The Cleveland Guardians are back to the drawing boards after being eliminated from the 2026 MLB Playoffs by the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS.

It was a crushing way to end their exciting season, and to have been two games away from returning to the World Series will bother the players all offseason long. Hopefully it fuels them to get back to this point, especially one player who was almost completely forgotten about.

Tanner Bibee was Cleveland’s starting pitcher for Opening Day this season but was immediately under fire for his struggles right from the jump. He fought all season to retain his spot as their ace on the mound but completely disappeared once the playoffs started. 

The question now is what happened to Bibee, as well as what could be next for him moving forward:

Bibee lost the trust of Cleveland’s management after regular season struggles

It just wasn’t a good season for Bibee altogether, as he finished the 2026 campaign with a 7-15 record with a 4.36 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He pitched the most innings of any Guardians starter, but gave up the most hits, most home runs, and had the least number of strikeouts.

From start to finish, it seemed like Bibee wasn’t in it mentally or at least lost some of his confidence he had slowly built up in his first three seasons. Usually, pitchers start to figure out what’s going wrong for them throughout the season, but it was more than that for Bibee.

As Cleveland’s ace, their pitching staff expected him to remain one of their top options even with his struggles. With Gavin Williams putting together an impressive season, Bibee may have lost his spot as a top option in their rotation.

Once the playoffs started, it was assumed Bibee would still be in their rotation as a top three option. Ultimately, Bibee pitched in one game in their opening series against the White Sox and was pulled after giving up two runs on two walks. 

That seemed to be the nail in the coffin for Bibee. Manager Stephen Vogt commented on Bibee not making any appearances in the ALCS, saying “had we advanced, the usage could have looked a lot different.”

Stephen Vogt on Tanner Bibee sitting out the ALCS: “Had we advanced the usage could have looked a lot different…. We wanted Tanner to pitch, the spot never presented itself” #Guardians

Video courtesy #MLB pool feed pic.twitter.com/orBmKFbqxq

— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) October 20, 2026

“We wanted Tanner (Bibee) to pitch, but the spot never presented itself,” Vogt said. Bibee was seen warming up in the bullpen in one of their ALCS games and surprisingly sat back down and never saw his chance after that.

That’s an interesting quote from Vogt regarding Bibee, mainly because it seemed like there were plenty of opportunities where he could have put him in the game. Either way, this does cloud the situation regarding Bibee’s future in Cleveland.

Bibee could be on borrowed time with the Guardians

It can be assumed that Bibee will still be with the team come the start of the 2027 season, depending on when that could be with a lockout expected to threaten the season. It’s very likely the Guardians give him the first half of the season before any talks of trades come to the table.

Bibee did sign a five-year contract extension before the start of the 2025 season, so he’ll be under contract through the 2030 season in Cleveland. However, this doesn’t mean the Guardians won’t consider trading him.

It’s clear that Gavin Williams and Parker Messick have Cleveland’s top pitching spots locked down from now on, which could take pressure off of Bibee. Their starting rotation does still need more proven talent if they want to compete again in 2027.

Bibee being a younger player does give him some leeway in terms of the team's outlook on his future. Young players don’t always succeed in the first few seasons, so they could be hesitant to give up on him so soon.

Either way, Cleveland’s starting rotation needs to be a point of focus during the offseason, especially if their trade deadline acquisition Foster Griffin decides to test free agency elsewhere.

The offseason might be extended before any baseball is played in 2027, so this could give Bibee and the Guardians more time to figure out what’s been going wrong with him and how to fix it.