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Brandon Woodruff To Begin Rehab Stint; Aaron Civale Suffers Setback

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The Brewers provided mixed injury news on their rotation. Brandon Woodruff will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Nashville tomorrow, according to an announcement from the Sounds. In less encouraging news, the team informed reporters (including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy) that Aaron Civale is headed for further evaluation after a setback in his recovery from a left hamstring strain.

It’ll be Woodruff’s first regular season game action since September 2023. The two-time All-Star underwent surgery to fix a capsule tear in his shoulder during the ’23 postseason. Milwaukee declined to tender him an arbitration contract before bringing him back on a backloaded two-year deal. Woodruff made $2.5MM while rehabbing last season and is playing on a $5MM salary this year. He’ll collect a $10MM buyout on a $20MM mutual option and return to the open market next offseason.

The Brewers knew at the time that Woodruff would not be able to pitch in 2024. They took things slowly this spring, announcing before camp opened that he’d begin the season on the injured list. Woodruff only tossed one MLB inning during exhibition play. He has continued throwing and will take on a decent workload in his first appearance. Curt Hogg of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel relays that Woodruff will work around 65 pitches and/or four innings tomorrow. He’ll presumably need a few turns through the Triple-A rotation before the Brewers are comfortable reinstalling him into the MLB staff.

Milwaukee has needed to stitch the rotation together behind Freddy Peralta. They acquired Quinn Priester from the Red Sox and recalled Spring Training signee Jose Quintana for his team debut tonight. Rookie Chad Patrick has been pressed into rotation work. He has managed 11 innings of three-run ball across his first three big league appearances, albeit with an unexciting 10:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio. It’s a similar story for swingman Tyler Alexander, who has surrendered four runs with 12 punchouts and seven walks over 12 2/3 frames.

Woodruff brings far greater upside than anyone else in the rotation aside from perhaps Peralta. He owns a 3.10 ERA with a near-29% strikeout rate across 680 1/3 career innings. It remains to be seen whether he can regain that effectiveness after a major shoulder procedure and 18-month layoff.

Civale opened the season in the rotation, but he landed on the IL after his first start. Nestor Cortes subsequently suffered a flexor strain that sent him to the injured list. Woodruff, Tobias Myers (who is on a rehab stint), DL Hall, Aaron Ashby and Robert Gasser had all begun the season on the shelf. While details on the setback are sparse, it doesn’t seem Civale is on the verge of a return. He is playing on an $8MM salary and will reach free agency next offseason.

Brewers Recall Jose Quintana For Team Debut

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The Brewers announced that they’ve recalled Jose Quintana from their complex league affiliate. He’ll get the ball tonight opposite Eduardo Rodriguez in Arizona. Milwaukee optioned Elvis Peguero to Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move.

Quintana will be making his season and team debut. The veteran lefty lingered in free agency into Spring Training. He signed a $4.25MM free agent deal in early March. Quintana managed five innings over two appearances before camp came to a close. He allowed two runs with two strikeouts and a walk. He stayed back at the complex for the first couple weeks of the regular season to continue building into game shape.

The 36-year-old southpaw is coming off a strong season with the Mets. Quintana worked to a 3.75 ERA despite a subpar 18.8% strikeout rate across 170 1/3 regular season innings. He fired six scoreless innings against Milwaukee in the decisive Game 3 of the Wild Card Series. Quintana followed up with another five scoreless frames against the Phillies in the Division Series before the Dodgers tagged him for five runs over 3 1/3 frames in his lone NLCS start.

Milwaukee opened the season with Brandon Woodruff, Tobias Myers, Aaron Ashby and DL Hall on the injured list. They’ve lost Aaron Civale and Nestor Cortes to the IL since Opening Day. That contributed to their early-season trade to land Quinn Priester from the Red Sox. The young righty went five innings of one-run ball against Colorado in his team debut yesterday. Priester and Quintana join swingman Tyler Alexander and rookie Chad Patrick as part of a patchwork rotation behind staff ace Freddy Peralta.

MLBTR Podcast: Vlad’s Massive Deal, Extensions for Merrill and Marte, And Quinn Priester Traded

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

Check out our past episodes!

