Guardians’ Bieber, Braves’ Strider suffer elbow injuries
Shane Bieber pitched until the pain stopped him.
Cleveland’s ace will have seasonending Tommy John elbow surgery, a major blow to the Guardians and the 2020 Cy Young winner, who had looked like his dominant self in two strong recent starts.
Bieber struck out a league-leading 20 and pitched 12 scoreless innings in starts against Oakland and Seattle despite the elbow getting progressively worse.
The 28-year-old Bieber, who was limited to just 21 starts a year ago due to elbow issues, experienced pain following his opening-day start against the A’s. The Guardians were concerned and gave him an extra day off while offering him additional treatment before facing the Mariners.
Bieber decided to make the start anyway, battling through six innings while the soreness and inflammation intensified.
He returned to Cleveland for more imaging tests and consultation. Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. Neal Elattrache recommended elbow reconstruction.
The 28-year-old Bieber is 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA in 134 career starts with Cleveland. He led the majors in wins, ERA and strikeouts in the pandemic-shortened ‘20 season. Bieber made the All-star team in 2019 and was named MVP when the Guardians hosted.
• Braves ace right-hander Spencer Strider has damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, an MRI revealed Saturday, leaving his status for the remainder of the season in doubt.
The Braves said Strider will be evaluated further by Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, at a date to be determined. Even though the team did not announce the severity of the damage, Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said the result “wasn’t
good.”
Strider complained about discomfort in his elbow after pitching four innings, allowing five runs on seven hits, in Atlanta’s 6-5 win over Arizona on Friday night.
Strider was 20-5 in 2023, leading the majors in wins. His 281 strikeouts also were the most in the big leagues.
The right-hander had a 3.86 ERA last season. His ERA is 7.00 after two starts this year.