The Cleveland Guardians have managed to put together some impressive starting pitching depth.
Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie are the most established starters, but this past season, arms like Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, Logan Allen, Xzavion Curry, Hunter Gaddis and others took a step forward and put themselves in the team’s long-term plans, particularly Bibee, Williams, and Allen.
It’s not like Bieber is “expendable”: that wouldn’t be the right word to describe his situation.
However, he is entering his final season of team control, is expected to make a bit more than $12 million in arbitration, and then will depart via free agency.
The Guardians haven’t given him an extension to this point, and we wonder if they are interested in paying him market value.
As a result, he has been involved in trade chatter for years and his offseason is definitely no exception.
To the contrary, the rumors are louder than ever.
“Several teams have been showing interest in Shane Bieber via the trade market.”
– @jonmorosi | #MLBNHotStove pic.twitter.com/WqgBgcoWeO
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 21, 2023
MLB insider Jon Morosi says that multiple teams have shown their interest in Bieber.
He had an arm injury this season, and his innings output (128) and effectiveness (3.80 ERA, diminished strikeout rate) were affected in 2023.
The results were far from a disaster, though, and he showed he can still pitch at a high level.
Inquiring teams are aware of his recent injury, and the fact that they continue to ask around means that they are confident he can pitch a relatively normal season in 2024 and bounce back to pre-injury form.
We are talking about a pitcher with a career 3.27 ERA and a Cy Young award who is 28.
Theoretically, he should be attracting a lot of suitors.
That’s exactly what’s happening.
The post Guardians Ace Reportedly Drawing Interest This Offseason appeared first on The Cold Wire.