The Cleveland Guardians may have to rethink their approach to their starting pitching used in the ALCS this year.

Cleveland lost in six games to the Tampa Bay Rays, and it was clear that their team was gassed from their long-endured season. Their pitching staff was notably tired, and the decision to not start Tanner Bibee came back to bite them in their bullpen games.

Now, Bibee is being recognized as this year's AL Gold Glove winning pitcher.

Bibee was only used in one game throughout the entire postseason, and it wasn’t in his usual starting position. It was never revealed specifically why Bibee was underutilized, even though manager Stephen Vogt claimed the opportunity never presented itself.

It seemed like there were multiple moments in which Bibee could have been considered, and now with his first Gold Glove acquired, Cleveland could be regretting not playing him more.

Here’s why Bibee’s Gold Glove win proves the Guardians should have started him:

Bibee has prior postseason experience regardless of his regular season results

Even though Bibee had the most starting appearances for the Guardians this season, his stats were amongst his worst of his career. Bibee gave up a team leading 175 hits, while also giving up 29 home runs, also the most on the team.

It was a real down year for Bibee, but he is one of the more tenured players in Cleveland’s starting rotation. Bibee even started on Opening Day for the Guardians, and at one time was leaned on heavily for their postseason chances.

Of course, trade deadline acquisitions helped propel Cleveland into the playoffs, but Bibee did contribute to that even with his lesser stats. Bibee led the team in quality starts with 19 total, which speaks to his longevity within games.

That was surely missed in the postseason, as it was clear the Guardians struggled to get any quality innings out of virtually every pitcher on the team, aside from Gavin Williams. 

The chances that Cleveland could have advanced any further in the postseason were slim when they decided to pitch bullpen games each night. Instead, why not start Bibee and bank on his knack for pitching at least six innings.

Their offense had their moments of production, so even if Bibee gave up a few runs, his pitching would have been much appreciated over the over usage of their bullpen arms.

Bibee will now enter the 2027 after signing a long-term extension with the Guardians hoping to be a contender to start the season as their ace once again. He can put this season behind him knowing it still resulted in a Gold Glove due to his defensive excellence.