Shane Bieber has surprisingly exercised his $16MM option to remain with the Blue Jays, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He’s passing on a $4MM buyout, so he’ll pick up an extra $12MM to remain in Toronto for a second season.
The decision removes one of the better starting pitchers from the free agent market. Bieber was midway through a Tommy John rehab when he hit free agency for the first time in his career last offseason. He re-signed with the Guardians, then the only organization he’d known, on a two-year deal that allowed him to opt out after season one. Bieber was on a minor league rehab assignment when the trade deadline rolled around. Cleveland, then believing they were out of contention, traded him to Toronto for pitching prospect Khal Stephen.
The Blue Jays made one of the more fascinating risk-reward decisions of the deadline. They surrendered a legitimate prospect for a potential rental starter who hadn’t pitched in an MLB game in more than 14 months. It worked out well, as Bieber returned as the #3 caliber starter he had been with the Guards in 2023. He made seven regular season starts and turned in a 3.57 earned run average across 40 1/3 innings. Bieber fanned an above-average 23.3% of opposing hitters against an excellent 4.4% walk rate. He looked fully healthy and averaged 92.6 MPH on his four-seam fastball — his best velocity since 2021.
Bieber added another 18 2/3 frames over five postseason appearances. He pitched pretty well overall, allowing nine runs (eight earned) with 18 punchouts against six free passes. Bieber did surrender three playoff home runs, including the World Series-deciding Will Smith longball in extra innings of Game 7. It ended in disappointment, but Bieber was generally effective for the Jays both in the regular season and October.
That seemingly positioned him well for a return free agent trip this winter. Bieber turns 31 in May. While he’s unlikely to recapture the ace form that earned him the AL Cy Young award in the shortened 2020 season, he’d certainly have gotten plenty of interest as a mid-rotation starter who is still young for a free agent. A nine-figure deal didn’t seem entirely out of the question. At the very least, he looked set for a higher average annual value on a two- or three-year guarantee that allowed him to opt out after the first season.
The $12MM difference between the option price and the buyout is well below market value for a pitcher of Bieber’s caliber even if he were determined to take a one-year deal. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, that’s less than Walker Buehler, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Alex Cobb, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano pulled on free agent contracts last winter. It’s a few million dollars above the guarantees signed by Michael Soroka ($9MM) and Michael Lorenzen ($7MM).
Bieber will nevertheless lock that in and try to help the Jays get over the top in 2026 after their heartbreaking near miss. Only his camp knows the specific reasoning behind that decision. Speculatively speaking, it’s possible he’s hopeful of hammering out a longer-term deal with the Jays. He’s clearly comfortable with the city and the organization. However, there hasn’t been any reporting to suggest the sides have opened extension talks, much less made significant progress. That’s not to say it’s impossible that such conversations have taken place behind the scenes, but the option decision is a huge development for the team.
Toronto had been facing the free agent departures of Bieber, Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt in the rotation. They’re balancing their starting pitching needs against their desire to retain Bo Bichette, who could command a $200MM+ contract that makes him the second highest-paid player in the free agent class. Bieber voluntarily locking in a below-market salary to rejoin Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and José Berríos is a major boost. They’ll still look to add at least one more starter, but this could give the Jays more flexibility to make a competitive offer to Bichette and/or upgrade the late innings.
Image courtesy of John Sokolowski, Imagn Images.
The poutine is hard to resist might as well stay.
Did not expect this.
Certainly qualifies as a pleasant surprise. I expect him to be back to full strength or thereabouts next year so there’s a solid top 2 with Gausman.
Top 3 with Yesavage
Yesavage is a big question mark. If a great 8 start finish foretold the following season, Bowden Francis would be the 2025 AL Cy Young (actually Bowden’s stretch was 10 starts, and way more dominant).
Jose Berrios is a proven solid #3 though, despite his recent struggles.
Yesavage is only 21, Bowden was 28.
Francis was an 18th round pick, Trey was a first.
Francis’ elite stretch was a surprise based on his stuff and metrics, Trey’s stretch was only a surprise given his age and his experience, no one was surprised about the stuff
There is a big difference between Francis and Yesavage. No one really expected Francis to be that good. He didn’t have the minor league numbers that Yesavage does either.
Yesavage lead all pitchers last season in swinging strike rate for either the minors or the majors. He also struck out 160 batters in 98 innings in the minors. If you include the majors and the postseason, He struck out 215 batters in 139 innings.
Francis never showed anything close to that kind of dominance.
Yesavage also doesn’t really have any comparables either when you look at the arm slot combined with the drop on the splitter and the arm side run on the slider. It’s going to take a while for batters to adjust to him (assuming they do). With pretty much any other pitcher you can find comps and then just use the approach that you used against them. That’s not really going to be an option for him. Seattle and LA both saw him twice and did much worse in their second game against him
Yesavage climbed all the way up through every minor league level last year and ended the season pitching very well in the World Series. If that’s his best ever outcome, as a 21 year old, I’d be shocked. His stuff looks downright filthy.
His comp is Verlander. Identical arm slot and off speed run.
