Shane Bieber’s decision about 2026 contract confirms Guardians made right choice

The Guardians’ decision to trade Shane Bieber at the trade deadline was an intricate one. 

While Bieber was on the cusp of returning to the bigs after missing almost all of the 2024 season with Tommy John surgery, he was also in the midst of a $14 million contract and seemed destined for a big payday in free agency. 

Although Bieber’s contract included a $16 million player option for 2026, him rejecting the option and hitting free agency looked more and more like a forgone conclusion as the season went on. 

But Bieber threw a wrench in those plans on Tuesday night when surprisingly elected to pick up that option for 2026.

Bieber is a quality pitcher (and would have been one of the best options on the free agency market), but he elected to stay in Toronto instead of hitting free agency for the second time in his career. 

Even if he’s a quality pitcher who will likely be a productive member for the Blue Jays in 2026, his picking up that option confirms the Guardians made the right decision in letting him go. 

Shane Bieber surprisingly opts in to contract with the Blue Jays

Last season, Bieber posted a 3.57 ERA in 40 1/3 innings with the Blue Jays in the regular season before taking the ball five times for them in the postseason. Two of his four starts in the postseason were solid, and he ended taking the loss in Game 7 of the World Series while working in relief.

After the start he said that the Blue Jays’ clubhouse was the most connected he’s felt to a group, and he put his money where his mouth is on Tuesday by returning to that same group. He should be even better next year after a normal, healthy offseason. 

But just because he’s going to be better doesn’t mean the Guardians made the wrong decision by trading him when they did. 

First off, they got prospect Khal Stephen in return for him, which is a strong return for a pitcher who hadn’t pitched in a major league game in more than a year. 

Although Stephen only threw 11 1/2 innings last season after being acquired by the Guardians due to right shoulder impingement, he’s currently ranked as the Guardians’ No. 6 prospect by MLB Pipeline and could make his major league debut in 2026. 

It also opened up room in the rotation for some of the team’s younger pitchers, and the early returns were incredibly encouraging. Guardians starting pitchers posted a 3.51 ERA after the Aug. 1 trade deadline and finished the year with a six-man rotation because of the plethora of starting pitchers. 

Had Bieber stayed in the rotation, guys like Parker Messick and Joey Cantillo wouldn’t have gotten the same kind of opportunity down the stretch that they did across the final two months of the season. 

It’s the exact opposite of their middle infield problem. For most of the past four years, the Guardians have had a variety of middle-infield prospects sitting in the minors while Cleveland rolled out some uninspiring options in the majors. 

Bieber is a better player than any of the Guardians infielders who stood in the way of Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio, but his presence in the rotation would have made it harder for Messick or Cantillo to get the kind of run in the starting rotation that they did. 

Seeing Bieber pitch elsewhere in the world series hurt, but the trade that got him there was a win — regardless of how 2026 goes.