Shane Bieber is one of the top pitchers in the American League. However, instead of dominating for the Cleveland Guardians this season, he has been battling arm difficulties this season and he has not been at his best.

Bieber currently has a record of 5-6 with a 3.77 earned run average and 95 strikeouts in 117 innings. However, Bieber has a troublesome right elbow that will cause him to be sidelined for at least 2 weeks.

However, that's good news because Bieber was examined by Texas Rangers orthopedist Dr. Keith Meister, and the recommendation could have been for season-ending surgery. Instead, the Guardians are going to see how Bieber responds to rest before making any further determinations.

“It definitely looks like it's a non-surgical way to go, which is really good,” manager Terry Francona said. “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.”

Bieber was placed on the Injured List retroactive to Wednesday. While his teammates went to Pittsburgh for a 3-game series that starts Monday, Bieber flew back to Cleveland.

Bieber won the American League Cy Young Award following the 2020 season. He admitted he was frustrated by the lack of healing in the elbow.

“I've been trying to manage it, pitch through it and develop a plan,” Shane Bieber said prior to Cleveland's 6-5 loss to the Texas Rangers. “Ultimately it wasn't really going away, so I decided it was best to get it checked out and all agreed.”