Verlander doesn’t throw a splitter. That is Yesavage’s most dangerous weapon.
Did I mention splitter? I said off speed run from the arm slot. Yesavage has a pretty deadly slider to lefty’s as well. That’s where he matches with Verlander.
Yesavage only comps to Verlander in that both have extremely high arm slots and release heights. However, Verlander has more of a supination bias, with three pitches that move gloveside, whereas Yesavage is such a pronator that even his slider moves armside, which is extremely rare. He doesn’t throw anything that moves to the gloveside. It’s possible he’ll eventually need a pitch that does, but right now, he’s able to ride on his uniqueness.
You might not have, but I did in my original comment. My point was that there isn’t somebody with his arm slot that has those same pitches.
Yesavage passes the eye test, Francis, like Hoffman, does not. They are not in the discussion.
Trey may struggle but what he brings is not repeatable by others. Is he going to Verlander? Probably not but he will outperform Francis and likely already has and he is 8 years younger.
I thought he pitched well enough to get a decent deal, but maybe the HR numbers would scare some teams. I feel like that’s a blip and he will figure it out.
But he’s likely in line for one last big payday, and if he has a great 2026 he’s in like for a big one.
Yeah, he had a 48.8% ground ball rate and 21.1 HR:FB ratio. But I agree, he’s betting on himself for a big payday. He’d probably get something similar to what Matt Boyd and Frankie Montas got last year in free agency (something like 2 years, $17 million AAV, maybe a player option for a third year).
I would expect him to do better than Frankie Montas. He has a much stronger track record and pitched better than Montas in his platform season.
I would have guessed that he could have at least gotten something like 2/45 or maybe 3/60.
He could’ve easily taken a $20M+ one year contract to bet on himself. And if he had a few more months to make the call, maybe he would. I suspect the timing of when he had to make the decision left him feeling he had unfinished business.
His agent probably isn’t very happy, but sometimes decisions come down to human factors.
I was sure he would test the free gent market after showing signs that he is getting close to being fully recovered. I expect he will only get better in 2026.
He must have enough confidence that he is going to have a big year and hit free agency on a high note. I wish the Sox had been able to get him at the deadline instead of wasting prospects on May.
Hello, this is the Bay Harbor Butcher
I am the one you should least expect
Unless he picked up an injury in the WS, this surprises me.
That’s my thought. This is the only way he guarantees getting paid without having to do a medical, etc. If he’s not injured then this is one hell of a surprise decision.
First thought that came to my mind, also…but still life-changing money for any normal person, so maybe he just likes living in Canada.
Khal Stephen is going to be a beast.
Khal Stephen getting his development finished off in the Guards organization bodes well for
Him.
Wow. Is he hurt?
Great news for the Blue Jays. Could be prelude to a longer extension?
Makes sense. Drake and Bieber have collaborated a few times.
Haha. I remember when some folks thought he was lining things up to demand some kind of record breaking deal and now he’s likely grateful to have a mid-budget 3rd or 4th starter salary he could opt into for one year.
Its very possible he just enjoyed where he was playing, and, believes the team to be his best shot at competing for a ring again next year after the run in 2025.
Good point. They seemed to have great team chemistry and you know they will be competitive next year. While I assumed he would be looking for a multiyear contract to cover himself if he ends up injured again, having a strong season could certainly put him in line for a big contract.
@GAsoxfan
If he enjoyed playing in Toronto, he could have declared FA, and then signed back with them. The only reason to take the option is if he thought they wouldn’t want him back at a higher price.
@stymeedone
That’s my point- guys like Bieber don’t pick up a one year option at a medium salary (relatively speaking) just to be nice or lazy or because they like where they play and don’t want to rock the boat.
They pick up those options as a break in case of emergency fail safe because they either know or are concerned they won’t match or top that salary on the open market and they feel they’ll be in a better position next season or this might be their last chance to get that level of guaranteed money in a single season.
Bieber picked up that option on himself not because he was betting on himself, but because he was betting against himself.
Verlander and Scherzer, both coming of injury shortened seasons, got $15M last off-season on the open market. Bieber’s in a similar spot with a similar track record and production although Verlander and Scherzer are much older.
If Bieber is concerned he can’t make more than $12M on the market he needs to fire his agent. I think he’s staying because he wants to play for a winner.
@Trillion, I’m not trying to be confrontational but you are just wrong. There is no world where Bieber can’t command 12 million on a 1 year deal. You are just not looking at this clearly. It’s obvious that other factors weighed in heavy here. If he opted out there is no guarantee that the jays wouldn’t have moved in a different direction. He clearly loves it there.
If Alex Cobb can get 15 mil off 3 starts, Verlander got around 15 mil going into his age 42 season off a mid year. Are you implying that Bieber could not have gotten 12 mil in a world where Soroka got 9?
@MuleorAstroMule @Patriot12992
The Toronto Blue Jays are not guaranteed to be a winner.in 2026.
This is essentially the same club that was picked to be last or next to last going into 2025. There’s no carryover from their magical season where so much went right. This is not meant to be a criticism of their achievement this year; it’s just the way baseball works.
