Cleveland Guardians Provide Injury Update on Starting Pitcher Shane Bieber

The Cleveland Guardians, who are battling in the American League Central, got some injury news on starting pitcher Shane Bieber this weekend.

The Cleveland Guardians placed starting pitcher Shane Bieber on the injured list last week with an elbow issue and now they've provided more clarity on his recovery timeline.

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Bieber (elbow) will go two weeks without throwing but won't require surgery, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

ANALYSIS
Bieber landed on the 15-day injured list Saturday due to right elbow inflammation and is considered week-to-week. While he'll require more than the minimum of 15 days on the IL given the length of his shutdown, it's encouraging that he won't require a procedure. A better idea of his return timetable will likely come into focus once he's able to resume throwing.

This is very much a multi-pronged story and has a lot of tentacles and ramifications.

1) The Guardians are still in the playoff race. Though they are 45-48, they are just 2.5 games out of first place in the American League Central. If they want to catch and pass the Minnesota Twins, they need Bieber as healthy as possible, so losing him for at least two months is still a tough blow. While it's good he doesn't need surgery, the Guardians are compromised for a time being.

2) Bieber is also a highly desirable trade chip. We've seen him connected to several different teams in trade rumors, and if he's out through the trade deadline, the Guardians won't be able to get much - if anything - for him, should they decide to sell.

The 28-year-old Bieber is 5-6 this season with a 3.77 ERA for the Guardians. He's a two-time All-Star and a Cy Young winner.

Lifetime, he's 59-32 with a 3.26 ERA.

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