The Guardians announced a trio of pitching moves, including the selection of Daniel Norris’ minor league contract. To create room on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters, Cleveland optioned left-hander Tim Herrin to Triple-A, and moved Shane Bieber to the 60-day injured list.
Bieber was already on the 15-day IL with a retroactive placement date of July 12. His new 60-day window still starts from July 12, meaning that the right-hander will now be out of action until at least September 10 while recovering from right elbow inflammation. Earlier reports indicated that Bieber is at least another week away from resuming throwing, and though surgery wasn’t going to be required, the move to the 60-day IL indicates that Bieber still requires plenty of time to recover.
The injury already scuttled any chance that Bieber might be dealt at the trade deadline, as there had been speculation that the Guardians might continue their pattern of moving higher-priced veterans 12-18 months before they reached free agency (Bieber is controlled through the 2024 campaign). At this point, it’s fair to wonder if Bieber’s 2023 season might be over entirely, either in the event of a setback or if the Guards might simply shut him down early if they’re out of the playoff race by mid-September.
Cleveland enters today’s action with a 49-50 record, but the Guardians are still only three games out of first place in the AL Central and 5.5 games back of the last AL wild card slot. Catching up to the Twins might be more a realistic path to the playoffs than leapfrogging other teams in the wild card race, but in either case, the Guardians have to play some much more consistent baseball in order to return to the postseason.
Losing Bieber for an extended amount of time won’t help in that regard, as the Guards will have to lean even heavier on a very young group of starters. With Bieber and Triston McKenzie both on the 60-day IL and Cal Quantrill also injured, Cleveland has three rookies (Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams) backing up Aaron Civale in the rotation. Peyton Battenfield is close to returning from the 60-day IL, though Battenfield is another first-year pitcher.
Norris might factor into this mix after starting 12 of his 18 games with Triple-A Columbus. The southpaw signed a minors deal with Cleveland over the winter and has already had his contract selected once, appearing in a single game for the Guardians last month. Norris was then designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster, and chose to accept the outright assignment rather than test free agency again.
It may have been a wise decision, as Norris now finds himself back on a big league roster. The Guardians could use Norris as a proper starter, a piggyback starter paired with Battenfield, or perhaps simply as a long relief option out of the bullpen. This versatility could help the Guardians navigate their rotation questions, though Norris’ performance has been very up-and-down over his 10 MLB seasons, and he has a 5.60 ERA over 53 innings in Columbus.
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