San Francisco Giants Checked In On Cy Young Winner Before He Re-Signed

The San Francisco Giants reportedly checked in on a high-upside starting pitcher before he re-signed with his current team.

David Richard-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants are the subject of numerous rumors in the free agent pitching market just ahead of Christmas as they look to add a second ace to the top of the rotation to join Logan Webb.

Naturally, much of that conversation revolves around the top name on the market in Baltimore Orioles superstar ace Corbin Burnes, who the Giants have been seen as a serious contender to land and potentially even the favorite.

As the 2021 National League Cy Young takes his time and works his way through negotiations, likely not expected to sign until after Christmas, a report has been revealed that San Francisco had at least some interest in another former Cy Young winner.

During a recent episode of the Giants Talk Podcast, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area revealed the Giants checked in on Cleveland Guardians right hander Shane Bieber before Bieber wound up signing a one-year deal to stay with the Guardians worth $10 million.

The deal also contained a player option for 2026 which would up his salary to $16 million should he choose to take it, a number that is a bit of a risk for a player who made just two starts in 2024.

From 2019-22, Bieber had a dominant run as one of the best pitchers in baseball. During that period, he made 92 starts and posted an ERA of 2.92, striking out 713 batters in 588.1 innings pitched. His best career season came in the Covid shortened 2020 year where he was named American League Cy Young and finished top-five in MVP voting with a 1.63 ERA and 122 strikeouts in just 12 starts and 77.1 innings.

Since 2023 however, Bieber has struggled with injuries and though he was effective in the two starts he made in 2024, he was shut down for the season very early in the year and had surgery.

Giving Bieber a $16 million option coming off a serious injury is likely something the Giants would not have been willing to do, and for good reason. If San Francisco could have landed Bieber on just the first-year type deal he signed with Cleveland, it would have been a supremely low-risk, high-reward signing for a rotation that is desperate for another elite arm.

But alas, the Giants must continue to look elsewhere as they search for ways to shore up a rotation that has the potential to be extremely competitive if the right addition is made.