  • Garrett Crochet’s Extension, Problems In Atlanta, And Other Early-Season Storylines – listen here
  • What We Learned From The Offseason – listen here
  • The Rays’ Stadium Deal Is Dead, Rangers’ Rotation Issues, And More! – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images

Brewers Acquire Quinn Priester

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The Brewers and Red Sox have announced a trade sending right-hander Quinn Priester from Boston to Milwaukee. In return, the Sox receive prospect Yophery Rodriguez, a Competitive Balance Round A draft pick in this year’s draft and a player to be named later or cash considerations.  Milwaukee cleared a roster spot by designating left-hander Grant Wolfram for assignment and subsequently dealing him to the Orioles.

Priester, 24, is a former first-round pick and notable prospect. The Pirates took him 18th overall in 2019. As he climbed the minor league ladder, he was considered one of the top young players in the league. Baseball America ranked him the #58 prospect in baseball in 2022 and #88 in 2023. He was flipped to Boston at last summer’s deadline, a straight one-for-one swap which sent Nick Yorke the other way.

Despite his pedigree, he hasn’t broken through at the major league level yet. Between the Pirates and Red Sox, he has 99 2/3 innings pitched in the big leagues with a 6.23 earned run average. His 15.2% strikeout rate is well below par and his 9% walk rate is close to average, though his 55.2% ground ball rate is quite strong.

The minor league work has been stronger. He has thrown 184 Triple-A innings since the start of 2023 to the present. His 4.16 ERA isn’t especially impressive but he underlying numbers are better. He has a 25.8% strikeout rate in that sample and an 8.5% walk rate. He’s kept more than half of balls in play on the ground. His .318 batting average on balls in play and 66.9% strand rate are both on the unfortunate side, which is why his 3.44 FIP looks far more palatable than his ERA.

The Brewers have a strong reputation for working with pitchers, having helped many to reach their full potentials. Given Priester’s background and intriguing minor league numbers, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him take notable steps forward in Milwaukee. He has less than a year of service time, so there will be long-term benefits if they can help him out.

On the other hand, it also seems like a hefty price to pay and a reflection of the current pitching predicament in Milwaukee. They currently have seven starting pitchers on the injured list, some of them unlikely to return in the short term. Brandon Woodruff missed the entire 2024 surgery recovering from shoulder surgery and is still working his way back. Robert Gasser had Tommy John surgery in June and won’t be available in the first half. DL Hall has a strained lat and is also on the 60-day injured list alongside Gasser, meaning he’s not close to a return. Tobias Myers and Aaron Ashby are both on the shelf with oblique strains. Aaron Civale has a hamstring strain. Nestor Cortes landed on the IL yesterday with a flexor strain.

That all leaves Freddy Peralta as the only healthy member of the club’s projected rotation. To patch together a staff around him, the club has had to reach deep into its alternatives. Tyler Alexander was to start the season in a swing role but has moved way up the chart. Elvin Rodríguez was pitching in Japan last year, mostly in relief. He signed with the Brewers in the winter but has options and was slated to start the season in the minors before the injuries. Chad Patrick just got added to the 40-man in November and was also projected for the Triple-A rotation until the bodies kept dropping.

As the injuries were piling up in the spring, the Brewers signed Jose Quintana, though he hasn’t been able to help them yet. Due to his late start, he agreed to be optioned in order to effectively do a delayed spring training and is still getting built up. Priester could jump right into the big league rotation this week, as his last outing was throwing four Triple-A innings on April 7th. He has one option year left, so he could be sent to the minors if other pitchers get healthy in the coming months and he gets pushed down the pecking order.

Getting immediate rotation help on the trade block is usually difficult at this time of year. Most clubs still think they have a shot at competing, especially in the age of expanded playoffs, and likely want to keep a robust stable of arms on hand. The high rate of pitching injuries in the modern game only enhances the need, as teams know they will need far more than five starters to get through a season.

But the Red Sox seemingly need Priester far less than they did when they acquired him. In the offseason, they made a few notable additions to the rotation mix. They acquired Garrett Crochet from the White Sox and signed Walker Buehler. They also signed Patrick Sandoval, though he’s recovering from UCL surgery and is still a few months away from joining their rotation.

The Sox had to start 2025 with Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito and Kutter Crawford on the injured list, but that wasn’t enough to get Priester to the big leagues. They started the season with Crochet, Buehler, Tanner Houck, Richard Fitts and Sean Newcomb in the rotation. Cooper Criswell and Hunter Dobbins are also on the 40-man roster and capable of working in long relief roles or in the Triple-A rotation.

Both Bello and Giolito are on rehab assignments and should be with the big league club in the next week or two. They should slot in next two Crochet, Buehler and Houck. Dobbins is already back in Triple-A after serving as the 27th man in yesterday’s double-header. If the Sox want to keep Newcomb, they could move him to the bullpen while optioning Fitts and Criswell. As mentioned, Sandoval could be in the mix later in the year.

