MLB has a pitching injury problem. Shane Bieber is the latest superstar to go down with an elbow issue, as the Cleveland Guardians ace will need Tommy John surgery.
Manager Stephen Vogt and the Guardians already expressed their heartfelt condolences over the situation. On Monday, Bieber addressed the media after the devastating injury news.
“Baseball will be there,” an emotional Bieber said, via Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan. “I will be here. It's easy to keep things in perspective like I said, it's just an injury that I'll get past. Like I said, I'm not the first person, I won't be the last. I think one of the things that is a bit more difficult for me is that throughout the offseason and in spring training I did figure some things out and my performance was getting back to the place that I knew I was capable of.
“I was falling back in love with pitching. And I was having a lot of fun… this group is great. They're capable of so much with or without me. I know I'll be apart of it, but just in different capacities. There's a lot of emotions that go into it, but that's one of them.”
This is a terrible blow for Bieber and the Guardians. The Cleveland pitcher won the American League Cy Young award in 2020. He's endured some ups and downs since then, but has displayed the ceiling of a superstar pitcher.
As he mentioned, Bieber worked hard to take a step forward this past offseason. He felt confident heading into 2024, and the results displayed themselves. The 28-year-old struck out 20 hitters and did not surrender a single run through his first two starts.
Arm injury questions
Why are there so many pitching injuries?
Of course, making velocity the priority at the youth level doesn't help. It is not the greatest decision to have teenagers trying to throw 90-plus at the expense of their long-term health.
The pitch clock has received some blame as well. In all reality, it may be a factor for MLB pitchers. But the fact of the matter is that pitchers at all levels of baseball, whether it's youth, high school, college, or at the professional level, are dealing with consistent injury trouble.
Dr. James Andrews, who has performed many Tommy John surgeries and is trusted in the sports world, recently addressed the topic following recent injuries to Shane Bieber, Spencer Strider, and others, via Fryedaddy/Frito on X (formerly Twitter).
“I started following the injury patterns and injury rates in the year 2000,” Andrews said. “Back in those days, I did about eight or nine Tommy Johns per year in high school aged and younger. The large majority of Tommy Johns were at the major league level, then the minor league level, then the college level and then just a handful of high school kids.
“In today's situation, the whole thing is flip-flopped. The largest number is youth baseball. They've surpassed what's being done in the major leagues. That's a terrible situation.”
He went on to make a similar point to the one I made earlier. High school kids are throwing harder than ever, and according to Andrews their “ligament itself can't withstand that kind of force.”
What does future hold for Shane Bieber?
Bieber felt like he was on the verge of a big season. Now, he will need to focus on undergoing and ultimately recovering from Tommy John surgery.
It is a brutal blow since this was his contract year. Bieber will enter free agency with uncertainty now as a result of the injury.
Still, this is a pitcher with an ace-caliber ceiling who is still only 28 years old. There is reason to believe that Bieber can bounce back and establish himself as a star once again.
For now, the Guardians will try to find a way to win without their ace. But doing so without Shane Bieber leading the rotation will be difficult to say the least.
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