The Jays have been renowned for their expensive mediocrity for years and it’s hard to see that changing because of an unexpectedly good season. Toronto fans will soon come to realize that 2025 was a massive missed opportunity for a championship.
It’s hard to believe Shane Bieber was deceived by less than two months in Toronto into thinking it was best for him to stay there for the sake of his career. I really don’t buy that at all. As Patriot astutely points out, there was easily more money to be had, had he wanted it.
It makes more sense to think he wants to launch free agency off of a big year where he demonstrates full health and performance, rather than one where he gave up 8 homers in 40 innings and raised his career postseason ERA to over 5. And Toronto is probably as good a place as any to do that. He really doesn’t know anything except CLE and TOR and there are similarities in the character-driven culture each team attempts to build.
K now expand your thinking beyond one year, to 2024 and 2023 where they were picked to win the division and those teams largely flopped. Are those projections worthless now because they don’t support your narrative ?
You wrote a lot of words without saying anything. They will still need to play 162 games next year just like every other team.
You don’t know why beiber made this decision but you saying things like ‘no way he was deceived’ just makes you sound bitter and even less like your opinion means anything at all. Long post tho
For goodness sake, this bunch hadn’t won a postseason game since 2016, but now I’m supposed to accept they’re a sure-fire playoff powerhouse? Spare me the outrage over trying to fairly characterize this franchise’s behavior.
lol absolutely zero people, including myself are calling them a sure fire playoff powerhouse. There is a big gap between that and ‘they are going to finish in last place for sure next year’ your lack of nuance is clear.
You’re projecting because you’re the only one making bold and unrealistic claims. I’m guessing you’re either a b*tthurt mariners or Yankees fan?
The offseason hasn’t even started yet and you’re in here with last years projections about how the jays are going to finish in last next year. lol
Hilarious. I merely pointed out last year’s projections (by models, not people, although people more or less agreed with them) and said nothing basically changed other than this year’s achievement.
I’m neither a Mariners or Yankees fan and I rooted for Toronto to beat the Dodgers and believed they could do it once they got into the World Series. Because that’s baseball.
But it doesn’t translate to the following year. That’s baseball too. And the Jays questionable decision-making will catch up to them as it almost always has over the years. The Jays didn’t all of a sudden get smart. Just a bit more fortunate. This year anyway.
Jays have made the playoffs 4 of the last 5 years with roughly the same core.
I am not sure why you would not take into account them going to the World Series. They are going into next year with positive momentum and a solid team. Who knows what will happen. The odd makers are not ranking the Jays near the top, but they have as good of a chance as anyone.
Not sure why you would completely discount that as a factor for Bieber staying. I agree his ultimate goal is to have a great year and go into free agency with the potential to get a big contract. He could have done the same with a number of other teams as pitchers are always in demand. Not a Jays fan, but I would still be predicting they are going to have a solid year based on this year’s performance.
They had a new hitting coach and changed their offensive philosophy. All of the players bought in and the new offensive identity centered around contact and it worked really well for them. They struck out less than any other team in the majors and had the highest batting average in the majors. In past seasons they were always trying to play for the three-run homer and if it didn’t come they didn’t really score.
The players aren’t going to all of a sudden abandon that approach after it took them to the world series. They also had statistically the best defense in the league and defense doesn’t really slump. Obviously you can have your own opinion that’s different than mine, but I wouldn’t bet against them. I expect them to be more motivated than ever given how things ended.
It’s almost as if sometimes it takes a few shots for a younger team to find its identity and get the experience they need to learn how to win in the playoffs. That can’t possibly be though, because we’ve never seen that before, right?
@Jaysfansince92
That same hitting coach was thrown out of Minnesota for not being able to accomplish what you assert he transformed in Toronto. C’mon.
Let’s get real. There’s a reason there’s never a bidding war for hitting coaches, and they turn over all the time. They don’t make a whit of difference.
Toronto got a last, great gasp of a year from George Springer, an unexpectedly good year from Bo Bichette in his walk year, uncharacteristic years from Clement, Varsho, Straw, and Lukes, and we’re going to attribute that to the coach? Wake me up when it happens again next year.
Not trying to cast aspersions on the Jays ascent, just remind you it’s always easier to fall back down the mountain than climb higher. And don’t fool yourself, the Jays aren’t that “young” or “inexperienced.” This year was not some sort of progression built on learning from past failures. They’re a team of pieces and parts cobbled together without much thought (aside from desperation and having money to spend) and it oddly worked out this year. Let’s see if they can throw more stuff on the wall and do it again.
Avory: The Jays have made the playoffs the three out of the last four seasons. And the season prior to that they won 91 games and somehow missed out. In the last six seasons they have the 8th best record in baseball at 472-398.
This idea that somehow they just fell into winning this season is bonkers. Last season was the outlier and not the other way round.
“Unexpectedly good walk year from Bo”
Bichette wrc+ and war by year since he became full time
2021 – 122/ 4.9
2022 – 129/4.8
2023 – 124/3.9
2024 – 70/0.8
2025 – 134/3.8
You just called 2025 the outlier. Can you understand why no one is taking you seriously when you have opinions that are so easily refuted by facts?
