5 trade options the Cleveland Guardians could target to fill Shane Bieber's spot in the rotation

3. Alex Wood - Oakland Athletics

Another candidate to possibly pry away from the Oakland Athletics is veteran lefty Alex Wood.

Now, Wood has gotten off to a bit of a rough start, including giving up six runs on seven hits in 3.1 innings, which came during an 8-0 win for the Cleveland Guardians in his season debut. Wood has bounced back in his second start, as the Boston Red Sox scored three runs on six hits in 5 innings. His strikeout volume more than doubled from his first start, striking out seven Red Sox batters compared to just three Guardians. Seeing Wood being able to rebound is encouraging, and he could be an intriguing option to bring into Cleveland's rotation.

Wood has mostly taken a step back performance-wise since his first start with the Los Angeles Dodgers ended following the 2018 season. The now 33-year-old veteran had a 3.29 ERA and 1.215 WHIP through his first six seasons with the Atlanta Braves and Dodgers but has ballooned by nearly a run and a half to 4.69 to go along with a 1.310 WHIP. There was one outlier season with the San Francisco Giants for Wood in 2021, ending the year with a 3.83 ERA and 1.183 WHIP in 26 starts. While it is unlikely that Wood pitches that well again, it would be worth giving him a chance to in Cleveland with a much better supporting cast around him compared to the current circumstances in Oakland.