The Brewers suffered what could possibly be a brutal blow to their rotation on Saturday when right-hander Tobias Myers exited their recreation in opposition to the Angels with left indirect discomfort, as famous by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Myers prompt to reporters after the sport that the difficulty “appears delicate,” however Hogg provides that Myers is about to endure imaging tomorrow however is prone to require a stint on the injured checklist given the character of indirect points, which regularly require a month-long absence even for delicate strains.
Myers, 26, loved an outstanding rookie season with the Brewers final yr. A sixth-round choose by the Orioles again in 2016, he bounced by the Rays, Giants, Guardians, and White Sox organizations over time earlier than lastly touchdown in Milwaukee and getting a shot on the massive league stage. He made the a lot of the alternative, pitching his manner right into a rotation position and sticking there with a superb 3.00 ERA in 138 innings of labor. His peripheral numbers had been barely much less rosy, with a 3.91 FIP, a 3.99 SIERA, and a 4.22 xERA all suggesting the righty is extra of a mid-rotation or back-end starter than the 140 ERA+ manufacturing he provided final yr would possibly initially recommend. Even so, Myers figured to be a key piece of the Brewers this yr as a stalwart of the membership’s rotation.
Which will now be set to alter, no less than for the start of the season. If Myers does wind up lacking time, it’s a worrisome manner for the membership to start out the 2025 marketing campaign. Myers would be part of Brandon Woodruff, Aaron Ashby, DL Corridor, and Robert Gasser on the injured checklist to open the season. Whereas Freddy Peralta, Nestor Cortes, and Aaron Civale all seem like wholesome and on monitor to start the season on time, there’s little certainty past that group.
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy notes that whereas veteran left-hander Jose Quintana has not been dominated out for Opening Day, it’s doable the southpaw might want to spend a while in prolonged Spring Coaching earlier than he’s prepared to start the season. Quintana, 36, signed with the Brewers earlier this month and is a couple of week behind the remainder of the membership’s wholesome pitchers after getting a late begin to spring coaching. The Brewers gained’t essentially want a fifth starter till April 2 in opposition to the Royals, which offers the membership some flexibility as Quintana builds as much as recreation readiness. With that being stated, it does the membership no favors relating to discovering a substitute for Myers within the rotation.
Ought to Myers require a visit to the shelf, McCalvy means that left-hander Tyler Alexander or right-hander Elvin Rodriguez could possibly be leaned on to make begins. Neither of these are notably inspiring choices for greater than a spot begin or two. Alexander has had some stable years as a swing man with the Tigers and Rays over time, however his 4.60 ERA throughout 52 profession begins leaves a lot to be desired. In the meantime, Rodriguez has simply 33 innings of 9.55 ERA below his belt within the majors. Different choices may embrace non-roster invitee Bruce Zimmermann, who pitched to a 4.16 ERA within the minors for the Orioles final yr, or a prospect like Jacob Misiorowski. The younger righty has simply 17 2/3 innings of expertise on the Triple-A stage, making him a lower than perfect candidate to leap to the majors immediately, however different prospects like Chad Patrick could possibly be extra real looking choices.
