The Guardians introduced Thursday that right-hander Tanner Bibee has been scratched from his scheduled Opening Day begin attributable to acute gastroenteritis (or, the abdomen flu). Cleveland will give the nod to fellow right-hander Ben Full of life in his place.
It’s an unlucky growth for the not too long ago prolonged Bibee, who’s simply days faraway from signing a five-year, $48MM contract extension. It’s unlikely he’ll miss vital time with the sickness, however Opening Day begins are a cherished event for pitchers. Bibee figures to have alternatives sooner or later, however this could’ve been his first Opening Day nod. Shane Bieber began for Cleveland in every of the previous two seasons — Bibee’s solely two years within the majors.
On the flip facet, it’s an surprising probability for Full of life to additionally get his first profession Opening Day nod. The notion of Bibee as an Opening Day starter would’ve been past far-fetched only a few brief years in the past. The now-33-year-old righty pitched just one large league inning in 2019 and didn’t pitch within the majors in any respect from 2020-22. Full of life spent the 2020-21 season with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Group, returned to North America on a minor league take care of the Reds, and didn’t make it again to the majors till 2023. He pitched 88 2/3 innings for Cincinnati that 12 months and logged a 5.38 ERA.
The Guardians nonetheless introduced Full of life in on a significant league contract final 12 months, guaranteeing him a $750K wage. He crushed any and all expectations, rattling off 151 innings with a 3.81 earned run common, an 18.7% strikeout price, a 7.2% stroll price and a 41.9% ground-ball price. Full of life misses bats at a nicely below-average stage, however he has sharp command and managed to strand runners at a a lot greater price than common (78.4% in comparison with league-average 72.1%). He and the Guardians settled on a one-year, $2.25MM contract this offseason to keep away from an arbitration listening to.
Bibee and Full of life can be joined in Cleveland’s rotation by righties Luis Ortiz and Gavin Williams, in addition to southpaw Logan Allen. The bullpen could have a number of lengthy reduction choices, together with veteran swingman Jakob Junis, prospect Joey Cantillo and former standout righty Triston McKenzie, who’s trying to bounce again after a dismal 2023-24 run and rocky spring coaching. McKenzie suffered a UCL pressure again in 2023 and prevented surgical procedure however has not pitched wherever near the identical stage since sustaining that elbow damage.
