Guardians Made One Of MLB's Best Moves Of Free Agency

The Cleveland Guardians contract with Shane Bieber is easily a win-win move.

Apr 22, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images / David Richard-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians have been criticized in the past for not being an active team in free agency or re-signing their own stars.

While this may be true to some degree, when the front office does make a move, it typically works out pretty well for them.

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN recently broke down what he believes are the best and worst moves of free agency and identified the contract between the Guardians and Shane Bieber as one of the better deals so far.

"Bieber will miss about half of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery, so Cleveland is paying something like $17 million per year for a year and half of his return," wrote McDaniel.

"His velocity had been on the decline (94.3 mph average velo in 2020, 91.5 mph in 2022), which mapped to his effectiveness as well. In his two starts before blowing out in 2024, his velo was up (92.5 mph) and so was his overall stuff and effectiveness. Even if he regresses to a bit below that level, a short-term deal for under $20 million per year is a nice price for a steady midrotation player with upside for more."

Mar 12, 2024; Surprise, Arizona, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

There's no denying that this deal between the Guardians and Bieber is a win-win move and has plenty of upside for both parties.

If Bieber pitches like the former Cy Young winner he is, then the Guardians will get the ace of their staff back for a hopefully playoff run in the fall. This would also set up Bieber to get a ginormous contract next offseason.

There is some risk involved with re-signing a pitcher who just underwent major surgery, and McDaniel points that out here. Maybe Bieber doesn't look like the same pitcher, or he suffers a setback at some point during his rehab.

However, this is a short-term deal for the Guardians, so if anything happens, the money won't be in the books for too long.

Overall, this is a great deal for both sides and definitely one of the best offseason moves.