Last year Shane Bieber helped lead the Cleveland Guardians to a surprising division title and pushed the New York Yankees to the brink in the American League Division Series. This year, the Guardians haven’t gotten off to the start many expected. The Guardians entered Tuesday 27-33 and 3.5 games back of the division leading Minnesota Twins. Cleveland will likely remain in the division hunt throughout the summer thanks to a weak AL Central division. However, now more than ever, it’s time to trade Shane Bieber.
Multiple GMs believe Shane Bieber is a name to watch at this year's trade deadline, according to reports.#MLBNow | @StevePhillipsGM | @RAJr_20 pic.twitter.com/dhDv0reWFe
— MLB Now (@MLBNow) June 2, 2023
Shane Bieber has been a mainstay in the rotation since making his debut during the 2018 span. Bieber is a two-time All-Star and a 2020 Cy Young winner. Cleveland still has Bieber under control through the 2024 season, but it appears unlikely the two will agree on an extension. Bieber will be only 29 when he can enter free agency. Even with a decrease in velocity, he has still put up ace-like numbers. There should be a healthy market for Bieber if he’s looking for a big payday.
Cleveland doesn’t usually hand out large contracts (outside of the José Ramîrez and Andrés Giménez extensions). The organization also has a reputation for being a pitching factory and currently has two rookies in their rotation with more on the way. Rookies Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen have been tremendous since joining the starting rotation. Allen sports a 2.76 ERA through eight starts and Bibee a 3.20 ERA through seven starts. Gavin Williams (MLB’s #17 prospect according to MLB.com) and Joey Cantillo (Cleveland’s #17 prospect) have both been dominant in AA and AAA so far this season.
Tanner Bibee joins Logan Allen, Aaron Civale, and Luis Tiant as the only pitchers in CLE history to allow 2 ER or fewer with 5+ K in each of his first 2 career starts.pic.twitter.com/eUELFMKm4i
— Cleveland Stats (@CLE_STATS) May 3, 2023
Along with the impressive rookies and prospects, Cleveland has other veterans to replace Bieber. Triston McKenzie made his season debut on Sunday pitching five innings only surrendering one hit, zero runs, and striking out 10. Last year McKenzie started 30 games, posting a 2.96 ERA with 190 strikeouts. Aaron Civale also made his return over the weekend after missing time with an injury. Civale went five innings of shutout baseball as well only surrendering four hits while striking out four. For the season, Civale has made three starts and has a 2.04 ERA. You can never have too much pitching, but Cleveland appears to at least have enough.
Cleveland’s slow start to the season can be attributed to their lackluster offense. On the season, the Guardians as a team rank 29th in runs per game, 30th in home runs, 28th in slugging, and 24th in batting average. Their pitching staff meanwhile ranks eighth in earned runs allowed. If Cleveland’s offense could get close to league average, they could easily find their way back into the playoff picture. Trading Shane Bieber would help bring in a potential impact bat. It’s not often that two teams with an eye on the playoffs swap major league talent, but this is a case where it could benefit both parties.
Photo credit: Tony Dejak
The St. Louis Cardinals would be one potential team to keep an eye on. The Cardinals as a team have struggled with consistency in the starting rotation and have an abundance of outfielders. Flipping one of their many outfielders for a top-of-the-rotation arm could help the Cardinals get back to the playoffs this year. The Baltimore Orioles are another team to watch. The Orioles have long struggled with starting pitching and have a great mix of youth and veterans in their lineup. The Orioles could afford to trade a bat for Bieber, in hopes of making the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Trading Shane Bieber would certainly be difficult for the team and fans to digest. However, it may be more beneficial to trade Bieber at the deadline this year instead of waiting until the offseason or next year. If Cleveland truly hopes to build on last year’s success, they need more offense. Bieber can be the way to bring that in. It’s time to trade Shane Bieber.
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