Guardians receive 'really encouraging' news on former Cy Young winner

 Placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday, it's unclear what caused Bieber's injury, as manager Terry Francona told reporters earlier this week that his forearm had been "irritable" for about a month. 

"For [a few] starts there, I think we held him to like 80 pitches," Francona said. "But the last couple [starts], he wasn't comfortable with the way he's bouncing back." 

The two-time All-Star isn't having his best season for the Guardians. Through 19 starts, the 28-year-old is 5-6 with a 3.77 ERA. However, he's 1-3 over his last seven outings, allowing 18 earned runs over 42 innings pitched. 

While it's good news that Bieber won't have to go under the knife, the latest turn of events certainly lowers his value on the trade market. It's possible the injury ensures Bieber stays in Cleveland, but if they decide a trade is still on the table, it'll likely be at a healthy discount now. 

Bieber has one year of arbitration eligibility, making him an attractive trade chip, even with the Guardians still alive in the American League playoff hunt. Despite losing four straight contests, the Guardians trail the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins (48-46) by 2.5 games and are six games back of the Houston Astros (51-42) for the third and final wildcard spot.