Right-hander Abner Uribe was placed on Triple-A Nashville’s injured list last week with an unspecified knee problem, and will now undergo surgery to fix a right lateral meniscus tear, Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. The severity of the injury won’t be fully known until doctors begin the operation, and thus Arnold indicated that the outcome could be anything from “a light cleanup” to a more intensive procedure that could threaten the rest of Uribe’s season.
The injury continues what has already been a tough season for Uribe, who posted a 6.91 ERA over 14 1/3 innings out of Milwaukee’s bullpen before he was optioned to Triple-A at the start of May. His most notable on-field moment of 2024 was an altercation with Jose Siri in a brawl between the Brewers and Rays on April 30. Uribe was issued a six-game suspension that was lowered to four games on appeal, though he has yet to serve any of that suspension (which applies to MLB games only) since he has been in the minors.
The move back to Triple-A seemed to get Uribe on track, as he had posted a 1.04 ERA over 8 2/3 innings and seven appearances with Nashville. Another call-up to the big leagues seemed likely at some point, though now Uribe’s development has been interrupted and perhaps stalled altogether by this knee injury. The righty is unfortunately quite familiar with meniscus injuries, as a torn left meniscus cost him virtually the entire 2022 season with Double-A Biloxi.
Uribe rebounded from that lost year by pitching well in the minors in 2023, and then excelling in his first taste of MLB action. The hard-throwing reliever averaged 100.7 mph on his fastball over his 30 2/3 innings with Milwaukee last season, en route to a 1.76 ERA, 30.7% strikeout rate, and a 53% grounder rate. However, Uribe did enjoy a .239 BABIP, and his 15.7% walk rate continued the control issues that plagued him throughout his minor league career. Those problems worsened this season, as Uribe’s walk rate rose to 18.2% while his strikeout rate plummeted to 21.2%, resulting in that inflated 6.91 ERA. (His 4.94 SIERA is almost two full runs better, though still uninspiring.)
The surgery stands out as a lousy birthday gift for a pitcher who turns 24 later this week. Uribe’s young age means that there is plenty of time for him to figure out his control issues and perhaps emerge as a dangerous bullpen weapon, yet Uribe has already amassed a lengthy injury history at an early stage in his career. Because the injury occurred in Triple-A ball, Uribe won’t amass any big league service time while he is on the minor league IL, unless the Brewers at some point promote him and place him on the MLB version of the 60-day IL as a means to create 40-man roster space.
