Blue Jays pitcher Shane Bieber expected to make season debut Monday

Bieber entered 2026 nursing forearm fatigue

Published Jun 20, 2026  •  Last updated 19 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

Shane Bieber of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches to the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025 in Toronto. Photo by Mark Blinch /Getty Images

Baseball’s Biebs is back.

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Or at least he could be back on a big-league mound as soon Monday night when the Blue Jays begin a 10-game home stand, the club’s longest of the season, when the Houston Astros come to town for a three-game set, a stretch that will see the return of the Bo Bichette for the first time in a New York Mets jersey.

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Shane Bieber, the former Cy Young Award winner whom the Jays acquired from Cleveland at last year’s trade deadline, has not faced MLB hitters since last fall’s World Series against the L.A. Dodgers when the right-hander started Game 4 and entered Game 7 in relief in extra innings.

Much was made when Bieber exercised his $16-million player option to stay with the Jays, but little was known about his exact health at the time, either.

When the Jays acquired him from the Guardians, Bieber was in the midst of rehabbing from elbow surgery.

Bieber entered 2026 nursing forearm fatigue and was placed on the injured list because of right-elbow inflammation.

His expected return couldn’t have arrived at a better time, with some fellow starters sidelined, including season-ending injuries to Cody Ponce and Jose Berrios.

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Prior to first pitch Saturday in Chicago, Blue Jays manager John Schneider dropped the news that Bieber would start Monday.

In seven regular-season starts in 2025, Bieber posted a 3.57 ERA in 40.1 innings.

In the post-season, Bieber made five appearances, including a six-inning outing against Seattle in the ALCS.

For some, the painful memory of Bieber giving up a home run to Will Smith of the Dodgers continues to resonate.

Painful describes how this year’s starters have performed, especially of late.

On Thursday, Trey Yesavage evoked images of last year’s version in Boston for seven solid innings until he gave up back-to-back homers in the eighth inning.

On Friday afternoon, Kevin Gausman had his worst outing as a Blue Jay, and the Jays had to over-tax their bullpen in a lopsided loss to the Chicago Cubs that turned into a walk-a-thon.

One reliever summoned was Brendon Little, who was not good, to put it mildly, and was subsequently sent back to triple-A Buffalo on Saturday.

In the wake of a depleted rotation, the Jays have been forced to resort to bullpen days.

The more such days there are, the more pressure it puts on relievers.

On Wednesday, when Max Scherzer was placed on the IL for the second time this season, the Jays had no other choice but to run a bullpen day.

Bieber, in essence, will replace Scherzer in the rotation, which currently consists of Dylan Cease, Gausman, Yesavage and Patrick Corbin.

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