Guardians manager offers concerning injury update on starting pitcher

Guardians starter Shane Bieber is going for an MRI on his forearm/elbow area, skipper Terry Francona told reporters, via Mandy Bell of MLB.com and Zack Meisel of The Athletic. While he hasn’t been placed on the injured list, he won’t make Monday’s start as scheduled.

Obviously, the seriousness of the issue isn’t yet clear. Francona suggested that Bieber has pitched through some forearm discomfort for a few weeks. That the club wasn’t concerned enough to send him for imaging before Friday and hasn’t immediately placed him on the IL could suggest they’re not overly concerned.

If imaging reveals anything that’d send Bieber to the IL, it could have serious ramifications for both the playoff picture and the trade market. Cleveland enters the unofficial second half leading the Twins by half a game in the AL Central. Potentially subtracting a pitcher who carries a 3.77 ERA through 117 innings would obviously be a hit to the roster.

Bieber has also been frequently speculated upon as a possible trade candidate. Cleveland has a number of young pitchers — headlined by Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams — who look like quality rotation pieces. A trade of Bieber or (to a lesser extent) Aaron Civale might allow Cleveland to land immediate help for a below-average offense while backfilling the lost innings with a younger pitcher. Bibee and Williams are in the MLB rotation. Allen was recently optioned but seems likely to be recalled with Bieber’s start being skipped.

The 2020 AL Cy Young winner is making more than $10M this season. He is eligible for arbitration once more before first hitting the free-agent market over the 2024-25 offseason.