Guardians' Shane Bieber Out at Least 2 Weeks With Forearm Injury, Won't Need Surgery

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber will not need surgery on his inflamed right elbow, per MLB.com's Mandy Bell.

The news came after the right-hander met with Texas Rangers physician Dr. Keith Meister Sunday.

The Guardians placed Bieber on the injured list Saturday, retroactive to Wednesday.

Bieber last pitched July 9 during a 4-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals. The 2020 Cy Young Award winner has a 3.77 ERA and 1.248 WHIP in 19 starts this season.

The right-hander experienced a similar forearm problem when he was playing for UC Santa Barbara from 2014-16, per the Associated Press.

Bieber was placed on the IL the day after an MRI exam on his forearm. Prior to getting it examined, he said he had dealt with the injury for weeks, per the AP.

"I've been trying to manage it, pitch through it and develop a plan," Bieber said. "Ultimately it wasn't really going away, so I decided it was best to get it checked out and all agreed."

Guardians manager Terry Francona agreed Bieber's forearm had been an issue for "about the last month," per Reuters.

""For [a few] starts there, I think we held him to like 80 pitches," Francona said. "But the last couple [starts], he wasn't comfortable with the way he's bouncing back."

In Bieber's last start, he allowed four runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings, making him 0-3 with a 5.22 ERA over his last five starts.

"As a pitcher, things come up all the time," Bieber said. "You don't know what exactly what you can go through and what you can't. Option 1 is always to work through something. Probably the smartest thing for myself and everybody is just to get it checked out."

Bieber will join starters Cal Quantrill (right shoulder inflammation) and Triston McKenzie (right elbow sprain) on the Guardians' injured list. Quantrill has made 13 starts but struggled with a 2-6 record and 6.45 ERA, while McKenzie has started two games this season.

After a 6-5 Sunday loss to the Texas Rangers, the Guardians sit two games back of the Minnesota Twins for first place in the AL Central. While missing Bieber and Quantill, the team will likely give bigger workloads to Aaron Civale and rookie Tanner Bibee.