CLEVELAND (AP) — Shane Bieber's first venture into free agency turned into a return trip.
The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner agreed Friday to rejoin the Cleveland Guardians after making just two starts last season before undergoing Tommy John surgery, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
Bieber had been expected to leave the AL Central champions. But he's coming back after agreeing to a one-year, $14 million contract that includes a $16 million player option for 2026, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.
Bieber’s deal will pay him $10 million in salary and includes a $4 million buyout.
The 29-year-old only pitched twice in 2024 before having the surgery on his elbow that bothered him during the previous campaign. Bieber felt discomfort in his start on opening day against the Oakland Athletics and again when he faced the Seattle Mariners his next outing.
Bieber didn't allow a run in either start, and the club had been encouraged by his velocity and dominance (20 strikeouts). But the elbow became too painful and Bieber elected to have the ligament-replacement surgery.
If his recovery follows a normal timeline, Bieber should be back in Cleveland's rotation within the first three months of next season.
The Guardians feared his loss would hurt them last season, but the club got off to a fast start under first-year manager Stephen Vogt and ran away with the division title. Cleveland eliminated Detroit in the AL Division Series before losing the ALCS to the New York Yankees in five games.
Bieber spent chunks of last season with the team and he received a huge ovation at Progressive Field when he was introduced before the postseason series.
The two-time All-Star has spent all seven of his big league seasons with Cleveland, which had contemplated trading him before his elbow issues in 2023 limited him to 21 starts.
During the shortened COVID-19 season in 2020, Bieber went 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA over 12 starts and 77 1/3 innings with 122 strikeouts. He led the majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts and finished fourth in AL MVP voting.
He was selected by Cleveland in the fourth round of the 2016 amateur draft out of UC Santa Barbara and made his major league debut two years later on his 23rd birthday.
Bieber has a career record of 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA over 136 outings spanning 134 starts and 843 innings. He has twice reached 200 innings, throwing a career-high 214 1/3 in 2019.
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FILE - Cleveland Guardians' Shane Bieber pitches to a Baltimore Orioles batter during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finnish authorities detained a ship linked to neighboring Russia as they investigate whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables, police said, in the latest incident involving disruption of key infrastructure.
Finnish police and border guards boarded the vessel, the Eagle S, early Thursday and took over the command bridge, Helsinki Police Chief Jari Liukku told a news conference. The vessel was being held in Finnish territorial waters, police said.
The Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands, but was described by Finnish customs officials and the European Union's executive commission as part of Russia's shadow fleet of fuel tankers. Those are aging vessels with obscure ownership, acquired to evade Western sanctions amid the war in Ukraine and operating without Western-regulated insurance. Russia's use of the vessels has raised environmental concerns about accidents given their age and uncertain insurance coverage.
The Eagle S's anchor is suspected of causing damage to the cable, Yle television reported, relying on police statements.
The EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said in a statement that the incident was “the latest in a series of suspected attacks on critical infrastructure” and commended the Finnish authorities “for their swift action in boarding the suspected vessel."
The ship “is part of Russia’s shadow fleet, which threatens security and the environment, while funding Russia’s war budget,” said Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister. "We will propose further measures, including sanctions, to target this fleet.”
The Estlink-2 power cable, which brings electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, went down on Wednesday. The incident follows damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines, both of which have been termed sabotage.
The Estonian government met in emergency session over the incident. The shadow tankers “are helping Russia to earn funds that will aid Russian hybrid attacks,” Prime Minister Kristen Michal said at a news conference. “We need to improve the monitoring and protection of critical infrastructure both on land and on sea.”
He said repairs to the cable could take as long as seven months.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina said she was in close touch with Michal and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. “Our armed forces have strengthened surveillance and are monitoring the situation,” she said on X. “The Baltic states currently have sufficient energy production capacity, although we are challenged by the Baltic Sea cable incidents.”
Two data cables — one running between Finland and Germany and the other between Lithuania and Sweden — were severed in November. Germany’s defense minister said officials had to assume the incident was “sabotage,” but he didn't provide evidence or say who might have been responsible. The remark came during a speech in which he discussed hybrid warfare threats from Russia.
The Nord Stream pipelines that once brought natural gas from Russia to Germany were damaged by underwater explosions in September 2022. Authorities have said the cause was sabotage and launched criminal investigations.
Estonian network operator Elering says there is enough spare capacity to meet power needs on the Estonian side, public broadcaster ERR said on its website.
This photo provided by Rajavartiosto (Finnish Border Guard) on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, shows the oil tanker Eagle S at sea outside Porkkalanniemi, Finland. The Eagle S was sailing at the same time in the area where the Finland-Estonia electrical link was disrupted on Wednesday. (Rajavartiosto via AP)
This photo provided by Rajavartiosto (Finnish Border Guard) on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, shows the oil tanker Eagle S, background, and the Finnish Border Guard ship Turva at sea outside Porkkalanniemi, Finland. The Eagle S was sailing at the same time in the area where the Finland-Estonia electrical link was disrupted on Wednesday. (Rajavartiosto via AP)
FILE - Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, as police investigating the electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection which was cut on Christmas Day, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)
Finnish National Police Comissioner Ilkka Koskim'ki attends a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, investigating the electricity transmission between Finland and Estonia through the Estlink 2 connection which was cut on Christmas Day, according to Finnish grid operator Fingrid. (Jussi Nukari/Lehtikuva via AP)
