CLEVELAND — Shane Bieber’s journey on the comeback trail from Tommy John surgery includes a stop this week in Akron, and his recent progress has given the Guardians a morale boost.
Bieber, the pitcher who won the AL Cy Young Award in 2020, is scheduled to make a rehab start Thursday, June 5, for the Double-A Akron RubberDucks, Cleveland president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. The RubberDucks are set to host the Chesapeake Baysox with Bieber on the mound and first pitch slated for 6:35 p.m. at Canal Park.
“The boys are definitely fired up for him,” Guardians catcher Bo Naylor told the Beacon Journal.
Bieber will travel to Northeast Ohio on June 2 and participate in a bullpen session with the RubberDucks before his next start, Antonetti explained. Pitchers are permitted to spend a maximum of 30 days on a rehab assignment with minor-league affiliates. If all goes well for Bieber, he could make his 2025 Guardians debut in roughly four weeks.
“Every time we have the opportunity to have Shane around our team, it helps uplift Shane but also the entirety of the group,” Antonetti said. “He’s been through so much in his career and has had so much success and has worked for it that he has a lot of wisdom that he can share with other guys, and when he’s here, he has an impact. So we’re excited that he’ll be back in the Cleveland area over the next few weeks and hopefully the not too distant future ready to rejoin the team.”
Left-handed relief pitcher Erik Sabrowski (left elbow inflammation) will also travel this week to join the RubberDucks and continue his rehab, Antonetti said.
Cleveland Guardians describe plan for Shane Bieber’s upcoming rehab start with the Akron RubberDucks
Antonetti estimated Bieber will “probably go three innings and 50 pitches” for the RubberDucks.
Bieber had a similar workload during his first rehab start May 31, which coincided with his 30th birthday. The right-handed Bieber threw 2⅓ scoreless innings, allowed one single and struck out five in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League against the ACL Rangers.
The Guardians (32-26) are encouraged by the thought of receiving a summertime boost from Bieber.
“It’s really exciting,” Naylor said. “It’s been something that everyone’s been anticipating for a while now, and before getting a guy of that caliber [back], everyone in here knows what he’s like as a human and the impact that he has on this clubhouse. So the first thought is how happy we are for him to come back, just doing what he loves. We know what he can do on the field, but along with that, being able to have him as a person on the side, going through what he does, grinding for it and it coming together to this point, we’re all really happy for him.”
Coming back from Tommy John surgery, Shane Bieber impresses Guardians with rehab start in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League
Plenty of TVs in the Guardians clubhouse displayed Bieber’s recent outing.
“It was really fun to watch Shane just get back out in a competitive setting,” Antonetti said. “All of his stuff, quality is good. His fastball velocity was really good. I think it was like 92 to 94 [mph], average 93. He’s worked on, believe it or not, adding some complementary pitches or changing the way some of his pitch profiles look. So his changeup in particular had maybe more depth than it’s had in the past, and his other secondary pitches look good.”
The development didn’t surprise Guardians utility man David Fry, who rehabilitated his surgically repaired right elbow with Bieber at the franchise’s Goodyear, Arizona, spring training site.
“For a guy coming off [Tommy John surgery], he’s so sharp,” said Fry, who made his 2025 MLB debut June 1 by pinch hitting for Naylor in the eighth inning of the Guardians’ 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. “I was catching bullpens. I would put it in a machine, and it would throw it back to him for me. But I was catching his pens, and he’d throw 25 pitches and miss one spot. And he was like, ‘I’m all over the place today.’ I’m like, ‘No, you’re pretty good dude.'”
How many rehab starts do the Guardians have planned for Shane Bieber before his return to Cleveland’s lineup?
Last season, former Guardians starting pitcher Matthew Boyd made five rehab starts on his way back from Tommy John surgery before he debuted with Cleveland. It’s probably a blueprint the Guardians will come close to following with Bieber, though his number of rehab starts is not predetermined, Antonetti said.“We have a pretty good plan in place, but the one thing we want to make sure, especially with Tommy John, is that we’re really deliberate in helping him get back to a point where once he returns, he’s able to pitch for the balance of the season without issues,” Antonetti added. “So we’ll try to be thoughtful with that and continue to lean on our medical group for their guidance on what that looks like.”
After starting twice last season, Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery on April 12, 2024. In December, the Guardians re-signed him, striking a deal on a two-year, $26 million contract, which includes a $16 million player option for next season and a $4 million buyout.
“Anytime somebody has an injury or a surgery, you’re just happy to see them back out there,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Shane has a long way to go, but the first outing was very promising. He feels good, and that’s all that matters to us. It was fun to see him pitch again.”
Akron will see it soon.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians’ Shane Bieber has rehab start planned with Akron RubberDucks
