The Brewers activated closer Josh Hader from the Covid-19-related injured list Thursday, clearing roster space by optioning lefty Hoby Milner to Triple-A Nashville and transferring righty John Axford to the 60-day injured list, per a club announcement.
Hader, 27, is in the midst of yet another dominant season on the mound, having pitched to a career-low 1.83 ERA with a 45 percent strikeout rate that leads all qualified relief pitchers and a 9.4 percent walk that’s down more than three percent from his shaky levels in 2020. Devin Williams has been getting save chances in Hader’s absence, but Hader figures to again serve as manager Craig Counsell’s go-to option in such situations now.
The news on Axford was to be expected. The Brewers already announced earlier this month that the 38-year-old right-hander sustained a season-ending elbow injury during his first big league appearance since 2018. Unfortunately, Axford indeed sustained an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported this morning, and he’s weighing what the injury means for his career at this point. President of baseball operations David Stearns indicated that Axford is likely looking at a “reconstruction” surgery (i.e. Tommy John).
“It’s really unfortunate,” said Stearns. “We feel awful for John. I think he was very excited to come to this team. He was excited to pitch in a pennant race, hopefully pitch in the playoffs again. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”
Given the timing of the injury, a Tommy John procedure would very likely wipe out all of Axford’s 2022 season as well. If he did attempt a comeback, he’d be doing so in 2023 for what would be his age-40 season.
Woohoo!
You’re either a lover or a Hader of this guy. I’m a hater when he pitches against the Braves because he’s brutally good.
Bang Bang
Why don’t people like Hader? Is it the hair?
As an opposing pitcher, he’s too damn good. More than often, it’s lights out, kinda like Kimbrel used to be
Character concerns. Needless to say, once he blows out his elbow, nobody will feel bad for him.
Is his character concerns based on what you feel? My guess is he probably wouldn’t like you either. There’s a lot of “characters” in sports, they are what makes it interesting. Smh
No, it’s based on the type of person that he revealed himself to be in 2018.
7734, Isn’t it weird that after only 30 seconds or so after you post, you have a thumbs up? How quizzical, you must have a rabid following,
This *is* my 19th username, so I think it’s some of the leftover legion of Egon Spengler fans… or my confidence in myself.
Slow clap, good for you, you’re a legend in your own mind.
@7734- So you are angry at Hader for what he said SEVEN YEARS before it was reported in 2018? Even after he publicly apologized and said he would accept the consequences of his actions?
washingtonpost.com/sports/ugly-tweets-from-brewers…
Don’t have to take my word for it. You can confirm what I just said for yourself.
You either need an injection of some amount of grace for people who have made mistakes or you didn’t look into this enough and so you decided to resent someone who was undeserving. Maybe you’re upright and perfect through your entire life but I understand regretting foolish beliefs and behaviors from my teenage years.
Wrong. He revealed that he’d made a stupid mistake when he was 16 or 17 and about 9 years away from full formation of the frontal lobe and impulse control.
He revealed who he was as an immature child, not who he was in 2018. Which is a good person who made a mistake and has changed.
Not very empathetic or forgiving of you.
Hate doesn’t disappear with a public apology and deleting a Twitter page because he’s personally embarrassed and it ruined his poor, little All-Star Game experience.
It was already there, and he’s done nothing since then to demonstrate that he isn’t racist, sexist, or homophobic aside from blame it on his youth. If he’s volunteered and donated time or money to causes benefiting those that he criticized, please link it below. Those thoughts don’t fly anymore, and 16 and 17-year-olds are more than capable of understanding that words have consequences, especially posting them online. I’ve been fortunate enough to terminate the employment of two individuals who had these same thoughts (adults), so… hatred has consequences, especially when people think they have to actually post them publicly for some reason.
I’ve seen nothing to demonstrate Hader has actually changed.
racist, sexist, or homophobic, are we talking about Hader or Cuomo? Hader a 17 year old vs. Cuomo the so called adult. Someone needs to find what all these liberals said when they were teenagers. Put it on an even basis 7734. RIP thousands of senior citizens.
Fortunately for all of us then, we don’t have to prove to YOU that we are different from what we were many years ago. What he said that was wrong was a statement. He then resended it with a statement. But he did do more than that. He said he would accept the consequences and DIDNT just say I was young and stupid. He went through sensitivity training. He didn’t get angry about going through classes.
