Brewers Select Kevin Herget
The Brewers announced they’ve selected right-hander Kevin Herget onto the MLB roster in advance of tonight’s game in Kansas City. Janson Junk was optioned to Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move. To create space on the 40-man roster, Milwaukee transferred Jakob Junis from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list.
Milwaukee also announced that starter Freddy Peralta will begin serving his five-game suspension tonight. The right-hander received the ban after MLB determined he intentionally threw at Rays outfielder Jose Siri last week. Players suspended for on-field rules violations cannot be replaced on the roster. The Brewers will play with 25 men for the next few days.
Herget returns to American Family Field for his second stint of the season. Milwaukee signed him to a minor league deal in Spring Training and selected his contract two weeks into April. They designated him for assignment a few days later and passed him though waivers. The 33-year-old accepted the minor league assignment and is back after making six more appearances in Nashville. Five of those were scoreless. Herget has had one nightmare outing where he was tagged for five runs in an inning and a third. Otherwise, he has kept opponents off the board this season.
The Brewers never called upon Herget during his first stay in the big leagues, so he’s still looking to make his team debut. He has pitched for the Rays and Reds over the past two years. In 31 1/3 innings, he owns a 5.74 ERA with a well below-average 12.4% strikeout rate. Herget has allowed 4.23 earned runs per nine across parts of seven seasons in Triple-A. His 22.8% strikeout percentage at the top minor league level is closer to average. He also consistently throws strikes, walking fewer than 7% of Triple-A opponents and only 4.4% of batters faced in his limited MLB work.
Junis has been out since April 3, when he landed on the IL with a shoulder impingement. The 60-day minimum is retroactive to the time of his initial placement on the injured list. He’ll be out of action until at least the start of June. Junis’ rehab hit a scary setback when he was struck in the head by a fly-ball during batting practice a couple weeks ago.
The righty was taken to a hospital for further evaluation but thankfully indicated a few days later that he didn’t suffer any serious injuries. He has been lightly throwing recently but will still need to build his pitch count and embark on a minor league rehab assignment. Junis started the season in the rotation after signing a $7MM free agent deal over the offseason. The Brewers have suggested he might work out of the bullpen once he’s ready to return.
MLB Announces Suspensions For Rays-Brewers Brawl
2:55pm: Rays manager Kevin Cash said after today’s game that Siri’s suspension was reduced to two games and he already started serving it, per Topkin.
1:05pm: Major League Baseball announced several suspensions today in relation to last night’s confrontation between the Rays and the Brewers. Milwaukee right-handers Freddy Peralta and Abner Uribe got suspensions of five and six games, respectively. Their manager Pat Murphy got a two-game suspension. Outfielder Jose Siri of the Rays got three games. All four parties also received undisclosed fines.
Murphy is serving his suspension starting today but both of the Milwaukee hurlers are appealing, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Siri will also be appealing his suspension, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
Siri homered off Peralta in the third inning and then was plunked by Peralta in the sixth. The umpires conferred and ejected Peralta, despite the fact that no warnings had been issued in the game to that point. Murphy objected to the ejection and he was also ejected.
Siri came up again in the eighth with Uribe pitching. Siri hit a grounder to Rhys Hoskins at first base, who flipped the ball to Uribe as he covered first and recorded the out. Siri and Uribe exchanged words by first base before Uribe took a swipe at Siri. The two tried throwing punches towards each other as various parties tried to intervene with the benches emptying. Both were ejected after the fracas died down.
Adam McCalvy and Adam Berry of MLB.com spoke to the relevant parties after the game and relayed some natural differences of opinion about what transpired. Crew chief Chris Guccione said the umpires thought it was “clear-cut” that Peralta intentionally threw at Siri, though the pitcher denied it. “How many homers did I give up in seven years? A lot, and I never did something after,” Peralta said. “It’s my first time I got ejected from a game in seven seasons and there’s no reason for me to hit him.”
For his part, Siri denied that he celebrated his home run in any outlandish way. “I didn’t take too much time,” Siri said through Rays interpreter Manny Navarro. “I hit the ball, took a couple of steps and then I started running like normal.”
As for the later incident at first base, Uribe had this to say: “There were some words shared that didn’t have much to do with the game that probably shouldn’t have been shared there in that exchange.”
His sparring partner described it thusly: “When I went to first base, I just went there normal, and he kind of hit me on the shoulder,” Siri said. “So I asked him why did he do that? And he just said, ‘Because I felt like it.’”
As mentioned, Murphy is serving his suspension immediately while the players are all appealing. Their suspensions will be held in abeyance until the appeal process is complete, though players in this situation will often drop an appeal at a convenient time, such as when they were planning to have an unrelated day off.
Brandon Woodruff Out For Wild Card Series With Shoulder Injury
Brewers starting pitcher Brandon Woodruff has a right shoulder injury, which will keep him from playing in the upcoming NL Wild Card Series, manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Whether or not he can pitch later in the postseason, should the Brewers advance, remains to be seen.
The All-Star right-hander spent four months of the 2023 campaign on the injured list with a subscapular strain in his right shoulder. However, he returned in early August and looked healthy down the stretch, pitching to a 2.59 ERA in nine starts while averaging more than six innings per game. His shoulder bothered him during his final outing of the regular season, but initially, he responded well to treatment. Thus, the severity of his injury came as a surprise for the Brewers; the team was counting on him to start game two of the Wild Card series against the Diamondbacks.
Woodruff plans to get a second opinion on his shoulder, but the team isn’t expecting an update until the end of the week. While they will hope for the best, Counsell and his staff will have to prepare for the worst-case scenario, in which their number two starter is out for the rest of the playoffs.
The Brewers have not yet announced who will start on Wednesday in Woodruff’s place, although Freddy Peralta seems to be the most likely candidate. The 27-year-old pitched his first qualifying season this year, making 30 starts with a 3.86 ERA. It’s harder to guess who will start for Milwaukee in a potential game three. Wade Miley and Adrian Houser are presumably the leading candidates; each had a solid year in 2023, and each is coming off a strong September. Miley pitched to a 3.04 ERA in his final five games, while Houser put up a 2.14 ERA in four September starts. The elder Miley probably has the edge, thanks to his veteran experience and his lefty arm, but Counsell will surely take his time thinking about individual matchups before he makes a decision.
While the Brewers have rotation depth to call upon, this still comes as a huge blow to their postseason hopes. At full strength, Woodruff is one of the better starting pitchers in the National League, and this team was counting on a powerful one-two punch of Corbin Burnes and Woodruff to lead them over the Diamondbacks. No one was more upset about the news than Woodruff himself, who choked up as he told reporters, “We’ve got a good clubhouse. And I want to be a part of that. Sitting here now, I may not.”
Brewers Reinstate Freddy Peralta
The Milwaukee Brewers announced this morning that they reinstated right-hander Freddy Peralta from the 15-day injured list. In a corresponding move, the team has also placed righty Luis Perdomo on the 15-day injured list with a right calf strain. In addition, it was announced that Peralta would start today’s game against the Reds.
Peralta’s return is excellent news for Milwaukee. The Brewers are just 1.5 games behind Philadelphia for the final wild card spot in the NL and are sure to receive a boost from Peralta, who has pitched effectively this year despite being limited to just 15 starts by injuries. In 70 1/3 innings pitched this year, Peralta has posted a 3.45 ERA and a 3.07 FIP.
In addition to their push to make the playoffs, the Brewers will have to figure out how best to round out their rotation ahead of a possible 3 game Wild Card series. Should the Brewers manage to make the postseason, Peralta’s return adds another potential option for a playoff rotation facing a great deal of uncertainty. The Brewers are sure to front their playoff rotation with reigning NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes and fellow righty Brandon Woodruff, but it’s an open question as to who may follow them. Peralta joins Aaron Ashby and Eric Lauer as starters who have recently come off the injured list but are not fully stretched out yet; Ashby threw just 41 pitches in his most recent start, with Lauer throwing 66. Even Adrian Houser, who returned from the injured list in late August, has pitched into the sixth inning only once since his reinstatement. With all the uncertainty surrounding who could start a potential Game 3 of a playoff series for Milwaukee, an effective return start from Peralta would provide a significant boost.
This marks the end of the season for Perdomo, who has pitched 23 2/3 innings in 14 games for the Brewers. While he posted a slightly above average 3.80 ERA this year, his 4.80 FIP and significantly reduced strikeout rate from his years with the Padres indicate his success may have some luck baked into it. The Brewers will have a decision to make with Perdomo this offseason, as they can retain him for 2023 through arbitration.
NL Central Notes: Ashby, Lauer, Peralta, Thompson, Newcomb
The Brewers are planning to activate left-hander Aaron Ashby to start tomorrow’s game, tweets Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Ashby went on the IL August 22 due to shoulder inflammation and will now return after just under a month. The southpaw likely won’t be ticketed for extended duty at first as he hasn’t ventured out onto any kind of rehab assignment. He spoke to McCalvy about the decision, saying that he has been feeling good in recent bullpen sessions, getting up to around 30 pitches.
The Brewers are in a tight postseason race, currently sitting two games behind the Phillies for the final National League Wild Card spot with just over two weeks remaining in the regular season. Given that narrow timeframe, it seems the club has opted to try and get Ashby back on the mound quicker than perhaps they would have under different circumstances. With Eric Lauer and Freddy Peralta also landing on the IL in recent weeks, the club’s rotation has been a bit snakebit recently, which might have also motivated the club to get aggressive with Ashby’s return. Lauer and Peralta could get back into the mix soon as well, with McCalvy relaying that Lauer could return on Friday, though in a short stint similar to Ashby. Peralta might be a bit behind those two, having just started mound work today.
Through 96 1/3 innings on the year, Ashby has a 4.58 ERA with a very strong 27% strikeout rate and 55.6% ground ball rate. However, he’s been held back by a 10% walk rate and a 19.7% HR/FB rate.
Other notes from around the division…
- Just like the Brewers, the Cubs will also be bringing back one of their starters for truncated work down the stretch. Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune relays word from manager David Ross that right-hander Keegan Thompson will be activated in the coming days to pitch out of the bullpen. Thompson has had a solid sophomore effort here in 2022, throwing 104 1/3 innings so far with a 3.97 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 40% ground ball rate. His campaign was interrupted by low back tightness, sending him to the IL a month ago. With the season winding down and the Cubs well out of contention, they will let Thompson throw a bit more at the big league level before the offseason arrives.
- Left-hander Sean Newcomb, designated for assignment by the Cubs on the weekend, has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, per Montemurro. That’s hardly surprising, given that Newcomb already cleared waivers earlier this year and has an ERA of 8.78 for the season. Players who have been previously outrighted or those with over three years of MLB service time are eligible to reject outright assignments and elect free agency. Newcomb qualifies on both counts, meaning he could head to the open market if he so chooses, though it’s unclear at this point if he’s made a decision in that regard.
NL Injury Notes: Peralta, Wood, Wheeler, Phillies
Freddy Peralta hasn’t pitched since September 8 due to right shoulder fatigue, but the Brewers right-hander told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and other reporters that he believes he’ll be back before the regular season is over, given how well Peralta has felt after preliminary throwing sessions. The next step will be for Peralta to throw off of a mound, but it seems possible that he might not miss much time beyond the 15-day minimum stint on the injured list.
After an All-Star season in 2021, Peralta has pitched only 70 1/3 innings this year due to his current shoulder issue, as well as a posterior strain in that same right shoulder that cost him over two months of action. Even with these health woes, Peralta has still posted a 3.45 ERA, and the Brewers can use all the help they can get as they fight for a playoff berth.
