MLB news

Bieber was a key cog in Toronto’s unexpected drive to the World Series last year and is attempting to make it back for another postseason run. The 31-year-old has been on the shelf with teres major inflammation that cropped up in late August. He’s expected to throw a bullpen session at some point in the near future. Given where he is from a throwing progression standpoint where he still needs to face hitters in live batting practice before getting into a simulated game, it might be unrealistic to expect him back unless the Blue Jays go on an extended playoff run again.

Schneider added that Bieber underwent an MRI that revealed the issue after experiencing discomfort while throwing a bullpen session recently. It seems highly unlikely he’ll make it back before the end of the regular season with just over four weeks remaining. It’s a tough break for the Blue Jays, and fantasy managers, since he was pitching much better in recent weeks. He’s not worth stashing in shallow mixed leagues at this advanced point of the year.

This is a nasty surprise. Bieber had allowed just one run in each of his last two starts, taking him to 5-2 with a 4.53 ERA in 11 starts overall. No word yet on his chances of making it back before the end of the season, but it’s probably safe to drop him. The Jays could turn the rotation spot over to Simeon Woods Richardson for now or perhaps start the newly recalled Chad Dallas on Wednesday.

Bieber struck out a season-high seven and completed seven innings for the second time in 11 starts this season. the first time was also against the Rays in a 3-1 victory four weeks ago. He’s 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA in four starts this month, and he’ll be a nice fantasy option against the Royals next week.

It was a nice bounce-back outing for Bieber, who allowed five earned runs to the Phillies in his last start. The righty held the Yankees in check all night, with his lone earned run coming on a solo homer by Trent Grisham in the sixth inning. Bieber draws a tough Rays team in his next start, which is scheduled for Thursday in Tampa Bay.

Bieber struck out four and walked three as the Jays lost 7-6 in 12 innings. He’s had a few blowups since returning from injury, but Sunday’s damage came primarily on two Kyle Schwarber homers. Bieber has been leaning into his changeup more this season. Entering the day, it was his only pitch with a positive run value. A matchup against the Yankees next time out sounds intimidating, but they haven’t been the same lineup without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Cody Bellinger.

Bieber gave up a 419-foot fly to Taylor Trammell in the fourth that would have been a homer in 25 ballparks and a 403-footer to Christian Walker in the fifth that would have left the yard in 11, but both were flyouts tonight. Bouncing back nicely from last week’s bizarre start against the Nationals in which he walked six and was pulled in the first, Bieber had two walks and six strikeouts tonight. Still, given that he’s been rather homer-prone, he’s not a great play this weekend in Philadelphia.

Truly bizarre. Bieber had never walked six in a game before, much less in an inning. Three of the walks came with the bases loaded to force in runs. Bieber said after the game that he was having a tough time gripping the ball after an hourlong rain delay to start the game, and he probably deserves the benefit of the doubt for now. He’s due to make his next start Monday against the Astros.

Bieber allowed only five hard-hit balls, which is good because he carried just a 21 percent whiff rate over 86 pitches. It’s still a concerningly-low strikeout rate as he managed only three today and has just 22 in 30 2/3 innings so far. Bieber has reeled off three consecutive starts with two or fewer earned runs allowed to lower his ERA from 9.00 to 4.70, but he still feels like a tenuous option at this point. He’s lined up against a good Nationals lineup for his next start.

Bieber’s velocity today wasn’t quite as good as in his final start before the break, but at 92.3 mph on average with his fastball, he was still better than in his first three outings back. He was able to generate 13 whiffs and finish with a 33 percent CSW while throwing only 80 pitches to get his 18 outs. If the velocity heads south again, Bieber probably won’t be helpful in mixed leagues. Right now, though, he’s looking good. He’ll get the Rays at home on Thursday.

