Shane Bieber did not look like his normal self Sunday as the Cleveland Indians fell to the Seattle Mariners.
Now we know why.
Indians are placing Shane Bieber on the injured list with a strain in his right shoulder.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) June 14, 2021
There you have it, the worst possible news the Indians could receive.
Bieber is headed to the injured list with a strain in his throwing shoulder.
That is a worst-case scenario if we have ever seen one.
This leaves Aaron Civale as the only healthy starter until Zach Plesac can return from his own injury.
Losing Bieber Obviously A Disaster
Bieber is, at minimum, going to miss three starts with this injury.
Francona said Bieber will not throw for 2 weeks and then will be re-evaluated.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) June 14, 2021
The number will likely be a lot higher considering he will not even throw a baseball for two weeks.
Could he be out until after the All-Star break?
That is certainly possible as the Indians are not going to rush back one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Bieber heads to the IL as the MLB leader in strikeouts and his Cy Young case will take a big hit as well depending on how long he is out.
Something was clearly off Sunday.
The Mariners are not a dominant offense and Bieber just could not get anything by them.
Seattle had 10 hits and drove in five earned runs, while Bieber even walked two batters.
But in true Bieber fashion he still managed to finish with eight strikeouts, shoulder strain and all.
What Is The Plan?
The Indians already had major questions within the rotation.
Now it is Civale and a bunch of unknowns.
The likely group of candidates remains Jean Carlos Mejia, Cal Quantrill, Sam Hentges, Eli Morgan, and Triston McKenzie.
McKenzie may end up being the biggest question in that group because it is clear he actually needs time in Triple-A to work on his command.
He could not even make it out of the first inning Saturday.
Logan Allen could also factor in as well, but he had a major collapse and has not done much of anything in Columbus.
The plan likely won’t change all that much from what the Indians have been doing recently.
Aside from Civale, it will be young pitchers getting a shot to prove themselves with an expanded bullpen waiting to help.
Going with one or two bullpen games a week could also be an option, but the Indians have one off day between now and the break.
So that plan may not make much sense unless the front office wants to keep shuffling pitchers up and down.
The front office may finally be forced to make a move or two to bring in some veteran help.
Just anyone with MLB experience would be welcome at this point, because it is also unfair to throw a bunch of young guys on the mound before they are ready.
That is not a great way to go about player development.
Things would be different if the Indians were well below the .500 mark.
They are not, so the front office needs to actually help the team with Bieber now out.
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