On Monday, Ross Atkins had his first press conference of the Winter Meetings.
There were a few interesting notes, including regarding the José Berríos situation, which you can read here. The other notable point from the press conference revolves around Shane Bieber, whom the Toronto Blue Jays will monitor during the spring.
Thankfully, it seems like he’ll be ready for the start of the season. Acquired in a deal before the trade deadline, Bieber hadn’t pitched since the very start of the 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery. In fact, it was nearly a month before he made his Blue Jays’ debut.
Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins just met with the media here at the Winter Meetings.
Per Atkins, Shane Bieber is expected to be ready for opening day. Atkins described Bieber’s progress as week to week & acknowledged Jays may watch his workload in spring. pic.twitter.com/L7wOIdJnjY
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) December 8, 2025
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It was a successful outing against the Miami Marlins on the road, going six innings while giving up just two hits and one earned run. Overall, he finished the season with a 3.57 ERA and 4.47 FIP in 40.1 innings pitched. But the Blue Jays didn’t acquire the 2020 Cy Young winner for the regular season.
Bieber was solid in the postseason as well. He struggled in his start against the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Divisional Series, but pitched well in the American League Championship Series and had a strong start in the World Series. Of course, his World Series will be remembered for the solo home run he gave up in the 11th inning of Game 7, but Bieber finished with a strong 3.86 ERA and 4.26 FIP.
Early in the off-season, he shocked everyone when he didn’t opt out of his contract, instead settling on an additional year while making $16 million. With a full season at 100%, it won’t be surprising if Bieber returns to the form that made him an ace for the Cleveland Guardians.
Other notes
The José Berríos news is the most notable piece of news to come from the press conference, so let’s touch on it here. Toward the end of the season, Berríos was removed from the rotation and later placed on the Injured List. Throughout the postseason, he wasn’t seen in the dugout often and was absent during the World Series. Atkins noted Berríos wasn’t happy about it, but they plan to proceed to next season with Berríos on their roster.
If Berríos remains, the Jays will have six starters in the rotation, along with Bieber, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Dylan Cease, and Cody Ponce. It makes sense that the Blue Jays plan to keep Louis Varland as a reliever, as he finished last season with a 2.97 ERA and 3.14 FIP. Varland also set the record for the most postseason appearances for a pitcher.
Lastly, as usual, Atkins was cagey when asked about free agents. As expected, Atkins was asked about both Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker and eventually said this:
“Getting into the weeds on free agency is something that just sets me up to talk about too much of the market.”
Atkins will have another press conference on Tuesday, as the team will introduce Dylan Cease. It’ll be interesting to see how this off-season plays out.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.