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BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 08: Starting pitcher Tanner Bibee #28 of the Cleveland Guardians walks back to the dugout after being pulled from the game in the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 08, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
The Cleveland Guardians generally do not give out big contracts. Their salary situation is a lot less hefty than almost every other team in MLB.
There’s one contract that’ll be worth watching in the 2027 season, though, and that’s Tanner Bibee.
A year ago, there would’ve been no doubts going forward about Bibee. He was on his way to being the Guardians’ 2026 Opening Day starter, and he’d been reliable since climbing through Cleveland’s minor league system to reach the majors.
Now, though, things feel like they’ve changed with Bibee. He wasn’t in the playoff rotation, and although the ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays went six games, Bibee didn’t get into a single one of them.
That puts his future role with Cleveland in question, at least a little bit. And it makes his contract a focus because on a team filled with small deals, Bibee has a little bit of heft to his.
Tanner Bibee Contract
GettyCLEVELAND, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 03: Tanner Bibee #28 of the Cleveland Guardians throws a pitch during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Progressive Field on September 03, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
Bibee is in the midst of an extension he signed early in his career with Cleveland that bought out his arbitration years.
So for the 2027 season, Bibee will make $7.4 million.
That number rises to $10.4 million in 2028.
And the dollar figure to really watch for Bibee arrives in 2029, when his contract will pay him $21.4 million.
Given what we know about the Guardians, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them try to move off his deal at some point between now and then.
Tanner Bibee’s Role
GettyCLEVELAND, OHIO – AUGUST 05: Tanner Bibee #28 of the Cleveland Guardians throws a pitch during the first inning against the New York Mets at Progressive Field on August 05, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
While Bibee didn’t pitch in the ALCS despite being on the roster, it’s hard to see him not being in the Guardians’ five-man rotation to start the 2027 season.
He won’t be the Opening Day starter. Either Parker Messick or Gavin Williams will get that gig.
But with Foster Griffin going to free agency, there’s no reason Bibee can’t be somewhere in this rotation, and the Guardians will likely need him to be solid over the course of a long season.
Bibee’s contract also makes him a guy the Guardians certainly should make use of while they’re paying him more than most of their roster.
Eventually, they’ll have to decide what Bibee’s future looks like in Cleveland. It would be a surprise if anything changed for Bibee in this offseason, though.
Billy Heyen Billy Heyen is a Heavy contributor with focus on the NFL and MLB. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who spent his senior year following Jim Boeheim’s basketball team around the country. His reporting work has also included extensive work for The Sporting News, the Sandusky Register and Rochester’s Democrat & Chronicle. Adventures in sports writing have also led to in-person coverage of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Guardians, U.S. men’s national soccer team and a variety of minor league baseball stories. More about Billy Heyen