The weekend was rough for Cleveland Guardians fans, the organization, and ace Shane Bieber.
After winning both his starts with a perfect 0.00 ERA and a 1/20 BB/K ratio, it was revealed that he has been feeling discomfort since his Opening Day start and has ligament damage in his elbow.
He has been recommended to get the dreaded Tommy John surgery and won’t pitch again in 2024.
It’s possible, even likely, that his fruitful tenure with the Guardians is over.
If there was someone who worked hard over the offseason to improve and regain his best version, it was Bieber.
After posting a 3.80 ERA and showing diminishing velocity in 2022 and 2023, he became a student of Driveline and regained a couple of ticks on his fastball.
He looked dominant to open the year and manhandled the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners.
His arm, however, said “stop.”
The pitcher shared a heartbreaking quote about his injury, according to Guardians insider Zack Meisel.
“An emotional Shane Bieber, holding back tears, said he had ‘fallen in love with pitching again’ and said about this season: ‘I know I’ll be a part of it, but just in a different capacity,’” Meisel tweeted.
An emotional Shane Bieber, holding back tears, said he had “fallen in love with pitching again” and said about this season: “I know I’ll be a part of it, but just in a different capacity.”
That is heartbreaking on so many levels.
To read Bieber had fallen in love with pitching again and has this ending in 2024 is just rough.
He is a fantastic pitcher and seems like a genuinely good guy, so it’s a tough break for him.
He will be back in late 2025 or early 2026, though: he just needs to be patient.
Maybe fate dictates that the Guards give him a short-term deal to build back value.
Who knows?
For now, it’s just tough to see him on the sidelines for what is looking like a promising season of baseball in Cleveland.