Out of nowhere, the Cleveland Guardians announced some absolutely brutal injury news regarding ace pitcher Shane Bieber.
Bieber will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the 2024 season, the Guardians announced Saturday. In a statement, the Guardians said Bieber had experienced some elbow pain following his first two starts, and subsequent evaluations showed that Bieber had re-injured his UCL and would need to undergo the surgery.
Shane Bieber, UCL reconstruction, Guardians announce. Man. pic.twitter.com/RzgqFYJxzW
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) April 6, 2024
Bieber dealt with an elbow issue last year, but was able to avoid surgery at that time. This is apparently a recurrence of that issue, and this time, the pitcher has not been so lucky.
There was no real indication Bieber was dealing with any issues after his first two starts, as he looked great to start the year. He did not allow a run in his first two outings, striking out 20 in 12 innings while issuing just one walk. His efforts were a big part of the Guardians’ 6-2 start to the season. Now he will not pitch again until 2025.
Bieber has been the Guardians’ clear No. 1 pitcher for several years. The 2020 AL Cy Young winner has a 3.22 career ERA and three top ten finishes in Cy Young voting.
