Commentary: Sad to see Shane Bieber go, but that's how it goes with the Guardians' pitching factory

By now everyone in Guards-land should be immune to the endless comings and goings, the ins and outs, ups and downs, highs and lows of one of the major league's most frenetic yet productive and envied pitching staffs. Or, should we say, Pitching Factory. Say what you will about the organization's overall product, but when it comes to finding, developing, adjusting, creating, teaching, correcting, overhauling, recreating, venting and inventing pitchers, it is arguable that no major league team consistently puts out better pitching products than the Guardians. Give Cleveland's pitching factory a lump of coal, and a week later the organization's pitching elves will give you back a five-star rotation, or four at minimum. It really is a Pitching Factory, and it needs to be, because, at the other end of the scale, well, let's just say that in The Land, hitters don't grow on trees. So when you heard the news that Shane Bieber, who, not that long ago, was named the MVP of the first MLB All-Star game he ever pitched in, was now, officially, a member of the Toronto Blue Jays, there was at least one saving grace: This team may not remind you of the deliciously awesome Lofton, Thome, Belle, Ramirez era, but you should see them pitch. Hitting sells tickets, but pitching wins games, and no major league team is better at consistently scouting, finding, teaching and creating winning pitching staffs than the one that resides in the third base dugout/clubhouse at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. Did someone say "Pitching Factory?" That's exactly what it is, and that is exactly what it needs to be, because, well, let's be honest. It sure isn't a hitting factory. It doesn't need to be, however, which is the good news, because ... well, have you seen some of their scores? On most nights the offense is Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan ... and pray for rain. So it was, for many Guards fans, when they learned that Shane Bieber, the team's pitching ace (when healthy), had been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. It was a blow to the ballclub, but not as much of one as it could have been. If there is one facet of Cleveland's baseball team that can fend for itself, it's the pitching staff, both starters and relievers. That group has carried the team for most of the last two years, and it will probably have to continue to do so for the next couple of years. In the meantime, with all due respect to everyone involved, for Guardians fans, being greeted Thursday morning by the news that Shane Bieber, Cleveland's best starting pitcher for the last few years, had not only been traded, but traded to Toronto, whose front office is filled with former Cleveland personnel, had to be a jolt of bilingual proportions. At the very least, it had to be a jump-back moment for a Cleveland fan base that is likely growing weary of watching a two-man lineup (Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan) seemingly having to drive in ALL the team's runs. On the flip side, however, the pitching staff, and the team's pitching factory, remains largely intact, allowing, even, for the depressing news that we have already seen Shane Bieber's last appearance in a Cleveland uniform. But the pitching factory will rise to the occasion again, as it usually does. The fact that the team's best starting pitcher (Bieber) and its best reliever (Emmanuel Clase) have probably, unknowingly, both made their final appearances before the home crowd this season is not exactly working in Cleveland's favor. Indeed, as we all know, when it comes to the Guardians and Browns, anything goes. On Trade Deadline Thursday the Guardians went shopping for a quality starting pitcher, presumably to eventually step into one of the five starting slots in the rotation. Fortunately, the Guards found a potential top of the rotation candidate. But his name is Khal Stephen, not Shane Bieber. Why not Shane Bieber? That's a fair question. Perhaps it's because Bieber has a $16 million player option for 2026, and, as we all know, the Guardians don't exactly like to throw around the big bills if they don't have to. So instead of Bieber returning to anchor Cleveland's starting rotation in 2026, after missing virtually all of 2025 due to Tommy John surgery, the Guards decided to hitch their wagon to pitcher Khal Stephen, a highly regarded prospect — his minor league stats are show-stoppers — in the Toronto organization. On paper, Stephen sounds like a keeper, and a keeper is what the Guardians' rotation needs. However there is no getting around it: These are tough times to be a Guards' fan. Year after year the team postures like it is trying to win, but its actions too often belie it. Contact Jim Ingraham at (440) 329-7135 or jingraham4@gmail.com.