Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber won’t pitch again this season after he was diagnosed with ligament damage in his right elbow this weekend.
He battled pain in both of his starts this year, which led the Guards to perform tests and imaging on his elbow.
That led to the diagnosis and the Tommy John surgery recommendation.
It’s a crushing blow to the Guardians, who witnessed how Bieber dominated the opposition for 12 scoreless innings this year.
Bieber is now part of an alarming trend in MLB: pitchers are breaking down physically, and arm injuries have been aplenty in the young 2024 campaign so far.
Gerrit Cole, Spencer Strider, Kyle Bradish, Felix Bautista, Lucas Giolito, Gavin Williams, Eury Perez, and now Bieber are some of the names that have suffered elbow injuries in 2024.
The list keeps growing, as MLB insider Jeff Passan notes.
“Within one week’s time, Shane Bieber and Eury Perez have needed Tommy John surgery and Spencer Strider has serious elbow concerns. Gerrit Cole is out until at least June with elbow issues, too. Pitching is a brutal business,” he tweeted.
Within one week’s time, Shane Bieber and Eury Perez have needed Tommy John surgery and Spencer Strider has serious elbow concerns. Gerrit Cole is out until at least June with elbow issues, too.
Pitching is a brutal business.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 6, 2024
Pitching is a brutal business, indeed.
The human body is just not made for that kind of physical stress on the arm, especially if it’s performed around 90-100 times each five days.
It’s just too much for the elbow ligaments, and if we add up the fact that every organization is obsessed with top-notch velocity, that doesn’t help matters.
The Guardians will now have to be without Bieber for the rest of the year, which means that if he ever throws another pitch with Cleveland, it will have to be one or two years from now and under different terms.
NEXT: Fans React To Crushing Shane Bieber News
