CLEVELAND -- Shane Bieber is set to take another step in his rehab from Tommy John surgery, as the Guardians ace is slated to start on Saturday in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League.
It will mark Bieber’s first game action in his comeback from Tommy John, which he underwent in April 2024 after making two starts for Cleveland. The right-hander has been rehabbing at the Guardians' complex in Goodyear, Ariz., where he progressed to facing hitters in live batting practice sessions on May 2.
Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis noted on May 18 in Cincinnati that Bieber’s fastball velocity was in the 92-94 mph range in a live BP setting. The right-hander threw another one Monday.
“It’s a great story for Shane, obviously,” Guardians general manager Mike Chernoff said, “to be able to get to a point where hopefully he's building up the innings in real games, and then he's on a path to a rehab assignment after that. Obviously it would be a huge boost for us.
“One step at a time. We never try to get ahead of ourselves. But this will be a big step for him to be in real games, and hopefully start his full build-up.”
If all continues to go well in Bieber’s progression, he will eventually transition from pitching in ACL games to beginning a rehab assignment with one of the Guardians’ Minor League affiliates. (Pitchers may spend a maximum of 30 days on a rehab assignment.)
Like with any rehabbing player, the Guardians will ensure they check every box in Bieber’s process. They remain flexible in case they need to make any adjustments and take things game by game or outing by outing.
“We have targets and ideas on what a build-up should look like, and we think about a few levels,” Chernoff said. “One is the competition level that the guy is at. One is the number of up and downs -- the volume in terms of innings. One is the number of pitches that the guy is throwing. And then one is the intensity of the outing, the intensity at which he's throwing. So we're thinking about, ‘How do you turn some of those dials, but not all of them?’”
Fry joins Triple-A Columbus
David Fry’s rehab assignment was transferred to Triple-A Columbus from Double-A Akron on Monday, and the 29-year-old was in the Clippers’ lineup against Rochester (the Nationals’ affiliate) hitting third.
“It’s great to just see him out there. I know he was chomping at the bit last time I saw him,” Chernoff said. “It’s huge just to get his bat back out there and get him reacclimated to live pitching.”
Fry (who underwent right UCL revision surgery in November) began his rehab assignment with Akron last Tuesday, positioning him to rejoin the Guardians in two weeks. He played in three games with Akron after making three appearances in the ACL on May 13, 15 and 17.
Fry will be limited to DH duties this season due to his surgery, but he noted this past Tuesday that he has been completing weighted ball work and was set to begin his throwing program this week.