The Cleveland Guardians recently extended young ace Tanner Bibee on a five-year, $48 million deal, with an option for a sixth season.
It’s a tremendous commitment for a guy who has only pitched two seasons of MLB ball.
Bibee, however, has the talent to succeed.
He posted a 2.98 ERA as a rookie in 2023 and followed that up with a 3.47 mark last year, adding 187 strikeouts.
Guardians insider Justin Lada participated in the Matt Fontana show and suggested the extension should be comforting on many levels for Bibee.
It is an unequivocal sign that they trust him because they rarely extend pitchers.
“He knows the Guardians have faith in him. They invested in him and they don’t really invest in pitchers. (Carlos) Carrasco and (Corey) Kluber were the last guys they did this with and those were rare cases,” he said.
Are you happy with the Guardians investing in Tanner Bibee? #GuardsBall
"Carrasco and Kluber were the last guys they did this with, and those guys were rare cases."
–@JL_Baseball pic.twitter.com/fVj20QiqYJ
— Matt Fontana Show (@MattFontanaShow) April 3, 2025
It is, indeed, risky business to extend pitchers.
It’s also what gives teams more financial flexibility down the road when it works out, though.
There are many examples of pitchers who left via free agency or were traded before Cleveland reached an extension with them.
Bibee, however, seems like a very nice guy to break the trend.
He is young (26), good, committed, hard-working, and with a very high floor.
Lada went on to say he liked the investment and that he thinks Bibee is the right guy to lead this rotation.
He was tasked with the big responsibility of opening the first game of the season this year.
Even though an illness prevented him from taking the ball that day, he did it a couple of days later and guided the Guards to the win with 5.2 scoreless frames.
He will be a Guardian for years to come.
NEXT: Guardians Pitching Prospect Enjoys Encouraging Season Debut In Triple-A