Other than Springer the majority of the core is under 30. It feels like you’ve kind of backed yourself into a conclusion and your unwilling to move on it.
If you think the pieces were all put together without thought you’re wrong. That’s kind of what they were doing before but there’s been focus on defense and contact hitting they didn’t have before.
As far as Popkins goes goes, you’re missing one big part of the equation. The players all have to buy in and you actually have to have the players that are capable of executing the plan. You can’t just send a coach to any team and they’ll immediately be able to do whatever it is he’s preaching. It has to be the right fit.
Are you actually going to sit there and try and tell me that things were all hunky-dory in Blue Jays Nation prior to this year? That 95% of the fans and press didn’t want Shapiro and Atkins shown the door? That the billions spent on the team with no postseason wins since the debacle of 2016 until this year had everyone talking about all the “success” the Jays were having?
THIS year was an outlier. But you’ll only see that with time. Right now you’re basking in the glow of a fantastic season and I get that. The Jays were tremendous theater and I’m appreciative more than you know that they demonstrated character where the Brewers and Phillies sadly could not (if you think I’m criticizing the Jays, you should see my takes on Milwaukee and Philadelphia). The Jays stared down the behemoth, showed that they could be beaten, and if IKF had run through home plate instead of stupidly sliding, they would have, so yeah, I was impressed.
But this is a bloated, poorly constructed roster whose pieces and parts came together to do something quite special. I just know from experience that replicating that is a whole ‘nother thing altogether.
Avery: I gave you numbers and facts. It’s a fact the Jays have made the playoffs 3 of the last four seasons. It’s a fact they have the 8th best record over the last six seasons.
All you brought in return is emotion, opinion, and bluster. And then, condescendingly, you suggest I’m being blinded by “theatre.” My facts aren’t blinded by anything. They can’t be blinded by anything. They’re facts. Your constant rhetoric is tiresome and frankly insulting. All of the realities you try to adorn with manure are measurable, easily laid out, and understandable. A roster that wins that much isn’t bloated (whatever that is supposed to mean as all rosters are the same size) or poorly constructed.
Bring some actual facts and I’ll listen. But don’t dare accuse me for falling for theatre when you’re the one just throwing your feelings and opinions around trying to put on a performance.
You’re not interested in listening or having any perspective, you’re just sensitive to criticism about your team. I get it, I get my back up listening to what I think is unfair criticism of mine. But I’m not insulting your team, merely pointing out that any critique I have of the Blue Jays’ organization is mild compared to what I heard from Blue Jays Nation for a decade leading up to this year. And I seriously doubt the present regime has gotten any smarter.
No it seems you’re the one who doesn’t want to listen to actual facts not “perspective”. How is this team “bloated”? Why do you think this was an anomaly when in actual fact, it was the one bad year that was the anomaly. Maybe open your mind and allow for the possibility that they actually are a good team?
When the people who do the zips predictions and the other similar systems put together their predictions, they most heavily weight the most recent season for a reason. It’s more relevant than what came before.
That being said in the last 5 years the Jays have won 89+ games 4 times. Like the other commenter said, 2024 was the aberration when they played poorly. 1 losing season out of 5 does not in any way make a team a poor performing bloated roster.
2021: 91 wins
2022: 92 wins
2023: 89 wins
2024: 74 wins
2025: 94 wins
The only thing you got correct is that one of those seasons is not like the others, but it definitely is not 2025.
Just for fun I took a look at how many teams have won at least 89 games in four of the last five seasons. Only four teams have done it.
Toronto Blue Jays
Houston Astros
NY Yankees
LA Dodgers
You know what else those four teams have in common? They’ve all been to the World Series in the last 5 years.
@stymeedone
If Bieber didn’t want to subject his arm to a physical, you exercise the option.
He’ll never pay for a Molson ever again!
Classy move
But he gave up the homerun that lost the series? He’ll no, wouldn’t even buy him a Bud Light.
Jeff Hoffman gave up the Series before Bieber.
His mistake pitch deflated his whole team.
Sorry, Bieber is not my whipping boy. Hoffman is.
Not Dominguez as well for you?
All is forgiven now as far as I’m concerned. I’m not putting this on him anyway. They had plenty of chances to end it before that. I’m not going to get too upset at a starter pitching out of the bullpen for the first time in ages and making one bad pitch.
So we are gonna blast the starting pitcher coming in from the bullpen on short rest in a season where he came back from major arm surgery? Got it….
The only person I’m angry with for costing the Jays their ring is Mark Wegner. The players did their best.
Bring back Bo, healthy 30Hr plus Santander , deep lineup with all the other guys , the pen is deep. Sandlin and Garcia will be healthy. Add a real closer and winning lineup
And they’ll still be a .500 team.
You are such a clown … you’re just a snake in the weeds, nothing good to say… Just an ignorant son-of-a-b…
I’m just playing one on TV currently.
Well at least you’re named properly.
