5 internal options the Cleveland Guardians can turn to following Shane Bieber's season-ending injury

The Cleveland Guardians were the recipients of some devastating news on Saturday, as it was announced that Ace and 2020 Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber will miss the rest of the season due to injury. Bieber will be undergoing Tommy John surgery, leaving a vacancy in the Guardians rotation for the remainder of the season. 

Cleveland will no doubt explore multiple options to fill the void left by Bieber, both being of the external and internal variety. Should they prefer to exhaust internal options first, the following are some names that could be the answer the Guardians are looking for.

1. Gavin Williams

The inclusion of Gavin Williams in this list is a bit of technicality, considering that he was always going to be a part of the Guardians starting rotation this year. Williams is currently working his way back from an injury sustained during Spring Training and will be taking his place in Cleveland's rotation once he is ready. So, while it is not really someone that nobody expected to be in the mix, Williams' return could help make up for the loss of Bieber for nearly all of the 2024 season.

Williams appeared in 16 games for the Guardians last year, finishing with a 3.29 ERA, 1.256 WHIP, and 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023.

2. Xzavion Curry

Starting games is not a foreign concept for the 25-year-old Xzavion Curry. With 11 starts for the Cleveland Guardians over the past two seasons, Curry is someone they could definitely consider stepping back into their rotation to help in the short term.

Even though the majority of Curry's appearances last year came out of the bullpen, pitching multiple innings to start off a game is something that is more than capable of doing. Curry made four starts in August and September of last year, where he pitched 5 innings or more. Yes, one of these outings came against a Tampa Bay Rays team that scored five runs. However, it must be said that the other three starts saw Curry allow the same amount of runs in 16.1 innings.

Cleveland would not necessarily need Curry to be a workhorse innings eater in order for him to be effective. If the Guardians could just get 4 to 5 innings from Curry more often than not while pairing his starts with someone else who can pitch a couple of innings immediately following him on those days, it could take a lot of pressure off of the rest of pitching staff and first-year manager Stephen Vogt.

3. Hunter Gaddis

Like the previously mentioned Xzavion Curry, Hunter Gaddis is also someone that the Cleveland Guardians could consider to make some starts following Shane Bieber's season-ending injury.

Gaddis was called upon early last year to start a few games, but the performances in those starts were far from consistent. One game would see Gaddis give up four runs in 3.2 innings to the Seattle Mariners, with the next being 6 innings of one-hit baseball against the Oakland Athletics. This was followed by a disastrous outing against the New York Yankees, allowing eight runs in 3 innings. Gaddis did have a slight bounceback against Detroit in his next start, allowing three runs in 5 innings against the Tigers. These inconsistencies, combined with his better performances from the bullpen, could result in the Guardians considering someone else to fill the open spot in the rotation.

In all actuality, Gaddis is someone who is probably better suited to follow Curry in a piggyback start scenario, as described on the previous slide. Combining outings from Curry and Gaddis in this manner would help the Guardians manufacture the length of a starting pitcher's usual outing length. Taking this route would allow Cleveland to keep their arms in the back end of the bullpen in their rightful places rather than being forced into a role they are not quite suited for.

5. Tyler Beede

The Cleveland Guardians currently have Tyler Beede in their bullpen, making three appearances so far, but could be a candidate to join their starting rotation.

Beede has 29 career starts under his belt, most of which came during his time with the San Francisco Giants organization during the 2019 season (22). Even though most of Beede's 61 career appearances have come out of the bullpen (32), starting games is not a new concept for Beede.

During his time in the minors, Beede started 106 games, all but one coming with San Francisco from 2014 through 2021. While there is a big difference between pitching in the minors and the majors, turning to someone who has plenty of experience with being a professional starting pitcher is not the worst idea. It is a completely different mindset for someone who is in the rotation pitching once every five days instead of a couple of times per week out of the bullpen. That can be intimidating for some people to attempt in general, with having to step into a rotation spot previously occupied by a Cy Young Award winner exponentially increasing that feeling. Beede has enough career experience to be worth considering for the rotation, with the possibility of returning him to a bullpen role if needed also available.