That’s a fairly healthy amount of rotation depth even without Priester in it, which seemingly allowed the Sox to feel comfortable moving on, even with the risk that further injuries throughout the season could cut into that depth.

As mentioned, most clubs aren’t very willing to part with notable starting depth this early in the season, so the Brewers have paid up to get some from Boston. The draft pick the Sox receive will be the 33rd overall selection this summer. That comes with a slot value of around $2.77MM, per Carlos Collazo of Baseball America. That’s a pretty nice chance to add some young talent to the system in a few months.

They are also adding young talent to the system today, getting Rodriguez and perhaps another player later. As for Rodriguez, he was a noteworthy international signing out of the Dominic Republic, with the Brewers giving him a $1.5MM signing bonus. He has played 165 professional games thus far between the Dominican Summer League, Single-A and High-A. He has a combined batting line of .254/.361/.408 in that time.

Baseball America ranked him Milwaukee’s #14 prospect coming into the year. They note that he’s likely to be moved off center field into a corner over time, which will put more pressure on his bat to carry the profile.

Still, from the Sox perspective, it looks like a nice bit of business. Priester didn’t appear to be in their short-term plans. He was on pace to be out of options next year and may have been on track to getting squeezed off the roster. By pulling the trigger today, they have subtracted a depth piece but added some notable future talent.

For the Brewers, despite all their injuries, they’re hanging in the race with a 5-5 record. Priester can hopefully help them stay afloat and has some future ceiling, given his past pedigree. If he clicks, he can be a long-term solution for them as well. Cortes, Civale, Woodruff, Alexander and Quintana are slated for free agency after this year. Peralta has a club option for 2026 but will be a free agent after that.

Wolfram, 28, was a somewhat surprising signing in the winter. He had previously spent his career in the minors with the Rangers, but reached free agency after 2024. The Brewers gave him a 40-man spot in December, though he’s still looking for his major league debut. He was called up yesterday when Cortes landed on the IL but optioned back down after the game.

The Brewers will now have a week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for him. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade interest would need to be gauged in the next five days. Perhaps some club could be interested based on his minor league work, which is presumably what caught the eye of the Brewers. In the years since the minors were cancelled in 2020, Wolfram has thrown 249 minor league innings with a 3.94 ERA. He has a high 12.2% walk rate in that time but has also punched out 29.6% of opponents.

Hunter Noll of Beyond the Monster and BoSox Injection first reported the terms of the trade.

Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, John E. Sokolowski and William Glasheen, Imagn Images

Orioles Acquire Grant Wolfram From Brewers

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The Orioles announced the acquisition of left-hander Grant Wolfram from the Brewers for minor league outfielder Daz Cameron and cash. Milwaukee had designated Wolfram for assignment this morning as the corresponding move for the Quinn Priester trade. He’ll take a spot on Baltimore’s 40-man roster and was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. The O’s transferred righty Albert Suárez to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.

Wolfram, 28, continues to await his major league debut. The 6’7″ southpaw pitched in the Texas farm system between 2018-24. He topped out at Triple-A and qualified for minor league free agency last offseason. Milwaukee saw enough in his minor league numbers to sign him to a major league contract. Wolfram opened the season on optional assignment to Triple-A. They called him up for the first time yesterday but did not get him into a game before designating him for assignment.

The lefty worked three Triple-A frames in the Milwaukee system. He gave up two runs while issuing four walks and recording three strikeouts. Wolfram pitched well in the Pacific Coast League a year ago. He turned in a 3.34 earned run average with a strong 25.6% strikeout rate across 56 2/3 frames with the Rangers’ top affiliate. While Wolfram has had spotty command throughout his minor league tenure, his fastball-slider combination has gotten a decent number of whiffs. He sits in the 94-95 MPH range with both his four-seam and sinker. Wolfram is in his first of three option years, so the O’s can keep him in Norfolk for a while if he holds his spot on their 40-man roster.

Cameron was not on Baltimore’s 40-man roster, so he won’t occupy an immediate spot with Milwaukee. He finished last season with the A’s. Baltimore grabbed him off waivers at the beginning of the offseason. They ran him through waivers early in Spring Training and kept him in the system when he accepted a minor league assignment.

