With the World Series completed, the Major League Baseball offseason is underway as teams prepare to give their pitches to the free-agent class of players.
Plenty of star players are hitting free agency this offseason including Juan Soto, Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, and Anthony Santander.
Some of the standout starting pitchers testing free agency include Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Max Fried, and Roki Sasaki from Japan.
MLB Analyst Keith Costas named one free-agent starting pitcher that teams should take a flier on if they fail to add one of the other big-name starters.
“When you talk about a flier, obviously there’s some risk involved, but how about Shane Bieber if you come up short on your pitching pursuits,” Costas said.
Who is one free agent you would take a flier on?#MLBNHotStove pic.twitter.com/0K1J56l8is
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 18, 2024
Bieber only pitched two games in 2024 as he underwent Tommy John surgery in April to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
Costas mentions that there would be some risk involved in signing Bieber due to his recent injury and the fact that he won’t be ready at the beginning of the 2025 season.
He does think that Bieber could be worth the risk however as Bieber has been one of the best pitchers for the Guardians since coming into the league in 2018.
Bieber won the American League Cy Young Award with the Guardians in 2020 where he posted a 1.63 ERA with 122 strikeouts in 77.1 innings pitched.
The two games he started for the Guardians in 2024 were also encouraging as he won both starts and didn’t allow a run in 12.0 innings pitched.
It will be interesting to see where Bieber ends up this offseason and how he recovers from his Tommy John surgery.
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Former GM Reveals How The Blue Jays Can Sell Juan Soto In Free Agency
