At the end of last month, the Cleveland Guardians acquired minor league pitcher Khal Stephen from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Shane Bieber in a trade that required a bit of patience from both parties involved.
While Bieber is a Cy Young winner who has looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball when healthy, he was still rehabbing from last year’s Tommy John surgery at the time of the trade. And, on the other side, Stephen was ranked as one of the best pitching prospects in the Blue Jays’ system but was also on the injured list with right shoulder impingement at the time of the trade.