Cleveland Baseball Insider

Cleveland Guardians Make Major Announcement About Opening Day

The Cleveland Guardians announce that Tanner Bibee will be their 2025 MLB Opening Day starting pitcher.

Tommy Wild

Jul 10, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee (28) pitches in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Jul 10, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee (28) pitches in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
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Everything is starting to fall into place for the Cleveland Guardians as they prepare to kick off the 2025 season.

Opening Day is just over a week away, and Stephen Vogt finally announced that Tanner Bibee will be the team's Opening Day starter in their matchup against the Kansas City Royals on March 28.

This news isn't too surprising given that Bibee was Cleveland's ace all of 2024, but now he'll officially take the ball for the first game of the season.

Bibee has only made two starts this spring, pitching 9.0 innings. In those two appearances, the right-hander hasn't given up a run, allowed only three hits, and issued just two walks.

His most recent outing came against the Cincinnati Reds, and Bibee looked to be in midseason form against Cleveland's National League counterpart. He struck out four batters and gave up one hit in six scoreless innings of work.

Bibee is coming off his sophomore season, in which he finished with a 3.47 ERA, a 1.117 WHIP, a 3.56 FIP, and a 117 ERA+.

However, these stats don't do justice to how important the 26-year-old was in helping the Guardians win another American League Central title. Cleveland's pitching staff faced injuries and inconsistency all season, but Bibee took the mound and was a stable presence every five days.

While the decision to start Bibee on Opening Day likely wasn't a tough choice for Vogt and the front office, the decision-making crew is going to have a couple of difficult choices to make before the season begins next week.

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Tommy Wild
TOMMY WILD

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