by History may repeat itself in Cleveland with trade rumors and speculation ramping up around their ace Shane Bieber. Bieber has recently been shut down for two weeks due to elbow inflammation and is on the 15-day IL. He is boosting a 5-6 record on the season with an era of 3.77 and a whip of 1.25. The Cleveland Guardians have a history of shipping off pitchers with the likes of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, and Trevor Bauer in the most recent past. The trade deadline is August 1st and time is ticking for the Guardians to make a move. But let’s look at the rotation and what the Guardians can get for Bieber.
Looking at the rotation, the club has Aaron Civale, Cal Quantrill, and Triston McKenzie (who is still injured). But the Guardians have exciting young prospects in Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, and Logan Allen. The three young pitchers have been promising this year and have been dealing on the mound. While McKenzie has been battling injury all season, and Quantrill has been very disappointing. So can this rotation without Bieber be strong enough to contend in the playoffs? The simple answer is no.
Shane Bieber has the experience and is easily one of the most talented pitchers in the American League. He won the Cy Young award in 2020 and has pitched in multiple playoff games with good outings. Shane’s numbers have dropped off this season though. But without Shane leading the Rotation, I can’t see a handful of the Guardian’s starting pitchers doing well in the postseason with little to no experience. What are the Guardians looking to get from a potential Shane Bieber trade?
The Guardians would ultimately look for an outfield bat with power. The Guardians are ranked dead last in home runs this year with 70, while the Kansas City Royals are the 2nd worst with 82. Some great trade destinations are the St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, and Cincinnati Reds. The Cleveland Guardians can get great value out of Shane Bieber and have some great players in Columbus right now waiting for their opportunity. The teams making the trade for Bieber would need to pay the 28-year-old pitcher but would elevate those teams and potentially take a big step in the right direction.
Shane has delivered for the Cleveland Guardians but realistically the organization won’t be able to afford to pay Shane what he wants. He will become a free agent after the 2024 season and will inevitably leave the club one way or another. It would be hard to see the Guardians let him go walking rather than being traded. Ultimately the Cleveland Guardians shouldn’t let go of Bieber this year though, the team has a good shot of winning the AL Central and making the playoffs. The clock hasn’t struck midnight yet for Shane but I’m predicting him to be in a different jersey by next season.
