Guardians trade Shane Bieber, keep Steven Kwan as deadline passes

Driving the news: Cleveland traded former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber to the Toronto Blue Jays for top pitching prospect Khal Stephen.

• Bieber has not pitched in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, but is expected to return later this month after making successful rehab starts for the Akron RubberDucks.

State of play: The Guardians are nine games back of the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central and two games back of the final AL Wild Card spot heading into today's games.

Yes, but: Cleveland is also without closer Emmanuel Clase and starting pitcher Luis Ortiz.

• The two were placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of MLB's sports gambling investigation.

What they're saying: "We're not going to name a closer," manager Stephen Vogt said earlier this week in regard to the loss of Clase.

• "We're going to go [closer] by committee for right now … You'll see different people in the ninth. It could organically end up being one person. But for now, we're not going to officially name a closer."

The bottom line: The Guardians probably can't catch the dominant Tigers.

• However, if — and that's a big if — Cleveland's pitching can hold up, there's a chance at a Wild Card spot.