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Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Shane Bieber was placed on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, a significant blow for a team on the fringe of a wild-card spot entering the final month of the season.
The veteran starter is dealing with inflammation of his teres major muscle under his right shoulder, the team said Tuesday. The move to the IL was retroactive to Friday, a day after Bieber pitched seven solid innings in a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
“He felt a little bit of discomfort in his bullpen [session] on Sunday in New York,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said before a home game against the Kansas City Royals. “[He had an] MRI [exam] that night when we got back and [it’s a] moderate to mild teres major injury.
“Which sucks for him, sucks for us.”
Bieber, who won the American League Cy Young Award in 2020, is 5-2 this season with a 4.37 earned-run average. He spent the first two months of the season on the injured list due to right elbow inflammation and forearm fatigue.
Schneider said he was “definitely hopeful” that Bieber would be back this season but did not have a timeline for his potential return.
Entering Tuesday’s games, Toronto (64-68) was two games out of an American League wild-card spot.
“It’s tough timing, for sure,” Schneider said. “Just with where we are, the number of games [left] and how Shane was throwing too. We’ve dealt with it before this year. We’ll continue to deal with it.”
