Energized and invigorated Shane Bieber can't wait to deliver for playoff-minded Blue Jays

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First things first: Shane Bieber did not take a boat across Lake Erie to expedite his trip to meet his new team in Toronto, a comment he made in jest a day earlier and borne out of excitement after learning of the trade from Cleveland to the Blue Jays.

That’s not to say there wasn’t some excitement in the journey, however, including a prolonged, get-out-of-the car stop at the border.

All good the rest of the whirlwind day, though, as the Jays prized trade deadline day acquisition arrived in his new city, excited and eager to get down to work.

There were meetings with coaches and greetings with teammates and even a bullpen session just prior to 6 p.m. to show off how his Tommy John rebuilt right elbow was performing as his rehab journey from last year’s surgery progresses.

A lot going on, yes, but Bieber certainly felt invigorated about his new team and opportunity an hour or so before first pitch between his Jays and the Kansas City Royals on Friday.

“I love it,” Bieber said of shifting from a lifeless Guardians team to a first-place Blue Jays outfit with designs on making big noise come October. “I have a refined gratitude for competing in this job. I’m blessed to be able to go out there and to be traded to this team that’s doing well up to this point.

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“For me to be able to make my return back to the big leagues that I’ve anticipated so much,and my family’s anticipated so much, and to be playing meaningful baseball is all I can ask for.”

There are some hurdles to overcome before that happens — beginning with a likely start for the triple-A Bisons on Sunday in Buffalo. But with a fastball that has already hit 94 and a pile of strikeouts in four limited outings, Bieber believes he’s quickly nearing the target at the end of that excruciating year-plus recovery.

“For me, I’m most pleased with not thinking about my health, and I think that says a lot about how far I’ve come post surgery, where my body’s at, where my arms at,” Bieber said. “I’m focused on ramping up to compete in the big leagues, and that’s a fun place to be.

“That’s what I’ve missed. That’s what I’ve strived for. I’m close now.”

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With a fully operational five-man rotation, the Jays are in no need to rush Bieber back to the big leagues, not that they’d be inclined to anyway. But the anticipation of the high-end, Cy Young-award winning form that comes with such an acquisition is tough to quell.

“It’s obviously really exciting,” manager John Schneider said prior to Friday’s first of three games against the Royals, as the Jays move the furniture around in a clubhouse to accommodate the new additions. “We’re talking about a guy with a legit track record and a Cy Young. It’s a high-risk, high-reward type thing, right? We’ve monitored him in his rehab outings. When you get a chance to add a guy like that, you do it.”

It isn’t a reluctance, exactly, but Bieber admitted that leaving the only pro organization he’s known, tugged at the heartstrings. A fourth-round pick (122nd overall) by the Guardians in 2016, Bieber started 134 games and pitched 843 innings, earning that 2022 Cy Young Award and a pair of all-Star game appearances.

But the 30-year-old Orange, Ca. native said he was made to immediately feel welcome inside and outside of the clubhouse, a point of pride among the Jays player relations people.

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“There’s no reason to shy away from that, right?,” Bieber said when asked about his feelings of shifting Great Lakes shorelines for work locale. “But the range of people who have reached out, not just to me but to my wife, that means the world to us.

“You can tell how much (the Jays) care and how seamless they want to make this transition. And then coming to a team with so much momentum right now? It’s exciting. It’s invigorating.”

Physically, Bieber is also energized to be on the competing side of recovery from Tommy John and in a place where most days recovery from an outing feels better than the previous go. On Friday he said he likes the fact that he’s increasing his workload without issues and that he’s pleased with the way the ball is coming out of his hand.

“Now I just need to continue to build volume and get ready so that when I do get out on that mound, I have no restrictions and I can go out there and compete,” Bieber said. “That’s what it’s all about. That’s what you play for.

“I’m very close to being big league ready so I’m definitely feeling excited and fresh.”