What the Guardians Got Back in the Shane Bieber Trade – Sports4CLE, 7/31/25

What the Guardians Got Back in the Shane Bieber Trade – Sports4CLE, 7/31/25

relative to uh to Bieber, they got and again I’m not defending it. They got some bad luck. You know, he was pushed back twice. So, right now, you were at a spot where if he starts, say he can start in two weeks. Say he goes one more rehab and he starts. If he goes out and pitches, well, he holds a team a player option, he opts out and gets a multi-year deal. If he pitches terribly, then you’re stuck for$16 million next year. So, the they made the best out of a bad situation. Here’s a look at the the guy they got. He’s 22 years old. His name is Carl Steven. Um he’s pitched at three different levels this year of the minor leagues. Combined record 9-1, 2.06 ERA, 91 and 2/3 innings pitched, 99 strikeouts, 18 walks, a 196 average against. He is the kind of guy, Kenny, that they take and turn into a middle of the rotation major league guy pretty effectively. College pitcher, throws a lot of strikes. Right now, it’s fast ball change up, working on a slider, working on a sinker, but again, a 22y old guy. He’s reporting to uh Akran double A. So, they made the best out of a bad situation with Bieber where he kept getting pushed back and pushed back, but at least they got something um of value. Doesn’t not overpowering. You throw strikes. I think he’s 94 touches, 90 96. So, he’s not a guy that’s thrown 100 miles an hour, but a lot of strikeouts. So, it’s a guy they can work with. And one of the other important factors, he’s 22 and how many controllable years now in order to develop this guy, right? A bunch. And what did they love more than anything? Controllable years at a cheap price. And that’s what they got in Steven. Um he was a second round pick out of Mississippi State. He was the fifth rated prospect in the Mark Shapiro. Remember that too, right? Mark Shapyro Toronto Blue Jays organization. Uh, and so your point is a good one about at least getting something for Shane Bieber because you’re right. At the end of this year, okay, there was either a $4 million buyout for Bieber, right? Or he picks up the $16 million option and comes back. Well, he controls everything. It was a player option, so he could say, “You know what? So long, see you.” And you get a draft pick, uh, depending on how much he signs for, uh, you know, with another team. or uh did you like this offer better than what you might find in the draft next year? And the uh Guardians organization said, “You know what? Uh we know what we’re doing when it comes to pitching.” So, we like uh Cal Steven and we think working with Carl Willis, we can make him better than he already is. He’s pitched at a high A and double A. And as you said, uh he’s going to go join Travis Bazana, their number one pick from last year, right? at DA Akran for the rest of this year and then they’ll start working on him to see if they can make him better than his 9 and one record with about a two erra so far in the minor league.

Dave Bacon and Kenny Roda discuss Khal Stephen, who the Guardians got from the Blue Jays in the Shane Bieber trade.

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