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Corbin Burnes

Brewers Place Corbin Burnes On IL With Oblique Strain

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The Brewers have placed right-hander Corbin Burnes on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain, the team announced. They recalled infielder Ryon Healy and righty J.P. Feyereisen in corresponding moves.

Burnes left his final start of the regular season Thursday, a crucial loss to the Cardinals, with an injury, though it was reported to be a back issue at the time. It was unclear then whether Burnes would pitch again this season for a Brewers team that’s vying for a playoff spot, but it now appears he definitely won’t return to the mound in 2020.

Regardless of whether the Brewers make the playoffs, 2020 will go down as a resounding success for Burnes. He was among the majors’ least successful hurlers in 2019, when he pitched to a horrific 8.82 ERA/6.09 FIP in 49 innings, but turned around his fortunes during a breakout regular season this year. The 25-year-old performed like one of the game’s premier starters with a 2.11 ERA/2.03 FIP and 13.27 K/9 against 3.67 BB/9 in 59 2/3 innings.

Corbin Burnes Exits Start With Lower Back Issue

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Brewers right-hander Corbin Burnes left his start Thursday with lower back discomfort, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com was among those to report. Burnes, making his final start of the regular season, lasted just 3 2/3 innings and yielded three earned runs on six hits against the division-rival Cardinals.

Thursday’s performance was among the worst outings of 2020 for Burnes, who has unexpectedly turned into one of the game’s premier hurlers this season. Including Thursday’s rough showing, the 25-year-old gave the Brewers 59 2/3 frames of 2.11 ERA/2.03 FIP pitching with 13.27 K/9, 3.62 BB/9 and a 46.4 percent groundball rate during a breakthrough regular season. It’s a far cry from the dreadful 8.82 ERA Burnes posted across 49 innings in 2019, when he yielded home runs on 38.2 percent of fly balls.

At 27-28, the Brewers are fighting for their playoff lives in a crucial five-game set in St. Louis. If the Brewers do make the postseason, they’ll obviously want Burnes to factor into their rotation, which he and Brandon Woodruff have led. However, it’s unclear whether Burnes will be healthy enough to return by then.

Central News & Rumors: Hader, Burnes, Twins, Norris, Romine, Tigers, Chatwood, Gio

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The Brewers are receiving a lot of interest on Josh Hader and Corbin Burnes, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (all links to Twitter), though there isn’t any sign that Milwaukee would consider moving either reliever for anything less than a major offer, particularly for Hader.  Brett Anderson or David Phelps are perhaps more realistic options to be dealt if the Brewers opt to move an arm.  The Yankees and Twins are two of the clubs who have been in touch with the Brew Crew about Hader, but there hasn’t been much indication that talks led anywhere.

Let’s dive into some news and trade buzz from around both the NL and AL Central divisions…

  • The Tigers are drawing interest in catcher Austin Romine and left-hander Daniel Norris, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports in both a tweet and a longer notes column.  The Rays are one team linked to Norris, who has impressed by posting a 2.40 ERA, 7.2 K/9, and 4.00 K/BB rate over 15 innings.  The former second-round draft pick has been plagued by injuries throughout his career and missed part of Summer Camp recovering from a positive COVID-19 test, though he has performed well as a multi-inning reliever for the Tigers this year.  Romine has also enjoyed a strong season with a .291/.309/.418 slash line over 81 PA, though his trade chip status could have a late wrinkle — the Tigers scratched him from today’s lineup due to right knee soreness.
  • Tyler Chatwood left today’s outing due to right elbow discomfort, according to the Cubs.  The righty bounced a pitch to the plate in the third inning, with manager David Ross telling ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers and other reporters that Chatwood initially felt a problem while throwing a breaking ball on the previous pitch.  Chatwood was making his second start back from the injured list after missing much of August with a back strain.  Elbow problems aren’t good news for any pitcher, though it is particularly concerning in Chatwood’s case since he already has a Tommy John surgery on his record.
  • The injury bug also struck on the south side of Chicago, as the White Sox placed left-hander Gio Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to August 27) with a right groin strain.  Gonzalez’s first year with the Sox hasn’t been a smooth one, as he has a 5.11 ERA over 24 2/3 innings and a 1.5 HR/9 that is almost twice his 0.8 career average.  His most recent outing was, intriguingly, 3 2/3 inning of shutout relief against the Cubs, which could hint at Gonzalez’s role for the White Sox when he returns from the IL.

