The Cleveland Guardians enter the 2025 season as reigning AL Central champions, but you wouldn’t know it from early projections. According to both Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA standings and FanGraphs, Cleveland isn’t favored to repeat. In fact, they’re projected to finish as low as fourth place, trailing the Twins, Royals, and Tigers. But Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee isn’t concerned.
“Projections are projections,” Bibee said in a recent interview. “No one predicted what we were going to do last year and we did it.”
The Guardians defied expectations in 2024, finishing 92-69 and advancing to the ALCS before falling to the New York Yankees. With a largely young roster and first-year manager Stephen Vogt at the helm, Cleveland proved doubters wrong. Now, Bibee believes the same underdog mentality can fuel another deep run.
“It’s the mindset… the way they instill confidence in what you do well.”
RHP Tanner Bibee shares why the @CleGuardians develop starting pitching so well and how he carried that into a strong Postseason.
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Tanner Bibee and the Guardians look to dominate AL Central
“The past few years we’ve always been in a position to prove people wrong,” Bibee said. “It’s a lot easier to play the game like that than when you’re the lead dog. It’s a lot more fun when you end up on top when you were supposed to be the underdog.”
That mindset is a hallmark of the Guardians’ culture, particularly when it comes to their renowned pitching development. Bibee, who went 12-8 last season with a 3.47 ERA and 1.12 WHIP, credited the organization’s ability to instill confidence in its pitchers.
“It’s the mindset,” Bibee said in an interview with MLB Network. “The way they instill confidence in what you do well.”
The Guardians’ pitching depth will be crucial in 2025, especially after losing key position players in the offseason. The trades of Andrés Giménez and Josh Naylor created holes in the lineup, but the team added veteran Carlos Santana to fill the first base role. Meanwhile, José Ramírez and Steven Kwan remain as cornerstones of the offense.
Ultimately, the Guardians know that talk and projections mean little once the season begins. As Ric Flair famously said, “To be the man, you gotta beat the man,” and until another AL Central team takes the division title from Cleveland, Bibee and company will continue to play with a chip on their shoulder.
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