It's time to deal Shane Bieber

My oldest got a cut on her middle finger yesterday at vacation Bible school. She had a band-aid on it for most of the day which came off in the bath, and this morning she repeatedly inadvertently flipped off her mother and myself showing us her cut. My wife kept telling her "Stop holding your finger like that, it can mean bad things to different people." After hearing that same speech half a dozen times, I finally cornered her and spoke sternly but directly. "We need to practice here at the house what we do outside of our house. I know you're showing us your cut, but that means a bad word to other people. I might call you a poopbutt ((Her favorite word in the entire English language.)) but to others, "poop" or "butt" might not be kind words so we don't say it at church or the store. Other people might not understand what we mean or why we do certain things." She eventually seemed to understand it, and we got a fresh band-aid and triple antibiotic on it, and we watched some Bluey. ((New episodes dropping July 12th, Banditheads!))So why did I tell you a story about my kid in an article/piece/blogpost about trading Shane Bieber? Because in this house/organization, we might say poopbutt or trade away a former Cy Young starter while only 2.5 games back of the participation-trophy-competitive-level AL Central, and others might not understand why we do it. Even I was hesitant about the idea for a long time: Biebs has been a steadying force, albeit a declining one over the last two years or so, in an uncharacteristically up-and-down rotation. Whenever you saw "Bieber, S" as the starting pitcher, you knew that if there was a losing streak, it was over, or if there was a winning streak, it was continuing. The runs might not have been there, but it was no matter for the man who never walks, ((Bieber has the 14th-best BB% since 2021.)) you knew you were getting a quality start if not a performance that bemoaned the lack of run support. But in this house, things are different.A year and a half of control are all that is left of Bieber's "low low low monthly payments". He's in the middle of his Arb2 year, with one more to play out in 2024 before becoming an unrestricted free agent. That is usually when the Cuyahoga Pitching Factory LLC dumps it's oldest model machinery and goes to work on a new one. Trevor Bauer was dealt around this same timeframe in his controllability: one and a half seasons of control, even though he had an extra arbitration year. Mike Clevinger was actually dealt with two years of arbitration left, thus making the haul of his return what it was when you quantify the number of prospects. Trading pitching for prospects, specifically right-handed right-field prospects, ((Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes were the returns in Bauer's deal, Owen Miller and Josh Naylor were part of Clevinger's. Yes, Josh Naylor hits lefty but he played RF before his knee twisted off.)) before the pitcher reaches a level of salary that is untenable has long been this team's MO.So that begs the question: will it work this time? Is the club better off for 2023 if Bieber stays and tries to lead the staff to a division title and playoff matchup against whatever inevitable juggernaut awaits them in the first round? Probably, but this front office doesn't look at time like that. They have never kept a player too long past his usability while blocking another prospect's chance ((Wink wink Amed Rosario, you're not long for wearing "Cleveland" on your chest.)) and Gunslinger Gavin Williams is ready and waiting to fire 100-mph bullets and sliders at major league hitters. Some might say it's a problem, and some might say it's genius, but this team hardly ever fully rebuilds but rather reloads with each new hurler it happens to send off.  If the team sees an opportunity to get a young, major-league-ready piece for the future, it will make the deal. They just will, even if the team is in the thick of a division title race to the middle. In this house. things are different.However, Bieber has been less-than-stellar this year and the return might not be what some fans want. Jordan Walker of the St Louis Cardinals was a hot name for a while on #GuardsTwitter but he has since returned to the bigs and has been deemed "untouchable". A 6.57 K/9 and a career-high 4.22 xFIP are the crinkle-paper-wrapped bags of sand connected to the Dollar Tree balloon that is Bieber's 2023 season. Many are probably right that if the team was to trade Bieber and get the most in return, they should have done it over the winter when he was coming off a 4.9 fWAR season, with two full years of control, and a stable of major-league ready prospects in Williams, Tanner Bibee, and TOAO Logan T Allen in the waiting to replace his production. Hindsight doesn't need glasses, however, and here we are: staring at a team that has picked it up of late at the plate but is seemingly all waiting for the other one to move. Does a 24-year-old Heston Kjerstad, Baltimore Oriole prospect phenom, and others get it done for Cleveland? Maybe a Dylan Carlson or Tyler O'Neill from the pitching-needy Cards? Does Rosario or a middle infield prospect like Gabe Arias or Tyler Freeman get connected with Biebs to make the return more palatable for Cleveland? Who's to say, but I do believe the time is now to deal Bieber, even though the team is in the middle of a division race. Because in this house, things are different.