Bruce Drennan Reveals Expectations For Shane Bieber’s Return

The Cleveland Guardians need to have their ace back on the mound.

However, as much as everybody wants to see Shane Bieber again, they have to tame those expectations.

Analyst Bruce Drennan recently shared his prediction for Bieber’s potential workload.

“[Shane Bieber’s] going to be on a pitch count. He’ll be on a regimented pitch count to start with. Assuming he does come back in early or mid-August, he’ll get three, four starts perhaps, maybe five, but he’ll be on [a] limited pitch count, where they could possibly extend him into the month of September,” Drennan said.

What expectations should we have for Shane Bieber when he returns? #GuardsBall

"He will be on a limited pitch count."

-Bruce pic.twitter.com/4dyoZz09A5

— Bruce Drennan Show (@Bruce_Drennan) July 21, 2025

That has been the usual procedure for players recovering from Tommy John surgery, so there should be nothing to worry about.

Also, Bieber suffered a setback in his recovery last month, so the team needs to be extremely careful.

All things considered, the Guardians don’t need Bieber to be as sharp as he’s ever been at this point in the season.

If anything, they only need him to ramp things up, get his legs back under him, and be back to his usual self in the playoffs, if they make it.

The Guardians have an easy schedule and are in the mix for an AL Wild Card, and they should be able to do just fine even if Bieber struggles.

But if he’s the player he’s always been late in the season, he could be a legitimate Game 1 starter in any playoff series, even after missing most of the campaign.