Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber had a rehab start with the Akron RubberDucks canceled earlier this season. Now he has another date set at Canal Park.
CLEVELAND — Shane Bieber and the Guardians plan for the former American League Cy Young Award winner to pitch on a rehab assignment Tuesday, July 29, with the Akron RubberDucks.
The Double-A RubberDucks are scheduled to face the Erie SeaWolves, with first pitch set for 12:05 p.m. at Canal Park.
Bieber said he hopes to work for four innings or 55 pitches in Akron as he attempts to come back from the Tommy John surgery he underwent on April 12, 2024.
"It's really just a lot of excitement," Bieber said July 28 in the Guardians clubhouse. "It's a lot of preparation. It's a ton of work. It's been a year and a half nonstop, and I'm looking forward to piling a few extra months onto that. But right now, I feel really good, so I'm just happy to go out there and play catch every day and continue to build and focus on getting my stuff in a great spot to be able to hit the ground running when I'm back in major league action."
As long as Bieber's scheduled outing in Akron materializes as expected, it would be his fourth rehab start since being placed on the 60-day injured list on March 27. He allowed one run and struck out four in three innings with the High-A Lake County Captains on July 22.
Bieber had been slated to pitch in Akron earlier this season, but arm soreness derailed those plans.
"All I have to go off of is how I feel right now, and I feel great," Bieber said. "I choose to believe that my path was already kind of laid out for me, and I was probably always leading up to, it's hard to call it a setback, and maybe it's just part of my progression. That's what Dr. [Keith] Meister ended up saying.
"I was frustrated to be on such a steady incline and then have a bit of a hiccup right when I start my rehab assignment. It was kind of tough timing, but it could have been worse timing, and so took it in stride, and I'm right back here ready to go and stretch out to four innings and continue to make steps after that. I'm very excited."
With the MLB trade deadline at 6 p.m. July 31, Bieber is a player who could be dealt. He insisted his rehab has kept his mind off the possibility, though.
"No, maybe in years past [I thought about a potential trade]," Bieber said. "I feel like with my situation right now, it's pretty easy to focus on what's most important and that's game action and continuing to build and recover. It's pretty easy to keep perspective right now, so I'm focused on getting back and helping the team and doing that as quickly as possible."
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at [email protected]. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians' Shane Bieber scheduled for July 29 rehab start with Akron
Category: Baseball
