San Francisco Giants Must Pursue Former Cy Young Winner

The San Francisco Giants must consider pursuing a former Cy Young winner in MLB free agency.

May 31, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber (57) delivers in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

With the MLB offseason ready to get underway very shortly, the San Francisco Giants are going to be a key team to watch.

As they look to power their way back into contention, the Giants could spend some money in free agency. They have always been an attractive free agency destination.

Heading into the offseason, San Francisco could consider getting very active in the starting pitching market.

First and foremost, the Giants will need to try to re-sign ace pitcher Blake Snell. There will be a long line of teams trying to steal him away. San Francisco can't afford to let that happen.

Bringing back Snell will be a major key, but the Giants shouldn't stop there. They should try to bring in a dominant No. 2 starter behind him in the rotation.

Keeping that in mind, a name like Shane Bieber is a player that San Francisco should target. He may be coming off of Tommy John surgery, but he's a superstar when he's healthy. Coming back from such an injury would also make him much more affordable than he normally would be.

Bieber, the American League Cy Young winner in 2020, could be exactly the kind of piece that the Giants need to make their rotation elite. Even if San Francisco were to lose Snell, Bieber could come in and be an ace himself.

The 29-year-old pitcher was only able to make two starts during the 2024 campaign with the Cleveland Guardians. However, in those two starts, he was dominant.

Bieber ended up completing 12.0 innings of work, compiling a 2-0 record to go along with a 0.00 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, and 20 strikeouts while giving up just one walk.

Clearly, that's an incredibly small sample size and he wouldn't be that dominant for an entire season, but he's more than capable of being one of the top pitchers in baseball when he's at full health.

If the Giants are truly all-in on competing in 2025, Bieber must be on their list. He'll likely be looking for a short-term contract to earn more money in the long run.

San Francisco should offer him a one-year lucrative deal with an option on a second year based on his performance.

This may not be a route that the Giants have an interest in taking, but Bieber would make an awful lot of sense whether they can re-sign Snell or not.