Factory Of Sadness
FanSided

Baseball is back on and Shane Bieber is adding to the good news

By Chad Porto

CLEVELAND, OHIO - JULY 24: Starting pitcher Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Indians walks back to the dugout after the end of the top of the sixth inning of the Opening Day game against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field on July 24, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians defeated the Royals 2-0. The 2020 season had been postponed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO - JULY 24: Starting pitcher Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Indians walks back to the dugout after the end of the top of the sixth inning of the Opening Day game against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field on July 24, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians defeated the Royals 2-0. The 2020 season had been postponed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Baseball is back and Guardians ace Shane Bieber is beyond ready.

A new collective bargaining agreement has been reached by the players and owners, and after all the drama, most of the changes are actually great for the game. The Cleveland Guardians will likely benefit from the six teams per league going to the playoffs, but Terry Francona’s love of calling up and sending the same player down will likely have to be adjusted, as that rule has changed to limit the number of times that’ll happen.

But hey, we don’t have to deal with pitchers hitting anymore. Thank goodness.

The new major rules are as follows, from Sports Illustrated:

  1. Universal designated hitter
  2. Playoffs expanded to 12 teams
  3. Limits to the number of time a player can be optioned to the minor leagues in one season
  4. A draft lottery to discourage tanking
  5. Draft pick inducements meant to discourage service time manipulation

As stated by Sports Illustrated, MLB has 45 days to decide if they want to add things like a pitch clock, larger bases, and a ban on defensive shifts. All things that will make fans upset and that’s likely why they’re waiting to add them, to see just how mad fans will be.

Daryl Ruiter updated fans that the Guardians will begin their home opener on April 15 against the San Francisco Giants.

Shane Bieber will be back to form for the start of the Cleveland Guardians season

The news has fans excited but other news fans should be jazzed about is that Shane Bieber, the ace of the pitching staff, is back to form. He tweeted out on March 3 that he has been 100% for a while and been working on staying that way during the offseason.

Bieber’s injury during the 2021 season really hurt the Guardians, and while he did return at the end of the season, it was too little, too late and many worried that he wasn’t ready yet to return. The idea of not letting him pitch at all to close out the season was thrown around a bit by the fanbase.

A healthy Bieber is going to be key for the Guardians to get back into the playoff chase. So might going after another bat. The offseason has officially begun and it’s coinciding with spring training.

So this is going to be interesting.

Next. 3 concerning projections for the Guardians offense in 2022. dark

Home/Cleveland Guardians