Guardians Still Have Many Avenues To Add To Their Rotation

The Cleveland Guardians lost out on free agent left-hander Matthew Boyd, as he committed to the Chicago Cubs for the next two seasons.

Boyd posted a 2.72 ERA in a Guardians uniform this year and was even better in postseason play, so Cleveland fans don’t understand why they weren’t able to match that two-year, $29 million pact he signed.

Still, one thing the Guardians front office has traditionally shown is patience.

They know there will be more options to add to their starting rotation.

In fact, Guardians of the Land posted on X some realistic names Cleveland can look to acquire.

The list, fortunately, is long:

***Possible SP Targets***

Free Agents:

Bieber
Buehler
Canning
Cobb
Eovaldi
Gibson
Heaney
Lorenzen
Lynn
Manaea
Means
Ogasawara
Quantrill
Quintana
Pavetta
Rea
Sandoval
Sasaki
Soroka
Sugano
Turnbull

Trade:

Civale
Cortes
Detmers
Fedde
Falter
Keller
Littell
Luzardo
Montgomery

— Guardians of The Land (@OurCLEGuardians) December 3, 2024

The first name that comes to mind is, of course, Shane Bieber.

No, the Guardians are probably not going to be players for Max Fried or Corbin Burnes, but bringing back Bieber should be a priority.

He has an immaculate 0.00 ERA in two starts and 12 innings this season before blowing out his elbow.

His 20 strikeouts, however, signaled that his swing and miss stuff was back.

Bieber won’t be ready for the start of the season but could be an asset for the second half and the postseason, knows the city and fans love him.

He is also just 29.

Other options are bringing back Alex Cobb or bringing in someone with ace potential whose value might be a bit down: Walker Buehler and Roki Sasaki (available for cheap) fit this description.

The Guardians are also likely looking at the trade market, where a reunion with Aaron Civale makes sense.

It’s worth noting that New York Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes could be available and the Yanks need a first baseman (hello Josh Naylor).

There are still many avenues for the Guardians to give their rotation a much-needed boost.