The Toronto Blue Jays have bolstered their starting rotation ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, reportedly acquiring Shane Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians.The Blue Jays will send pitching prospect Khal Stephen to Cleveland as part of the trade, sources confirmed with Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith.Bieber, a two-time All-Star, hasn’t pitched in the majors this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, but has made four rehab starts in the minors, registering a 1.59 ERA with 21 strikeouts and one walk. When healthy, Bieber is a front-end starting pitcher, with a career ERA of 3.22 and a K/9 of 10.2. He won the American League Cy Young award with Cleveland during the shortened 2020 season, pitching to an 8-1 record, 122 strikeouts and a league-best 1.63 ERA across 12 starts. In 2019, Shane “Don’t call me Justin” Bieber finished with a career-high 214 1/3 innings pitched, 259 strikeouts and only 1.7 BB/9. He finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting that season. He won an AL Gold Glove award in 2022.The 30-year-old has a $16 million player option for 2026.When he’s ready to return to the majors, Bieber will join a Blue Jays starting rotation that consists of Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer and Eric Lauer.Khal Stephen was selected by the Blue Jays in the second round of the 2024 draft out of Mississippi State University. The 22-year-old was one of Toronto’s best minor-league pitchers this season, registering a 2.06 ERA and 91 strikeouts across 91 2/3 innings split between Single-A Dunedin, High-A Vancouver and Double-A New Hampshire. Bieber is Toronto’s latest addition after the club traded for right-handed reliever Seranthony Dominguez on Tuesday. The Blue Jays enter Friday’s home game against the Kansas City Royals with a four-game lead over the New York Yankees for first in the AL East.