Guardians’ Shane Bieber emotional in discussing elbow injury, uncertain future with surgery looming WSOC TV [Video]

CLEVELAND — (AP) — Shane Bieber held it together Monday for as long as he could.

The Cleveland Guardians ace has spent the past few days trying to process his new reality — Tommy John surgery and not pitching again this season.

It’s been harder than he imagined.

His voice choked with emotion, Bieber paused while speaking to reporters for the first time since deciding to have the surgery, a procedure that will end his 2024 season.

Bieber, who missed more than two months last season with elbow issues, somehow gutted out two starts — 12 scoreless innings and 20 strikeouts against Oakland and Seattle — before succumbing to pain.

He’s now suffering in a different way, and Bieber is still struggling to accept that he has to move forward.

“Baseball will be there,” the 2020 Cy Young winner said, speaking softly. “I will be here. It’s easy to keep things in perspective. It’s just an injury that I’ll get past. I’m not the …