The Toronto Blue Jays starting rotation is finally starting to make a turn for the better after an entire season of bad luck on the injury front.
The Blue Jays have had six starting pitchers either miss time this season or who will miss the rest of the year. A seventh pitcher, Eric Lauer, was designated for assignment and is currently on the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Toronto saw the return of Dylan Cease for a game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday and Max Scherzer returned to the rotation for the series finale against the Phillies on Wednesday.
The Blue Jays could be seeing another return from a starting pitcher in the next week.
Shane Bieber has been out the entire season to this point with right elbow inflammation. He’s been on a rehab assignment since May 25.
The 31-year-old right-hander is four starts into his rehab assignment. He had one outing with the Florida Complex League Blue Jays, one with the Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays and two with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.
Bieber made his second Triple-A start Thursday and posted a solid stat line.
Bieber struck out four batters, walked one and allowed five hits in five innings pitched. He threw 62 pitches on a 75-pitch limit.
Shane Bieber at Triple-A Buffalo tonight:
5 innings, 5 hits, 0 earned runs.
4 strikeouts, 1 walk.
He is getting close.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) June 12, 2026
Toronto has been deliberate with Bieber’s ramp up, which will likely lead to at least one more rehab start for him.
The next step would theoretically be a start with a 90-100 pitch limit, close to a typical major league outing for the former fourth-round draft pick.
Shane Bieber is now through his 2nd AAA rehab start (4th overall).
5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K & 62 pitches (46 strikes)
It’s both the longest start & most pitches thrown by Bieber in 2026. #BlueJayspic.twitter.com/fbAKjrdVVX
— Thomas Hall (@Hall_Thomas_) June 11, 2026
Due to Bieber’s next rehab outing likely to be emulative of what a major league start would be, there’s a chance the Blue Jays could bring him up if they’re confident in him being ready, but it seems more likely his rehab assignment will extend one more start.
Bieber was originally acquired by Toronto in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians on July 31, 2025, when he was in the middle of a rehab assignment due to Tommy John surgery.
The former Guardian made seven starts in the regular season for the Blue Jays and posted a 3.57 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 40.1 inning spitched.
In the playoffs, Bieber had a 3.86 ERA and fanned 18 batters in 18.2 innings pitched across five outings (four starts).
With a healthy rotation (barring Jose Berrios and Cody Ponce who are both out for the season), the Blue Jays could go on solid run and find themselves firmly back in the playoff standings.
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