MESA, Ariz. -- Turns out, the only changeup for Shane Bieber this spring is the one he’s throwing more often to batters in the Cactus League.

After an offseason in which his name was dragged through the trade rumor mill a time or 10, Bieber is still wearing the Guardians’ uniform, still forecast to be at the forefront of their starting staff, still intent on getting back to Cy Young-caliber performance with the club that drafted and developed him. The change expected for him going into last offseason turned out to be a faulty forecast.

At Hohokam Stadium on Thursday -- a day in which the forecasts of rain and wind turned out to be dead on and wound up leading to the game being called in the top of the third inning with one out and the Guardians up, 2-1, over the A's -- there was Bieber, making his second start of the Cactus League season and recording a pair of first-inning strikeouts on the changeup that is a focus for him in this camp.

“[The changeup] is definitely not my strong suit,” Bieber said after allowing one run on two hits with a walk and four strikeouts in two innings prior to the game being called. “I was happy to emphasize that and feature that today.”

Bieber, 28, seems happy in general these days.

To say this is a big year for his career is an understatement. He’ll be a free agent in the fall, and the fact that inquiring clubs ultimately weren’t willing to meet the Guards’ steep asking price for his services speaks to the reality that last season took some of the shine off his profile.

For the second time in three years, Bieber had his workload significantly reduced by injury, missing more than two months with right elbow inflammation. And for the second straight year, his average four-seam velocity of 91.3 mph was down from 94.1 mph in his Cy season of 2020.

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That would all seem to place a ton of urgency on Bieber’s 2024. But he doesn’t give off the vibe of someone sweating his circumstances.

“I’m not really focused on anything too far ahead of me,” Bieber said. “I'm just focused on my development right now. And I can genuinely look you in the eyes and tell you that, because I feel really, really good with where I'm at.”

As unsettled as his situation with the Guards (who could of course make him a trade candidate again midseason given his pending free agency) might be, Bieber said being settled in his personal life and his work routine has him in a good spot mentally.

And he’s embracing the opportunity to lead a club in the midst of transition in the dugout and all over the roster.

“The turnover that we've had within this club has kind of sparked confidence and energy -- not just in the clubhouse, but I feel a little bit of that as well,” Bieber said. “It's exciting to be able to go out there and prove yourself each and every day.”

If we’re going to scrutinize and analyze Bieber’s raw velocity, Thursday was not really the day for it. The conditions were akin to what he might face in Cleveland in April or perhaps Oakland on Opening Day, which is to say they were lousy. He was sitting 91-92, according to the in-stadium scoreboard.

What’s important is that Bieber got some good results from that change, which had largely gone by the wayside in the three seasons since winning the AL Cy Young Award.

That pitch will continue to be a source of emphasis for Bieber this spring. It’s the only change he’s currently consumed by.

He’s drowning out all the talk about potentially changing teams.

“If I had a little bit of hindsight, I could have been better in years past getting caught up in some of that stuff, if I'm being completely vulnerable and honest about it,” Bieber said. “But this year, I fell in love with my routine and my offseason regimen, and it wasn't really difficult [to ignore the chatter], to be honest.”