This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/bluejays as Could Shane Bieber Be the Blue Jays’ Hidden Wild Card for the Stretch Run?. The Toronto Blue Jays are coming off clobbering the Colorado Rockies to start their West Coast trip and are riding high before a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

NEW YORK — The Guardians found themselves in a difficult situation before they traded Shane Bieber to Toronto on Thursday, hours before the 6 p.m. MLB trade deadline. They had spent the better part of two years helping the former Cy Young Award winner rehab from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in April 2024.