Shane Bieber has surprisingly exercised his $16M option to remain with the Toronto Blue Jays, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He’s passing on a $4M buyout, so he’ll pick up an extra $12M to remain in Toronto for a second season. The decision removes one of the better starting pitchers from the free agent market. Bieber was midway through a Tommy John rehab when he hit free agency for the first time in his career last offseason. He re-signed with the Guardians, then the only organization he’d known, on a two-year deal that allowed him to opt out after Season 1. Bieber was on a minor league rehab assignment when the trade deadline rolled around. Cleveland, then believing it was out of contention, traded him to Toronto for pitching prospect Khal Stephen. The Blue Jays made one of the more fascinating risk-reward decisions of the deadline. They surrendered a legitimate prospect for a potential rental starter who hadn’t pitched in an MLB game in more than 14 months. It worked out well, as Bieber returned
