ARLINGTON, Texas — Cleveland Guardians right-hander Shane Bieber won’t be able to throw for two weeks because of an inflamed right elbow but apparently won’t require surgery.
“It definitely looks like it’s a non-surgical way to go, which is really good,” manager Terry Francona said Sunday. “Any time you go into somebody’s arm, and have thrown as much as he has, you get nervous.
“He’s going to be approximately two weeks no throw. He’ll be rechecked every week,” Francona added. “There’s no timetable beyond that.”
The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday, retroactive to Wednesday. He was examined on Sunday by Texas Rangers physician Dr. Keith Meister. Bieber took a commercial flight back to Cleveland as the team traveled to Pittsburgh.
“I’ve been trying to manage it, pitch through it and develop a plan,” Bieber said before the game. “Ultimately it wasn’t really going away, so I decided it was best to get it checked out and all agreed.”
Bieber is 5-6 with a 3.77 ERA, including 0-3 with a 5.22 ERA in his last five outings. He said the forearm began bothering him a few weeks ago and became less manageable during his last start on July 9. He pitched 6⅓ innings against Kansas City and allowed four runs on nine hits in a 4-1 loss.
Bieber said he hasn’t experienced a similar problem in that area of his arm since he was at UC Santa Barbara from 2014-16.
“As a pitcher, things come up all the time,” he said. “You don’t know what exactly what you can go through and what you can’t. Option one is always to work through something. Probably the smartest thing for myself and everybody is just to get it checked out.”
The 28-year-old right-hander is a two-time All-Star. He has a $10.01 million salary and is eligible for free agency after the 2024 season.
Bieber joined two other Cleveland starters on the injured list. Cal Quantrill is on the list with right shoulder inflammation and Triston McKenzie is on the 60-day IL with a right elbow sprain. McKenzie has made only two starts this season.