Cleveland Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber will miss the remainder of the season, as he is set to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
Guardians beat writer Mandy Bell was among the first to report the news.
Shane Bieber needs elbow surgery.
He had pain after his Opening Day start that continued through his outing in Seattle. Imaging revealed an injury to the same ligament that gave him trouble last year. Surgery was determined to be the best path forward this time.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) April 6, 2024
World-renowned orthopedic surgeons Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. Neal ElAttrache confirmed the former 2020 AL Cy Young winner needs a reconstruction of his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL).
“The mere fact that Shane was able to go out and pitch the games that he did,” team president Chris Antonetti told The Athletic, “specifically that game in Seattle, is just a testament to his toughness and how much he wanted to be out there. More than anything, he wanted to continue pitching and contributing to the team. Unfortunately, now he’s not going to be able to do that for a while.”
According to Bell, Bieber felt pain after his Opening Day start against the Oakland Athletics. The discomfort lingered throughout his next start against the Seattle Mariners. The 28-year-old picked up wins in both starts. He will end the season with a 2-0 record, a 0.00 ERA, 20 strikeouts, and a 0.92 WHIP in 12 innings. Bieber was on pace for another All-Star season, and was certainly a Cy Young candidate after his limited time on the mound.
Alika Jenner/Getty Images
The Southern California native suffered elbow soreness last season and missed two and a half months. Ultimately, he returned at the end of the season. His offseason was as typical as it can be. Bieber suffered zero setbacks and trained at the Driveline Baseball facility in Scottsdale, Arizona.
This now leaves the Guardians and Bieber in a tough predicament. Bieber will enter free agency after this season. Speculation has already begun on whether or not the Guardians will re-sign him. Bieber has collected Cy Young votes in three of his six full seasons, all with Cleveland, and made two American League All-Star teams.
The right-hander missed significant time in two of the last three seasons. Now he will miss this season and will miss most, if not all, of the 2025 season — wherever he might be employed.
As for the Guardians, this leaves their rotation in a dire predicament. Cleveland will now lean on Triston McKenzie, Tanner Bibee and Logan Allen. Gavin Williams is still on the 15-day IL recovering from his elbow injury, and is still a ways away.
Bieber has a career 3.22 ERA, a 62-32 record, 958 strikeouts, and a 1.12 WHIP in 843 innings and 136 games.
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