Getty The Orioles have already made one big splash for their rotation. Could they make another and add Shane Bieber before Opening Day?
The Baltimore Orioles have already made one big splash ahead of 2024 by acquiring former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes. However, the club’s rotation could use more help as they set out to defend their American League East title. Could they also add Shane Bieber via trade with the Cleveland Guardians?
Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller shared six last-minute hypothetical trade proposals with Opening Day right around the corner. Here’s what he cooked up for Baltimore and Cleveland:
- Orioles receive: SP Shane Bieber and OF George Valera
- Guardians receive: OF Colton Cowser
“If the O’s trade away Cowser—who has more home runs in spring training (six) than any Guardians outfielder hit in the entire 2023 season—it wouldn’t really help their infield logjam,” Miller said. “But it wouldn’t hurt their 2024 outfield situation, either, which figures to be Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander with Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Ryan McKenna and Kyle Stowers as the reserve/Triple-A options.”
If the Orioles did pull something like this off, they’d have two former Cy Young winners leading their rotation. They’d both be headed for free agency at the end of the season, too. Burnes is making $15.637 million while Bieber will earn $13.125 million.
A Look at the Orioles’ Rotation Situation
Baltimore is set to start its 2024 season on March 28th against the Los Angeles Angels. The club’s Opening Day rotation consists of Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer and Cole Irvin, per FanGraphs’ Roster Resource.
This group is missing two important hurlers: Kyle Bradish and John Means. Both are beginning the year on the injured list while working back from a sprained elbow and elbow soreness, respectively. It’s looking like the Orioles can expect them back earlier rather than later, though.
MLB.com’s Jake Rill shared a positive report from general manager Mike Elias on March 22. “Kyle Bradish (right UCL sprain) and John Means (left elbow recovery) are both expected to pitch early in 1st half of season, per #Orioles GM Mike Elias,” he said on X (formerly Twitter).
Kyle Bradish (right UCL sprain) and John Means (left elbow recovery) are both expected to pitch early in 1st half of season, per #Orioles GM Mike Elias
That’s terrific news for manager Brandon Hyde’s pitching staff. While Means has tossed just 31.2 innings since the start of 2022, Bradish enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2023. He went 12-7 with a 2.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 168 strikeouts in 168.2 innings. This led to a fourth-place finish in American League Cy Young Award voting.
But even with this positive report, setbacks can happen. There’s no way the Orioles wouldn’t benefit from having another frontline hurler like Bieber in their rotation.
Guardians Are Likely Holding Onto Bieber…for Now
Bieber’s name circulated in the rumor mill quite a bit this offseason. It’s mostly because of what The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported during a December 26 episode of the Foul Territory podcast.
“Yes, the Guardians are considering moving Shane Bieber,” he said. “I don’t know that it’s going to happen. And the reason is that Bieber has lost velocity since 2020, really almost every year. He’s not quite the same guy. He’s coming off of an injury.
“As one executive put it to me, ‘I’m not sure anyone is going to be interested in Shane Bieber at the price that the Guardians would likely request.'”
A March 14 report from ESPN’s Buster Olney solidified this. Bieber’s elbow issues and drop in velocity are a couple of reasons why there wasn’t significant interest in the right-hander on the trade market. The Guardians could also be in the mix for the AL Central title this season, so making a deal now seems unlikely. If they’re too far out of contention by July and Bieber is back to his usual self, though, he just might be packing his bags to play elsewhere down the stretch.