Just a couple of games over.500 makes the playoffs anymore, and that’s all it takes to get in the World Series
Why are you assuming they will drop down to a .500 team? I assume the Yankees and hopefully the Red Sox will make some improvements, but that doesn’t take away from the success the Jays had this year and the core players are remaining. I do think Bieber is going to get better as he continues to regain his form. Giving up a home run on short rest is something even great pitchers can do. Any team that goes to 7 games in the World Series needs to get some credit.
Yeah, I think there some special magic in the team chemistry that allowed them to get where they were and may be hard to replicate. The first two months of 2025 were looking to be much the same as 2024 and then some switch was pulled. I could never believe the team had it in them all the way thru the World Series. But I’m probably just a bitter Mariners fan, so what do I know lol.
How did Ohtani look coming back on short rest and recovering from Tommy John? He doesn’t get the flack does he?
I was thinking the same thing. Forgot to mention him.
Huge for the Blue Jays, rotation looks way better now.
Glad he’s staying.
Power of friendship
He’s 30. If 2026 goes well, he’ll be in line for a big payday in a year.
He could have gotten that big pay day today. The SP market is soft, he would be right there and maybe ahead of Cease. Either he wants to stay, in which case he will likely re-sign and make the bank there OR he needs to fire his agent.
Bieber fever continues in Canada!
Is he related to that other Canadian Bieber? Explains why he took the option.
8 hrs in 40 ip?
I mean, it’s Shane Bieber. The HR don’t really suggest long term injury worries so if he’s healthy… he’ll bring that rate down.
Eh, 48.8% ground ball rate, 21.1% HR:FB ratio in less than 50 IP. Does not seem like something awfully concerning.
Likely just small sample size noise.
This is my favorite part..
“Bieber added another 18 2/3 frames over five postseason appearances. He pitched pretty well overall, allowing nine runs”
He hasl 2 very solid starts. He went 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs against the Mariners in one of his starts against them and he went 5.2 giving up only 1 ER against the Dodgers.
I think its a great move for both sides. Im just not that surprised he would want to stay, even with the free 4 million buyout
I wouldn’t go so far as to say surprised per se. He’s had to come back from tommy johns. Obviously the talent and ability is still there. This looks like a good move for both sides in my opinion.
It’s more than a little surprising. He would have gotten a 4 million buyout, so he’s essentially opting in for a 1-year $12 million deal. He could have gotten much more than that on the open market.
I hoping the orioles could snag him. But good for toronto. Solid 2/3 starter. Would not be surprised if hes even better a full year out of surgery
I was hoping he’d opt out and the Sox could get him. He looked good coming back from TJ, another year to rebuild that value and he should get paid next year.
Likewise. IF this is a statement about the larger pitching market—that’d bode really well for the O’s. We just got a good reliever back for nothing and these 2 options decisions really surprised me.
Wow. He could have taken the buyout and beat 1 year/$12M easy
Probably wants another shot with the Blue Jays and get back into the playoffs.
Right but nothing was stopping him
From declining signing with said blue jays.
I’m guessing this is good faith on extension they are working on
My initial thought as well
@Dustyslambchops23
This has to be the other shoe to drop… Right?
Considering the Jays were picked to be last or next to last in AL East this year and nothing has really changed, that’s a pretty questionable decision. But I’ll never berate a player for choosing comfort level over the very last dollar. I just thought he’d surely command a nice guaranteed multi-year deal of some sort that would exceed this. He must feel he’s still capable of getting a monster payday somehow. He’s been playing for one since he reached the majors.
“Nothing has really changed” lol
Nothing has really changed from 2024? I beg to differ lol
@BeenThereDoneIt @Dustyslambchops23
Oh wait…things WILL change: Springer will be 37 and will be far more likely to replicate his pedestrian 2023 and 2024 than his 2025. You’ll get a FULL year of Andres Gimenez’s lousy offense, not just a partial year. Jeff Hoffman will be even worse. Santander will give you a full year of low OBP production as he continues to cheat on fastballs trying to get his slowing bat going in an effort to hit homers. Bo Bichette will be gone. The bullpen will be worse. Ernie Clement has had his career year. You’ll be depending on Trey to start 30+ games as a rookie, and for the durable Berrios to resume being durable despite shoulder woes. There’s talent on this team to be sure, but hasn’t there been overpaid, expensive talent on the team all during the Shapiro-Atkins Era? Guys that Canadian baseball fans were ready to burn at the stake prior to 2025? Last I checked, that “braintrust” is still there.
You’re forgetting.
A full year and seasoning for Barger, Vlad’s regular season was just okay, there’s more there. A full year of Gimenez at short will great defensively, Bo make not leave, getting sandlin and Garcia back will boost the pen, full year of varland, full year of beiber, full year of Santander. Berrios also doesn’t have shoulder issues it was elbow and he was cleared
For as much pessimism you put, there is equal optimism.
Apologies on Berrios, yes, it was elbow inflammation, not the shoulder. Shoulder problems are worse than elbow issues (as long as you don’t lose a year to surgery) but the point still stands, once a durable pitcher starts having issues, he becomes a question mark, especially as much as he’s pitched. But certainly Berrios should be on the plus side of the ledger heading into 2026, along with Bieber, if they remain healthy.
