Shane Bieber‘s debut with the Toronto Blue Jays is quickly approaching.
The right-hander continued his rehab from Tommy John surgery on Saturday, tossing 5.2 innings for triple-A Buffalo.
Bieber allowed two runs on four hits while striking out six and allowing one walk during the Bisons’ 5-3 win over the Worcester Red Sox.
“It looked good, with (him) right now it’s ‘what are your pitches doing, how are you feeling after your outings,’” manager John Schneider told reporters before the Blue Jays’ tilt against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bieber got up to 78 pitches during his latest appearance, 54 of which were strikes that generated 14 whiffs. His fastball averaged 92.7 m.p.h., topping out at 93.9 m.p.h.
Schneider added that Bieber, a splash addition at the trade deadline, will head back to Toronto on Saturday and will likely require one more start in triple-A, with a target of around 85 pitches.
As far as what happens when Bieber is ready to make the jump to the big club, Schneider said the Blue Jays “haven’t really decided if it’s definitely going to be a six-man yet.”
But added that “it’s a definite possibility that we do (a six-man rotation) for 10 days or two weeks. But haven’t finalized it.”
In other Jays injury news, Andrés Giménez (sprained ankle) made his fourth rehab appearance with the Bisons, going 4-for-5 at the dish, scoring a pair of runs and stealing a base.
