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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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Outside of trades and players switching teams, there aren't many Major League Baseball transactions that qualify as true stunners. But the Toronto Blue Jays were involved in one of those stunners last week.
After taking the loss in Game 7 of the World Series in the 11th inning, Blue Jays starting pitcher Shane Bieber decided not to pursue free agency, picking up his $16 million player option for next season -- and therefore turning down a $4 million buyout.
Essentially, the former Cy Young Award winner took a one-year, $12 million deal to try and build up his value even more in a full year in Toronto, having returned from Tommy John surgery in August. He threw a grand total of 59 innings between the regular season and playoffs, which one would have thought allowed him to showcase his talents enough to get a multi-year deal.
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Nearly a full week after Bieber's decision, officials in rival front offices are still trying to wrap their heads around why Bieber made the choice he did, according to a Tuesday report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
"Across the industry, executives remain baffled by right-hander Shane Bieber’s decision to exercise his $16 million player option with the Blue Jays, calling it one of the most bizarre in recent memory," Rosenthal wrote.
"Left-hander Matt Boyd signed a two-year, $29 million free-agent deal with the Chicago Cubs last December after making only 11 starts for the Cleveland Guardians, including postseason, coming off Tommy John surgery. Bieber, 18 months removed from the same surgery, also made 11 starts, and in those games had a combined 3.57 ERA. The Athletic’s Tim Britton projected him at three years and $63 million."
As far as anyone can tell, Bieber's bet on himself had as much to do with loving his time with the Blue Jays as any other logical reasoning. And who's to say that Toronto wouldn't have given him a better deal than $12 million for one year if he did test the open market? The whole thing places a disproportionate amount of weight on continuity and comfort.
Maybe Bieber will make the entire industry look silly by putting together his third All-Star campaign, proving his injury issues are a thing of the past, and signing a deal in the nine-figure range headed into his age-32 season in 2027. But for now, baseball fans would be forgiven for not understanding his reasoning.
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