The Toronto Blue Jays are still licking their wounds after losing Game 7 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2025 World Series. The World Series was filled with highs and lows, and a significant number of players are still under contract for 2026.
Earlier, on November 5, 2025, the Blue Jays announced the return of a free agent to the club.
Blue Jays Announce Shane Bieber’s Decision
On Wednesday morning, the Blue Jays announced that Shane Bieber would return. The right-handed starting pitcher had a $16 million player option that included a $4 million buyout if he decided to pursue other options.
Instead, he chose to stay with the Blue Jays.
Bieber joins a rotation that already has Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage pencilled in. Now, the Blue Jays have three out of five rotation positions accounted for, who aren’t question marks.
Despite not playing in the playoffs, Jose Berrios started 30 games in 2025. Eric Lauer is expected to jump back into the rotation after transitioning to the bullpen for the postseason.
Bieber started seven games for the Blue Jays in the regular season. He pitched 40 1/3 innings, 37 strikeouts, and finished with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP.
Bieber Could Have Earned $97 Million (or more) on the Open Market
The 30-year-old starter could have commanded a hefty contract if he hit the open market. By staying with the Blue Jays, he turned down a significant amount of cash.
Spotrac has revealed his current market value to be a four-year, $97 million contract. The site listed Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Sonny Gray, and Aaron Nola as statistical and contractual comparables.
The average salary of those four pitchers is just under $26 million per season.
Another projection had the 30-year-old marked for significantly more money. Baseball America published a list of the top 15 free agent starting pitchers and their potential new contracts.
“There’s an argument to be made that Bieber is the best available starting pitcher in this year’s class,” Eli Ben-Porat wrote on November 4, 2025. “He doesn’t possess the top-shelf stuff quality of Valdez and Cease, but his on-field performance has perhaps more upside than either.”
Ben-Porat explained that the key to a good season with Bieber is the speed of his fastball.
“The key metric for Bieber is fastball velocity. During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, Bieber’s velocity dipped to 91.3 mph, and his strikeout rate plummeted,” Ben-Porat revealed. “Coming back from surgery this season, Bieber proved that his velocity was almost all the way back to where it was when he started his career, averaging 92.6 mph.”
“With a full, healthy offseason, he very likely could look like the pitcher he was in 2019-2021—a dominant strikeout artist and Cy Young Award winner.”
He projected a five-year, $150 million contract for Bieber.
Bieber played five games in the 2025 postseason, pitching for 18 2/3 innings. He earned 18 strikeouts to go along with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.
The righty sticking around with the Blue Jays instead of cashing in displays how much belief he has in the organization and the roster. That’s one less pitcher the team needs to add between now and March.
If he can regain some of the game that made him the unanimous 2020 AL Cy Young winner, the Blue Jays should have another great season.
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