The son of former Brewer Mike Cameron, Daz was a supplemental first-round pick and highly-regarded prospect. He hit .200/.258/.329 across a personal-high 186 plate appearances with the A’s last season. That essentially matches his career .201/.263/.330 slash over parts of four seasons. The 28-year-old Cameron has played parts of seven Triple-A campaigns. He’s a .250/.339/.425 hitter in more than 1800 plate appearances at the top minor league level.

Suárez landed on the 15-day IL last week with what the team initially called shoulder inflammation. They announced the injury today as a subscapularis strain. He’ll be down through at least the end of May. Suárez opened the season in long relief after Cade Povich won the fifth starter job during Spring Training. He had only made one appearance before the injury. Suárez was a valuable swingman last season, tossing 133 2/3 frames of 3.70 ERA ball while starting 24 of 32 appearances.

Brewers Place Nestor Cortes On 15-Day IL Due To Flexor Strain

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The Brewers announced that left-hander Nestor Cortes has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a flexor strain in his throwing elbow.  Southpaw Grant Wolfram was called up from Triple-A to take Cortes’ spot on the active roster.

This is now the second time in eight months that a flexor strain has sent Cortes to the IL, as a similar injury sidelined him last September when Cortes was still pitching with the Yankees.  He was able to make it back for two appearances in the World Series, including his infamous relief outing in Game 1 that saw Cortes allow Freddie Freeman’s walkoff grand slam.

Brewers assistant GM Matt Kleine told reporters (including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) that Cortes was feeling some elbow discomfort leading up to his last start, though Cortes still delivered six innings of shutout ball against the Reds on April 3.  Kleine doesn’t think the flexor strain is a “long-term issue,” and Cortes himself told Hogg and company that his concern level is “pretty low.”  A previous round of scans cleared Cortes to pitch three days ago, but Cortes said he’ll seek out a second opinion just out of due diligence.

Cortes is now the seventh starting pitcher on Milwaukee’s absurdly crowded injured list, as the Brewers have already just about reached critical mass for pitching health just over a week into the season.  Tobias Myers and Aaron Ashby both sustained oblique strains during Spring Training, Aaron Civale made one regular-season start before a hamstring strain sent him to the IL, and Brandon Woodruff started the season on the 15-day IL as he continues his lengthy recovery from a shoulder surgery.  In other longer-term absences, DL Hall is on the 60-day IL after suffering a lat strain this spring, and Robert Gasser is recovering from a Tommy John surgery last June.

Freddy Peralta now stands as the only healthy member of the Brewers’ projected rotation.  Tyler Alexander, Elvin Rodriguez, and Chad Patrick (all swingmen or multi-inning relief options in an ideal world) comprise the makeshift rotation behind Peralta, and Rule 5 Draft pick Connor Thomas might now be called upon to make a start or two in Cortes’ absence, with Wolfram taking Thomas’ spot as a left-handed bullpen arm.  The Brewers signed veteran Jose Quintana to provide more rotation depth at the start of March, but he is still building up his arm at Triple-A due to his late start to Spring Training.

Cortes was acquired as part of the biggest trade of the Brewers’ offseason, as Cortes, Caleb Durbin, and $2MM in cash considerations came from the Yankees for Devin Williams back in December.  Both Cortes and Williams are pending free agents, but Milwaukee was able to save a little cash in dealing its star closer while also getting a new long-term infield piece and (in theory) a veteran arm to stabilize the rotation.

This injury to Cortes now possibly throws that plan out of whack, and the southpaw and the Brewers can only hope that the strain is as relatively minor as it seems.  Between his last regular-season game in 2024 and Game 1 of the World Series, Cortes missed about five weeks, which would represent a pretty big chunk of the 2025 campaign if he needs a similar recovery period this time around.

Wolfram’s promotion is also worth noting, as the 28-year-old lefty is now on the verge of making his Major League debut.  An 18th-round pick for the Rangers in the 2018 draft, Wolfram spent his entire career in the Texas farm system before inking a guaranteed deal with Milwaukee last December, putting him onto a 40-man roster for the first time.  Wolfram had a 3.34 ERA, 25.6% strikeout rate, and 10.9% walk rate over 56 2/3 innings with Triple-A Round Rock in 2024, and his first two Triple-A outings for the Brewers have resulted in a 6.00 ERA over three innings.

Brewers Place Aaron Civale On Injured List

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The Brewers are placing right-hander Aaron Civale on the 15-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain, manager Pat Murphy announced this morning (via Andrew Wagner of Freeman Sports and 105.7 The Fan). There’s no immediate timetable for his absence. Right-hander Grant Anderson is up from Triple-A Nashville in his place.

