Re: General Discussion

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LATEST INJURIES

RHP Shane Bieber
Injury: Right UCL tear
IL date: March 27 (retroactive to March 24, transferred to 60-day IL on April 29)
Expected return: Mid-to-late July
Status: Expected to progress to throwing live batting practice the week of June 30. Threw a bullpen session on June 24, June 26 and June 27 (featuring all of his pitches). (Last updated: June 28) M

LHP John Means
Injury: Left elbow UCL surgery recovery
IL date: March 27 (retroactive to March 24, transferred to 60-day IL on April 8)
Expected return: Late 2025
Status: Has progressed to throwing live batting practice. Timetable for his return is still in the late-August-to-early-September range, according to team president Chris Antonetti. (Last updated: June 28)

2B Travis Bazzana (Guardians' No. 1 prospect, No. 12 overall)
Injury: Right side soreness
IL date: May 21 (7-day IL)
Expected return: Late July
Status: Progressing into baseball activities at team's complex in Arizona, including throwing, running and swinging. Still "a few weeks away" from games, team president Chris Antonetti said. (Last updated: June 28) More >>

RHP Trevor Stephan
Injury: Right UCL reconstruction surgery
IL date: March 27 (retroactive to March 24, transferred to 60-day IL on April 22)
Expected return: July
Status: Has made six rehab appearances between Triple-A Columbus, Double-A Akron and the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League. Threw a scoreless inning with a hit and a strikeout for Akron on June 27. (Last updated: June 27)

RHP Paul Sewald
Injury: Right posterior deltoid strain
IL date: April 29 (15-day IL)
Expected return: Mid-July
Status: Has made two rehab appearance with Double-A Akron, on June 24 and June 27. (Last updated: June 27)

RHP Cade Smith
Injury: Back spasms
Expected return: Day to day
Status: Feeling better and considered day to day after back spasms cropped up during pregame batting practice on June 25, rendering him unavailable that game. (Last updated: June 26)

RHP Andrew Walters
Injury: Right lat surgery
IL date: May 31 (transferred to 60-day IL on June 6)
Expected return: 2026
Status: Underwent surgery to repair lat tendon on June 9. Expected to miss eight to 10 months. Will report to Guardians' complex in Arizona to begin rehab. (Last updated: June 9)

OF Will Brennan
Injury: Tommy John surgery
IL date: May 22 (10-day IL)
Expected return: 2026
Status: Underwent full left UCL repair on June 9. Will report to Guardians' complex in Arizona to rehab. Return-to-play timeframe is six to eight months. (Last updated: June 9)

RHP Ben Lively
Injury: Tommy John surgery, right flexor tendon repair
IL date: May 13 (transferred to 60-day IL on May 29)
Expected return: 2026
Status: Underwent Tommy John surgery and right flexor tendon repair on June 4. Expected to miss 12-18 months. Will report to team's Arizona complex to begin rehab. (Last updated: June 4) More >>

LHP Sam Hentges
Injury: Left shoulder surgery
IL date: Feb. 16 (60-day IL)
Expected return: 2026
Status: Progressing through post-op rehab and throwing programs as scheduled. Timeframe for full recovery from anterior capsule repair is typically 12-14 months. (Last updated: April 30)
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller


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Re: General Discussion

14166
Tanner Bibee’s 4-8 record could be one of baseball’s most deceiving statistics

Published: Jun. 27, 2025, 8:10 a.m.

By Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If you looked solely at Tanner Bibee’s 4-8 record this season, you’d never guess you were examining the statistics of one of the American League’s most talented young arms. The Guardians’ right-hander delivered yet another quality start Thursday against Toronto, only to watch it dissolve into his eighth loss of the season.

“Bibee pitches his heart out and has nothing to show for it at the end of the day,” lamented Joe Noga, cleveland.com Guardians beat reporter, at the opening of Friday’s episode of the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast.

