Bieber, Straw hope for return to Blue Jays as market beckons 

TORONTO — Amid the handfuls of packing bins scattered throughout the Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse, some marked for donation, others certain for a selected vacation spot, one sat within the centre of the room with a singular inscription. It learn: “57 … Leave here for good luck.”

No. 57, after all, belongs to Shane Bieber, who completed the season on the injured listing with a teres main pressure however was working towards a return for a possible playoff run. The Blue Jays, after all, didn’t qualify and now free company, underneath the shadow of a coming lockout, looms for the 31-year-old, who’s hoping that his seven-shutout innings in a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Aug. 20 wasn’t his last outing for the membership.

“It’s hard every time you think about it,” he mentioned. “I mean, this off-season is just going to be an interesting one in and of itself, right, so I don’t know what it’s going to hold. I don’t know if teams are going to want to get things done early, or if they’re going to wait and see, or if it’s going to be 50-50 and some teams want to be aggressive and some teams want to wait. I have no idea. I just know that I have a lot of good left in front of me. And I hope it’s here.”

While Sunday’s season finale rightly targeted on celebrating the anticipated departures of George Springer and Max Scherzer, the pending free-agent listing for the Blue Jays additionally consists of Bieber, Paul Sewald, a veteran reliever who needs to maintain pitching; Jameson Taillon, a veteran starter decided to get better from an elbow harm and return to the mound; Yimi Garcia, who’s recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome surgical procedure; and Patrick Corbin and Luis Urias, who each completed the season on the injured listing, too. 

Myles Straw might be a part of them on the open market, as properly, because the Blue Jays maintain an $8 million choice on him for 2027 that may be purchased out for $1.75 million. As a part of the deal that introduced him north, the Cleveland Guardians will ship over the buyout quantity whether or not the choice is exercised or not, so it’s a $6.25-million name, one the outfielder hopes retains him in Toronto.

“I’m hearing nothing,” Straw mentioned when requested if he’s had any indication of what may occur. “It’ll all work out how it’s supposed to. I try not to think about it too much right now. I’m sure I will here in a little bit. Whatever the team decides to do, I love it here and I hope I’m back. I’d love to be back. All of us that are going to be leaving feel the same way. But I get it, it’s a business, I’ve been through a lot in this game. They’re going to do whatever they’ve got to do, which I understand. We’ll see.”

Bieber and Straw are the likeliest candidates to return, though that can rely upon how the Blue Jays map out their low season alternatives within the weeks forward. 

The trade-deadline acquisition of Jose Soriano jump-started their winter by strengthening the rotation base, and provided that he’s headed to arbitration platforming off a $2.9 million wage, the effectivity there creates extra flexibility for different areas of the roster.

With Soriano, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage and Cody Ponce as a place to begin, Bowden Francis, Jake Bloss and Jose Berrios, center to finish of the season, coming back from surgical procedure and bonafide upper-level beginning prospects in Nolan Perry and Johnny King trending upwards, the Blue Jays don’t face the identical acute bind for starters like they did the previous few winters.

Still, since they all the time big-game hunt, they’re positive to at the least examine in with Tarik Skubal however they’ve additionally finished plenty of work on this 12 months’s Japanese class, together with starters Kaima Taira and Hiromi Itoh, and third baseman/outfielder Teruaki Sato. Last 12 months, they signed Kazuma Okamoto and Ponce out of Asia and engaged with Foster Griffin up till Ponce signed as properly, seeing their Pacific Rim efforts begin to bear fruit. 

Domestically, the Chicago Cubs outfield duo of Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ are of curiosity and the Blue Jays should type by way of their inside glut to find out how a lot so as to add. Addison Barger and Anthony Santander, each coming back from main surgical procedures, carry energy potential together with a measure of unknown, whereas Brett Bateman impressed sufficient throughout his two-month stint because the centre-fielder that supervisor John Schneider mentioned “he’s definitely part of the puzzle” subsequent 12 months, however “there’s a handful of guys you just pencil in, slam dunk — I don’t want to put him in that category just yet.”

All of which opens doorways for Bieber and Straw. 

Bieber was acquired on the deadline final summer season whereas he was nonetheless recovering from reconstructive elbow surgical procedure and posted a 3.57 ERA in seven begins through the common season earlier than 5 mixed-bag appearances through the post-season, highlighted by a World Series Game 4 gem at Dodgers Stadium, the day after an 18-inning, walk-off loss. He additionally returned on quick relaxation in Game 7, when he allowed Will Smith’s decisive homer within the 11^th.

Afterwards he exercised a $16 million participant choice for 2026 moderately than taking a $4 million buyout and the penalty for his post-season push led to elbow irritation that stored him sidelined till late June. He’d posted back-to-back gems in opposition to the Yankees and Rays in late August when the teres main harm occurred, ending a attempting season. 

“Oh, man. Ebbs and flows. Ups and downs. Kind of tumultuous, right?” he mentioned of his 12 months. “I’m grateful for every time I got to pitch for these guys and for the organization. I wish I would have been able to do it more. That’s definitely something I’m going to carry with me for a while. We’ll see what happens in the future. Would love to be back. It was challenging physically and mentally, but every season that you’re able to play the big-leagues and with a group like this is a blessing. I always try to keep that perspective.”

Straw, in the meantime, was acquired in a Jan. 17, 2025 commerce by which taking up his wage was the price for the Blue Jays so as to add international-bonus-pool room from Cleveland, used within the in the end unsuccessful try to signal Roki Sasaki. But the 31-year-old revived his profession after being outrighted off the Guardians 40-man roster in 2024, delivering stellar defence and well timed hitting in an almost two-win season, as calculated by Fangraphs in 2025, although he dipped slightly below a win this 12 months. 

“Since the day I got here, everyone made it super easy to come to work every day and to enjoy every single day,” he mentioned. “That always hasn’t been the case for me. I’ve been in some tough places, which is OK, it’s part of it. I’ve enjoyed every single day here. I believe I went to the right team. And I hope I’m back, whatever happens. I’m going to shoot for it.”

With each gamers, discovering the best contract construction would be the problem.

Bieber is bound to need a possibility to rebuild his worth and present that his elbow points are behind him, with out surrendering the chance to safe an extended deal ought to he accomplish that, making an incentive-laden pillow deal one solution to share threat. In a skinny centre subject market, whether or not $6.25 million for Straw is the best worth is to be determined and the Blue Jays might all the time decline the choice and let the market dictate his value earlier than bringing him again. 

That’s the enterprise facet to return, after each lived the non-public facet the previous two seasons.

“I love the people, the entire organization,” mentioned Bieber. “They’ve taken really good care of not just me, but everybody here and our families. You hear guys beat that drum quite a bit and it makes a world of difference. I respect the way that everybody goes about things here. I just think that they do things right.”

Added Straw: “Last year was the coolest season I’ve had in professional baseball. And even this year, I mean, we fought ’til the end. It was a fun ride. I loved every single person in this building. It makes it really enjoyable to compete when you truly enjoy everybody, the coaches, the chefs, the staff, teammates. It gives you something to fight for. … I’m a big Blue Jays fan, always will be and will always have great things to say about this place, whether I’m here next year or not.”