Boston Red Sox Tried Hard to Steal Star from Cleveland Guardians

The Boston Red Sox tried hard to make a push to steal a star away from the Cleveland Guardians.

Mar 12, 2024; Surprise, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Surprise Stadium. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians were able to accomplish their top goal coming into the offseason. Shane Bieber agreeed to return and signed a one-year deal to do so. However, the Boston Red Sox tried hard to steal him away.

According to a report from Robert Murray of FanSided, the Red Sox made an aggressive push to sign Bieber. Thankfully, they came up short and the Guardians brought him back.

Here's what Murray had to say about the matter:

"Before Shane Bieber re-signed with the Cleveland Guardians, the Boston Red Sox were “aggressive” and made a “serious push” to sign the right-hander, according to sources familiar with the situation. Bieber, 30 in May, turned down more money with other teams to return to Cleveland, sources say. In his deal with the Guardians, he will earn $10 million in 2025 with a $16 million player option for 2026 that includes a $4 million buyout."

Needless to say, turning down a team like Boston to return to Cleveland shows just how much he wanted to play with the Guardians. Turning down more money to re-sign shows a lot about his loyalty to the franchise.

Bieber could end up being the piece that was missing for Cleveland last season. Especially in the postseason, the Guardians badly needed an ace pitcher.

If he can get back to full health and pitch the way he was pitching before his elbow injury and Tommy John surgery, Bieber will be that ace. He's the kind of guy that can completely take over a game when the team needs him to.

Throughout his entire career with Cleveland, Bieber has made a total of 136 appearances with 134 of them being starts. He has compiled a 62-32 record to go along with a 3.22 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, a 5.1 K/BB ratio, and 843 innings pitched.

Those numbers show how dominant he has been throughout his career.

Hopefully, he can get back to full healthy and make the kind of impact that he's capable of making. It's not a sure thing, but clearly the Guardians feel very good about his chances of getting healthy and being their rotation ace again.