CLEVELAND, Ohio — Shane Bieber posted a video of himself working out and playing catch at Dr. Keith Meister’s facility in Texas. Meister is the doctor who performed Tommy John surgery on Bieber’s right elbow on April 12th after he made two starts for the Guardians this past season.
The video shows Bieber working out with weighted balls and playing catch.
Bieber will be a free agent after the last game of the World Series. In doing so he will become one of the main storylines of the Guardians’ offseason.
The Guardians and Bieber have stated that they’d be interested in a new deal. How real that interest is on either side remains to be seen.
It usually takes a 12 to 15 months for a pitcher to recover from Tommy John surgery. Just how effective Bieber, who won the AL Cy Young award in 2020, will be next season remains to be seen.
Left-hander Matthew Boyd, right-hander Alex Cobb and catcher Austin Hedges will join Bieber in free agency after the World Series. In their postmorteum of the 2024 season, the Guardians said they told all four players that they were interested in re-signing them for next year.
The Guardians are trying to reset their starting rotation after a season marked by a lack of consistent starts, injuries and subpar performances. Re-signing Bieber, Body/Cobb would help the process.
Bieber, 29, was a fourth round pick of Cleveland’s in 2016. He made his big league debut in 2018. In parts of six seasons, he’s 60-32 with a 3.27 ERA in 134 games, including 132 starts.
His best full season was 2019 when he went 15-8 with a 3.28 ERA in 34 games, including 33 starts. He won the Cy Young by going 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA in 12 starts during the COVID season of 2020.
The Guardians could make Bieber a qualifying offer of $21.05 million for the 2025 season, but that seems unlikely.
Bieber went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in his only two starts last season. In victories over Oakland and Seattle, he pitched 12 scoreless innings with six hits, one walk and 20 strikeouts.