CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Indians 2020 Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber tested positive for COVID-19 and will be late to spring training.
Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti made the revelation Thursday afternoon as pitchers and catchers reported to Goodyear, Arizona for the start of camp.
“He had very, very mild symptoms,” Antonetti said during a Zoom video call with reporters. “In fact, they were barely noticeable. He’s working through the protocols to return. We expect him to get back to the complex at some point within the next few days.”
The positive test was yet another reminder that the pandemic is still prevalent and everyone in camp must remain vigilant and continue to take proper safety measures and follow protocols.
“We all need to keep each other safe,” Indians pitcher Adam Plutko said. “We were wildly successful last year because we didn’t have any positives on our team. We didn’t have to deal with that. We didn’t have shutdowns. Because of that, we had success.
“So, I hope everybody here in Goodyear is very conscious of what they’re doing on and off the field to protect each other as teammates.”
Bieber became the first pitcher in franchise history to win the Cy Young award unanimously and the ninth pitcher since 2000 to win the award with a unanimous vote last year.
Bieber dominated the American League in a shortened 2020 season leading pitchers in wins, strikeouts, ERA, batting average allowed, slugging percentage allowed and strikeouts per nine innings. He was second in innings pitched.
The 25-yearl old set a club record with 122 strikeouts over his first 12 starts and he had at least eight strikeouts in those starts, breaking Bob Feller’s record of nine set in 1946.
The Indians are counting on Bieber to anchor the rotation and hopefully help carry them back to the postseason.
“With Shane, first and foremost, is just setting that great foundation that he does every winter coming into spring training and be positioned to absorb a workload,” Antonetti said. “And hopefully this year that’s 200-plus innings of really high-quality performance. And Shane, to his credit, one of the things that continues to separate him out is the way in which he attacks his work and prepares for a season.”