Insider Reveals What Guardians Could Acquire For Shane Bieber

The Cleveland Guardians may have lost Emmanuel Clase for the season or maybe longer.

Now, they could also lose their ace.

Shane Bieber continues to rehab and recover from Tommy John surgery, but he’s inching closer to making a return.

And with him set to take the mound on Tuesday, multiple teams will be in attendance and keeping a close eye on him.

Even so, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Guardians will trade him.

But if they do so, Zack Meisel of The Athletic believes it will take a high-end prospect for them to ever consider any offer:

“For Cleveland to move Bieber, it would need to acquire a prospect with more potential than whoever it could select with the draft pick it would recoup if Bieber departs in free agency. If the Guardians hold on to him and he opts out, they can submit a qualifying offer (which last year was worth about $21 million for one year). If Bieber rejects that and signs elsewhere for at least $50 million, the Guardians would be awarded a compensatory pick after the first round. If he signs elsewhere for less than $50 million, the Guardians would be awarded a compensatory pick after the second round,” Meisel wrote.

The Guardians got to keep Bieber after giving him a two-year deal in free agency.

He’s making $10 million this season with a $4 million buyout or a $16 million player option for the upcoming campaign.

Given how the free-agent pitcher market will shape up, he’s more than likely to decline that player option and hit free agency to get a long-term, lucrative deal, most likely elsewhere.

And if he doesn’t do that, it will most likely be because he suffered a setback in his recovery, thus putting the Guardians in a tough spot again.

Bieber could be one of the team’s saviors this season and then leave in the winter anyway.

However, this isn’t a front office that takes pride in taking risks or spending big bucks, so if someone shows up with the right offer, it will be hard to envision them turning down an opportunity to add more talent to their farm system.