CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians have temporarily halted Shane Bieber’s rehabilitation process after the former Cy Young Award winner experienced soreness in his surgically repaired elbow.
The team announced Thursday that Bieber had been scratched from his scheduled rehab start in Akron on Friday. According to the Guardians, Bieber reported elbow soreness following a rehab outing in Arizona on May 31 and a subsequent bullpen session on June 3.
Bieber, who underwent reconstructive surgery on his elbow in April 2024, will not throw for a week based on recommendations from team doctors and his surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister. The right-hander will be reexamined around the middle of next week to determine when he can resume his return-to-pitch progression.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt downplayed concerns about the setback, suggesting such pauses are common during Tommy John surgery rehabilitation.
“Shane’s just pumped to be here,” Vogt told reporters. “It was great to see him. Obviously, a little bit of a setback with shutting him down for a week, but it seems to be all normal. Normal rehab from Tommy John. These things happen. And so we’ll reassess where we are in a week.”
The team noted that experiencing soreness during UCL reconstruction rehabilitation is not uncommon. Despite the delay, Vogt indicated Bieber appeared to be in good spirits while visiting the Guardians’ clubhouse.