You terminating employees was likely something you did in response to something they did a short amount of time after an incident. Is that correct?
He clearly understood what he posted was wrong. He stated he excepted the consequences and didn’t complain about it. If you think teenagers don’t ever express their angst and emotions through innapropriate expressions and regret it later, you are naive.
I imagine you are a Progressive. So am I. I hope you can eventually learn something about grace and forgiveness because if all our side has is judgment and anger to all, nothing will ever change.
You and I are as opposite as opposites can get, in terms of progressivism. I’m just one of those few, remaining believers in personal responsibility and accepting the consequences of actions OR words — and those can last a lifetime. I have absolutely no hesitation to call somebody out regardless of what “side” they’re on. There’s no “whataboutism” with me.
There are people that say certain inappropriate words, and apologize or claim they’re changed, begging for forgiveness… and there are those of us that would never even THINK about saying them in the first place. Fortunately, I’m in the latter group. Those seeds of hate or ignorance were never planted — whether it was upbringing, peer pressure, or wherever somebody would learn (let alone have the DESIRE) to say certain things that shouldn’t be said.
Life isn’t supposed to be fair, and there are no rules about receiving second chances. I just prefer to not take the first chance for granted.
“There are people that say certain inappropriate words, and apologize or claim they’re changed, begging for forgiveness… and there are those of us that would never even THINK about saying them in the first place. Fortunately, I’m in the latter group}.
7734 needs to be nominated into sainthood. He’s never said or imagined a bad thought. The audacity to say that is beyond words.
Agreed. He must be the second coming
You know a guy has a bad argument when he throws in a completely unrelated politician and starts throwing the term “liberals” around as an insult.
Sorry you aren’t able to distinguish between “bad thoughts” and hateful rhetoric, because it’s not even close. It’s hard to have a discussion on that at this point, so I’ll just wish both of you well, even Josh Hader in the future. I hope he legitimately changes and supports the type of people he once said hateful things about, rather than just apologizing and deleting social media and thinking it will be forgotten or just disappear. The seeds of hate don’t dissipate like that.
I’ll just concede and exit stage right on this one.
Probably because he’s a racist?
let’s find the ones cons said as teens.
oh wait, you guys don’t want that (and remind me again, which 2 states have 40 percent of all new covid cases? why that’d be texas and florida, 2 states run by folks like you).
Yee-up.
Man, having been a teenager & then raising my son on my own, I can attest: teenage boys do & say Dumb Stuff.
Regularly.
Character concerns?? With what? Because he has long ass hair?? Lmao. The dude is a high character guy who just happens to dominate in relief pitching
“I imagine you are a Progressive. So am I. I hope you can eventually learn something about grace and forgiveness because if all our side has is judgment and anger to all, nothing will ever change.”
Preach SCM, preach that damn thing !
Hopefully he got a haircut
I’m 69 yrs old. My hair is longer than Hader’s & I have a beard in the ZZ Top area code. Hair has no reflection on your talent. The only time to get it cut is if it gets in your way as a professional ball player.
Or unless your owner tells you too. Obviously you missed my tongue in my cheek. But thanks Methuselah.
No problem stormtrooper
Curly, you sound like someone I would throw back a beer with.
Right back at you Salary, but to be honest, I won’t stop at 1, Nyuk nyuk nyuk
Could I join y’all?
Wait.
Where are we meeting up for some suds? &…am I invited too?
The John Axford comeback was short lived
Huge overpay. That was $1 American money.
That last quote about Axford makes me so sad. Never been a fan of him or the Brewers but just bums me out.
I followed Axford earlier in his career and was never a fan but it’s still very sad to me nonetheless. Hopefully he can find some sort of comeback but otherwise it was good career
This is sort of a pedestrian question, I guess… If Axford decides to call it quits but still has to have TJ, does the team pay for it since it happened while he was in uniform when it happened?
I would assume so. But if not, why retire? If my employer will only pay for medical costs related to a workplace I injury, I’m not retiring til every cent of every bill is paid.
my understanding is, since it happened on their watch, they do have to pay for the surgery and rehab (but if he waits till after the season, they might not have to, since he would no longer be under contract).
Brewers overpaid to get Axford.