When is Shane Bieber Coming Back? Fantasy Baseball Injury Return Update

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber was off to the best start of his career. He threw six shutout innings on Opening Day against the Oakland A's while giving up just four hits and one walk to go with 11 strikeouts. Then, Bieber followed that performance up by striking out nine batters across six shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners.

Bieber's strong two outings surely had fantasy managers excited for the year ahead. However, the right-hander felt some pain in his elbow following his first two starts, putting his season in jeopardy. 

So, when is Bieber coming back? Will he pitch again this season? Let's dive in and find out.

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Shane Bieber Injury Update for Fantasy Baseball

Bieber was fantastic in his first two starts of the 2024 campaign, and everything seemed to be fine with the 28-year-old. After those two outings, the right-hander was lined up to face the Minnesota Twins on Sunday to close out the week. Nonetheless, that never happened.

Bieber first felt some elbow pain following his first start in Oakland on Opening Day. The Guardians then pushed back his next start by one day, but the right-hander wanted to fight through the pain. After his next start, though, that pain continued -- even after he threw another six scoreless innings.

With the pain persisting, the worst news was ahead for the former Cy Young pitcher. The right-hander and the Guardians decided the best path forward was to undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery. Bieber will now miss the remainder of the 2024 season and likely a portion of the 2025 season as he works his way back from that injury.

BREAKING: Shane Bieber will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of the season. More: https://t.co/DyJUzlCJLk Photo: AP pic.twitter.com/rB0QRCW5hh

— clevelanddotcom (@clevelanddotcom) April 6, 2024

Shane Bieber Fantasy Baseball Outlook

Hearing that Bieber will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery is heartbreaking for any fantasy manager who drafted him. The right-hander was off to the best start of his career, and he was looking like a steal at his pre-draft ADP of 125 on Yahoo and 101 on ESPN.

However, Bieber can now safely be dropped in all re-draft formats as he will miss the remainder of the 2024 season. He won't be back this year, so keeping him in one of your injured list spots doesn't make much sense.

Shane Bieber needs elbow surgery.

He had pain after his Opening Day start that continued through his outing in Seattle. Imaging revealed an injury to the same ligament that gave him trouble last year. Surgery was determined to be the best path forward this time.

— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) April 6, 2024

For dynasty managers, Bieber can be a nice buy-low option. Despite him missing the rest of the 2024 season and likely a portion of the 2025 campaign, contending teams might be willing to ship him. At just 28 years old, the seven-year veteran still has plenty of solid years ahead of him.

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