The Cleveland Guardians agreed to terms with Shane Bieber on a one-year $14 million contract earlier today. This contract includes a player option for $12 million in 2026. Bieber’s 2024 ended after two starts as he underwent Tommy John Surgery in April. This surgery has his availability for 2025 in doubt as he is expected to miss the first few months of next season.
Injury is nothing new to Bieber as he had a shoulder injury that limited his 2021 season and an elbow injury knocked him out for a few months in 2023. He won the “Pitching Triple Crown” in 2020 on his way to the Cy Young Award and a fourth-place finish in the American League MVP voting. Bieber is a two-time MLB All-Star, finished Top 10 in Cy Young voting two other times, and won a Gold Glove in 2022. He has a career record of 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA during his seven-year career with the Cleveland Guardians. Will this contract end up working out well for both sides?
Bieber and the Cleveland Guardians Pitching Staff
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Cleveland(92-69) won the American League Central this past season and made the MLB Playoffs for the sixth time in the past nine seasons. They ended up losing to the New York Yankees in five games in the ALCS. Bieber joins a Guardians pitching staff that includes Triston McKenzie, Tanner Bibee, and the best closer in Major League Baseball, Emmanuel Clase. Clase finished the regular season second in the league with 46 saves and a spectacular 0.61 ERA.
The Cleveland Guardians pitching staff was strong as a whole in 2024. They were third in the league in ERA, 10th in strikeouts, and fifth in WHIP. Cleveland also pitched well during the postseason with a 3.64 ERA, but they were overpowered by the Yankees in the ALCS.
Final Thoughts
A healthy Shane Bieber will be a great addition to the Cleveland Guardians over the final few months of the regular season. He is still one of the league’s best pitchers but has struggled to remain healthy in recent years. If he can regain his old form, he can help the Cleveland Guardians once he returns from injury in 2025.
