This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell's Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Guardians re-signed Shane Bieber. They added Luis Ortiz. But can you really ever have enough starting pitching?

Tanner Bibee is one arm you can absolutely rely on next year. The rest of the returning rotation is littered with question marks. And aside from Joey Cantillo and eventually Doug Nikhazy, the depth isn¡¯t overwhelming, either. So, no, especially this year, the Guardians cannot possibly have too much pitching.

The question now is how will they address it? Maybe they figure out a way to swing a trade and someone like Miami¡¯s Jes¨²s Luzardo (who is being heavily pursued by the Cubs) could end up in Cleveland. Or the Guardians could take some of the money they¡¯re saving by dealing away Andr¨¦s Gim¨¦nez¡¯s near-$100 million contract to Toronto and sign a free agent.

¡°I expect us to continue to have resources to reinvest in the team not only for 2025, but in years to come,¡± Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said after the Winter Meetings.

But still, the price has to be right. It could be pitchers like Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana or even Walker Buehler if his injury history can bring his price tag down. Or maybe it can be secret option number three.

What if the Guardians dabbled in the international market? A few weeks ago, it seemed like it was all but certain that Japanese starter Roki Sasaki, who was posted by his Nippon Professional Baseball team, would end up in either Los Angeles or San Diego. But after his agent, Joel Wolfe, spoke at the Winter Meetings, other teams could easily be in the mix.

¡°I think there¡¯s an argument to be made that a small or mid-market team might be more beneficial for him as a soft landing coming from Japan, given what he¡¯s been through [with the media there],¡± Wolfe said. ¡°I¡¯m not saying it will be, but it might be beneficial for him to be in a smaller market. But I really don¡¯t know how he looks at it yet.¡±

¡°I guess that would be a good thing for all small-market teams,¡± Antonetti said with a grin, careful not to make specific comments about free agents. ¡°Last I checked, Cleveland was a small-market team.¡±

Sasaki would be quite the pickup for the Guardians. In four seasons with Chiba Lotte, Sasaki has compiled a 2.02 ERA, 11.4 K/9 and 2.0 BB/9 rate while allowing just 6.0 hits per nine. His fastball can run up to 102 mph, his splitter is absolutely filthy (with a whiff rate north of 57 percent this past season) and a solid slider. He's the type of front-line starter Cleveland could greatly benefit from.

¡°The best way maybe for me to answer that is any opportunity we have to bring in talented players into the organization, we will pursue,¡± Antonetti said, again avoiding specifics.

The best part about Sasaki? Money won¡¯t be a factor. Because he¡¯s under 25 years old and has played in fewer than six seasons in NPB, the rules state that he has to be subject to international bonus pool money restrictions. In order to maximize the type of contract he can have, he¡¯ll wait to sign until at least Jan. 15, when the 2025 signing period begins, meaning all 30 clubs will be fully replenished with money ready to spend.

The Guardians are among six teams with the second-biggest international bonus pool allotment of $6,908,600. The Reds, Tigers, Marlins, Brewers, Twins, A¡¯s, Mariners and Rays all have the highest allotment of $7,555,500. The other 16 clubs are at $6.26 million or less.

So, Cleveland is in the upper half of money to work with -- a position this organization rarely finds itself in. However, prying Sasaki away from the Dodgers, who have his favorite player, Shohei Ohtani, or the Padres, who have his good friend Yu Darvish, won¡¯t be easy. And even if the Guardians can make a pitch for a small-market experience, they have to find a way to make Cleveland worth his while.

It may still be a long shot, but Wolfe certainly kept all teams in play, leaving Guardians fans (and staff, for that matter) channeling their inner Jim Carrey to mutter, ¡°So you¡¯re telling me there¡¯s a chance?¡±