The Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber’s red-hot start of the 2024 MLB campaign has come to an unlucky end. The Guardians confirmed on Saturday that Bieber is dealing with an elbow injury and will need Tommy John surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL).
Bieber was one of the best pitchers in baseball this season, leading the league with 20 strikeouts in two starts while pitching 12 scoreless innings. As it turns out, he did this while battling through elbow soreness and inflammation.
Reportedly, Bieber felt sore after making his Opening Day start against Oakland A’s but believed he could continue pitching. However, after the same issue occurred following his second start against the Seattle Mariners, Bieber underwent additional tests and scans, which showed UCL damage.
Bieber had issues with his elbow in 2023 as well, but still managed to make 21 starts and pitch 128.0 innings. However, he will have to be sidelined for at least 16 months before being able to return to action.
“First and foremost, we feel for Shane,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said via MLB.com. “There’s a lot of things that he’s got to process right now and work through on the mental side because of just how set he is on wanting to pitch and contribute to the team. And not being able to do that has really impacted him.”
