All offseason long, rumors swirled that the Chicago Cubs were trying to swing a trade for Guardians starter Shane Bieber. The former ace worked all offseason to get himself back from the elbow injury that limited him in 2023, and it wasn’t difficult to imagine how he could help a Cubs team with just one front-end ceiling guy in the rotation.
Evidently, the Cubs thought the asking price was too high and Shane Bieber stayed with the Guardians. And to start the season, the decision not to pony up for Bieber looked brutal. Not only did the Cubs lose both Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon to injuries, but Bieber was absolutely DEALING: 12.0 IP, 10H, 0ER, 1BB, 20Ks. Yes, he threw 12 scoreless innings with TWENTY strikeouts against just one walk.
But unfortunately, everything just came off the rails.
Shane Bieber Tommy John Surgery
In a surprise announcement earlier this morning, the Cleveland Guardians reveal that Shane Bieber will undergo Tommy John surgery.
That is just incredibly unfortunate for Shane Bieber and the Guardians. Pitching injuries are going nuts all around baseball this season, and you just hate to see such a talented pitcher still fully in his prime go down.
Worse, Bieber is a free agent after this season. Had he stayed healthy, he would’ve gotten PAID this winter. Instead, he’ll likely have to settle for one of those one+one deals, where a team pays to let him rehab with some sort of option for his healthy season thereafter.
He’s still only 28-years-old, so he might have plenty of baseball life ahead of him. But it’s still an incredible bummer (and, while I hate to say it, a giant bullet dodged by the Cubs).