The Cleveland Guardians are heading into 2026 with a good kind of dilemma - one that most MLB teams would love to have. For the second straight year, they’ll open the season with a new face on the mound, and this time, it’s not because of injury or last-minute illness. It’s because they’ve got two legitimate aces at the top of their rotation, and picking between them isn’t easy.
Let’s rewind for a second. After five straight Opening Day starts from Shane Bieber - the former Cy Young winner and longtime anchor of the staff - the Guardians were forced to pivot last season.
Bieber was still recovering from Tommy John surgery, and the team had to make a change. The plan was to hand the ball to Tanner Bibee, fresh off signing a five-year, $48 million extension that signaled the franchise’s belief in him as the next face of the rotation.
But then, in a twist no one saw coming, Bibee was scratched from his Opening Day start due to acute gastroenteritis. That left the Guardians turning to 33-year-old journeyman Ben Lively to kick off the season - a stark contrast to the run of Cy Young-caliber arms that had led them into previous campaigns.
Fast forward to now, and with Lively no longer on the roster, the Guardians are set to open 2026 with yet another new starter. But this time, barring anything unexpected, it looks like Bibee is finally going to get his shot. That is, unless Gavin Williams has something to say about it.
Williams, who entered last season as the Guardians’ No. 2 starter, put together a breakout campaign in 2025. He posted a 3.02 ERA across 167 2/3 innings, and while the 83 walks led the majors and highlighted some command issues, there’s no denying the leap he made.
Williams flashed potential in 2023, but last season, he put it all together. He came within two outs of a no-hitter against the Mets in August and closed the year with a dominant 1.88 ERA over 24 September innings.
That’s ace-level stuff.
Bibee, meanwhile, had his own strong finish. His 4.24 ERA across the full season doesn’t jump off the page, but the underlying performance down the stretch was impressive.
In September, he turned in a 1.30 ERA over 27 2/3 innings and gave up just one run in 4 2/3 innings during his lone postseason start. Perhaps most impressively, he proved he could carry a full-season workload, logging 182 1/3 innings over 31 starts - more than Williams in the same number of outings.
So what does manager Stephen Vogt do when Opening Day rolls around? On one hand, Bibee was the guy the front office extended and initially tabbed for the role last year.
On the other, Williams just delivered a season that vaulted him into the national conversation. This isn’t a case of one guy running away with the job - it’s two arms pushing each other to be better, and both are making a strong case.
This kind of depth at the top of the rotation is rare. Plenty of teams go into the year scrambling to find one reliable Opening Day starter. The Guardians have two - and depending on how the rest of the rotation shakes out, they might have more not far behind.
Whether it’s Bibee or Williams taking the ball on Opening Day, the Guardians are in a great position. Both pitchers are young, under team control, and trending upward.
The title of “Opening Day starter” might be a ceremonial honor more than anything else, but it still matters - especially to the guys in the clubhouse. And no matter who gets the nod, Cleveland fans can feel good knowing they’ve got a pair of co-aces ready to lead the charge.