It seems at least a few teams are waiting for the Cleveland Guardians to make ace Shane Bieber available this summer.
“The imperative for the Cleveland Guardians before July 1 is easy: Figure out if they can hit at all, and then figure out whether Shane Bieber is going to bring them more at the deadline or the winter,” ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan explained for a piece published Thursday. “Three general managers this week said they believe Bieber will be dealt before (the Aug. 1 trade deadline).”
One unnamed National League executive told ESPN’s Buster Olney last month it was assumed Cleveland would keep Bieber in an attempt to repeat as American League Central Division champions. Since that time, however, the Guardians went from 17-20 on the season to an uninspiring 25-30.
Cleveland began Thursday trailing the first-place Minnesota Twins by just three-and-a-half games in the division standings, but ESPN stats show the Guardians were also tied with the lowly Oakland Athletics for the fewest runs scored (200) on the campaign.
Passan pointed out that Cleveland traded Mike Clevinger ahead of the 2020 deadline and shipped Trevor Bauer out of town in the summer of 2019. For MLB.com, Sarah Langs shared how the Guardians traded C.C. Sabathia and Cliff Lee not long after they completed Cy Young seasons earlier in the 2000s as well.
Bieber, meanwhile, earned Cy Young Award honors for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and can reach free agency after the 2024 campaign. The right-hander, who turned 28 years old Wednesday, has gone 4-3 with a 3.72 ERA across 12 starts and 75 innings of work this spring.
League insider Jon Heyman said earlier this week during an MLB Network appearance he believes Bieber could become available if Cleveland doesn’t catch up to Minnesota before the All-Star break.
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