Blue Jays add SP Shane Bieber to IL, giving Toronto thin pitching depth in AL Wild Card race

The Toronto Blue Jays announced they have added starting pitcher Shane Bieber to the 15-day injured list.

Bieber was added due to “right teres major inflammation,” and the move is retroactive to August 21.

For clarity, the injury is inflammation of the right teres major, not major inflammation of the right teres. This means that Bieber is dealing with inflammation in the thick muscle on his right side, in the upper back and shoulder.

Beiber has only pitched in 11 games this season. He had Tommy John surgery toward the end of last season, and it caused him to miss 78 games at the beginning of the season.

Since his activation from the IL, the veteran arm has posted a 5-2 record with a 4.53 ERA. Bieber has struck out 44 batters in 55.2 innings of work. While he hasn’t been pitching as dominantly as he had in stretches during his time with the Cleveland Guardians, he has shifted more into a veteran role, called on to pitch reliably but not expected to be the franchise’s ace.

Bieber’s injury forces Toronto to add another starting pitcher to the IL. He joins Trey Yesavage, who has been sidelined since August 4 due to a knee injury. The latest update on Yesavage came a week ago, and he had begun to throw on flat ground as he ramped up his activity.

As of Bieber’s addition to the IL, Toronto has a 64-68 record and is in fourth place in the AL East. Despite the losing record, the Blue Jays are only two games back of the third wild card spot in the American League.

With a little over a month left in the regular season, there is time for Toronto to make a playoff push, but the Blue Jays would likely feel better about it if their starting pitchers were able to get healthy sooner rather than later.