CLEVLEAND (AP)– Shane Bieber’s return to Cleveland has double meaning.
The former Cy Young Award winner re-signed with the Guardians on Wednesday, a reunion that appeared implausible when he became a free agency. However, the 29-year-old Bieber chose to stay with the AL Central champs despite only making two starts in 2024 before getting Tommy John surgery.
Last Monday, Bieber agreed to a one-year contract worth $14 million. The contract contains a $16 million player option in 2026. It appeared unlikely that Bieber, who is 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA in 132 starts, would return to Cleveland. He had previously turned down long-term offers from the club, and it was thought that he would join with another challenger, most likely one on the West.
Coast. However, the California native has a special connection to the Guardians, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 draft.
Bieber, who won the AL Cy Young Award in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, threw only 12 innings last season before undergoing elbow surgery due to persistent difficulties. He is anticipated to join Cleveland’s rotation sometime in 2025. Bieber, a two-time All-Star, was chosen MVP of the midsummer event in 2019, which was held in Cleveland. He boasts the franchise’s highest strikeout ratio per nine innings (10.2) and third-highest winning % (.660) in its 124-year history.
Bieber is one of only three Cleveland pitchers to start five season openers, along with Stan Coveleski (1917-21) and Corey Kluber (2015-19).
While Bieber has experienced elbow difficulties in the past, but he showed no symptoms before being put down. He struck out 11 in six scoreless innings against Oakland on March 28, followed by six more shutout innings against Seattle on April 2.
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