CLEVELAND, Ohio — It’s showtime for Shane Bieber.

Toronto manager John Schneider told reporters Monday that Bieber will make his 2025 big-league debut Friday when he starts for the Blue Jays against the Marlins in Miami.

It will be Bieber’s first big-league start since he pitched six scoreless innings for the Guardians on April 2, 2024 against Seattle. Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow after that start and has been working to get back to the big leagues ever since.

“You can allow yourself to get pretty excited when you’re adding a guy of that caliber,” Schneider told reporters Monday in Pittsburgh. “Once you get to know him, he’s the definition of a pro. He fits right in with the guys that we have already in our rotation.

“He’s really, really smart. He understands what he’s good at and what he’s trying to do. He’s confident right now.”

The Blue Jays hold a comfortable five-game lead in the AL East with a 73-52 record.

The Guardians traded Bieber to the Blue Jays at the July 31 deadline. They received right-hander Kal Stephen, Toronto’s No. 2 pick in 2024, in the deal.

In Bieber’s last rehab start on Friday for Class AAA Buffalo, he threw seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no walks. The former Cy Young winner threw 90 pitches, while allowing six hits.

Bieber became a free agent following last season after making just two starts for Cleveland. He returned to the Guardians on a two-year deal worth $26 million. Bieber received $10 million this year and held a player option for $16 million with a $4 million buyout for 2026.

The Guardians were pleased with Bieber’s recovery from Tommy John surgery, but they decided to trade him primarily for two reasons:

If he returned from the injured list and pitched well down the stretch this season, they felt Bieber would file for free agency at the end of the year and leave.If he wasn’t able to pitch this year, or if he pitched poorly, he could have exercised his $16 million player option for 2026. That’s a big contract for the Guardians to carry for a pitcher of questionable health.

Stephen, the pitcher the Guardians received for Bieber, is recovering from a right shoulder impingement. He is rehabbing at their training facility in Goodyear, Arizona. He threw batting practice on Friday and is scheduled to throw a two-inning bullpen session sometime this week.

The 6-4, 215-pound Stephen is 9-1 with a 2.06 ERA at three different levels this year. Before the shoulder impingement sidelined him, he’d struck out 99 batters in 91 2/3 innings.

There’s a chance he could join Double-A Akron before the season ends.

The Guardians drafted Bieber, 30, in the fourth round in 2016. He made his big league debut in 2018 and had his best season in 2019, when he went 15-8 with a 3.28 ERA. In 34 games, including 33 starts, Bieber struck out 259 batters in 214 1/3 innings.

He won the American League Cy Young in 2020, the COVID season. Bieber went 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA in 12 starts.

Bieber went 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA in seven years in Cleveland. He posted a 17.7 WAR with the Guardians.

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