3 questions with Bieber landing on IL

This story was excerpted from Mandy Bell’s Guardians Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

It’s official: Shane Bieber is on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation.

We don’t know too many other details just yet. The Guardians were hoping that Bieber would be able to get in with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Keith Meister on Saturday, but the appointment was pushed to Sunday before the team departs for Pittsburgh. Regardless of what Dr. Meister says, the Guardians knew that Bieber would need at least a handful more days off before he’d get back into the mix. An IL stint made the most sense.

But now it’s a waiting game. Will Bieber only miss what would’ve been his two scheduled starts in this IL timeframe? Will he have to miss more? We can’t quite answer these questions. But we can try to answer three others.

1. Will we see Joey Cantillo?

The Guardians called up 17 rookies in 2022. They turned to guys such as Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee, who didn’t have much Triple-A experience under their belts, this year. It's not far-fetched to wonder if they’ll do it again. But it doesn’t seem like Cantillo, Cleveland’s No. 14 prospect, will be in the mix in the immediate future.

Cantillo owned a 1.85 ERA in six starts with Double-A Akron and was quickly promoted to Triple-A Columbus. Since joining the Clippers, he’s pitched to a 4.10 ERA in nine games (seven starts) with a 1.44 WHIP. In this year’s Futures Game in Seattle, Cantillo tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings with one walk and two strikeouts.

“He’s a really interesting guy,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said on Saturday. “His velocity kind of spiked up. He’s still not refined to the point where he’s throwing a lot of pitches. Trying to get to where he’s not at 80 pitches after four. But there’s a ton to like.

“It doesn’t mean we don’t love him. I think you might see one of these days he’s a pretty good pitcher. It's just still working on kind of attacking the zone and not being 3-2 on everybody.”

2. Bullpen game Monday, but then what?

OK, so Cantillo isn’t the answer. The Guardians are adamant about sticking to a bullpen game on Monday, assuming the bullpen doesn’t get completely exhausted in Sunday's series finale against the Rangers at Globe Life Field. But Bieber has to miss at least one more start while he’s down for the minimum of 15 days.

If the Guardians need another starter, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Hunter Gaddis back in the big leagues, even though he hasn’t gone five or more innings since May 22. If Bieber is down for a while, it’ll be hard for Cal Quantrill to try to pace himself to get back from his right shoulder inflammation. He’s started throwing bullpen sessions already and will be anxious to get back to help his team. But the Guardians are trying to make sure they don’t rush him back again.

3. What’s the Deadline strategy now?

If Bieber isn’t pitching, it’s hard to imagine a world in which he’d be dealt before the Trade Deadline on Aug. 1. Teams aren’t going to want to risk bringing on a starter dealing with elbow troubles as they’re attempting to make a playoff push.

If the Guardians learn that Bieber will be down for an extended period of time, maybe it would put more pressure on them to pursue a starter who can help eat innings, and lessen the burden on the young arms, than trying to acquire a bat (although a bat is also needed).

The Guardians usually attempt to buy by selling at the Trade Deadline. Bieber was the perfect candidate to move in order to get immediate and future help in return. If he’s no longer drawing interest from other clubs, Cleveland may not have that one big-ticket move to make that will help the roster in 2023 and beyond. Now, the front office may have to rethink what to do in the next couple weeks.