The Cleveland Guardians haven’t been able to extend ace Shane Bieber, so he will enter 2024 as a pending free agent.
As a result, the team has looked for potential avenues for a trade, but they have found that other squads don’t value him as he deserves.
They are worried about the 3.80 ERA (up from 2.88 in 2022), the fastball velocity drop (he averaged 91.6 mph on his heater last year), and the forearm injury that kept him away from the mound for weeks in the summer.
Those are all understandable concerns.
However, Bieber won’t go down so easily.
He has been one of the best and most consistent pitchers in the American League for years, and won a Cy Young award for a reason: he is very, very good.
The hurler decided to go to Driveline, a specialized baseball facility designed to give players tools and resources to reach the best of their abilities.
According to Driveline’s Director of Pitching Chris Langin, the results Bieber has achieved after weeks of crafting his plan and executing some adjustments have been outstanding.
“Shane Bieber (@ShaneBieber19) wrapped up his off-season @DrivelineBB with a bang! Average 93.2 MPH, 10 heaters > 93 MPH, surpassing his entire 2023 (8). Curveball revived. Session: 83.7 MPH | 14″ VB. 2020: 83.6 MPH | 14″ VB. Looks like he’s back in business…” Langin tweeted.
Shane Bieber (@ShaneBieber19) wrapped up his off-season @DrivelineBB with a bang!
🚀 Average 93.2 MPH
10 heaters > 93 MPH, surpassing his entire 2023 (8).
🌀 Curveball revived
Session: 83.7 MPH | 14" VB
2020🥇: 83.6 MPH | 14" VBLooks like he's back in business… 🔥 pic.twitter.com/C2ykEyyX0K
— Chris Langin (@LanginTots13) February 10, 2024
Those are incredibly encouraging signs.
Bieber’s heater is up almost a tick and a half in comparison to 2023, and that helps set up his wide array of effective breaking pitches: most notably his trademark knuckle-curve.
In terms of speed and vertical break (VB), the hook looks very, very similar to that of his Cy Young-winning season.
We don’t know if the Guardians will trade or extend Bieber.
They can also keep him for the entire season if they are in the race.
We do know that, given recent developments concerning his offseason training, the Guards might be best served waiting until the deadline to flip him if that’s the direction they are going to take.
If he performs like they think he can after revamping his stuff, he could be the deadline’s top target for pitching-starved teams.
NEXT: Guardians Share An Official Welcome To Baseball Season
