Tanner Bibee Has Solid Chance To Win Prestigious Award

The Cleveland Guardians haven’t played a baseball game since October 19, when they were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series. However, people are still talking about a guy who didn’t pitch in the best-of-seven affair: Tanner Bibee.

Bibee’s lack of involvement in the Guardians’ postseason run this year has been a hot topic, after he led the team in innings pitched during the regular season with 188. The veteran righty, owner of the largest contract among starting pitchers on the squad, posted career-worst numbers in several stats and metrics, such as ERA (4.36) and home runs allowed (29). That, combined with his awful second half, sealed his fate in October, where he only pitched 0.1 frames.

You can say what you will about Bibee and his regular season struggles, or the fact that the organization didn’t trust him to pitch meaningful innings in the postseason, but there’s no doubt the guy can field his position.

In fact, Bibee has a chance to receive a major award in the upcoming days, and it doesn’t have anything to do with pitching.

“Bibee is an AL Gold Glove Award finalist alongside the Rangers’ Jacob deGrom and the Angels’/Blue Jays’ José Soriano. Bibee, who topped both hurlers in Outs Above Average (+6) and Defensive Runs Saved (+5), already took home his second career Fielding Bible Award,” Guardians insider Tim Stebbins wrote in a piece examining the most likely members of the team to be honored in the offseason.

Not only did Bibee see his name among the finalists for the Gold Glove, but he is also considered a favorite. The Fielding Bible Award he won a few days ago was excellent for his defensive reputation, and it says that advanced stats are on his side.

He was much better than the average pitcher at defending his position, which is reflected in his excellent OAA and DRS metrics, and he committed just three errors all year: one while fielding and two while throwing. Bibee also limits the running game well.

There’s a good chance that, come Sunday night, Bibee is honored with his first Gold Glove Award. His 2026 campaign was a forgettable one on the mound, but it has a chance to end on a high note.