ARLINGTON, Texas — Shane Bieber will not return during the regular season for the Toronto Blue Jays, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet reported Friday. The right-hander was scheduled to throw a side session Saturday in Texas, and he is building up in case Toronto reaches the postseason.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Friday that it would be tough for Bieber to come off the injured list before the regular season ends, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reported. Toronto is at Globe Life Field this weekend for a three-game series against the Texas Rangers.
Bieber has not pitched since Aug. 20. Toronto placed him on the 15-day injured list Aug. 25, retroactive to Aug. 21, with right teres major inflammation in his throwing shoulder.
Shane Bieber’s Side Session Was Pushed Back Twice
Bieber had an MRI on Sept. 13, and the Blue Jays were encouraged by the imaging, Mae reported. The next day, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reported that Bieber would throw a side session off a mound Sept. 15.
That session moved to Sept. 16 and then to Friday or Saturday, Mae reported. Bieber threw on flat ground Sept. 15.
In 11 starts this season, Bieber is 5-2 with a 4.37 ERA. He has 24 walks and 44 strikeouts over 55 2/3 innings.
Bieber exercised a $16 million player option to stay with Toronto for 2026. The Blue Jays acquired him from the Cleveland Guardians at the 2025 trade deadline, and he went 4-2 with a 3.57 ERA in seven regular season starts for Toronto that year. In the 2025 World Series, he won Game 4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He won the 2020 American League Cy Young Award with Cleveland.
Toronto Blue Jays Chasing Final Wild Card
The Wild Card Series is scheduled to begin Sept. 29. Texas beat Toronto 7-1 on Friday, and the Blue Jays entered Saturday at 76-78, 1 game behind the Rangers and 2 games behind the Chicago White Sox for the third and final American League wild card, according to MLB.com’s postseason tracker. The Rangers hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Toronto.
José Soriano starts for Toronto on Saturday against Cal Quantrill at 6:05 p.m. CT. The Blue Jays plan a bullpen day on Sunday built around right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, and right-hander Trey Yesavage is scheduled to start Monday at Baltimore in his return from knee surgery, Zwelling reported.
