'I was falling back in love with pitching': Shane Bieber fights back tears discussing injury

CLEVELAND — Shane Bieber had just fallen in love again. And then the game of baseball ripped his heart out.

Bieber fought back tears Monday afternoon as he discussed a long road back to his top-shelf self, and a sudden, bitter end to his 2024 season.

He put together two starts — two superb starts, that is — before an MRI indicated he needed Tommy John surgery, which often requires a 12- to 16-month rehab process. He'll end the 2024 season with 0.00 ERA. But he also won't throw another pitch.

"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," Bieber said, nearly bringing himself to tears. "I was falling back in love with pitching and I was having a lot of fun.

"And this group's great and they're capable of so much with or without me. I know I'll be a part of it, but just in a different capacity"

For three years, he had been trying to rediscover his 2020 form, when he unanimously won the American League Cy Young award.

But in the three seasons since, from 2021 to 2023, he had to grind through his outings dealing with a loss of power, which impacted both his fastball velocity and his curveball effectiveness over time. He altered how he attacked hitters to compensate. He hadn't been quite the same pitcher he was in 2020. He missed extended time in two of the last three seasons with injuries, which was a frustration of its own.

There were times when he was effective, but not dominant, like he had been. The frustration built as he churned through mountains of attempts to get back to his peak level.

Entering a contract season and his last year under club control, he went to Driveline in an effort to exhaust every option in rebuilding his power. It seemed to work wonders.

There was every indication that Bieber was on track to be, well, Bieber again — the best version of himself, or close enough to it that he was satisfied with the level at which he was pitching. He was having fun again. He was navigating lineups with ease.

But that feeling of redemption, of a long road traveled for a valuable destination, was taken away from him. After three years, he got two starts pitching like he knew he could. And now his road to rehab starts all over.

Bieber said it's easy to keep things in perspective in the grand scheme of life. But when it comes to baseball, it'd be difficult for any pitcher to view this as anything but a devastating blow, especially when he had seemingly just found the answers after a three-year search.

"I'm still going through the process of working through my emotions with baseball, and [everything] on and off the field," Bieber said. "And I think that's important. I think that's important as a human being to be able to process your emotions, work through it, and that I'm coming to terms with everything."

Shane Bieber contract situation thrown into unknowns after Tommy John surgery

There's another "elephant in the room," as Bieber put it — that'd his contract situation.

Bieber is eligible to be a free agent at the end of the year. This is the second time in less than a year it was entirely possible Bieber was headed for a trade, but an injury prevented that from being possible. Bieber hit the injured list not long before last year's trade deadline.

Potentially depending on the Guardians' standing in the American League Central race, Bieber was one of the most likely trade candidates in the league.

But a pitcher of his caliber needing Tommy John surgery as he enters free agency severely alters those plans, and his price tag. The likelihood the Guardians could sign Bieber to a short-term deal beyond 2024, as he rehabs, is probably more realistic now than before the injury.

But, regardless, it throws a massive wrench into Bieber's plans, and the potential value of the contract he might have signed this winter.

"It is a reality that we have to deal with," Bieber said. "I have no answers right now. Right now I'm just focused on getting this thing done, getting it started and moving forward.

"It's a very real elephant in the room, so to speak. And it's unfortunate, the timing of everything, but as athletes you can't control some of these things. So we do what we can."

Shane Bieber doesn't blame Driveline, MLB pitch clock for elbow injury

The name Tommy John is a cursed one among pitchers, managers, coaches and general managers around baseball. Lately, the game has been hit hard.

Along with Bieber, Miami Marlins pitcher Eury Perez was announced as needing the procedure. Atlanta Braves ace Spencer Strider might, now or down the road, as he has a UCL concern. All three injuries were announced within roughly 24 hours.

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is out with elbow inflammation, a different injury, but one that has him on the injured list nonetheless. Cole recently voiced some strong frustration with the league's pitch clock rule, which pushes pitchers to throw a bit quicker than they used to in the past.

Bieber addressed the possibility of the pitch clock being a factor in his own injury, saying he isn't yet ready to attribute the rule to this situation.

"For me, I'm not ready to say what it is. I guarantee it's a combination of a number of factors and also all of that on top of logging a lot of innings from now all the way back into college and high school," Bieber said. "So, yeah, there's plenty of studies that have been made and plenty that will come. I'm not the first person that this happened to and I won't be the last.

"So hopefully we can continue to garner more information. If you guys are going to ask about the pitch clock and new rules that have been implemented, I'm not ready to say that that's the reason that it happened."

The idea has also been floated by some that Bieber's work in Driveline was a contributing factor, as he was throwing harder this spring. But that was a notion that Bieber didn't entertain at all.

"I hadn't thought about it until I read a comment this morning along those lines, and I think that's telling, because it didn't pop into my head," Bieber said. "If anything, I felt like I learned how to take better care of my arm, better care of my throwing routine, especially in the offseason."

All of the positive signs indicated Bieber was on the right path to a big season, but those hopes are now dashed. And while Bieber has kept perspective on his situation, it's also something he hasn't yet fully processed as he deals with the gut punch of a diagnosis.

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians Shane Bieber's Tommy John surgery a bitter end to comeback