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Looks like Shane Bieber does not want to stay with the Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays acquired Shane Bieber at the traded deadline who seems like he will just end up being a rental according to recent reports.
The Blue Jays completed a few trades at the trade deadline including acquiring Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for Khal Stephens.
Shane Bieber is expected to decline his player option in 2026
Toronto gave up quite a bit for Bieber since Khal Stephens was one of their top prospects but many saw it as worth it since Bieber will likely be able to step in and become the Blue Jays top starting pitcher.
The issue with the trade is that Bieber has a player option worth $16 million heading into the 2026 season and many expect him to decline his player option which would make him a free agent once again.
Bieber is also widely expected to decline his 2026 player option, which includes a $4 million buyout. As usual, the Guardians have saved some payroll for the future, but that only becomes a positive if it's used. -Lewis
If Bieber ends up struggling once returning for the Blue Jays, this is the one situation where Bieber might end up accepting the option as he would likely get less than $16 million per season on the open market.
It seems that a big reason the Guardians ended up trading him is due to his current injury plus the fact that no matter where he was, he planned on declining his player option.
The buyout for Bieber's contract would is $4 million which means Toronto will have to pay that if he ends up declining his option in the off-season.
Even though this move had a lot of risk involved, this was clearly the right play by Ross Atkins and the Blue Jays as they needed to take some risks to make a real push for the World Series.
Since Bieber is still recovering from surgery, many fans are very excited to see how he ends up pitching after almost two full years off.
Source: Akron Beacon Journal
Grading Shane Bieber trade from Guardians to Blue Jays for Khal Stephen
Grading Shane Bieber trade from Guardians to Blue Jays for Khal Stephen
| POLL | ||
AOUT 1 | 302 ANSWERS Looks like Shane Bieber does not want to stay with the Toronto Blue Jays Will Shane Bieber end up declining his player option? | ||
| Yes | 198 | 65.6 % |
| No | 104 | 34.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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