Guardians Front Office On Shane Bieber's Future
One of the hot-button topics surrounding the Cleveland Guardians this offseason will be what the franchise does with their longest-tenured starting pitcher, Shane Bieber.
The organization typically trades starting pitchers who have an All-Star background, one year left on their deal, and could bring back a nice haul of prospects. Just look at Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and Mike Clevinger as recent examples of this.
General Manager Mike Chernoff spoke about Bieber's future and where it stands heading into the offseason.
"We expect Shane to be in our rotation. I mean we have a really strong rotation between Shane, Triston (McKenzie), and some of our young pitchers, which we feel can be the strength of our team. So, we're looking to build around that. Obviously, we have to be open-minded about any potential trade opportunities on any player, but we're expecting Shane to be a big part of our team next year."
Chernoff plays it pretty safe here. He acknowledges that Bieber is a vital piece to Cleveland's dominant pitching rotation, while also leaving the door open for a potential trade if it becomes a possibility.
A lot of this could come down to how healthy Bieber is. Injuries have been a problem for the former Cy Young pitcher in two of the last three seasons. According to Chernoff, there is some optimism on Bieber's health.
May 26, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) throws a pitch during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
© Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
"Look, Shane came back and made two great starts at the end of the year. He had a great season up through around mid-July when he had to take a break with the elbow issues that he had and we were concerned with how much time he'd get back toward the end of the year to make sure he came back healthy. We sort of went really conservative with our ramp-up with him ... he feels great going into the offseason."
Time will tell whether the Guardians will trade Bieber. Right now, it does sound like the plan is for him to return.
