Guardians Provide Injury Update On Shane Bieber

The Cleveland Guardians announced that Shane Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery to repair his UCL.
Jun 29, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) on the mound during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 29, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) on the mound during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports / William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports
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This Saturday will mark a week since the Cleveland Guardians announced that ace Shane Bieber would need Tommy John surgery and would miss the rest of the 2024 season. Not even seven days later, the right-handed pitcher underwent the procedure and is already on the road to recovery. 

The organization released this statement on Friday afternoon: “Earlier today (April 12), RHP Shane Bieber underwent ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery in Dallas, Texas, which was performed by Dr. Keith Meister.  Dr. Meister was pleased with the results of the right elbow procedure.  Shane is scheduled to report to Goodyear, AZ tomorrow (April 13) following his post-op appointment.”

Bieber also posted a picture of him after the surgery seemingly in good spirits.

This injury is still heartbreaking considering the start that Bieber was off to. He made two starts, pitched 12.0 innings, struck out 20 batters, and didn’t give up a single earned run through those appearances. All of this was after Bieber put in countless hours of work over the offseason to get back to his Cy Young form which it looked like he had.

Jun 29, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) on the mound during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 29, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber (57) on the mound during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports / William Purnell-USA TODAY Sports

Listening to Bieber talk about the injury, almost in tears at times, shows just how much he cares about this team and being on the field. He talked about playing through the pain and “falling in love with pitching again” before fully understanding how big of an issue it was. 

The pitcher injury epidemic is not limited to the Guardians as many other of the game’s stars face similar scenarios without a clear understanding of what has caused all of these elbow injuries. 

As for Bieber, he’s officily taken the first step in a long road to recovery. 


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