MLB Rumors: Execs Not Convinced Guardians' Shane Bieber Will Draw 'Significant' Haul

The Cleveland Guardians aren't out of the playoff race in large part thanks to the mediocrity of the AL Central division, but they could explore a trade for Shane Bieber before the Aug. 1 deadline.

Bieber isn't expected to return a haul fitting of a former Cy Young winner, though.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Bieber is unlikely to provide a "significant return" to the Guardians due to his overall drop in velocity and strikeout rate.

"I can't say with 100 percent certainty he's a playoff difference-maker," one executive said. "He may help you get there, but I don't know that he's the answer in the playoffs."

Bieber, 28, is 4-3 with a 3.57 ERA and 1.28 WHIP this season, continuing to be one of the sport's most consistent arms. The two-time All-Star has posted an ERA under 4.00 in each of the last five seasons despite a notable drop in his strikeout rate—particularly this season.

Bieber struck out 14.2 batters per nine innings during his 2020 Cy Young campaign. That rate is all the way down to 6.1 strikeouts per nine this season, the third straight year he's seen a marked dip. His average exit velocity on batted balls ranks in the 8th percentile among pitchers this season, and his entire pitch repertoire has seen a noted drop in velocity.

"Would he love to throw hard? I'm sure he would," Guardians pitching coach Carol Willis told Zack Maisel of The Athletic, "but him being able to go out and be what he is right now for 32 starts (in a season) is a lot better than if he were throwing 95 mph and made 18 starts. He can still pitch. He commands the ball really, really well. He challenges himself. I think that's how he's able to go out on any given day, regardless of what he's bringing to the mound that day, and find a way to compete with it."

Fears of Bieber struggling in the postseason have no foundation in reality. He was a starter twice in the postseason for Cleveland a year ago and gave up just three runs over 13.1 innings of work.

The concerns with Bieber's performance may largely be a factor of teams' general avoidance of pitchers who pitch to contact rather than focus on a high strikeout rate.