Indians: Shane Bieber’s return will give fans a high note to end the season on

Shane Bieber is back to close out the Indians season.

It’s official, Shane Bieber will be back in the rotation on Friday, marking the first time the ace of the Indians has pitched since June 13. The two-time AL All-Star and 2020 AL Cy Young winner was having a strong season before an injury to his right shoulder started to bother him. The issue was deemed a strained and kept him out for over half the season.

Before the injury, Bieber was elected to the All-Star team and was carrying around All-Star-worthy numbers. He was 7-4 with a 3.28 ERA, across 90.2 innings pitched, having only given up 80 hits, and 35 total runs. He had amassed 130 strikeouts and was on-pace for a 300 strikeout season had he pitched over 200 innings total.

That didn’t end up happening, obviously.

His first game back won’t be an easy one, as he’s scheduled to face off with the Chicago White Sox, in a chance to help the Tribe draw closer to .500 and hopefully end the year with a winning record.

Bringing back Bieber will help give fans a reason to celebrate the end of the year. He’s one of the most beloved pitchers on the team, and fans absolutely love Bieber. It may only be a game or two that he starts, but each game will add a little bit of excitement considering how electric he is on the mound. All of this will not only get fans hyped for the rest of this season but firmly helps fans get hyped for next as well.

Shane Bieber and the rest of the Indians rotation in 2022 is scary

Bieber will be joined by Cal Quantrill, Aaron Civale, Zach Plesac, and probably Triston McKenzie in 2022 as the Indians’ five-man rotation. Plesac was originally viewed as the team’s second-best starter, but after 2022 it’s clear he’s the fourth-best starter on this team.

He’d likely be the second-best on just about every other team, if not, then at least the third best. That should give you an idea of just how stacked this rotation is; assuming everyone stays healthy.

Bieber’s health in 2022 is going to be important, as is the health of the rest of the rotation. It seems unlikely that the issues with the lineup will be fixed in any meaningful way during the offseason so the team will once again lean on pitching to help it get to the playoffs.

Assuming everyone is healthy for next season, that won’t be a hard task at all. So if the lineup does next year what it did this year, then the likelihood that the Tribe/Guardians make it back to the playoffs should be very good.

This rotation has the potential to be among the all-time great rotations for the Indians.