MLB Rumors: Guardians trade deadline hand could be forced by injuries

The Cleveland Guardians’ plans to potentially get a return for one of their top pitchers have officially blown up for this reason.

The Cleveland Guardians may be in a competition for the AL Central title, but it has been far from a great season. Entering Tuesday night, the Guardians are 46-48 on the year, but only 1.5 games back of the Minnesota Twins (48-47) for first place in the division. This puts them in an interesting position as we get closer to the Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline.

When it comes to one trade piece they could move, that appears to be off the table as of now.

In Bob Nightengale’s latest column for USA Today, he notes that the Guardians initially planned on trading starting pitcher Shane Bieber for a major league outfielder, but that is no longer in the cards. Why’s that? Well, because of concerns regarding their other starting pitchers, like Triston McKenzie, Cal Quantrill, and Zach Plesac.

"“The Cleveland Guardians won’t be trading veteran starter Shane Bieber, who’s yielding a career-high 3.77 ERA, and was placed on the injured list with a sore right forearm. The Guardians entertained the possibility of moving him for a major-league outfielder but were hesitant because of their array of pitching concerns,” writes Nightengale. “Pitcher Triston McKenzie is scheduled to be sidelined until at least September with a sprained UCL, and may be limited to short stints; Cal Quantrill is on the injured list for the second time this season; Zach Plesac was optioned to Triple-A where he continues to struggle with a 7.03 ERA.”"

MLB rumors: Guardians no longer trading Shane Bieber due to pitching concerns

Bieber’s name had been floated around as a potential top starting pitcher available at the deadline. The Guardians could move Bieber and get quite the return for him. After all, Bieber is a former AL Cy Young Award winner. Not to mention, Bieber still has one more year left of team control before he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2024 season.

Even though Bieber was placed on the injured list due to right forearm soreness, the injuries and other concerns of the Cleveland starting rotation appear to be too much. McKenzie is out until later this season, Quantrill is on the injured list due to right shoulder inflammation, and Plesac has struggled in the majors and Triple-A, where he recorded over a 7.00 ERA in both levels as of this writing.

This season, Bieber recorded a 3.77 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, 95 strikeouts and 33 walks in 117.0 innings (19 starts).

With that, the team is relying on Aaron Civale and rookies Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams to hold things down in the rotation.

While the Guardians could have gotten quite the return if they traded Bieber right now for two months this season and a full campaign next year, they can opt to explore trade options this winter.