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Brewers’ John Curtiss Suffers UCL Tear

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Aug. 12: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that Curtiss is getting a second opinion, but Tommy John surgery indeed seems to be on the table.

Aug. 11: The Brewers announced that right-hander John Curtiss has been diagnosed with a torn UCL in his throwing elbow. The reliever left his appearance against the Cubs last night with elbow soreness, and he’s unfortunately suffered a significant injury. The team didn’t specify the severity of the injury, nor did they make any mention of Tommy John surgery. It’s possible that Curtiss is still exploring alternative means of treatment, but it seems he’s in for an extended absence no matter which course of action he chooses.

Curtiss has made just six appearances with Milwaukee after being acquired from the Marlins in a deadline-day swap. He was blown up for five runs in his team debut, but Curtiss had better results in his five other contests and has had a strong season overall. The 28-year-old tossed 44 1/3 innings of 3.45 ERA ball between Miami and Milwaukee, following up on a quality campaign with the Rays in 2020. Going back the past two seasons, he has a 2.86 ERA across 69 1/3 frames. His 24.1% strikeout rate is league average, but he’s been excellent at avoiding free passes (5.2% walk rate) after struggling with wildness throughout much of his minor league career.

Milwaukee hasn’t specified a timeline for Curtiss’ recovery, but it would be very surprising if he didn’t miss the rest of this season. Should he ultimately require a Tommy John procedure, he’d very likely be sidelined for the entire 2022 campaign as well. Curtiss won’t reach arbitration eligibility until 2023, so there’d be little financial cost for Milwaukee in holding onto him even if he requires a lengthy rehab process. Curtiss would have to occupy a spot on the 40-man roster throughout the winter if the Brew Crew want to ensure they retain his rights long-term, though.

For the time being, Curtiss has been placed on the 10-day injured list, as has lefty Angel Perdomo (lower back strain). The Brewers activated righty Justin Topa from the 60-day IL and recalled southpaw Hoby Milner from Triple-A Nashville, with Topa’s reinstatement filling the 40-man roster. The 30-year-old hasn’t pitched all season on account of a flexor tendon strain.

Brewers Reinstate Jake Cousins From COVID-IL, Designate Sal Romano

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The Brewers announced that right-hander Jake Cousins has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injury list.  To create roster room, right-hander Sal Romano has been designated for assignment.

Cousins returns after the mandatory 10-day quarantine period following a positive coronavirus test.  The Brewers still have six more players on their COVID list, but between Cousins, Hunter Strickland, and Christian Yelich all returning in recent days, the club is slowly starting to make its way back from this outbreak.

The positive COVID-19 result was unwelcome interruption to what has been an eye-opener of rookie season for the 27-year-old Cousins, who has yet to allow a run over 14 1/3 innings out of Milwaukee’s bullpen.  The hard-throwing righty has an impressive 37.7% strikeout rate and an even 50% grounder rate, as opposing batters have managed only an .091 batting average in 53 plate appearances.  After a few nondescript seasons in the Nationals’ farm system, Cousins has seen his strikeout rates spike since joining the Brewers in 2019.

Romano was claimed off waivers from the Yankees just last week, as the Brew Crew looked for some fresh arms in the midst of their coronavirus outbreak.  After tossing one inning in one game for Milwaukee, Romano has now banked appearances with three different clubs in 2021 — the right-hander has a combined 5.63 ERA over 24 innings with the Brewers, Yankees, and Reds, with 20 2/3 of those innings coming in Cincinnati.

Brewers Activate Hunter Strickland, Return Blaine Hardy To Minors

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The Brewers announced they’ve activated reliever Hunter Strickland from the COVID-19 injured list. Left-hander Blaine Hardy, who was selected as a COVID replacement last week, has been removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A Nashville.

Because Hardy came up as a COVID replacement, he needn’t be passed through waivers to return to the minor leagues. The 34-year-old made one big league appearance since being selected on July 31, allowing three runs in an inning of work against the Pirates. That marked Hardy’s first big league action since 2019, as the longtime Tiger missed the entire 2020 season recovering from a Tommy John surgery. He’ll head back to Nashville, where he’s worked to a 3.50 ERA with nearly average strikeout and walk rates (22.4% and 8.9%, respectively) over 46 1/3 innings.

Reliever Jake Cousins — who landed on the COVID-19 IL ten days ago after testing positive at the same time as Strickland — is expected to be activated tomorrow, according to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (Twitter link). Milwaukee has a vacancy on the 40-man roster to accommodate Cousins’ forthcoming reinstatement. The Brew Crew are still without Keston Hiura, Adrian Houser, Josh Hader, Eric Lauer and Jandel Gustave because of their subsequent positive tests.

Brewers Reinstate Dylan File From 60-Day IL

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  • The Brewers announced that right-hander Dylan File has been activated off the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Nashville.  File underwent elbow surgery in February and has yet to pitch this season, apart from some minor league rehab outings.  Considering that the Brewers are dealing with several bullpen absences due to injuries and a COVID-19 outbreak, it might not be out of the question that the 25-year-old File is called up to make his MLB debut before the 2021 season is through.

Brewers Activate Christian Yelich From COVID List

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The Brewers have activated outfielder Christian Yelich from the COVID-19 injury list, manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).  Yelich isn’t starting today’s game but is available off the bench, Counsell said.

