Shane Bieber: Another Start in the Minors on the Horizon

On Thursday, June 11, Shane Bieber pitched brilliantly in Triple-A for the Buffalo Bisons. Over five innings, the pitcher allowed no earned runs.

He walked only one batter and threw 62 pitches.

We thought that would be enough to see him back in the Majors as early as his next start, but the plan is to have him pitch one more time in Buffalo.

And after that, he should be back.

In my opinion, aside from wanting to see him get more pitches under his belt, current circumstances have led the Blue Jays to make this decision.

And that comes down to several factors.

1. Monday's day off

After seeing Trey Yesavage pitch yesterday, Kevin Gausman will face the Yankees today and Patrick Corbin will start tomorrow. Then there will be a day off—the last one in June.

I imagine the plan is to have Dylan Cease pitch in Boston on Tuesday and Max Scherzer do the same on Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, Trey Yesavage could be back.

2. The Max Scherzer Situation

So it's after that—in over a week—that the Blue Jays might face the following decision: should we go with a six-man rotation?

If so, bringing Bieber into the rotation would be easy.

But in the meantime, this gives John Schneider more time to do what he wanted to do: give Max Scherzer (at least) one more chance.

By June 21 (the earliest date Bieber can return if he goes back to Triple-A next week), will the Blue Jays cut Max Scherzer?

And what about Patrick Corbin? Is he 100% safe from losing his job?

Having time to properly weigh the pros and cons of each idea is another good reason to give Bieber one more start in Buffalo. John Schneider is buying himself time.

3. Who to cut?

With Yimi Garcia (who is set to pitch Saturday in Buffalo and whose return is approaching) coming back soon, just like Bieber, the Blue Jays will have two pitchers to cut shortly.

The club has already made some heart-wrenching decisions recently, and what comes next isn't likely to be magically any easier… unless some guys get injured in the meantime.

Pushing Bieber back means that, no matter what decision is made (cutting a reliever, cutting a veteran from the rotation, using the injured list, making a trade, etc.), management is giving themselves a little more time.

We'll see what the club decides to do in due course.

It's worth noting that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won't be in the starting lineup today for the Blue Jays. Why? Because he's got a bit of back pain.

A situation to watch…

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