Pitching Notes: Morton, Farmer, Burnes, Matz, Smith

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Some pitching notes from around baseball:

  • Rays’ right-hander Charlie Morton came out of a twenty-pitch bullpen session feeling well, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. He’s seemingly on track to return next weekend, Topkin adds. The 36-year-old was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier this week with shoulder inflammation, which could partially explain Morton’s two mile per hour drop in fastball velocity from 2019 to 2020.
  • Like Morton, Tigers’ right-hander Buck Farmer looks on track to return from an IL stint in short order. Manager Ron Gardenhire confirmed to reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group) that the important set-up man could return from a groin injury by the middle of next week. Farmer’s swing-and-miss rate is down a bit from his strong 2019 effort, but he’s nevertheless held opponents to two runs over his first 6.2 relief innings this year.
  • Corbin Burnes will get the start for the Brewers on Tuesday, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Jounral Sentinel. He’ll take the place of Eric Lauer, who was optioned this week amidst a rough start to the season. Working primarily in a multi-inning relief capacity, the hard-throwing Burnes has racked up 24 strikeouts in 16 innings this season, although he’s also issued an alarming 11 walks.
  • Mets’ manager Luis Rojas was noncommital when asked if Steven Matz would remain in the team’s rotation, notes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (Twitter link). The southpaw allowed six runs in 4.1 innings in last night’s loss to the Phillies, continuing a disastrous start to his 2020 season. He’s coughed up 23 earned runs in as many innings, thanks almost entirely to an untenable nine home runs. On the other hand, Matz’s velocity has held in its customary 94-95 MPH range, and he’s run a solid 23:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Of course, New York is rather thin on potential starting pitching replacements if they elect to remove Matz from the rotation.
  • As expected, the A’s have placed reliever Burch Smith on the 10-day injured list, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link). Smith was diagnosed with a forearm strain yesterday. Fellow right-hander James Kaprielian has been recalled to replace him on the active roster. Smith has tossed twelve very strong relief innings for Oakland this season. Kaprielian, meanwhile, will get another chance to make his MLB debut. The former first-rounder got his first MLB call August 4, but he was optioned down two days later without having gotten into a game.

Eric Lauer To Open Season On Injured List

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Brewers lefty Eric Lauer will open the season on the injured list, manager Craig Counsell told reporters including Jake Rill of MLB.com (via Twitter). He’s dealing with an impingement in his pitching shoulder.

Fortunately, it seems there’s not much worry within the Milwaukee organization. The specifics of Lauer’s potential timeline aren’t yet evident, but there’s no indication he will be sidelined for a significant stretch of the season.

It’s still a shame to see Lauer hit the shelf just now. He had run up nine strikeouts against just one walk and one earned run in his 5 1/3 innings in camp. The recently acquired southpaw has thrown 261 2/3 innings of 4.40 ERA ball to this point in his MLB career.

Having prioritized depth and flexibility in constructing their pitching staff, the Brewers have options on hand. Recently extended hurler Freddy Peralta is a candidate, as is Corbin Burnes. Veterans Jake Faria and Shelby Miller are in camp on non-roster deals, though neither seems likely to command a rotation spot. Trey Supak is the other possibility on the 40-man roster.

Just what will happen when Lauer is ready to return isn’t yet clear, but the Brewers surely aren’t all that concerned. No doubt the southpaw will have ample chances to log innings so long as he’s up to the task. Under Counsell and GM David Stearns, the club has deployed its staff as circumstances warrant, without much regard to formal roles.

Assessing The Brewers’ Rotation

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As seems to be the case every spring, there’s a fair bit of uncertainty surrounding the Brewers’ rotation. Milwaukee eschewed a splashy trade or a potentially cumbersome long-term pact in free agencu, instead opting for lower-cost deals with righty Josh Lindblom (three years, $9.125MM) and Brett Anderson (one year, $5MM) As things currently stand, that duo will likely join holdovers Brandon Woodruff and Adrian Houser in comprising four of the top five spots.

