The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner for the Guardians, Shane Bieber, is looking to send the Toronto Blue Jays to the World Series for the first time since winning back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993.
Bieber spent the first seven years of his career with Cleveland, finishing with 62 wins and a 3.22 ERA. He won the Cy Young award in the shortened 2020 season and made the All-Star team in both 2019 and 2021.
In April of 2024, Bieber felt pain in his elbow. A few weeks later, he underwent Tommy John surgery. Before the injury, there were rumors that Bieber could be traded due to his expiring contract. That trade would have to wait until this season.
Ahead of the trade deadline, the Guardians traded Bieber, who was in the middle of rehabbing from Tommy John, to the Jays. The Guardians received the Jays’ #5 prospect, Khal Stephen, a righty pitcher with strikeout potential.
The 22-year-old Stephen, in his first year in the minors, posted a 9-2 record with a 2.53 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 103 innings pitched.
While Bieber is getting the ball to start Game 7 for the Jays, he has not been everything the Jays hoped for when trading for him.
According to Baseball Savant, Bieber has an average hard hit rate of 48.2%, which is in the bottom 20 in all of MLB. His average exit velocity is 93.2 mph and his xERA (4.57) is a full run higher than his actual ERA (3.57).
In his two postseason starts, Bieber has given up two runs in each game. In fact, he has given up less than 2 runs only twice this entire season. Once against the Orioles and once against the Marlins. Not exactly world beater offenses.
Losing Bieber may have hurt in the moment. Watching him on a successful playoff run also is not easy. What will be easy, is watching Bieber in retirement while you have a pitcher like Khal Stephen shoving in the majors, whether it be as a starter or a reliever.
Losing important pieces of a team hurts, especially when they are considered by many to be ‘fan favorites.’ But fans and front offices need to look to the future. A 30-year-old Bieber was not going to do much good for the Guardians this year, even with the losses of Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase. It is much more beneficial taking on a young, electric arm that can help you repeat as division champions and make another ALCS or even World Series.
As Guardians fans, we will be rooting for Bieber’s success. But fans should be rooting harder for these young arms to develop into what the front office envisioned them to be when the trade was made.
