The former Cy Young winner could be an excellent contributor to the Braves rotation

As the Atlanta Braves go through the offseason, it couldn’t hurt for them to explore potential long-term options as well as one-year options.

They are expected to select a starting pitcher on the free agent market. Since they are likely to lose one of their aces in Max Fried, it would be beneficial for them to get a starter of similar caliber.

One notable free agent option is free agent starter Shane Bieber of the Cleveland Guardians.

His injury history certainly poses a risk. Bieber went under the knife for Tommy John Surgery in April 2024 and was sidelined for the rest of the season. He will certainly also miss the start of the 2025 season. If a pitcher goes under the knife at this point in the season, it will be early enough to be back for part of the following season, but too late to be back to start.

So there is an injury history and he won’t be able to fill a rotation spot early in the year. This wouldn’t be as big of an issue if Spencer Strider wasn’t also missing the season opener and they didn’t have two arms compared to last year due to free agency.

So in the short term it wouldn’t work out so well. However, in the long term, Bieber has the potential to make his entry worth it.

Bieber has made 136 appearances in his career, including 134 as a starter. He has an ERA of 3.22, an ERA+ of 133 and 958 strikeouts in 843 innings pitched. He is a two-time All-Star and Cy Young Award winner. Better yet, he’s a Gold Glove winner. At the 2019 All-Star Game in Cleveland, Bieber won the game’s MVP award.

During the COVID-shortened season, Bieber won the American League pitching Triple Crown and ERA title. This season he had an 8-1 record, a 1.63 ERA and 122 strikeouts.

He is a similar age to Max Fried and also has a similar track record. He also has five career complete games and two shutouts.

So the Braves would have to figure out how to bridge his return with Strider’s return. They could explore an internal option or sign yet another one-year option – another quintessential Charlie Morton type.

Spotrac estimates its market value at six years, $147 million ($24.5 million per year). If he wasn’t injured, one could argue he could do more on the free agent market. Max Fried could sign for up to $180 million.

If it looks like he’ll miss a whole lot in 2025 – recovery from Tommy John surgery takes 12 to 18 months to fully recover – perhaps the Braves can negotiate a more favorable first year and his contract somewhat move backwards until he comes back.

The Braves could bring in another former Cy Young Award winner to bolster the rotation long-term, likely at a solid contract deal.