As for the fifth spot in the rotation, Brewers manager Craig Counsell told reporters yesterday that the competition will likely boil down to left-hander Eric Lauer and right-hander Freddy Peralta (Twitter link via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). Righty Corbin Burnes isn’t entirely out of the race, but Counsell did indicate that veteran right-hander Shelby Miller won’t be considered just yet. While Miller was invited to MLB camp and will presumably get some innings there, he’s working to reestablish himself after several lost seasons.

The competition between Lauer and Peralta will be a key one for Brewers fans to follow this spring. The former, a 24-year-old lefty picked up alongside Luis Urias in the trade that sent Zach Davies and Trent Grisham to San Diego, already has nearly two full seasons of MLB experience under his belt despite his relative youth. Lauer started 29 games for the Padres last season, pitching to a 4.45 ERA with 8.3 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 1.20 HR/9 and a 39.9 percent ground-ball rate in 149 2/3 innings.

Lauer pitched into the seventh and eighth inning on a few occasions but ultimately averaged about five frames per start — a concept that should be plenty familiar to Brewers fans at this point. Milwaukee regularly limited the aforementioned Davies and right-hander Chase Anderson to two trips through the opponents’ batting order, leveraging a deep bullpen thereafter. If he wins the fifth spot in the rotation, Lauer could be deployed in similar fashion.

Peralta, meanwhile, is still just 23 year of age. Like Lauer, he’s racked up a fair bit of big league experience in his early 20s, pitching to a combined 4.79 ERA in 163 1/3 Major League innings to this point. Peralta spent most of the 2019 season in a multi-inning relief role — showing better in that capacity than he did as a starting pitcher. But Peralta has added a new pitch to his repertoire this winter, as Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel recently highlighted, which could change his fortunes. A chat with former big league righty and current Brewers special assistant Carlos Villanueva led to Peralta trying out a slider in the Dominican Winter League, and he responded with a 34-to-3 K/BB ratio in 20 innings with los Toros del Este.

The 25-year-old Burnes could be something of a wild card as camp progresses. A consensus top 100 prospect heading into 2018, Burnes debuted in dominant fashion with the ’18 club when he tossed 38 innings of 2.61 ERA ball with a 35-to-11 K/BB ratio. He made 30 total relief appearances, allowing just 27 hits (four homers); of his 11 walks, two were of the intentional variety. Burnes posted elite spin rates on his curve and heater while flashing high-end velocity. He looked like a potential cornerstone for the pitching staff.

The 2019 season was an unmitigated disaster for Burnes, however. The hitter-friendly nature of the 2019 ball likely didn’t help matters, nor did a sky-high .414 average on balls in play. But Burnes’ poor showing can’t be solely blamed on a juiced ball or poor luck; he was absolutely torched for 48 runs in 49 innings of work — yielding a stunning 17 home runs in that time. The right-hander showed a clear knack for missing bats (12.9 K/9, 17.2 percent swinging-strike rate) but struggled with location both in and out of the zone far. Burnes’ walk rate increased, and his inability to command the ball within the zone contributed to that barrage of long balls.

Regardless of how it shakes out, the Milwaukee rotation will enter the season facing its share of scrutiny. That’s been the case in both of the past two seasons, however, and the team reached the postseason in both instances. A year ago. The 2019 season saw Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, Woodruff, Davies, Houser and Gio Gonzalez make the majority of its starts. A year prior, the Brewers entered the season with Chacin, Anderson, Davies, Junior Guerra, Brent Suter and Wade Miley (then on a minor league reclamation deal) heading up its rotation mix.

There may not be a surefire ace among Milwaukee’s starting staff, but both Woodruff and Houser posted sub-4.00 ERAs with strong peripheral marks in more than 100 innings in 2019. Lindblom is an undeniably interesting flier coming off a dominant run in the Korea Baseball Organization, thanks in part to a new splitter. Brett Anderson has a 4.07 ERA and a 55 percent ground-ball rate over the past two seasons (256 1/3 innings). It’s not the most outwardly impressive group of arms, but the Brewers have begun to make a habit of compiling serviceable staffs that are light on name value. They’ll be looking for more of the same in 2020.