Just remember that Berrios was INCLUDED in the 2025 preseason models as a full year pitcher and the Jays were still considered a lower echelon team. When you say there is equal optimism to pessimism, then you are basically admitting that the Jays are back to 0-0 again, with the same issues and question marks as they had heading into 2025. Just saying this team played better does not mean they GOT better. It was just one of those magical years.
So many players on that team are WAY overpaid, I don’t see how they have room to overpay another player like Bichette. This team is built on a shaky financial foundation, that’s for sure. (Not saying Rogers Communication doesn’t have the money, but all teams budget within their revenue, and ownership will quickly pull the rug out from an overpaid underperforming team like they do anywhere else.)
Who is overpaid on this team? Maybe Gimenez that’s it?
Jays financially are in great shape, they have a rich and engaged ownership and don’t have any long term bad contracts until Vlad turns 35.
They have about 60 mill coming off the books and can continue to expect good contributions from cheap talent like Barger, Lauer, varland and others.
The AL east is wide open and super competitive like it always is, but to suggest the jays will return back to 2024 levels where they struggled with RISP and traded 9 regulars is just as unrealistic as any fan who says they are guaranteed to repeat ‘25
“Maybe” Gimenez? Well, that pretty much sums up how you appraise what overpaid looks like. All of these guys will be overpaid for what they bring to the table in 2026 (in no particular order)-
Gimenez
Santander
Guerrero Jr.
Springer
Hoffman
Bichette (who you say they will bring back)
Varsho
Berrios
Straw
And again, it doesn’t matter how wealthy an ownership group is, they don’t pay out of their pockets for ballplayers; they pay for ballplayers out of revenue the same way every other team does. To the extent the revenue keeps streaming in, sure, they can continue to overpay players. That’s only sustainable if the players perform, though, and that’s the rub.
LOL wow man you suck at this.
Varsho is a 3 war player next year will make 11 mil, that’s your prove point for overpaid? 11 million 1 year deal for one of the best CF in the league? Springer is in the last year of his deal getting paid 24 next year coming off a 5 war season, straw will probably get dfa’d.
None of these are anchors, most are expiring shortly in the next year or two and all of these players outside of Santander provided some level of value last year.
I’m going to stop replying now because you’re just a hater with no facts trying to predict the future, not worth my time. Go jays go.
Unless he is hurt, I don’t get it.
I’m assuming he still has to pass a physical
Do players typically have to take a physical when they exercise an option? I’ve always assumed not, but I’ve never really thought about it. I’ve heard of new contracts and trades being contingent on physicals but never an option.
They don’t have to no. Only new contracts and extensions.
Yeah!
Good story, he’s a Belieber and the hottest Bieber in Ontario or even all of Canada right now.
Not known outside the state of Ontario
Ontario is NOT a STATE… it is, however, the Province of Ontario…
Nice learning lesson!!!
Seems like hes leaving alot of money on the table, makes me wonder if there is something with his health that would make 1/12 less of a discount than it seems from the outside.
@Russell Branyan
Yeah. It’s like I never noticed taking the wrong offramp to Bizarro World today. Then it makes sense. Or Heyman is reporting about the other Bieber?
He’s been smoking too much of that BC Bud.
He has a very strong chance to win here with a huge fanbase compared to medium and small market teams. If Toronto wants to extend him theyll wait until the 2nd half after they see how he performs.
Lol Toronto (Torrana) bused all those fans up from the States. Canadians are only into ice-based sports.
14 comments in 2 minutes…. Zero laughs.
Never change sob, never change
Somebody help me, I’m struggling up here!
I just laughed now if that counts 🤣
It’s actually “Tor-ono”
Keep proving your name choice is appropriate, Iggy …including the bit that disrespects your mother.
If, by chance, that bit is appropriate, at least you have sort of an explanation for the rest
I take it you’re a Jays fan
Stupid. Especially because of the buyout and them not being allowed to QO him if he opts out.
Maybe he just liked it in Toronto?
He could have milked them for more than $12m
And? Not everyone is a greedy pig.
Safe to assume Bieber and his team know more about his earning potential than the general public. 1/12 is a much larger hometown discount than normal, and he wasnt there long, so I wouldnt bet on the hometown discount being the driving factor, but you never know.
very surprising but welcome news. because he was traded mid season, he couldnt be tagged with a QO. so his market would have been robust. the Jays will sign him to a long term deal. win win for both the player and the Jays.
Must really love working for the Jays….
Today’s option decisions make me feel that perhaps the pitching market was overheated last year and we’re in for a price correction on starting pitching.
Flaherty looks really expensive with this decision. I’m hoping that the pitching market has come down from prices last year. That’d make the teams who did not lock in LT deals look pretty great.
We shall see.
Bieber, Gausman, Berrios, Yesavage, and Francis is still a pretty solid rotation and i wouldn’t at all be surprised to see the Jays add another starter
No way in hell Bowden Francis is starting over Eric Lauer. I don’t know that Bowden Francis is even cracking their roster:
Jays could go into the season with that rotation. Adding a guy like Valdez to the top makes it a whole lot better though.