It’s yet another major blow to a pitching staff that Murphy, just four games into the season, described as “decimated” in his media availability today. Civale joins Tobias Myers (oblique strain), DL Hall (lat strain), Aaron Ashby (oblique strain), Robert Gasser (Tommy John surgery last June) and Brandon Woodruff (2023 shoulder surgery) on the injured list at a time when veteran Jose Quintana is still building up in Nashville. Quintana got a late start, signing midway through spring training, and agreed to be optioned to Triple-A to begin his season.

At present, the Brewers have just two healthy starters: Freddy Peralta and Nestor Cortes. They’re turning to swingman Elvin Rodriguez to start today’s game. Milwaukee signed the former Angels/Tigers prospect to a split big league deal this winter after Rodriguez spent the past season-plus pitching in Japan. Rodriguez, Tyler Alexander, Chad Patrick and Rule 5 pick Connor Thomas are all multi-inning options who’ll help cover for a depleted starting staff in Milwaukee.

Losing Civale would sting even with an otherwise full contingent of starters. The 29-year-old righty was traded from Tampa Bay to Milwaukee early last July and, after some early struggles with the Rays, righted the ship to post a 3.53 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate in 74 innings for the Brewers over the final three months of the year. Civale is the rare pitcher who couldn’t seem to get on track with the Rays, but he has a solid track record in Cleveland and pitched well in Milwaukee last year. He entered the season with a 4.03 ERA in 636 1/3 career innings at the MLB level, including sub-4.00 ERA marks in both 2021 and 2023.

Civale had a shaky spring, however, and his 2025 debut was anything but up to his prior standard. He pitched just three innings and was gouged for five runs against the Yankees. His 91.4 mph average sinker velocity was down more than a mile per hour over his 2024 average, and his lesser-used four-seamer was also down about a half mile per hour. Much of the focus from that weekend series is on the Yankees’ new “torpedo” or “bowling pin” bats, but Civale appears to have been operating at less than 100% and will now be shelved for at least the next two weeks.

Jay Jackson To Retire

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After a professional career that spanned 17 years, veteran right-hander Jay Jackson is hanging up his glove. Robert Murray of FanSided reported this afternoon that Jackson is retiring from his playing career, adding that the 37-year-old hopes to have a second act in baseball, whether that comes by working for a team or in broadcasting.

Jackson was selected by the Cubs in the ninth-round of the 2008 MLB draft and made his pro debut later the summer at 20 years old. A fringe top-100 prospect entering the 2010 season after he pitched to a 2.98 ERA in 24 starts across three levels of the Chicago farm system, Jackson spent the next three seasons struggling at the Triple-A level without breaking into the majors. He was eventually released by the Cubs in early 2013 and bounced between the Marlins, Pirates, and Brewers before eventually landing with the Padres prior to the 2015 season. In San Diego, the right-hander moved to a full-time bullpen role and dominated the Double- and Triple-A levels, earning the opportunity to pitch in the majors for the first time in his career.

Jackson’s first big league cup of coffee did not go especially well, as he surrendered three runs in 4 1/3 innings across six appearances. Even so, the opportunity was enough to get the righty noticed by the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He pitched for the Carp for three seasons, from 2016 to 2018, and put together an impressive resume with a sterling 2.11 ERA and a 26.9% strikeout rate in 175 NPB innings. That work earned him his second big league opportunity, as he returned to the Brewers organization and pitched to a 4.45 ERA across 30 1/3 innings of work in 2019, but it was only after a second sojourn to Japan (this time as a member of the Chiba Lotte Marines) in 2020 that Jackson was able to stick in the majors.

After signing with the Giants in 2021 for his age-33 season, Jackson enjoyed a late-career stretch of success in the majors. Though he pitched just 52 2/3 innings at the big league level for San Francisco, Atlanta, and Toronto from 2021 to 2023, Jackson posted an excellent 2.73 ERA across those 50 appearances and struck out 26.5% of his opponents. That was enough to earn Jackson a look from the Twins last year in his age-36 season, though he struggled badly with a 7.52 ERA across 20 appearances before being released by Minnesota last year. Jackson initially signed with the Mexican League’s Bravos de Leon earlier this month in an effort to continue his playing career, but evidently has now decided to wrap up his days as a player instead.

Overall, Jackson pitched to a lifetime 4.43 ERA (97 ERA+) with a 4.47 FIP across 113 2/3 major league innings, with a 7-4 record and 136 strikeouts in 104 career games. That’s in addition to his excellent years in Japan, where he posted a 2.16 ERA and struck out 204 batters in 183 NPB innings. We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Jackson on his nearly two decades of work in baseball and wish him all the best in whatever comes next.