Unfortunately for the Brewers, right-hander Adrian Houser was officially placed on the COVID list today, as was expected after the righty’s positive test yesterday.  Houser now joins Josh Hader, Eric Lauer, Keston Hiura, Jandel Gustave, Hunter Strickland, and Jake Cousins as Milwaukee players on the COVID list, as the club continues to deal with an outbreak within the clubhouse.  Yelich tested positive for the virus and was placed on the COVID-IL on July 27, so he’ll return after a pretty minimal stint, even if he isn’t immediately getting back into regular duty for the Brewers.

Between this absence and two stints on the regular injured list due to back problems, Yelich has appeared in only 67 games this season, and hit a modest .235/.382/.367 in 275 plate appearances.  While still above-average (104 OPS+, 108 wRC+) production, it certainly isn’t what was expected from the former NL MVP, even if the Brewers have surged into first place in the NL Central with only average hitting numbers overall.  A return to form from Yelich could be the spark Milwaukee needs to cement itself as a World Series contender, though the first order of business is simply to get everyone recovered from the COVID outbreak.

Adrian Houser, Jandel Gustave Test Positive For COVID-19

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Brewers’ John Axford Out For Season With Elbow Injury

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Brewers reliever John Axford will miss the rest of the season after suffering significant structural damage in his throwing elbow, manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). The veteran righty is weighing his options for treatment, Counsell said.

It’s a disappointing blow for a pitcher who just made his return to the big leagues on Monday after a three-year absence. The 38-year-old recorded one out against the Pirates, allowing a pair of runs on two hits and a walk in what’ll be his lone appearance of the year. Before that, he’d pitched very well with the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo, where he tossed 10 2/3 innings of one-run ball with fourteen strikeouts and three walks.

It remains to be seen whether Axford will make a renewed comeback push. At the very least, he can take pride in the remarkable successful effort he made in recent months to get back to the majors with Milwaukee, even if that stint unfortunately ended far quicker than expected. Presumably, the Brewers will place Axford on the 60-day injured list when the need for a new 40-man roster spot arises.

Brewers Place Lauer, Hader, Hiura On Covid List

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Aug. 4: The Brewers announced yet another positive test: lefty Eric Lauer. He’ll head to the Covid list and be subject to a 10-day quarantine, at minimum. That move opens roster space to add righty Sal Romano, whom the Brewers claimed off waivers from the Yankees this week.

Lauer, acquired alongside Luis Urias in the trade that sent Trent Grisham and Zach Davies to San Diego, has quietly enjoyed a strong season in Milwaukee. He’s made 15 appearances — 11 starts, four bullpen outings — and notched a 3.50 ERA with a 22.9 percent strikeout rate and an 8.9 percent walk rate. He’s been brilliant as of late, too, making even a brief departure a tough blow to the Brewers. Over Lauer’s past seven outings (six starts, one relief appearance), he’s pitched to a 1.98 ERA with a 31-to-13 K/BB ratio through 36 1/3 frames.

Aug. 3: Milwaukee has also placed infielder Keston Hiura on the COVID-19 list, the team announced.

Aug. 2, 4:50pm: Hader indeed tested positive, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. He’ll be out a minimum of 10 days.

3:38pm: The Brewers have placed lefty Josh Hader on the Covid-19-related injured list, per a club announcement. Newly added righty John Axford has been selected to the Major League roster in a corresponding move. The team did not specify whether Hader has tested positive or was a close contact. Individuals who test positive are subject to a 10-day quarantine, while close contacts are subject to seven-day absences.

It’s been another dominant season for the 21-year-old Hader, who has pitched to a sterling 1.83 ERA while striking out 45 percent of his opponents against a 9.4 percent walk rate through 39 1/3 innings thus far in 2021. Hader is the latest in a growing number of Brewers to hit the Covid IL, joining bullpen-mates Hunter Strickland, Jandel Gustave and Jake Cousins as well as right fielder Christian Yelich.

With Hader sidelined for a yet-unknown period of time, right-hander Devin Williams figures to step in as the primary option in save situations for manager Craig Counsell. Brent Suter, Brad Boxberger and the recently acquired John Curtiss will be among the first names up for setup work.

Brewers Claim Sal Romano Off Waivers From Yankees

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The Brewers announced they’ve claimed right-hander Sal Romano off waivers from the Yankees. He’ll add some depth to a bullpen that has been hit hard by the spread of COVID-19 throughout the Milwaukee clubhouse in recent days.

Milwaukee will be Romano’s third team of the year. He opened the season in Cincinnati but was cut loose after a poor first month. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees not long after and pitched his way back to the big leagues in late July. His stint in the Bronx proved rather brief, though, as he wound up again designated for assignment after a pair of appearances.

Between the Reds and Yankees, Romano has tossed 23 innings with a 4.70 ERA. He has punched out only 14.9% of batters faced against an average 8.9% walk rate. Romano has had better results with the Yankees’ top affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, working 23 1/3 frames of 3.47 ERA ball. He is out of minor league option years, so the Brew Crew need to keep him on the big league roster or wind up placing him on waivers themselves.

Brewers Outright Patrick Weigel

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  • The Brewers announced that right-hander Patrick Weigel went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Nashville. Milwaukee picked Weigel up in the April trade that sent shortstop Orlando Arcia to the Braves. He’s allowed a pair of runs in four MLB frames this year but has struggle mightily in Nashville, where he’s posted a 6.84 ERA and walked a batter per inning (20.8 percent of his total opponents) through 25 frames. Weigel lacks the service time or prior outright assignment necessary to elect free agency, so he’ll remain with the Brewers organization in Triple-A.
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