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CLEVELAND — The Guardians' 2026 playoff journey was defined not only by which pitchers they relied on but also by the surprising minimal role of their Opening Day starter. Cleveland came within two wins of a World Series berth, falling to the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALCS after overcoming a 2-0 deficit against the Chicago White Sox in the ALDS.
Over the course of 11 playoff games, the Guardians leaned heavily on Gavin Williams, Parker Messick, Cade Smith, Shawn Armstrong, Hunter Gaddis, Daniel Espino, and others to cover innings. Weather complications further disrupted their plans, leading to Armstrong making multiple starts as an opener in the ALCS.
As the team dug deeper into its pitching depth, one name was conspicuously absent from the game plan: Tanner Bibee, who had started on Opening Day and led the club in innings during the regular season. Bibee's only postseason appearance came in Game 4 of the ALDS against Chicago, where he faced three batters, walked two, and struck out one before being removed. He did not pitch at all in the six-game ALCS.
This dramatic shift from expectations was viewed by the Guardians as a result of multiple circumstances. First, the matchups: both the White Sox and Rays lineups prompted Cleveland to prioritize left-handed pitching, making Foster Griffin the clear No. 3 playoff starter and Joey Cantillo a key multi-inning bullpen option. With Williams and Messick each able to start two games in the best-of-five ALDS, only Game 3 became a bullpen game.
The ALCS, which included six games and a rainout that altered the schedule, seemed to open a larger opportunity for Bibee. However, the Guardians opted to save him for a bulk situation that might arise if extra innings were needed. When they required a right-hander to face the top of the Tampa Bay lineup, they turned to Espino and Armstrong, both of whom pitched well throughout the playoffs.
All these factors pushed Bibee further from the mound unless extra innings occurred. Had that scenario unfolded, Bibee likely would have been called upon to try to win a playoff game. But it never happened.
"Going into the ALCS, it was kind of a similar path," said manager Stephen Vogt, who also expressed his interest in returning to Cleveland for 2027 and beyond. "We knew we wanted to lean on our left-handed pitching. So Foster started Game 1, and then with the rainout and four in a row, it just presented a [playoff] schedule that we had never really encountered. It wasn't our intent for Tanner to throw to three hitters throughout the postseason. It's just kind of the way it played out."
Had the Guardians won Game 6 of the ALCS, Williams would have started Game 7 in Tampa Bay. And had they advanced to the World Series to face the Milwaukee Brewers, president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti noted that Bibee likely would have had his number called considering the high number of innings Williams, Messick, and even Griffin would have thrown by that point.
"When we kind of gave Foster that third starter spot, that pushed Tanner to the fourth starter, which made him more likely in bulk scenarios [extra innings], at least with the way these rosters and the way the series took shape," Antonetti said. "There was a very real possibility that if we advanced to the World Series, Tanner was going to start Game 1 or Game 2 for us because that would have been a different set of pitching circumstances."
Key Analysis
While the explanations are reasonable, having an Opening Day starter face only three batters across 11 playoff games raises questions about how much trust the team had in him during the postseason, even as an extra-innings insurance option. At the very least, it is noteworthy that the regular-season innings leader saw his role diminished so significantly.
Bibee's 7-15 record during the regular season was largely a product of poor run support and timing. He finished with a 4.36 ERA in a team-high 188 innings. The concern was how he finished the season: in his last four outings spanning 25 2/3 innings, Bibee allowed 21 earned runs on 33 hits and nine walks for a 7.36 ERA and a 1.636 WHIP. When he walked two of the first three hitters he faced in Game 4 of the ALDS, the Guardians felt they had seen enough in an elimination game.
The situation reached a point where Vogt took a walk with Bibee before Game 6 of the ALCS to talk, something the manager does occasionally. The two spoke for about 40 minutes. "We went for a walk — just normally do that with players from time to time — and allowed him to ask any questions he may have and allowed him the space to tell me how he's feeling," Vogt said. "Obviously he was upset, and I empathized with that and I gave him the reasoning for what was going on. Tanner and I came to a really good place and we ended up talking about a lot more than just baseball and had a similar conversation in his exit interview. It was very candid. It was very open. He spoke his mind and we gave him our reasoning."
Bibee is in the midst of a five-year, $48 million extension that runs through the 2029 season and includes a 2030 option. After having his role reduced to an extra-innings insurance option, he now enters a critical offseason. It appears Bibee safely has his spot in the 2027 Opening Day rotation secured, but he also has a long way to go to return to top form.
"I mean, everyone has their ideas on what it looks like," Vogt said. "This is Tanner, and we're here to support him and help him and guide him. This pitching team is elite and they're going to be talking with him as long as they possibly can throughout the offseason. I think Tanner's focus this winter is getting back to finding, 'What's that Plan A version and how can I get myself to where I can stick to that and be that person for a full six-, seven-month season?'"
Ryan Lewis covers the Guardians for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians address Tanner Bibee's lack of usage in 2026 MLB playoffs.
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