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Blue Jays' Shane Bieber discloses injury he dealt with late in 2025 season
Photo credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Shane Bieber has disclosed that he was dealing with forearm fatigue down the stretch in 2025.
Shane Bieber's decision to pick up a $16MM player option for the 2026 season rather than take a $4MM buyout and return to free agency was surprising to most.
His choice was viewed as a head-scratcher around the league at the time, as the former Cy Young winner's track record and the 3.66 ERA he posted in 59 innings between the regular season and playoffs with Toronto was likely enough to justify a solid multi-year deal.
Shane Bieber reportedly dealt with forearm fatigue late in the 2025 season and has been rehabbing throughout the offseason thus far. Atkins states that Bieber being ready by opening day is a «very realistic outcome»
The Athletic's Mitch Bannon offers a bit more perspective on Bieber's decision.
Towards the end of the 2025 campaign, Bannon reports that Bieber was dealing with forearm fatigue.
Bieber has since begun rehab work, and Bannon notes that Ross Atkins told reporters that the right-hander is «in a strong position.»
While the Jays are currently taking things week-to-week with Bieber's recovery process, Atkins noted that Bieber being ready to pitch on Opening Day remains «a very realistic outcome» though he stopped short of definitively saying Bieber would be part of the Opening Day roster.
Per Atkins, Shane Bieber is expected to be ready for opening day. Atkins described Bieber's progress as week to week & acknowledged Jays may watch his workload in spring.
Bieber dealing with forearm fatigue for quite some time now
The fact that Bieber was dealing with a forearm issue just 13 appearances into his return from Tommy John surgery certainly seems to help explain his decision to exercise his 2026 player option.
While there's little doubt that Bieber could have beaten the $12MM he would've left on the table by declining the option in terms of overall guarantee, it's plausible that teams would have been hesitant to commit a substantial average annual value to a pitcher coming off elbow surgery who was already rehabbing a fresh ailment.
By sticking with Toronto this winter, Bieber gives himself the opportunity to rehab with the Blue Jays rather continuing his rehab as a free agent, and can now look to enter free agency next winter with what he's surely hoping will be a full season of starts under his belt in 2026 to allay any concerns about the health of his arm going forward.