The biggest unanswered question from Cleveland’s season-ending loss wasn’t about the bats or the bullpen order. It was about Tanner Bibee, the Guardians’ Opening Day starter and their workload leader during the regular season, who never got onto the mound in the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
That absence was even more noticeable in Game 6, when Cleveland used eight pitchers in a 7-3 loss that brought the season to a close. MLB Network’s Chris Rose called Bibee’s lack of work one of the series’ great mysteries, and Stephen Vogt addressed it directly after the game.
“Had we advanced the usage could have looked a lot different…. We wanted Tanner to pitch, the spot never presented itself,” Vogt said.
Vogt said the plan was to keep Bibee available for a game that might stretch into extra innings, where he could provide length out of the bullpen. That kind of spot never came.
None of the six games in the series went beyond nine innings, so Cleveland never had to tap into that specific option. Vogt also said Bibee’s usage would have likely changed had the Guardians reached the World Series, and he described the situation as unfortunate.
The explanation helps clear up a decision that left a lot of fans scratching their heads. Bibee appeared in just one postseason game, when he came out of the bullpen in Game 4 of the division series against the White Sox. He walked two of the three batters he faced, both runners scored, and he did not pitch again over the final eight games of Cleveland’s playoff run.
Meanwhile, the Guardians leaned hard on other arms. Shawn Armstrong started Game 6 after pitching on each of the previous two days, making him the first pitcher in postseason history to do that.
Matt Festa appeared in two ALCS games, including Game 4, when Yandy Díaz took him deep for a two-run homer in his first postseason outing. Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis, both of whom had been excellent for most of October, each surrendered two-run homers late in Game 6.
There were reasons for Cleveland to be careful with Bibee. He stumbled through September with a 7.36 ERA across five starts, and his lone October appearance was rough. At the same time, the Guardians were getting useful work from other pitchers, including Foster Griffin, who struck out fifteen batters in 10 1/3 postseason innings, as well as Daniel Espino and Joey Cantillo.
Still, Bibee’s regular season was as strong as anyone in the rotation. He made all 33 starts, logged a team-high 188 innings and finished with nineteen quality starts, the most by a Cleveland pitcher since Shane Bieber in 2022.
Earlier this month, he was also named a Gold Glove finalist, with the winners set to be announced on Nov. 1.
For now, Vogt’s comments make one thing clear: the Guardians were not abandoning Bibee. The matchup simply never created the opening they were waiting for. Now the 27-year-old heads into the offseason looking to put a frustrating finish behind him and reclaim his place in a rotation that should remain one of the team’s biggest strengths next year.
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