Toronto Blue Jays acquire pitchers Bieber, Varland
Cleveland received righty Khal Stephen, a 22-year-old minor-league pitcher ranked the No. 5 prospect in Toronto's system by MLB Pipeline.
Toronto also picked up right-handed pitcher Louis Varland and first baseman Ty France from the Minnesota Twins, as well as catching prospect Brandon Valenzuela from the San Diego Padres.
Toronto sent outfielder Alan Roden and left-handed pitcher Kendry Rojas to the Twins, and dealt infielder Will Wagner to the Padres on Thursday.
Bieber, 30, is nearing a return from Tommy John surgery and hasn't pitched in the majors this season.
He's posted a 1.59 earned-run average and 0.71 WHIP across four rehab starts, including a seven-strikeout performance over four innings Tuesday with Double-A Akron.
Story continues below advertisement
The former American League Cy Young winner has spent his entire career with Cleveland since he was drafted in 2016, compiling a 62-32 record with a 3.22 ERA over 136 big-league appearances. He's also a two-time all-star, a Gold Glove recipient and was named MVP of the 2019 all-star game.
Bieber won the Cy Young in 2020 during the pandemic-shortened 60-game season, after leading the majors in wins (8), ERA (1.63) and strikeouts (122). He became just the ninth pitcher since 1913 to claim MLB's Triple Crown.
Get daily National news
Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
He agreed to a one-year, US$14 million contract last fall with a $16 million player option for 2026.
Stephen, meanwhile, has gone 9-1 with a 2.06 ERA across three minor-league levels this season.
The Mississippi State product was a second-round pick by Toronto in 2024 and has struck out 27.9 per cent of opposing batters in his first full pro campaign.
Story continues below advertisement
The Jays continued to load up on pitchers after adding reliever Seranthony Dominguez from the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday.
Varland, 27, posted a 2.02 earned-run average, which ranks sixth among AL relievers, through 51 games with the Twins this season. The six-foot-one, 205-pound thrower has played 89 games, including 22 starts, over four seasons with Minnesota. His record was 8-14 with a 4.62 ERA.
The 31-year-old France hit .251 in 101 games for the Twins this year, including 19 doubles, six home runs, and 44 RBI. The Californian has appeared in 803 career MLB games with San Diego, Seattle, Cincinnati and Minnesota.
The 24-year-old Valenzuela hit 14 doubles, a triple, a dozen home runs and 46 RBI while carrying an on-base plus slugging percentage of .700 through 87 games for Double-A San Antonio this season.
The catcher from Hermosillo, Mexico, has thrown out 25 base runners. His 34.7 per cent caught stealing percentage ranks second among all Double-A catchers.
Roden appeared in 43 games for Toronto this year with a batting average of .204, seven extra-base hits and eight RBI. The 25-year-old was named the Blue Jays Minor League Player of the Year in 2024.
The 22-year-old Rojas started 10 games across four levels in the Blue Jays' minor-league system this season for an ERA of 3.46 over 41.2 innings.
Story continues below advertisement
Wagner from Houston, Texas, appeared in 40 games for the Blue Jays this season with a batting average of .237, seven extra-base hits and seven RBI.
Toronto acquired Wagner, 27, from the Astros at last season's trade deadline along with outfielder Joey Loperfido and pitcher Jake Bloss in exchange for pitcher Yusei Kikuchi.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
7 minutes ago
- National Post
Buck Martinez ready to return to Sportsnet booth for Blue Jays' playoff push
With the Shane Bieber watch under way and the other Blue Jays trade deadline acquisitions to monitor, it's an active time around the team. Article content But a big impending move off the field will be well-received by the fan base that has been driving huge TV ratings on Sportsnet this season. Article content Article content A source told the Toronto Sun on Friday that popular colour commentator Buck Martinez is scheduled to make his return to the airwaves when the Jays travel to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers in a weekend series that begins next Friday. Article content Article content It will be a welcome return for the long-time voice of the team, who has been sidelined with medical concerns since late May. Article content But Martinez has been getting stronger by the day and is excited for his return working alongside his play-by-play partner, Dan Shulman. Article content Through Martinez's absence, Shulman has worked with a variety of partners, primarily regular studio host Joe Siddall, who is with him again for this weekend's three-game series against the Kansas City Royals. Article content During his absence, Martinez has remained engaged with the team's progress and surge up the standings as well as the activities around the trade deadline. Article content On June 30, Sportsnet announced that Martinez's absence would be elongated as he recovered from a medical 'setback.' Article content 'Hey Blue Jays fans, I was planning to be back in the booth tonight after some scheduled time off, but I recently had a little health setback,' Martinez's statement on the broadcast said. 'While I'm feeling pretty good, I'm going to take some extra time off out of an abundance of caution. Article content
Winnipeg Free Press
37 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bristol Motor Speedway set to host Tennessee's first MLB game with record crowd
BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Bristol Motor Speedway is ready to make history by hosting the first Major League Baseball game in Tennessee. The stage, or in this case the racetrack, has been set for the biggest crowd for a regular season baseball game at Saturday night's MLB Speedway Classic between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds. 'The way the venue looks really is something that you can put on paper, but you really can't get a true vision of it until you actually put grandstands on the infield of the track, and you put 3,500 seats in the middle of 87,000 seats,' Jeremiah Yolkut, MLB's senior vice president of global events, said Friday. 'Those things just don't become a reality until you actually see them.' What fans will see Saturday is a baseball diamond tucked inside the infield of the half-mile bullring at Bristol. A temporary grandstand wraps around both sidelines with a press box at the top. The track's Colossus videoboard hovers over foul territory along the third base line. Any balls hit off Colossus will be foul. Three-time All-Star Sean Casey played in a March 2008 exhibition between the Red Sox and Dodgers with 115,300 at the Los Angeles Coliseum for the largest crowd ever to see a baseball game. Casey said Friday that the energy from the fans that day was 'incredible.' 'I think the Reds and the Braves taking this field with 90,000-plus people at Bristol Motor Speedway, the energy for this game is going to be off the charts,' Casey said after spending time on this field broadcasting with MLB Network. MLB didn't try to top that 2008 mark for attendance, blocking off seats in Turns 3 and 4 at the track with a racing capacity of 146,000. Officials announced Monday that more than 85,000 tickets had been sold to top the previous paid attendance of 84,587 set Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees. Yolkut said a difference between now and the 2008 game is this is a regular-season game and not an exhibition. This game wasn't about simply packing people in to set a record and telling some fans to just watch the game on the videoboard. 'We thought it was important to have as minimal obstruction seats as possible and to make sure that the fans coming were going to have a great experience,' Yolkut said. The Reds held off the Braves 3-2 in Cincinnati on Friday afternoon. That gave everyone at Bristol time to prepare for Saturday's spectacle. The teams have separate clubhouses, with the Reds behind the baseball field's grandstand and the Braves just past the right field fence next to the track wall. A few miles away, the Braves threw a watch party at the Bristol Paramount Theater for Friday's game. Admission was free with souvenirs available and the concession stand open with the big screen view. To make sure fans arrive early Saturday, MLB also has a plan. The MLB Fan Zone just outside the speedway's towering walls features a 110-foot Ferris wheel, food trucks, pitching tunnels and batting cages and team mascots. Tim McGraw and Pitbull will headline a big pre-game concert inside Bristol. A flyover is planned, and Chipper Jones and Johnny Bench will handle the first pitch. The chance to see history had fans arriving Thursday to take advantage of Bristol's campgrounds. A group of Braves' fans came from Charleston, South Carolina, and set up tents. Rich Lorenzo, 40, has been watching the Braves since he grew up in Columbus, Georgia. 'I'm super excited because here I've actually run Bristol in two different cars here, and it's kind of cool to come for something other than racing,' Lorenzo said as he sat next to his tent. 'So it's a really, really amazing event to be a part of. Plus, the first Major League Baseball game in Tennessee.' Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. The 124,000 square feet of AstroTurf will be donated after the game to East Tennessee State University as part of MLB 's Better Together social responsibility initiative. ETSU has had 45 players taken in the MLB draft. That program also held a STEM event in the infield Friday. About 60 members of the local Boys and Girls Club got to show the science and math behind hitting a baseball, running the bases or the quick reactions needed for players and NASCAR drivers. 'We also get the opportunity to invest in the community that's hosting us,' said April Brown, MLB's senior vice president of social responsibility. 'So this is incredibly important to our MLB Together pillars because education and partnerships are key to what we want to invest in.' ___ AP MLB: and AP auto racing:
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Will Benson homers as Reds even series against Braves with a 3-2 win
CINCINNATI (AP) — Will Benson hit his ninth multi-run homer of the year to power the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Friday. Left-handed batters were hitting .292 against the lefty Dylan Dodd coming into the game. With two outs in the seventh, manager Terry Francona elected to let Benson face him and Benson sent it 356 feet to left field. Matt McLain singled to score Benson to break a scoreless tie in the sixth inning. Benson singled and stole second to set up the run. Brady Singer (9-8) struck out a season-high 10 batters in six scoreless innings. He allowed four hits and a walk. It was his first career win over the Braves in four decisions. Bryce Elder (4-8) pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks. Scott Barlow pitched a scoreless seventh. Tony Santillan appeared in his major league leading 55th appearance in a scoreless eighth. The Braves scored both their runs in the ninth. Ozzie Albies singled a run home and Luke Williams hit a sacrifice fly. Emilio Pagan got his 23rd save in 26 chances. The Braves' Austin Riley struck out four times, leaving three runners on base. Key moment Singer pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning. Key stat Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Benson has two hits, both home runs against left handed pitchers in 17 at bats. Up next Chase Burns (0-3, 6.26) will face Spencer Strider (5-8, 3.71) in the first MLB game in the state of Tennessee in the MLB Speedway Classic. ___ AP MLB:
