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Shelby Miller Likely Headed For Tommy John Surgery

By Steve Adams | September 3, 2025 at 3:00pm CDT

3:00pm: Miller spoke with the Brewers beat in the dugout today and suggested that a second Tommy John procedure is likely (video link via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). The veteran righty effused praise for the Brewers organization and said he’d be on hand to support the club however he can. Asked about the possibility of this being a potential career-ending injury, Miller said there’s “no doubt” in his mind that he can come back — likely in 2027 — and continue to pitch effectively, but that’ll be a conversation he has with his family when he’s further down the road.

Notably, the right-hander acknowledged that surgery was mentioned as a possibility when he was on the injured list with the D-backs. That would have been an internal brace and flexor repair, but a full UCL replacement now seems like it could be on the table. The Brewers surely knew of that possibility at the time of the swap (hence the purely financial cost of acquisition), but that doesn’t make his loss any less impactful.

Fans will want to check out Rosiak’s full five-minute video clip, as Miller provides a wealth of candid quotes on his career, his current mindset, his injury, his time with the Brewers and more.

2:12pm: The Brewers announced Wednesday that they’ve placed right-hander Shelby Miller on the 60-day injured list due to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The 34-year-old exited a game earlier this week after telling manager Pat Murphy that he’d felt a “pop” in his elbow, and it seems he’s encountered a worst-case scenario. Milwaukee has selected the contract of righty Joel Payamps to take Miller’s spot on the 40-man roster and in the big league bullpen.

The Brewers haven’t specified whether Miller will undergo Tommy John surgery or an internal brace procedure, but surgery is the most common outcome when pitchers suffer UCL sprains. If Miller does require Tommy John surgery, it’d be the second time in his career. He also underwent Tommy John surgery back in 2017 while pitching with the Diamondbacks.

Losing Miller is another notable blow for a Milwaukee bullpen that is also without closer Trevor Megill (flexor strain), lefty DL Hall (oblique strain) and righty Grant Anderson (ankle tendinitis). The Brewers acquired Miller at the trade deadline, knowing there were some health risks. He was on the injured list with a forearm strain at the time. Perhaps in a reflection of that uncertainty, Milwaukee effectively purchased Miller rather than sending any prospects to the D-backs; they took on the remainder of Miller’s deal and $2MM of the roughly $7MM still owed to injured starter Jordan Montgomery — a free agent at season’s end.

Miller has pitched 9 2/3 innings with the Brewers and sports an unsightly 5.59 ERA, though that’s a bit misleading. Prior to the outing when he felt that “pop,” he’d pitched in 10 games with the Brewers and held opponents scoreless in eight of them. The main blemish was a three-run hiccup against the Bucs on Aug. 13, but generally, Miller had been strong: a 3.72 ERA with a 14-to-4 K/BB ratio in those 9 2/3 frames. He was tagged for two runs without recording an out in what will go down as his final appearance of the season, however, and he’ll close out the 2025 campaign with a 2.74 ERA, 10 saves and nine holds in 46 innings.

In place of Miller, the Brewers will take another look at the veteran Payamps. The 31-year-old righty was a rock-solid bullpen arm for the Brew Crew in 2023-24, pitching a combined 129 2/3 innings with a 2.78 ERA, a 26.1% strikeout rate, a 6.7% walk rate, a 42.6% ground-ball rate and just 1.04 HR/9. He saved nine games along the way and piled up 48 holds between those two excellent seasons.

Payamps got out to a miserable start in 2025, however, allowing 17 runs in his first 18 1/3 innings of work. The Brewers designated him for assignment and placed him on waivers. His $2.995MM salary made it easy to pass him through outright waivers, and Payamps has shown signs of righting the ship with Milwaukee’s top affiliate in Nashville. His numbers are somewhat skewed thanks to a six-run meltdown in his third-most-recent appearance, on Aug. 23, but Payamps carried a tidy 3.04 ERA into that outing and has bounced back with a pair of perfect frames during which he punched out five of his six opponents.

Overall, Payamps has a 4.73 ERA in 26 2/3 innings, with a disproportionate amount of the damage against him coming in that Aug. 23 hiccup. He’s posted a sharp 30-to-6 K/BB ratio with Nashville and allowed only two home runs. If he’s back to his 2023-24 form, or even 80-90% of the way there, Payamps could be an impactful bullpen addition for the final few weeks of the regular season — and perhaps even into the postseason if he shows well enough.

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Milwaukee Brewers Newsstand Transactions Joel Payamps Shelby Miller

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View Comments (22)
Post a Comment

22 Comments

  1. DarkSide830

    1 month ago

    More snake-bitten, Shelby Miller or Daniel Hudson?

    1
    Reply
    • 21Clemente21

      1 month ago

      Yes, both, nagging, awful

      Reply
  2. Sparky1000

    1 month ago

    Wonder what the probability of him pitching again is?

    Reply
    • Jeremy320

      1 month ago

      Somebody will sign him to a 2-year contract ~ rehab 2026 and pitch 2027. Seems like a Dodgers move tbh.

      4
      Reply
      • Acoss1331

        1 month ago

        Yup, he’ll get a two-year deal with the expectation being he’ll be back in 2027.

        1
        Reply
        • mrkinsm

          1 month ago

          A 2 year Minor League Deal? Because I highly doubt a team is willing to waste a 40 man spot all winter (until he can go on the 60 day) on a big league deal – with the hopes that he can throw 50 innings in 2027.

          3
          Reply
        • stymeedone

          1 month ago

          A 2 year deal signed in the spring most likely.

          1
          Reply
        • mrkinsm

          1 month ago

          @stymee…Why? Why bother signing him at the early point of his rehab? This isn’t a future HOF’er we’re talking about. He has a 5 year old son with developmental issues, now that the pension is vested and he’s staring at a year of rehab and probably a league minimum contract as a late 30 year old….retire! Enjoy your kids childhood while you can.

          2
          Reply
      • mrkinsm

        1 month ago

        He’ll be 36 in 2027, coming off his 2nd TJS. Over the past 9 seasons, he’s accumulated all of 245 innings in the bigs, entering this year he had to settle for a minor league deal that paid 1M$ if purchased. I would bet on him going unsigned this winter and having to have a showcase 12+ months from now to get a contract for 2027 and it might have to be another minor league deal. He picked up 10+ years of service this year, fully vesting a pension….I’d give a lot of thought too retiring and spending time with my family. All of us want to actually be able to pick up our grandchildren when we are in our 60’s.

        1
        Reply
    • Blah blah blah

      1 month ago

      This guy won’t go away. And I mean that with all due respect. He forgot how to throw strikes 10 years ago and teams keep lining up for his services. He’ll pitch another 10 seasons.

      3
      Reply
      • JoeBrady

        1 month ago

        He had a 5-year stretch where he went 1-9 with an ERA of close to 9.00. This dude knows how to bounce back.

        2
        Reply
  3. danodea

    1 month ago

    So 5 d-backs pitchers have gotten TJS or internal brace this year? Six if you count Blake Walston who got it right before the season started. That’s gotta be a record

    Reply
    • Never Remember

      1 month ago

      It is not

      1
      Reply
      • danodea

        1 month ago

        You wanna tell me what IS the record, then??

        Reply
  4. Alan53

    1 month ago

    I don’t think “effused” can be used as a transitive verb, but otherwise it’s a good article.

    Reply
    • mlbnyyfan

      1 month ago

      Wow, another TJ surgery. Does the real TJ get a percentage every time a surgery is needed?

      Reply
      • Never Remember

        1 month ago

        Yes the same way Lou Gehrig’s estate gets $10 every time says someone has Lou Gehrig’s disease

        Reply
        • toycannon

          1 month ago

          I’ve noticed it is rarely the case anymore. ALS is the common used term nowadays.

          Reply
      • stubby66

        1 month ago

        Tommy John is a pitcher that should be in the HOF easily. The Hall is supposed to be for the players and people who were elite and changed the game. Him trying this procedure and succeeding. His numbers are right on the border but this surgery should put him in. Those surgeries have saved probably atleast a thousand careers. I dont see how him and Dr Andrews aren’t in. Don’t know what the writers and veterans committee are thinking!!!

        1
        Reply
        • colonel flagg

          1 month ago

          Dr. Frank Jobe pioneered the surgery. He was honored during Hall of Fame weekend in 2013, but I don’t think he was formally inducted.

          Reply
  5. greatgame 2

    1 month ago

    hes done

    2
    Reply
  6. cwizzy6

    1 month ago

    Time to call it a career. Thankfully for him he got his 10 year vest. Time to enjoy your family.

    Reply

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