The Cleveland Guardians have played eight postseason games in 2026 so far. Tanner Bibee, who was viewed as a foundational piece just a year ago, has pitched in only one of them, and he covered just 0.1 innings while allowing two runs.
It has been that kind of year for Bibee, who is yet to make a postseason start for the Guardians this year. Nobody knows if he will ever take the ball again in 2026, although he could see some action this weekend. He is, theoretically, a candidate to start one of the AL Championship Series games or, if the team makes it that far, the World Series, but he was bypassed in Game 1 in favor of Foster Griffin, and then in Game 4 to give the ball to an opener, Shawn Armstrong.
Evidently, the organization doesn’t really trust him right now. That doesn’t mean things can’t change next year, though.
“It’s been a hard year for Bibee. Whatever could go wrong, did go wrong when he was on the mound. Despite his 7-15 record, he led the team with 33 starts and 188 innings pitched. He’s signed through 2029 with a club option for 2030. As long as he’s healthy, there’s no reason why he can’t have a bounce-back season next year,” Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes wrote.
Bibee’s ERA rose for the fourth consecutive season in 2026. It started at 2.98 in 2023, then it was 3.47 in 2024 and 4.24 last year. This year, the final number was 4.36.
His home run total suffered the same fate: it started at 13 in 2023 and went up every year until reaching 29 in 2026. That’s Bibee’s main problem: the long ball. His ordinary fastball has been too problematic to overcome, especially considering his quality breaking pitches and command.
He is still young at 27 and is signed to a long-term contract, so it’s in the Guardians’ best interests to find a way to bring back 2023-24 Bibee. It’s certainly much easier said than done, but it’s not impossible, especially for one of the organizations with the best reputations in the league at developing arms.
Bibee might have to embrace some changes, but he has a chance to return to his best next year.
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