How the Blue Jays’ Midseason Trades Fueled Their World Series Run
As Monday’s historic, World Series Game 3 marathon began its descent into silly territory, Blue Jays manager John Schneider received a message from his Game 4 starter: Shane Bieber wanted his skipper to know, in the 11th inning the night before he was scheduled to take the mound, that he was ready to start warming up.
As it turned out, Bieber didn’t get the call to enter the 18-inning affair (which the Dodgers won, 6–5). Instead, he’d wait one more night to save Toronto’s season.
Facing the possibility of going down 3–1 in the series and armed with a bullpen running on whatever comes after fumes, Bieber turned in 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball to spearhead a 6–2 Blue Jays win in Game 4 of the World Series, evening things up at two games apiece.
It was just the latest contribution from a player who has quickly surged up the list of most impactful Blue Jays, despite beginning the season still recovering from Tommy John surgery while wearing a different uniform.
Bieber didn’t make his debut for his new team until Aug. 22, nearly 17 months from his most recent big-league game. But despite the injury and uncertainty about how he would perform after a lengthy rehab, the Blue Jays made him a priority at the trade deadline, along with several additional role players who have made crucial contributions to getting Toronto this close to the franchise’s first championship in more than 30 years.
“It's not an easy thing to do, get traded from the only team you've been with and then just have your life kind of flipped upside down in a new country and things, with a family,” Schneider said after Game 4. “But he just settled in really well, and these are the spots that we acquired him for.”
Bieber’s night was far from dominant. He allowed three of the first seven batters he faced to reach base, and gave up the game’s first run on a sacrifice fly from Kiké Hernández in the bottom of the second. He generated just five whiffs on 34 swings (14.7%).
But he kept a powerful Dodgers lineup in check, allowing just four hits (all singles) and pitching around traffic. He stymied Game 3 star (and Tuesday night’s opposing starting pitcher) Shohei Ohtani, walking him to lead off the game before striking him out twice. Less than 24 hours after reaching base nine times, Ohtani finished the game 0-for-3.
From being out of major league action for a year and a half, to changing teams and countries of residence, to winning a World Series outing, it has been a whirlwind few months for Bieber, the 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner and two-time All-Star. But he has quickly made himself feel at home with his new team while pitching on the game’s biggest stage.
“[It was] the first time I’ve ever been traded, so I didn't know exactly what to expect,” Bieber said of the transition. “Ultimately I feel like the organization, the families within it, my teammates, their families, have helped my wife and I acclimate better than I ever expected … I couldn’t be happier.”
Bieber’s not alone as a recently-arrived Blue Jay who’s stepping up in the postseason. Relief pitchers Louis Varland and Seranthony Domínguez—acquired at the deadline from the Twins and Orioles, respectively—are now vital high-leverage arms Schneider relies upon to bridge the gap between his starting pitchers and closer Jeff Hoffman.
Varland, for his part, has appeared in 13 of Toronto’s 15 games this postseason, striking out 16 batters in 14 innings. He has thrown at least 20 pitches seven times during that span.
“He's kind of a different animal,” Schneider said of Varland. “It's not normal to put a guy in as much as I have and have his stuff be consistent. I was talking to [GM] Ross [Atkins] at the deadline. He was one guy that I really wanted to acquire. There were a lot of big arms out there, big available arms, and the combination of his stuff and just kind of knowing his personality a little bit … he’s been nothing short of amazing. It’s not easy to do what he’s doing, pitching this much and in high leverage. But I trust the hell out of him.”
The Blue Jays have gotten help on the margins, too, from less-heralded acquisitions on the position player side. Veterans Ty France and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have each been called into duty after injuries to Toronto’s regulars. France made his postseason debut during Monday’s extra-inning affair, going 1-for-3 off the bench, and had an RBI groundout on Tuesday to add an insurance run in the seventh inning. Kiner-Falefa has appeared in 13 playoff games (eight starts) and went 5-for-15 during the final four games of the ALCS to help the Blue Jays erase an 0–2 series deficit.
Add it all together, and the moves point to an organization that has successfully prioritized culture fits and niche roster needs over chasing big names.
“You have to give some credit to the front office there,” infielder Ernie Clement said. “They didn’t just get really, really good baseball players, they got really, really good people who fit right in in the locker room. It felt like all those guys came over and just fit right in immediately.”
As much as the Jays have leaned on contributions from up and down the roster, Tuesday night was a showcase for their big stars. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. continued his supernova of a postseason by taking Ohtani deep for a two-run homer in the third, his seventh home run of the playoffs. Two-time All-Star Bo Bichette had the hardest-hit ball of the night—a 109.6 mph rocket off the left field wall in the seventh that scored a run and ricocheted off the fence so hard he was held to a single.
And in the middle of it all was Bieber, a native of nearby Orange County with an impressive big-league résumé who had only known one organization for his entire professional career. In the wake of returning from a career-threatening injury and getting acclimated to a new clubhouse in the middle of a pennant race, Bieber picked up the pieces in the aftermath of Monday’s historic ordeal to get the Blue Jays back on even footing with the defending champions.
“Coming off of what could [have been] a back-breaking loss last night, it was an absolute pleasure to show up today and see that guys are—nobody changes, nobody ever wavers, nobody ever hesitates,” Bieber said. “It’s the same group of guys each and every day that continue to put the work in, continue to compete, continue to rely on each other, and it's an absolute pleasure to play for them.”
Given his performances leading up to—and including—Tuesday night, it’s a sentiment that’s surely mutual among his new teammates.