NL Central Notes: Stearns, Hader, Pirates, Reds

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Let’s take a look at the latest from around the NL Central…

  • “Frankly, at this point, we don’t think too much about that,” Brewers GM David Stearns told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter video link), MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy, and other reporters when asked what pitchers are currently penciled into the starting rotation.  As usual, the Brew Crew will be flexible as possible in deciding which pitchers start games and how many innings they’ll accumulate, with Stearns citing Brandon Woodruff, Eric Lauer, Adrian Houser, Freddy Peralta, and Corbin Burnes as hurlers with starting experience.  Peralta and Burnes will indeed still get consideration for starting jobs, Stearns said, though both struggled in the role last season.  This isn’t to say that rotation additions couldn’t still be made, and relief help could also come later in the offseason, Stearns said.  Milwaukee had interest in re-signing both free agent Jordan Lyles and the non-tendered Junior Guerra before the two pitchers respectively signed with the Rangers and Diamondbacks.
  • Eyebrows were raised earlier this week at reports that the Brewers were open to trade offers for superstar reliever Josh Hader.  While Stearns didn’t deny the report or dismiss the idea of a Hader deal, he naturally didn’t give any hint about how much desire his club actually had in moving Hader, only saying that “I think we consider him the best reliever in baseball right now.”  Obviously, it would take a major offer to land Hader, who is controlled via arbitration through the 2023 season as a Super Two player.
  • Since Jacob Stallings is the only catcher on the Pirates’ 40-man roster, it isn’t any shock that GM Ben Cherington told media members (including Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic) that the Bucs are looking to upgrade the catching corps “in some ways.”  Biertempfel notes that Cherington was “emphasizing the plural,” meaning that Pittsburgh will look to add multiple catchers for both the big league club and the farm system.
  • With so much action on the free agent market so far, “I personally feel like there’s less trade activity likely to happen at the Winter Meetings than in prior years,” Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale and other reporters.  “I think that’s the trend and I feel like other baseball front offices…feel like it’s gotten to the point where with all the other stuff that’s going on, it’s a time to continue conversations, but it’s really hard to push things across the finish line from a trade perspective.”  The Reds have already one major free agent splash in signing Mike Moustakas and have been linked to several other big names, though while Williams “would say it’s entirely possible” Cincinnati makes another signing during the Meetings, “there is not one that I would say is likely to happen yet….I don’t have one that is closing in on a physical or something.”

David Stearns Discusses Brewers Roster Questions

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Brewers GM David Stearns talked about the upcoming offseason in the wake of his club’s Wild Card loss, with Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel among those to cover the proceedings.

Despite the disappointing end, it was obviously another successful campaign, as the Brewers charged late and again reached the postseason despite losing superstar Christian Yelich. But the club won’t be able to rest on its laurels, as there are a variety of decisions to be made right out of the gates.

As Stearns puts it, he and his front office has “some important questions” that will need to be answered. Every offseason has its own “narrative,” he said, and it’s still not clear what path this one will take.

The first call that has to be made involves corner infielders Eric Thames ($7.5MM club option, $1MM buyout) and Travis Shaw (arbitration eligible). Stearns said he hasn’t reached any decision on Thames, who had a productive season with the bat and seems a reasonable value at that price. As for Shaw, whose season was a disaster, Stearns says the club will “spend a lot of effort internally determining what to do” in advance of the non-tender deadline.

The Shaw situation ties in to the Brewers’ slate of departing free agents, which includes several key players. Infielder Mike Moustakas could replace Shaw, though he’ll likely require a bigger commitment to retain than he commanded on the open market last winter. And then there’s Yasmani Grandal, who had a highly productive year behind the plate and will leave a big hole. Stearns was happy to acknowledge that he’d “love to have both of them back.” Will it happen? “Whether the realities of the market permit that and whether the realities of the free-agent market permit that is something we will have to evaluate as we go through the off-season.”

Likewise, a pair of key hurlers will be available to all teams. Mid-season trade acquisitions Jordan Lyles and Drew Pomeranz. Stearns called the pair “unbelievable” and said he’d be interested in returns in both cases. “They both contributed a lot to this club and I’m sure we’ll be in contact with them,” said Stearns.

