progression. That indicates he is behind his fellow pitchers and explains the slow approach the team is taking with him.

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When the Blue Jays acquired Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians last season, the 2020 Cy Young Award winner was coming off Tommy John surgery. He made seven starts for the Blue Jays, earning a 4-2 record with a 3.57 ERA over 40.1 innings. He then pitched 18.2 more innings in the Blue Jays’ run to the World Series.

Bieber was expected to opt out of his player option and hit free agency in the off-season. In somewhat of a surprise move, he exercised his $16-million player option in November. Some speculated at that time that Bieber wasn’t fully healthy coming off Tommy John surgery and wanted to take the guaranteed money while building up his arm strength before testing free agency again.

The delayed start to Bieber’s season is tough news, given that fellow starter Bowden Francis needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the season. The Blue Jays’ starting pitcher depth still appears to be in good shape behind new front-line starter Dylan Cease, the always reliable Kevin Gausman, Cody Ponce, Eric Lauer, and the often-overlooked Jose Berrios.

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Berrios is back?

Coming off a tough 2025 (9-5, 4.17 ERA) and then leaving the team in the post-season because he wasn’t included on the playoff roster, an opening in the starting rotation seems to be there for Berrios.

On Tuesday at spring training, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins talked about his team’s pitching depth and why they prioritized adding to it in the off-season.

“That’s one of the reasons we acquired Cody, really fortunate to have Eric Lauer in the position that he’s in here, obviously we acquired Dylan Cease and have two incredibly stable starting pitchers coming back in Gaus and Jose,” Atkins told Sportsnet. “Very confident that we’re going to see Shane contributing in a significant portion of our season and feel like our starting point is still in a very solid position.”

Both Atkins and Schneider appear confident Bieber will stay healthy if carefully managed.

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