Tigers Acquire Brewer Hicklen From Brewers

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The Tigers announced that they have acquired outfielder Brewer Hicklen from the Brewers in exchange for cash considerations. He was designated for assignment by Milwaukee yesterday as that club set its Opening Day roster. The Tigers have optioned him to Triple-A Toledo and transferred right-hander Ty Madden to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.

Hicklen, 29, has a tiny major league track record. The Brewers sent him to the plate five times last year and he also got four plate appearances with the 2022 Royals. He struck out in eight of those nine appearances without a hit.

The Tigers are surely more interested in his minor league work, which is greater in quality and quantity. He has a combined .244/.352/.469 batting line over the past four minor league seasons. That production leads to a 114 wRC+, indicating he’s been about 14% above league average. His 30.7% strikeout rate in that time is quite high but he also drew walks at a strong 11.7% clip and stole 140 bases.

The Detroit outfield has taken a number of hits in recent weeks, particularly in center field. Each of Parker Meadows, Wenceel Pérez and Matt Vierling started the season on the injured list due to various ailments suffered during the spring.

That left Riley Greene as the last man standing from what their projected outfield would have been a few months ago. Kerry Carpenter was once projected as the regular designated hitter but could perhaps move to the grass. That would open the DH spot for Spencer Torkelson, who was pushed off first base when the club signed Gleyber Torres to play second and moved Colt Keith to first. To bolster the group around Greene and Carpenter, the Tigers signed Manuel Margot, who had been released by the Brewers. They also recalled utility player Ryan Kreidler.

Hicklen will give the club a bit of optionable outfield depth, alongside Justyn-Henry Malloy. Given his speed, perhaps Hicklen could carve out a role as a fourth outfielder who gets thrown in for pinch-running and defensive replacement opportunities. Until then, he will presumably get regular reps in the minors.

As for Madden, he was diagnosed with a rotator cuff strain in his throwing shoulder three weeks ago. His current timeline is unclear but this transfer means he can’t be reinstated until late May at the earliest.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, USA TODAY Sports

Brewers’ Tyler Black Out Six To Eight Weeks With Hamate Fracture

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Top Brewers prospect Tyler Black will miss the first six to eight weeks of the season after suffering a hamate fracture in his right hand, reports Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Black competed for a roster spot in spring training but was optioned on March 22.

Black, 24, was the No. 33 overall pick in the 2021 draft and made a brief MLB debut last season, hitting .204/.316/.245 in just 57 plate appearances. He posted a more encouraging .258/.374/.429 slash (114 wRC+) in 462 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, bringing his career line in two seasons there to a strong .272/.389/.452.

Generally considered a bat-first prospect, Black has walked in at least 13.2% of his plate appearances at every minor league stop and has gone down on strikes in just 17.3% of his Triple-A plate appearances — well shy of the league average. Black has never topped 18 homers in a season, but he makes excellent contact, draws walks in bulk and is adept at hitting the ball to all fields. He projects as a plus hitter but not necessarily a pure slugger — more of a gap-to-gap bat who can post premium on-base marks thanks to his keen eye and outstanding pitch recognition.

Defensively, Black carries less certainty. He’s played all over the diamond as the Brewers have tried to find him a home, starting out at second base but now having logged time at both infield corners and around the outfield as well. He’s a plus runner who stole 55 bases in the minors as recently as 2023, but Black has yet to settle into one spot. That could lead to a multi-position role, or the Brewers could simply install him at first base when he’s ready for a full-time look. Rhys Hoskins is only signed through the current season.

For now, Black’s path to regular playing time in the majors will be stalled for what looks like a period of multiple months. Once healthy, Black will probably need a bit of time to get back on track in Nashville. Hand injuries — hamate fractures, in particular — can at times sap a player’s power in the weeks/months after his immediate return, though because Black isn’t entirely reliant on home runs for his offensive output, perhaps that won’t be quite so glaring an issue if it happens in his case.

For now, the Brewers’ infield includes Hoskins at first base, Brice Turang at second, Joey Ortiz at shortstop and a collection of Oliver Dunn, Vinny Capra and perhaps Isaac Collins at the hot corner. None of Capra, Dunn or Collins has any real big league track record at this point. Depending on their production and the health of the rest of the infield, Black could be a candidate in a variety of roles once he’s recovered.

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