Tanner Bibee Exits Start Early, Cleveland Guardians News

There’s only one way the Cleveland Guardians’ current slide could worsen. That would be losing their best starting pitching for an extended period of time due to an injury.

That may be the reality the team faces as Tanner Bibee exited his start early on Wednesday evening against the Detroit Tigers with an apparent lower-body injury.

Bibee slowly limped out of the dugout and onto the mound before the sixth inning. He made a few warm-up pitches before Stephen Vogt, Carl Willis, and Cleveland’s trainer came out to check on him.

Cleveland’s starting pitcher seemed to be stretching out his leg, but he was clearly in discomfort and couldn’t continue. Perhaps, it was just cramping which is something Bibee has had an issue with all season.

Bibee and his coaches conversed, and eventually, the starting pitcher walked back into the dugout, slammed his mitt down, and headed back into the tunnel.

Scott Barlow quickly warmed up in the bullpen and came on in relief.

Bibee was pitching a phenomenal game before he was forced out. He pitched 5.0 efficient innings, only threw 67 pitches (43 strikes), gave up one earned run, two hits, struck out four, and walked one batter. It certainly looked like an outing in which he would go deep into the seventh inning, maybe more. 

We’ll have to wait and to hear what Vogt says happened during his postgame presser.

Hopefully, what Bibee felt and experienced on the mound is nothing too serious, but it certainly is concerning for a team already thin on the pitching front.