Guardians Facing Threat from NL Central Team to Steal Star

The Cleveland Guardians are facing a threat from one NL Central team to steal a star.

Mar 2, 2024; Goodyear, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) pitches against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Goodyear Ballpark. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians are hoping to put together a solid offseason and improve enough to win a championship in 2025.

After making a run all the way to the ALCS, the Guardians are not far off from a World Series win. Could that make them get a bit more aggressive this offseason than they have been in recent years?

One key issue that needs to be figured out by Cleveland is whether or not they will be able to bring back star pitcher Shane Bieber.

Bieber will hit free agency with a long list of teams likely having interest in signing him. Even though he is coming off of Tommy John surgery, Bieber is going to be a highly sought after player.

When he's healthy, he's capable of being an elite ace pitcher. However, there is no guarantee that he will be able to get back to his pre-injury form.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com has revealed an intriguing team that could end up being a possible suitor to steal Bieber away from the Guardians this offseason. That team is the Cincinnati Reds.

Over the past few years, the Reds have been very quiet. They are looking to make a push to get back into contention in the National League and adding a piece like Bieber could help them do just that.

During the 2024 MLB season, Bieber was only able to start two games before going down with his season-ending injury. He ended up going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, 20 strikeouts, one walk, and 12.0 innings pitched.

Obviously, he's not going to pitch an entire season at that level. But, the numbers do show that he's capable of being an elite superstar when he's fully healthy.

Hopefully, Bieber will end up returning to Cleveland. His addition alone would be a massive step towards the Guardians winning a championship. In order to make that happen, they will need to get very aggressive trying to re-sign him early in the offseason.

Teams like Cincinnati will come calling, but the hope is that Bieber has enjoyed his time in Cleveland so much that he will lean towads the Guardians as long as they're offering the same kind of contract that other teams offer.