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Shane Bieber, Cleveland Guardians agree on 1-year contract with player option for 2026
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- Shane Bieber, Cleveland Guardians agree on 1-year contract with player option for 2026
Shane Bieber's time in Cleveland isn't over just yet.
Bieber, a former Cy Young award winner, has agreed to terms with the Guardians on a one-year deal that also includes a player option for the 2026 season. The deal has a base salary of $10 million for 2025, with the player option for 2026 being valued at $16 million and a $4 million buyout if it isn't exercised, as first reported by MLB.com .
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The 2024 season was originally Bieber's last year of control with the Guardians. It appeared he was surely headed for a lucrative, long-term deal in free agency, but those plans were thrown for a loop once he needed Tommy John surgery, which ended his 2024 season and adding uncertainty to his future.
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Bieber had only two starts before going down with the elbow injury, though he looked to be set for a possible run at a second Cy Young award after striking out 20 in 12 scoreless innings, partially the result of work he did with Driveline in Arizona over the offseason .
While discussing the injury and his uncertain future several months ago, Bieber was brought to tears , saying he had fallen in love with pitching again.
Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber is introduced before Game 1 of the ALDS, Oct. 5, 2024, in Cleveland.
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The deal allows Bieber to stay with the medical staff with which he's closely worked over the last several years while battling a few injuries and the pitching department that arguably has been baseball's best. The player option year also gives him come added control.
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For the Guardians, the contract keeps Bieber in their price range for at least one more year and possibly two.
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Tommy John surgery often comes with a 12- to 18-month rehab timetable to return to the mound, though at times it takes pitchers several months after that to truly return to form. Bieber likely will open the 2025 season on the injured list and eventually return to the starting rotation at some point later in the season.
At that time, he'd join Tanner Bibee atop a starting rotation that has quite a few questions , a rarity for that position group in Cleveland . After Bibee and Bieber (when and if healthy), Ben Lively , Gavin Williams , Joey Cantillo , Logan Allen and Triston McKenzie are the top contenders to fill out the five-man rotation, with several other players possibly joining the mix this spring.
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Bieber remains with the department and medical staff that would likely benefit him the most. The Guardians retain a starter of his caliber and add a needed starter to the rotation at some point in 2025. It was an agreement that eventually made sense for both sides.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Shane Bieber contract extension brings him back to Guardians for 2025