Agreed. Lauer definitely gets first crack. It wouldn’t shock me though if Francis did end up contributing at some point next year. He was fantastic down the stretch in 2024. I can’t help but wonder if he was injured longer than we knew and that’s why he performed so badly this season early on.
If possible I would prefer someone like Ranger Suarez. Valdez seems like a bit of a head case.
I would love Valdez as a lefty but I actually see Cease being an option. The mustache game is strong and fits with the Jays!
“Athletes dont want to play in Toronto”
L
O
L
What a true responsible guy, he thinks he owes Canada a ring.
He believes he can get a bigger payday in a year. He’s betting on himself. Good to see.
@LordD99
That doesn’t make sense. In FA he could have signed a one year deal for 16M (for example), pocketed the 4M buyout for 20M total. Even on the low end deal above he’s walking away from 8M.
Your not wrong. It feels like he just wanted to lock in being on the Blue Jays next year. If you’re going to take a 1-year, prove it deal, you might as well do it somewhere you’re comfortable and have a good shot at winning.
@Jaysfansince92
Sorry, I just can’t buy into the whole “he wanted to come back because he wanted to win argument”. In a post I suggested 16M on a one year would take 8M out of his pocket. However, in a post of yours, you suggested a 20M over 3 would be more inline with market forces. I agree. Which makes it all the more curious because he’s leaving 12M on the table. At best, he doesn’t know how money works. At worst, he’s injured and there’s no way he gets the projected FA contract. I just can’t see a healthy pitcher of his calibre taking 12M when the opportunity for more is available in FA. I think there is more unknown than known in this situation.
He could’ve easily re-upped for a 1/12 (+ 1/12 + $4M vesting player option).
@YankeesBleacherCreature
That would be the floor obviously but with other teams in play that floor looks a long way down. If the Yanks offered him 16 on a one year, he’s walking into the Bronx with 20M in his pocket.
Toronto is also a pretty good place for him to play on a prove it deal. They had the best defense in the league last season. Pretty much all the players who contributed to that are going to be back next season as well. That should bode well for his numbers next season.
Now all they have to do is bring back Bichette and sign a a pinch-running specialist who’s not afraid to take an extra step on his lead and who knows when to run through home plate (or even just slide head first), and they’re golden.
I still can’t believe it.
I think this guy just left $80M on the table, possibly more.
@davemlaw
Yep. Even a one year or a multi year with an opt-out after the first year there’s a bag of cash that won’t be going in his pocket.
Well, not really.
He probably left 8-10 on the table it’s just a 1 year deal. He left years on the table for sure, but it won’t be left on the table if he has a good year
At first glance it seemed like Bieber was missing a huge payday, but the more I thought about it the more it seems like a smart move by Bieber.
He’s only 30. He’s likely got only one big contract opportunity left and better coming off a great age 31 season than a 7 start age 30 season.
So he’s betting on himself and I think it’s a pretty good bet that he’ll get a mega 4-5 year deal after an excellent 30 start season.
He’ll also be playing in front of what was the best defense in the majors last season for an entire year. That’s bound to help his numbers and make him look more attractive to potential suitors next offseason.
Lmao…..no one can fathom it…….bc its not based on analytics or maximizing salary lol, its based on the very real camaderie and friendship these players and their wives developed in this amazing season and the way this organization has treated them…and i believe your jaws will drop further as some of their free agents accept what u would term bekow market offers to return here with a whole countries backing….good on them tbh to recognize how good it is here north of the border
Given how things ended, I wouldn’t be shocked if a lot of them wanted another chance to run it back and change the narrative. Given how quickly he accepted and little time has passed since the world series, I wouldn’t be shocked at all if emotions played a large part in his decision. There’s no way they’ve come to terms with it yet. Especially Bieber, considering he surrendered the go-ahead home run.
Even MLB players aren’t immune to a graduation goggles type situation (for lack of a better term).
Or he’s injured and doesn’t want to have to take a physical to get his money.
That seems pretty unlikely given how well he pitched during the postseason.
Yesavage
Gausman
Berrios
Bieber
Lauer
That’s what it looks like right now
Maybe sign Valdez
Everyone is shocked that he might have stayed because he’s happy there and didn’t want to have to go through FA bs this winter! After being injured for 2 years he probably wanted to have a normal offseason where he could relax and just work on his pitching.
I am shocked so many people on here think this was some shrewd decision on Bieber’s part to make himself *more* money or that he was purely being loyal to the Blue Jays.
He had a bad year in 2025 and that $16M option was a fail safe if he fell apart- which he did, so he activated the fail safe option.
As others pointed out, if he had opted out, if he could have easily beaten $12M on the open market plus the $4M buy out, he would have- including simply just negotiating with the Blue Jays exclusively.
So this was because he did *not* have faith in himself to beat $16M on the open market.
Fell apart? What are you talking about? His numbers were solid. There were predictions as high as 25 million a year on a multi-year deal if he opted for free agency. Your assertion that he wouldn’t have been able to do better than this on the open market seems way off.
