This is the time of year when the question of how much money the Guardians are willing to spend to keep their own free agents or sign free agents from other teams takes on added importance.

The Guardians faced the Yankees for the American League pennant despite ranking 24th in team payroll at $131,514,253. The Yankees, third in payroll at $323,111,131, knocked out the Guards in five games and now face the Dodgers, first in payroll (the Mets are second) at $327,547,251, in the World Series .

The biggest decisions Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti has to make focus on the starting pitchers currently on Cleveland’s roster.

Shane Bieber, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April after making two starts, will become an unrestricted free agent the day after the World Series ends. Same for Matthew Boyd and all players eligible for free agency if their contract expires after 2024. Players can begin signing with a new team five days after free agency begins, although unlike the NFL and to the NBA, free agency signings in Major League Baseball move slowly.

“We would love to have Shane back,” Antonetti said during a closing news conference with manager Stephen Vogt and general manager Mike Chernoff. “At the same time, we recognize his status as a free agent and he has the right to explore things. There appears to be mutual interest.

“We will have these conversations over the winter. They have already started. We’ll see if there’s a way to do this.

Bieber, 29, is 62-32 over seven seasons starting for the Indians/Guardians. Injuries have limited him to 16 starts in 2021, 21 in 2023 and two this season. He probably won’t be ready to play in a major championship game until late May or June of next year, if that is the case, due to his elbow surgery.

Boyd will turn 34 on February 2. He underwent Tommy John surgery on June 28, 2023, while with the Tigers. The Guardians signed him to a free agent contract on June 29 of this year. He made his Cleveland debut on August 13. He was 2-2 in eight starts.

The Guardians are in a precarious situation with their starting pitcher as Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen spent the majority of the 2023 season at Triple-A Columbus with no guarantee that they will bounce back and be part of the Guardians’ rotation in 2025.

Ben Lively will be 33 at the start of next season. He made a career-high 29 starts in 2024 with the Guardians and led the team with 13 wins. He is under contract through 2025. Tanner Bibee (12-8) was the team’s most reliable pitcher. Gavin Williams (3-10) was too inconsistent to count on.