There’s no shortage of other roster issues to be addressed. The Brewers’ creative pitching strategies will again be tested. Stearns said he isn’t ready to say precisely how hurlers such as Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, and Brent Suter will be used next year, though he did note that “we tend to blur lines between starters and relievers anyways.” And it certainly sounds as if the Brewers will at least be interested in exploring ways of supplementing (if not supplanting) Orlando Arcia at shortstop. Stearns says the team “need[s] better overall production” from that spot, though he added that he believes Arcia is “a better player than he showed this year” and that the incumbent could still represent the necessary solution.

Pitcher Notes: Fried, Eovaldi, A. Wood, Brewers, Rangers

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Braves southpaw Max Fried exited his start Monday with a blister on his left index finger, David O’Brien of The Athletic writes (subscription link). The Braves will re-evaluate Fried on Tuesday, per O’Brien, who points out blister issues have “plagued” the 25-year-old in the past. Blisters can be serious enough to lead to injury list stints, though Fried is optimistic he’ll avoid an IL placement. The Braves’ 58-37 record and 7 1/2-game lead in the National League East have come thanks in part to Fried. He turned in five shutout innings in a victory over Milwaukee on Monday, giving him a 4.08 ERA/3.86 FIP in 103 2/3 frames on the season.

The latest on a few other hurlers…

  • Red Sox soon-to-be closer Nathan Eovaldi will embark on a rehab stint Wednesday or Thursday, likely with Triple-A Pawtucket, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe tweets. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Saturday that Eovaldi could rejoin Boston’s staff sometime this week. Eovaldi, who has been out since late April because of right elbow surgery, will be pitching in a full-time relief role for the first time in his career when he returns. The 29-year-old has started in 152 of 160 appearances thus far.
  • Reds lefty Alex Wood will make his third Triple-A rehab appearance Wednesday, when he’ll throw four innings and 60 to 65 pitches, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer. It’s a good sign for Wood, whom back problems have stopped from pitching in in the majors in 2019. His return, if it comes, could be a boon for a Cincinnati team that isn’t waving the white flag on a playoff push despite a 43-48 record.
  • The Brewers placed right-hander Corbin Burnes on the injured list Monday because of shoulder irritation, recalling fellow righty Burch Smith from Triple-A San Antonio to take his place. The club put Burnes on the shelf in the wake of his most recent blowup Sunday, when he allowed four earned runs on four straight hits and failed to retire a batter in a loss to the Giants. Even though the 24-year-old Burnes has struck out just better than 13 batters per nine innings this season, struggles preventing home have led to an ineffectual 9.00 ERA/6.12 FIP across 46 frames. Burnes didn’t give up any homers Sunday, but he has allowed HRs on an astounding 39 percent of fly balls this season.
  • Rangers pitching prospect Yerry Rodriguez is done for the season because of a UCL sprain in his right elbow, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News relays. The club will shut Rodriguez down for six to eight weeks and then re-evaluate him. Rodriguez, who entered the season as FanGraphs’ 14th-ranked Rangers prospect, notched a brilliant 2.08 ERA/3.16 FIP with 10.38 K/9 against 2.57 BB/9 in 73 2/3 Single-A innings this season.

Corbin Burnes Optioned To Triple-A, Aaron Wilkerson Recalled

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The Brewers have optioned Corbin Burnes to Triple-A San Antonio, per MLB Roster Moves. Righty Aaron Wilkerson has been recalled in his stead.

Burnes is among the candidates for most disappointing 2019. After a positive showing in last year’s playoffs, Burnes was ticketed for the rotation this season. Needless to say, things have not gone according to plan for Burnes, who sports a 8.85 ERA. He was sent to the minors after four starts at the beginning of the year in which he surrendered a total 21 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings.

He’s been better since joining the bullpen at the beginning of May, but a couple of blowups ballooned his bullpen ERA to 7.43 in 19 appearances. If we shorten the sample even further, we can get his ERA down to 4.50 in June, and if you squint even harder, a 3.56xFIP starts to look pretty good.

Wilkerson joins the club for the second time this season. The 30-year-old Wilkerson made three appearances in April, surrendering 6 earned runs in 7 1/3 innings.

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