The Los Angeles Dodgers went into the offseason with starting pitching as their biggest need, and so far they have signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a record-setting contract while also acquiring Tyler Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Dodgers are hoping to add another starter and were previously connected to Lucas Giolito before he signed with the Boston Red Sox. L.A. has been linked to Blake Snell and Shōta Imanaga at various points this winter as well, but both seem to be unlikely at this point.
The trade market also offers several opportunities for teams looking to bolster their rotation, with Corbin Burnes, Dylan Cease and Shane Bieber among the frontline starters believed to be available.
According to Juan Toribio of MLB.com, the Dodgers have checked in with the Cleveland Guardians about Bieber, but it is not guaranteed he will be traded:
Los Angeles has checked in with the Guardians on Shane Bieber, who will be a free agent at the end of the ‘24 season. The Guardians are a tough team to deal with, however, and don’t necessarily have to move the right-hander.
Bieber is coming off a season in which he went 6-6 with a 3.80 ERA, 3.87 FIP and 1.23 WHIP in just 21 starts. Included in that was a career-worst 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings.
The 28-year-old missed two months because of right elbow inflammation, but got through two starts at the end of September that suggested his health was back in order.
Bieber is under team control for a final year via salary arbitration. He is projected to receive a salary in the $12 million range this season.
There are concerns about Bieber’s ability to be a frontline starter moving forward due to his lack of strikeout stuff and declining velocity, but he still represents a solid option who can eat some innings for a team in need of that.
Will Guardians trade Shane Bieber?
Despite some of the injury concern, Bieber is considered a likely trade candidate due to the Guardians’ pitching depth and his rising salary.
This offseason has already seen the Guardians usher in a new era with the hiring of Stephen Vogt as their new manager with Terry Francona retiring.
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