Cleveland Indians: How close to a return are Tribe’s injured stars?

Shane Bieber, SP, Cleveland Indians

The latest Tribe star to hit the injured list was starting pitcher Shane Bieber, a huge blow to an already struggling starting rotation. Being added on June 14, there’s little known about Bieber’s injury at this point. What we do know is that it’s something to do with a shoulder strain in his throwing arm.

The club has said that Bieber will be shutdown for at least two weeks. Once those two weeks are up he will be re-evaluated and the team will go from there. Cleveland has also said they are “sending around the results from his imaging and tests to different doctors to get as many opinions as possible to best plan his return.”

Maybe I’m reading into this too much, but that doesn’t seem like a great sign. Bieber was one of the most used pitchers in the game at the time of the injury and seeking so many different opinions raises an eyebrow.

Hopefully, this is just a short-lived injury that Bieber will be able to return from. It’ll still be some time before we know his timetable. No throwing for two weeks, easing into a throwing program will bullpen sessions and then a rehab assignment could mean a long road for Bieber to get back to Cleveland.