Tanner Bibee salvaged one positive from nightmare Guardians season with Gold Glove win

It’s no secret this year was a tough one for Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee. Although he finished the season with a career-high 188 innings, he also posted the worst ERA of his career (4.36) and was essentially left off Cleveland’s postseason roster. 

But that doesn’t mean it was all bad. 

On Sunday, Bibee earned the first postseason accolade of his career when he won the American League’s Gold Glove award for pitchers, marking the fifth straight season at least one Guardians player has won a Gold Glove. 

Tanner Bibee just netted the first Gold Glove of his career

Bibee’s award shouldn’t come as a huge surprise given he just won the Fielding Bible’s award for pitchers last week, and finished the regular season being worth +6 Outs Above Average and +5 Defensive Runs Saved. Bibee became the second Guardians pitcher to win a Gold Glove, joining Shane Bieber in 2022. 

The key difference there is that Bieber’s win was the cherry on top of a Cy Young-worthy season, while Bibee’s win is a postscript on a season that could change his Guardians’ tenure. Still, the win shows that his defensive value is a clear advantage. 

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Bibee’s work in the field is that he’s just as good at fielding grounders and throwing to bases as he is at navigating pop ups. Most of the times pitchers get as far away as possible from any pop flies on the infield (as they’re taught), but Bibee has no problem tracking the ball and forcing his fellow fielders to call him off, as we saw in April. 

Bibee may have led all pitchers with three errors, but he also picked off four runners at first base while only allowing eight stolen bases. He may have struggled to rack up strikeouts (26th percentile in strikeout rate) and didn’t get a ton of run support, but his own defense didn’t let him down. 

That Gold Glove win sets up what could be an interesting offseason for Bibee regardless of what happens with his future. While there’s a compelling argument for the Guardians to trade him to capitalize on his team-friendly contract, there’s also just as much of an argument to keep him in the rotation, albeit as a clear No. 3 starter behind Gavin Williams and Parker Messick. 

Some of the criticisms of Bibee in the past two years have been a bit unfair, but part of that likely stems from him getting a long-term contract. The Guardians don’t extend many of their homegrown players (especially not pitchers), so the fact Bibee was chosen puts him in a different category, whether it’s fair or not. 

But even if some of Bibee’s shine has worn off in the time since he signed that contract, he’s still one of the best defenders in baseball.

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