We’re not talking about Justin Bieber. Its Shane! Former Cy Young winner.
He only needed to make $12M on the open market because of the $4M buyout.
Morton, Verlander, and Scherzer all got $15M+ coming off bad or injury ridden (or both) seasons and are all much older than Bieber.
What a clown post. You really have no idea what you’re talking about or you’re just baiting. None of what you said is even remotely accurate.
He had a 4 million dollar buy out. So he would have had to beat 1 year deal worth 12 million to break even.
He was worth more than that while recovering from TJ and worth a top prospect when he was close to ready. His value hasn’t dropped since.
Everything in your post is 100% wrong.
TTO keeps proving that the “money” isn’t his!
Seems to me picking up the option is only part of the story. Whether he gets an extension or took the money as insurance against an undisclosed injury or for some other reason, Shane made the Jays his choice and I, for one, am celebrating that fact until I have reason not to.
He’s pretty loyal. Probably wants to avoid free agency given his injury situation, and wants to return to get back to pitching. If he can continue play more games. Play another 12 more years, he at least has a shot at the hall of fame.
Hall of Fame? What the heck are you talking about?
I’m still expecting a move for one of the top free agent pitchers this year. I wonder if this almost forces them to try and dump Berrios off somewhere. I feel much more confident with Lauer rounding out the rotation than I would with Berrios.
I feel more confident in Berrios making 30 starts next year than Lauer. I’m happy to have both. The Dodgers this year were the ultimate proof that you can never have too many starting pitchers. And if you don’t have a bunch of great starting pitching prospects in the minors, you’d better collect some spares on the free agent market. Bassitt, Berrios and Gausman have spoiled Jays fans into forgetting just how common rotation injuries are.
Wow,
What a stroke of luck for the Jays. Getting Bieber at that price gives the Jays a lot more financial flexibility to chase one of the top of the rotation starters on the market this winter.
We know that pretty much all the guys on the Jays said it was the most fun season they had. Maybe this is proof of that.
He has to be worried about taking a physical, no other way this makes sense.
This may also have to do with the uncertainty around the upcoming labor negotiations which may get nasty and cause a belt tightening on the part of the owners this season.
Probably a good faith kind of move. They’re probably discussing an extension. Dude would easily clear 1 year/$12M if he wanted ($4M buyout)
The author of this article said he pitched pretty well in the playoffs but he actually pitched really bad in the playoffs. Eight earned runs in 18 innings in the playoffs is pretty bad. The first thing I thought of was I wonder if he’s injured again? No I don’t have any inside medical information but it just makes you wonder.
@CLNC
Lotsa medicals if he goes to FA.
No-I know and that’s why a lot of people think he’s hurt.
A 3.86 ERA against the best offenses in baseball is “quite bad”? Sure. For $12M I’ll take that every time.
Mule-you’re either think you’re smarter than you are or you’re trying to cause trouble. If you think eight earned runs in 18 innings in the playoffs is good……… I’ll just leave it at that.
For someone implying that they are smarter than others, looking at one or two numbers is just narrow-minded. The real measure of the situation is whether there is an extension in the works.
In the absence of any evidence, aside from him exercising this option, to back up your uninformed injury speculation … I’ll just leave it at that.
Kodion-what is wrong with you people on this site? Everybody wants to argue it seems. Because I knew somebody was gonna come out and try to be a smart butt about everything so I put in my first comment I do not have any inside injury information. I said that so people like you would know that I’m not trying to be smarter than everybody else. Do you know how many other people in this comment section have said something about him possibly being injured and that’s why he took this so quick? I didn’t put that comment up there to argue with people. Many others have pretty much said the same thing as me. I never claimed to know anything that somebody else doesn’t know. Simply put this as a comment section people just commenting. That kind of negates the “in the absence of any evidence.” Good Lord.
Why not. Run it back with basically the same group that got into the playoffs and will so again. Money is nice, but being on a team that has the staff to possibly return to the WS is a good thing.
With this news, I expect the Jays to work out an extension with a healthy signing bonus component. That will get paid, whether there is a strike/lockout or not.
Still curious that he didn’t opt out. Other teams would willingly offer something similar for a pitcher of his ability and probably bid his contract up as a result.
Whatever his reasons, as a Jays’ fan, I am glad he chose this!
Sounds like Jays fans still have Bieber fever.
I think there’s an extension coming. Seems odd otherwise that he’d go for this at age 31 after proving he’s healed fine. He was definitely getting a 2/3 year deal in FA.
So did Justin Beiber !!
Perhaps having an A+ defense on the field and receiver behind the plate allows for Bieber to aim to have a massive year and position himself for a much larger deal at the end of 2026 on the open market. Why settle for the above suggested 2-3 year deal, when you can bet on yourself and your defensively capable team behind you to put up career best numbers and then go get the bag next off season.
It’s either this or the team is working on an extension and him opting in just gives them less of a deadline to sort it out.
He probably wants to stay and believes there’s more money for him coming
He really could have done a lot better
Good on him sticking around for less. Not many would these days. Jays will be strong again next season if they lock up Bo and get a couple better relievers
“go ball”