Padres Linked to Cy Young Pitcher as Free Agency Nears

Sam Garcia | Oct 27, 2024

David Dermer-Imagn Images

The Padres’ season has come to an end, meaning that it is time to start building for the future. The Athletic’s Jim Bowden ranked the top 45 impending free agents that will be eligible to sign five days after the final game of the World Series. Bowden linked the Padres to the 2020 American League Cy Young pitcher, Shane Bieber.

Bieber, 29, has played all seven seasons of his MLB career with the Cleveland Indians. The organization drafted Bieber as the No. 122 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB draft. Across 136 career appearances, the starting pitcher has a 62-32 record and logs a 3.22 ERA.

The Southern California native boasts two AL All-Star selections (2019, 2021), an All-MLB first-team selection (2020), and an AL Gold Glove award (2022). In addition to winning the Cy Young award in 2020, Bieber finished fourth in voting in 2019 and seventh in 2022.

Bowden described Bieber as the “best value signing this offseason”. This season, Bieber earned a $13.13 million salary. Bowden expects Bieber to command a contract with a “low base salary with incentives for games started and innings pitched, plus option years”.

Bieber spent nearly this entire season on the 60-day injured list, making only two scoreless starts at the beginning of the season. He underwent Tommy John surgery in April, which was likely a result of a lingering injury from 2023. Last season, Bieber spent two months on the 60-day IL and went on a rehab assignment to tend to right elbow inflammation. He returned in late September but only made two starts for the remainder of the season. 

His recovery from the surgery is projected to span until next summer. Although Bieber will be sidelined for a portion of next season, the team that acquires him could have a healthy standout pitcher just in time for the second half of the season. 

If the Padres do not sign Bieber this offseason, Bowden linked the UC Santa Barbara product to the Dodgers and Rangers. Another option would be for Bieber to remain with the Guardians. Both the Dodgers and Padres offer a close-to-home incentive for Bieber.

The Padres will keep a deep rotation next season, consisting of many of their top starting pitchers from this season. Yu Darvish, Dylan Cease, and Michael King will remain part of the Padres in 2025. The addition of Bieber may be the extra boost the Padres need to make a further postseason run.