Bieber got off to a rough start in this one. After walking the second batter he faced on the night, the righty then gave up a two-run homer to Xander Bogaerts to immediately put his team down 2-0. He would settle in after that, scattering just four hits and one walk over his next 3 2/3 innings of work before being pulled with two outs in the fifth inning to give the Blue Jays the left-on-left matchup with Gavin Sheets coming to the plate. Despite the rough start, it was a relatively solid outing for Bieber, who needed a bounce-back after allowing seven earned runs in his previous start. Bieber is still rounding into form after missing nearly three months due to injury. He’s allowed two earned runs in two of his four starts this season and should be poised for a strong second half of the season.

In 33 career plate appearances with the bases loaded, Bieber hadn’t allowed a grand slam until the second inning today, when Randy Arozarena hit one. He also gave up a two-run homer in the fifth to end his day after 89 pitches. Bieber’s fastball averaged 91.9 mph today, which was basically a match for his first two outings, and he’s already given up six homers in 13 innings. His ability to hit the corners will probably improve as he continues to start regularly, but unfortunately, he just doesn’t seem like a mixed-league guy right now. He’ll likely make his next start Friday in San Diego.

Bieber surrendered a leadoff homer to Joc Pederson in the first inning. He settled in nicely, holding the Rangers to just the one run into the sixth. He walked a batter and gave up a hit with one out before departing at 92 pitches with four strikeouts. He scattered five hits in all and issued four walks. The 31-year-old right-hander will look to carry some momentum after the encouraging start into a matchup against the Mariners in Seattle on Saturday.

He gave up consecutive homers to Yainer Diaz, Cam Smith and Taylor Trammell in the fourth. Bieber, back from elbow inflammation, averaged 91.7 mph with his fastball, which is also right where he was in his Triple-A starts. That’s down about one mph from his seven starts post-Tommy John last year but still slightly better than his 91.3 mph average from 2022 and ’23. Ideally, he’ll get a little stronger as time goes on, but it’s not something to count on. Really, though, with his ability to locate, he can be effective where he is now. He just wasn’t sharp enough today. He has a couple of rather favorable starts coming up at home against the Rangers and in Seattle. If he’s not considerably better in those, then his status as a mixed-league SP should be reevaluated.

Bieber was supposed to come off the IL to start Sunday against the Cubs, but that outing was postponed due to rain. The 31-year-old will instead make his season debut Tuesday against the Astros after missing the first two-plus months while recovering from his elbow ailment. Bieber is not the same dominant option he was for the Guardians a few years ago, but he’s a solid fantasy option who deserves roster consideration now that he’s healthy enough to bolster the Toronto rotation.

Bieber has been brought along very cautiously after experiencing renewed inflammation in his elbow over the offseason and is finally ready to contribute to the Blue Jays. Despite his struggles during his minor league rehab assignment, Bieber has enough of a track record that he could wind up being an impact addition for fantasy purposes.

Schneider added that Bieber has been built up enough from a pitch count standpoint that they feel confident he’s ready for his season debut, if he’s feeling ready from a physical standpoint coming out of Wednesday’s final rehab start where he threw 80 pitches for Triple-A Buffalo. The 31-year-old former fantasy ace’s return seems inevitable with Max Scherzer returning to the injured list with back spasms. There’s enough reason for fantasy managers to stash Bieber, despite some lackluster results of late in the minors, based on how he looked during last year’s postseason run.

Bieber’s velocity was good, sitting around 92 mph with his four-seam fastball, but he threw just 48 of his 80 pitches for strikes and walked four hitters while striking out two. His next start could likely come with the Blue Jays, but we’d feel a whole lot more confident if he had good command today.

Bieber is aiming to build up to roughly 75 pitches in his next rehab outing and appears to be close to returning to Toronto for his season debut. The 31-year-old looked sharp his last time out, striking out four over five shutout innings last Thursday. He’s isn’t too far away from making it back to the majors.

Bieber scattered five hits and one walk on the day while striking out four. The 31-year-old hurler threw 62 pitches in the game (46 strikes) while averaging 91.4-mph on his fastball (topping out at 93-mph). It’s unclear if he’ll need another tune-up in the minors before he’s cleared to rejoin what’s suddenly becoming a crowded Jays’ rotation.