'Just don't freak out': Shane Bieber injury setback from Tommy John might cost him a week

CLEVELAND — Shane Bieber was nearing the finish line when his surgically repaired elbow finally began to bark a bit, but the Guardians believe it'll only lead to a minor delay.

And for Bieber, it's a sigh of relief after a long road back to the mound and the rotation.

Bieber, who has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery since April of last year, felt some additional soreness after a bullpen session in Akron. It led to his rehab assignment being scratched.

To be safe, he and the team consulted with Dr. Keith Meister, who performed the original surgery. It appears as though Bieber avoided anything serious, and he'll simply be shut down for roughly a week and then reevaluated.

"I had some lengthy phone calls with Dr. Meister, and he gave me a lot of reassurance that these things aren't all too uncommon," Bieber said. "I'm a little frustrated with the timing of it. … Unfortunately, these rehab processes aren't exactly linear, so I've had a fantastic progression up to this point."

Bieber had been told by some fellow pitchers who had been through the experience that he'd likely feel something like this eventually, making it somewhat bittersweet he was going through it for the first time now. He made it a remarkably long time without any concerning signs, but he was also just a couple weeks away from returning to the rotation in Cleveland.

"I promised myself that I would be upfront and honest with myself as well as the team, and our biggest priority is to get back healthy for the long term," Bieber said. "So you just kind of try to pay attention to how your body responds to that, especially a surgically repaired elbow, and listen to what it's telling you."

Still, considering it's been more than a year of recovery time and the initial diagnosis brought Bieber to tears, it was impossible not to reach at least a certain level of concern.

"I think that's a normal human emotion after going through a pretty substantial surgery," Bieber said. "There was a little bit of that but, at the same time, I've had buddies and teammates and a bunch of colleagues that have gone through this similar process, and my mind went back to a very close buddy who said a few weeks or months back when I started bullpens, he was like, 'Just don't freak out if you get a setback. Everyone gets at least one.'"

Bieber has thrown only two starts in the majors since the beginning of last season, though both were superb after his work with Driveline that offseason. It's also human emotion to fight the urge to push things and get back as soon as possible.

Bieber has also been keen to get out of pitching at the team's complex in Arizona. As he said, the group out there is great to work with, but he's had enough of triple-digit temperatures in the desert heat.

Shane Bieber working on changeup during Tommy John recovery

While he's been relegated to bullpen sessions away from Cleveland, it does appear he's added some depth to his changeup and regained his velocity, according to president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti, who noted there were "plenty of TVs turned" to Bieber's session in Arizona recently. It's one of the only benefits of having all that time on his hands away from competition.

"I had plenty of time to work and refine, and I feel like my stuff is in a great spot from both metrics and output," Bieber said. "I don't think I'll falter that much with a little bit of time off."

Assuming he is only down a week, and assuming everything goes well the rest of the way, it's possible Bieber rejoins the Guardians rotation in the month of June, something that is particularly needed with Ben Lively needing his own Tommy John procedure, which ended his 2025 season.

Shane Bieber sporting a mustache

Another notable change during Bieber's time away: he's now sporting a mustache.

"I feel like I'll rock with it for a little bit," Bieber said, laughing. "My wife was saying I made my debut with a big beard, so when she looks back and she sees pictures, she knows what time period that's from. So if I make my return from Tommy John with a mustache, it'll be easily identifiable."