Guardians say there is shared interest in Shane Bieber returning – Morning Journal

This is the time of year when the issue of how much money the Guardians are willing to spend to protect their own free agents or sign free agents from other teams becomes more important.

The Guardians played the Yankees for the American League pennant despite ranking 24th in team payroll with $131,514,253. The Yankees, who are third in payroll with $323,111,131, knocked off the Guards in five games and are now playing the Dodgers, who are first in payroll (the Mets are second) with $327,547,251, in the World Series.

Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti’s biggest decisions have to focus on starting pitchers currently on Cleveland’s roster.

Shane Bieber, who had Tommy John surgery in April after making two starts, will become an unrestricted free agent the day after the World Series ends. Ditto Matthew Boyd and all the players eligible for free agency if their contracts expire after 2024. Players can start signing with a new team five days after free agency begins, but unlike the NFL and NBA, free agency contracts move slowly in Major League Baseball.

“We would love to have Shane back,” Antonetti said during his closing press conference with coach Stephen Vogt and general manager Mike Chernoff. “We also recognize his free agent status and he has the right to explore things. There seems to be a mutual interest.

“We will have these conversations throughout the winter. They’ve already started. “We’ll see if there’s a way to do that.”

Bieber, 29, is 62-32 in seven seasons with the Indians/Guardians. Injuries have limited him to 16 starts in 2021, 21 in 2023 and two starts this season. Because of elbow surgery, he likely won’t be ready to pitch in a major league game until late May or June of next year.

Boyd turns 34 on February 2. He underwent Tommy John surgery on June 28, 2023, while with the Tigers. The Guardians signed him to a free agent contract on June 29 of this year. He made his Cleveland debut on August 13. He was 2-2 in eight starts.

The Guardians are in an unstable situation with their starting pitching because Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen spent most of the 2023 season in Triple-A Columbus and there is no guarantee they will return and be part of the Guardians’ rotation in 2025.

Ben Lively will be 33 when next season starts. He made a career-high 29 starts with the Guardians in 2024, leading the team with 13 wins. He has a contract until 2025. Tanner Bibee (12-8) was the team’s most reliable pitcher. Gavin Williams (3-10) has been too inconsistent to be relied upon.