MLB Rumors: Surprise team emerges for Shane Bieber?
Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber is expected to be available for trade at the deadline should the team still find themselves out of contention. Much of this has to do with Bieber’s contract, and the face that Cleveland believes they have the talent in-house to replace him.
Ken Rosenthal and other pundits have been curious about Bieber’s overall value, however. While his numbers suggest otherwise, Bieber’s fastball velocity has dropped considerably over the past few years. He’ll have to become a different pitcher — one who throws to contact — on the fly, and on certain teams without a capable defense behind him, that may not work.
So, which teams are expected to have interest in Bieber? MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand mentioned a couple, namely the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. While that’s not necessarily surprising given the large markets both of those teams represent, the Baltimore Orioles would be unexpected. Here’s what Feinsand had to say about the possibility of a Bieber deal:
“Bieber will be in a position to earn a raise from his $10 million salary in his final year of arbitration next winter, there’s a chance the Guardians could move him if they don’t view themselves as true championship contenders. Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young winner, has allowed two or fewer earned runs in nine of his 15 starts this season, throwing a league-high 95 innings.”
However, the O’s currently own one of the AL Wild Card spots, and don’t seem to be going away anytime soon. Should Baltimore choose to make a move for pitching help, acquiring Bieber, even on a short-term basis, would put them over the top.