The Cleveland Guardians had a 2023 season that fell short of expectations and the club's leaders will want to make amends next campaign, because they know they have a chance of stealing their division title from the Minnesota Twins by playing at the Guardians way, that is, basic baseball.
The American League Central Division was the worst in terms of performance in 2023 and the poor performance of the Cleveland Guardians weighed heavily in the balance.
Weakened by the departure of their manager Terry Francona, the Guardians will have to draw on their reserves in order to be successful in 2024 and pitcher Shane Bieber is part of the solution.
Heavily involved in transaction rumors from the four corners of America, Bieber would probably no longer be traded.
The latter mentioned a few weeks ago that he was open to signing a contract extension in Cleveland or elsewhere, but the truth is that the Guardians cannot afford to lose a pitcher of his caliber in order to be competitive again , even if his health is fragile.
Bieber, 28, has thrown 200 innings or more on two occasions since the start of his career, in 2019 and 2022. His state of health is of concern and this is what makes him less attractive for other teams, despite a extraordinary talent.
The winner of the Cy Young trophy in the American in 2020 is therefore condemned to continue his career in Cleveland, he who was a fourth round choice of the Guardians at the 2016 auction.
Newly named training manager, Stephen Vogt has big shoes to fill in replacing Francona and he will need all the necessary talent to allow his team to perform at a higher level again.
The former major league catcher is keeping his fingers crossed that Bieber will be healthy again when training camps open. Without him, the Guardians would have a serious deficit to overcome and would be helpless on the mound in order to fight on equal terms with their rivals from Minnesota.
Shane Bieber isn't on the list of top ten starting pitchers in the majors right now and injuries have a lot to do with it, but we can confidently say he's among the top twenty most talented.
Playing in a market like Cleveland doesn't help him get the attention he deserves, but to get there he has to throw innings and strike batters and that's exactly what Guardians management expects in 2024.
In his career, he has a record of 60 wins against 32 losses and an earned run average of 3.27.
