Blue Jays, Guardians Lineups, World Series Odds After Shane Bieber, Khal Stephen Trade

Shane Bieber's return to the big leagues will come with the Toronto Blue Jays after the 2020 AL Cy Young winner was traded by the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Guardians will receive pitching prospect Khal Stephen from the Blue Jays in exchange for Bieber.

Bieber has yet to pitch in the big leagues this season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, but he recently struck out seven over four innings in a Double-A start on Tuesday.

Stephen, a second-round pick in the 2024 draft, was just promoted to Double-A on July 13 and could reach the MLB level at some point next season.

Blue Jays' Updated Starting Rotation

1. José Berríos, RHP
2. Kevin Gausman, RHP
3. Max Scherzer, RHP
4. Eric Lauer, LHP
5. Shane Bieber, RHP

Guardians' Updated Starting Rotation

1. Tanner Bibee, RHP
2. Gavin Williams, RHP
3. Joey Cantillo, LHP
4. Slade Cecconi, RHP
5. Logan Allen, LHP

World Series Odds (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Blue Jays: +1200 (bet $100 to win $1,200, eighth-best odds in MLB)

Guardians: +13000 (bet $100 to win $13,000; 18th-best odds in MLB)

The biggest question for Toronto is when Bieber will be activated off the injured list. There was some thought his next scheduled rehab start for the Guardians was going to be on Sunday.

It's unclear if the Blue Jays will adjust anything for Bieber. The right-hander last pitched in an MLB game on April 2, 2024. Cleveland announced four days later that he would undergo elbow reconstruction surgery.

Even though no one knows what Bieber will look like when he steps on the mound for Toronto, his results in the minors have been encouraging. He touched 94 mph during his start on Tuesday.

The Blue Jays can afford to make this bet on Bieber because they are in control of the AL East right now, despite having a rotation that ranks 24th in MLB with a 4.51 ERA. They are tied with the Detroit Tigers for the best record in the AL and lead the New York Yankees by four games in the division.

If Bieber comes back at close to the peak of his ability, the Blue Jays will have added a starter capable of taking the ball in Game 1 of a playoff series. It only cost them one prospect and the $3.2 million remaining on his contract for this season.

The Guardians are still on the fringes of playoff contention with a 54-54 record, so this could be read as waving the white flag. But they have hung around .500 without Bieber in their rotation all season.

Bieber likely wouldn't have been back with the club in 2026, unless things went so bad over the next two months that he wanted to exercise his $16 million player option out of concern he couldn't find a deal worth more than that.

Factoring all of that in, Cleveland being able to obtain a quality pitching prospect who is fairly close to the big leagues is a nice piece of business. Stephen, the No. 5 prospect in Toronto's farm system, has a 2.06 ERA with 99 strikeouts in 91.2 innings across three levels in the minors this season.

MLB.com's scouting report for Stephen notes he has the profile of a back-end starter who can move quickly through the minors.

Considering the Guardians are probably looking at contending in 2026, Stephen can be a player who helps the achieve that goal.