Should the Guardians Seek a Shane Bieber Reunion?

There will inevitably be plenty of discourse this offseason about how the Cleveland Guardians can improve for the 2027 season. One area the front office must explore improving is the starting rotation.

One route to upgrading the starting five could be seeking an old friend of the organization: free agent pitcher Shane Bieber.

Cleveland drafted Bieber in 2016 and saw him become a Cy Young candidate and All-Star Game MVP with the organization. His last start with the Guardians came at the start of 2023. Bieber learned he needed Tommy John surgery shortly after that outing. 

Cleveland then traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays at the 2025 deadline, but now Bieber is on the open market.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic recently suggested the Guardians could be a good fit for Bieber on a one-year contract worth around $20 million.

Several reasons make this move make a lot of sense for the Guardians.

Bieber was comfortable in Cleveland, and the team’s Arizona complex is located just a short drive from his offseason home. Those were two factors in why he re-signed with the Guardians after the 2024 season.

Bringing back Bieber would be more than just a storybook narrative for Cleveland, though. The Guardians need a pitcher of his caliber.

The Guardians have enough starting pitchers to get through the 162-game regular season. However, Cleveland’s October run showed that the Guardians need some more proven high-leverage arms for the postseason, and Bieber checks those boxes.

Foster Griffin was essentially Cleveland’s third starter during October, but he’s now a free agent.

Bieber has appeared in eight games (seven starts) across three postseason runs. Overall, he has a 4.42 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP in those outings. His best playoff run was in 2022, when he gave up just three earned runs in two starts during Cleveland’s ALDS run.

The bottom line is that the veteran knows what it takes to pitch in the playoffs, and Cleveland needs more postseason pitching depth.

Sure, there are some injury concerns with Bieber, but the Guardians should feel more comfortable bringing in a player they’re familiar with rather than someone they have very little information on. The same goes for Bieber potentially coming back to a team that knows him and helped him rehab after Tommy John surgery.

If the Guardians are going to take a risk on a veteran pitcher this offseason, signing Bieber makes the most sense.