The frustration is palpable in the litany of obstacles Bibee faced during his latest stellar outing: “What does Bibee have to do to get a win? The guy goes out there and pitches his heart out the last couple of times and the circus showed up today with, with a bunch of errors. He gets checked for sticky substances and has to have his, his hands washed. The umpire had a problem with him coming out for the one inning. What more does he have to do to get a win for these guys?”

The answer to that question remains elusive, as Bibee continues to pitch at an elite level while his record plummets in the opposite direction. Thursday’s game perfectly encapsulated his season-long struggle when three errors by first baseman Kyle Manzardo in a single inning handed Toronto three unearned runs.

Yet Bibee’s resilience stood out even amid the defensive collapse behind him. As Paul Hoynes detailed: “He really pitched well with the exception of the third inning when Manzardo went off the rails. That’s when Toronto scored three runs and was a 35 pitch inning. He still bounced back and threw six solid

The final line was impressive: six innings, three hits, three runs (two earned), zero walks, seven strikeouts. Yet the scoreboard showed another L next to Bibee’s name — his fourth consecutive loss despite quality starts in three of those games.

Adding to the bizarre nature of Thursday’s outing, Bibee was subjected to not one but two sticky substance checks from the umpiring crew, eventually being forced to wash his hands between innings. “He said his hand was darker than usual and so they checked him not once but twice in the fourth and fifth inning, and finally made him wash his hands,” Hoynes said. “He told us ‘I swear to God, I’m not cheating.’”

The reality is that Bibee’s 2025 campaign will ultimately be judged by metrics far more telling than his win-loss record. His command, strikeout-to-walk ratio, and ability to work deep into games paint the picture of a pitcher performing at an All-Star level, even as his record suggests otherwise.

The disconnect between performance and results highlights the sometimes cruel and arbitrary nature of baseball’s traditional pitching metrics.

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“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller


Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: General Discussion

14167
This would be a good time to give Jones a shot at a full time rightfield job. Guardians aren't going anywhere in the division. Jones has a nice record hitting left hand pitching. Certainly better than the right hand hi/ing batters we've been marching out there
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller


Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: General Discussion

14168
From gametime,

Nolan Jones has demonstrated the ability to hit left-handed pitching, but he is often part of a platoon, meaning he is frequently held out of the lineup against left-handed starters. While he has had success against lefties in the past, including a strong rookie season, his performance against them in the current season is more mixed.

Here's a more detailed look:

Career Performance:

In his career, Jones has a batting average of .259 with 8 home runs and 26 RBIs in 259 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers, according to StatMuse.

Rookie Season Success:

In his rookie season (2023), he batted .314 with 7 homers and 19 RBIs in 130 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers, according to StatMuse.


Current Season (2025):

In the current season, his performance against left-handed pitching is less impressive, but still shows some potential.

Platoon Player:

The Cleveland Guardians often platoon him due to his struggles against right-handed pitching and his generally stronger numbers against lefties.


Room for Improvement:

Despite his past success against lefties, Jones's current struggles against them in 2025, combined with his struggles against righties, suggest he may need to make adjustments to improve his overall consistency.

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“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller


Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: General Discussion

14169
Stats don't lie. It's apparent that the Guardians may not be using Jones properly.

No question Jones is an excellent defender. I think the time is right to see if Jones can win the rightfield outright.

I just hope we're not making a mistake by not giving Jones a full time opportunity. Plenty of time for DeLauter.

The answer might be sitting on the bench. Jones is just starting to come alive vs right handers. If he hits lefthand pitching as well as his track record indicates combined with his defensive play, that equals full time starter. Kwan, Thomas, and Jones.

Time for experimenting should be over.
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller


Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO

Re: General Discussion

14170
Thanks, Joe - I've put a nightly restart in place to hopefully preclude extended outages from occurring moving forward.,

--Ryan

On Thursday, June 26th, 2025 at 9:15 PM
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller


Democracy Dies In Darkness - WAPO