Perfect Shane Bieber trade Reds must offer Guardians
The Reds have interest in Shane Bieber, so here’s a trade offer that could force the Guardians to move their prized
Many of the big moves of the MLB offseason have been made, but one guy who is still lingering on the trade market is Shane Bieber. While the Cleveland Guardians don’t appear to be in any sort of rush to trade Bieber, they have been taking calls on him this offseason, with one team that is reportedly interested in him being the Cincinnati Reds.
Bieber had a bit of a down year by his standards in 2023 (6-6, 3.80 ERA, 107 K, 1.23 WHIP), and he is set to hit free agency next offseason, unless the two sides can reach an extension at some point this upcoming season. With that unlikely to happen, though, this would seemingly be an ideal time for Cleveland to trade Bieber and recoup some assets while they can.
The Reds, meanwhile, are a team on the rise in the National League, but their starting rotation desperately needs some help, which is why they are interested in Bieber. So while a deal between these two sides doesn’t appear all that likely right now, let’s take a look at the perfect trade offer Cincinnati could send Cleveland’s way in an effort to get a deal done.
Ever since breaking into the majors back in 2018, Bieber has been one of the best starters in the MLB. Bieber has been an All-Star twice, and he won the AL Cy Young award in the shortened 2020 season, in which he also won the pitching Triple Crown for leading the AL in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. When he’s at the top of his game, Bieber is nearly unhittable.
2023 looked a bit different for Bieber, though. For starters, he struggled to consistently strike out hitters, which could be due to the injuries he was dealing with throughout the season. Bieber’s ERA was the highest it had been since all the way back in his rookie campaign, and it’s fair to wonder whether or not the injuries he dealt with are going to impact his pitching moving forward.
The Reds would gladly take Bieber on their team, though, as their starting rotation was not good last season. The only guy who was consistently part of their rotation and had an ERA below four was Andrew Abbott, and even then, his ERA was 3.87, so Bieber would have been the best starter for the 2023 Reds, even in a down year for him.
This hypothetical deal would see the Reds give up second baseman Jonathan India and pitching prospect Ty Floyd, who is currently Cincinnati’s 12th rated prospect. India has been on the trade block for awhile, and Floyd could be a decent prospect for the Guardians to develop in an effort to eventually replace Bieber with.
India came from out of nowhere to win NL Rookie of the Year back in 2021, but he hasn’t been as good as he was over the ensuing two seasons. India’s numbers were solid in 2023 (.244 BA, 17 HR, 61 RBI, 14 SB, .746 OPS), but he found himself getting boxed out of the lineup by Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain towards the end of the season.
