MLB Rumors: Shane Bieber trade buzz, Yankees reunion dies, Cardinals surprise

MLB Rumors: Shane Bieber unlikely to be traded

Often what the Cleveland Guardians do with players who are nearing free agency is they trade them before they lose them for nothing. Jose Ramirez was a rare exception to that rule. We saw that with Francisco Lindor who was traded to the Mets a year before his free agency. It was widely expected that Shane Bieber, another player approaching free agency, was going to get dealt as well.

It appears as if those assumptions can be put to bed, as Jon Heyman of the NY Post says it's unlikely that the Guardians trade away their ace, citing the chance of them winning the AL Central as the main reason why.

In reality, that makes a lot of sense. The Guardians are always pesky and with the AL Central being the weakest divison in baseball, really anybody has a chance to win. The defending AL Central champion Twins have done virtually nothing. They lost their ace, Sonny Gray, and also lost Kenta Maeda. They signed Josh Staumont to help their bullpen a bit, but that's all they've done so far.

There's more time for Minnesota to make moves, and they'd probably be considered the favorites even without Gray and Maeda if the season started today, but the Guardians certainly have a chance. They finished third in the AL Central last season but were also nine games under .500 in the second half, falling out of the race after being in it for much of the year even with their rather sizeable talent disadvantage.

Terry Francona's retirement could impact things, but worst comes to worse the Guardians can just trade Bieber away at the trade deadline if they're out of it. The offers might not be as good, but if they were good now they probably would've taken one.