More updates on other injury situations from around the National League…
- One pitcher who won’t be returning in 2022 in Alex Wood, as Giants manager Gabe Kapler told reporters (including Evan Webeck of the Bay Area News Group) that Wood has been shut down for the remainder of the season. Wood went onto the 15-day injured list at the start of September due to a left shoulder impingement, and since he hasn’t yet been cleared to throw, the Giants opted to keep the veteran southpaw on the sidelines. Wood will finish his second season in San Francisco with a disappointing 5.10 ERA over 130 2/3 innings, though that ERA was somewhat inflated by a poor finish — with his shoulder injury hampering his effectiveness, Wood had a 7.89 ERA over his final three outings and 12 1/3 innings. Wood is owed $12.5MM in 2023, the final season of the two-year free agent he signed to rejoin the Giants last winter.
- With Zack Wheeler tentatively slated to return to the Phillies rotation on Wednesday, interim manager Rob Thomson told reporters (including Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer) said that the Phils will stick with their same rotation order. This means that rookie left-hander Bailey Falter will retain his starting job, and Noah Syndergaard will be used as a piggyback starter behind Wheeler. Syndergaard’s next actual start is slated for October 1, when the Phillies have a doubleheader against the Nationals.
Brewers Planning To Place Freddy Peralta On Injured List
Brewers starter Freddy Peralta left tonight’s start against the Giants in the third inning. The right-hander’s velocity dipped, and the club announced he’s battling shoulder fatigue. After the game, manager Craig Counsell informed reporters (including Adam McCalvy of MLB.com) that Peralta is likely headed back to the 15-day injured list.
It has to be a frustrating development for the 2021 All-Star, who already lost a good chunk of the year to a lat strain. Since returning from the IL, he’s had some trouble maintaining his strongest form every fifth day. Peralta hadn’t pitched since August 31, as the Brewers pushed his scheduled Monday start back to tonight to buy him a bit more rest. That unfortunately didn’t work out as intended, and it now seems the club will give him at least a couple weeks before he returns to the mound.
While it’s obviously not an ideal situation, both Peralta and Counsell indicated they weren’t especially concerned about his long-term health. Initial evaluations didn’t reveal any structural concerns, and the club is confident the issue is simply one of fatigue. Peralta flatly told reporters (including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) that he’ll pitch again this season, expressing confidence he just needs some time to rest his arm.
The injuries have prevented Peralta from replicating last year’s form, when he worked to a 2.81 ERA through 144 1/3 innings. He’s still been plenty effective when healthy, carrying a 3.45 ERA with an above-average 26.6% strikeout rate, but he’s only been able to take the ball 15 times. Needless to say, losing roughly half a season’s workload from an arm of that caliber has been a tough blow for a Milwaukee club jockeying for a playoff spot.
The Brewers are already without Aaron Ashby, who’s been out since August 20 with shoulder inflammation. Milwaukee was dealt another scare yesterday when left-hander Eric Lauer left his start early and was diagnosed with an elbow strain. McCalvy relays tonight that an early MRI was encouraging, and Lauer will go for further evaluation tomorrow. Milwaukee hasn’t placed him on the injured list to this point, so it seems there’s still a chance he’ll be able to make his next start.
Despite Peralta’s early departure, the Brewers held on to sweep today’s doubleheader with San Francisco. That pulled them within 2 1/2 games of the Phillies for the National League’s final Wild Card spot with roughly a month left on the schedule.
Brewers Designate Dinelson Lamet, Pedro Severino For Assignment
The Brewers have announced to reporters, including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a series of roster moves prior to today’s game. Righty Freddy Peralta has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, while deadline acquisition Matt Bush has been added to the roster. Infielder Keston Hiura was also recalled. In corresponding moves, the club optioned righty Peter Strzelecki and designated righty Dinelson Lamet and catcher Pedro Severino for assignment.
Lamet getting cut from the roster comes as a surprise, since he was just acquired from the Padres a couple of days ago as part of the Josh Hader trade. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com relayed a quote from Brewers’ president of baseball operations David Stearns, attempting to explain. “Dinelson has a good arm and was included in the trade to help balance out the deal,” Stearns says. “As subsequent transactions played out, the roster fit became a little tougher. We are hopeful we will be able to keep him in our system.”
The reference to “subsequent transactions” seems to imply that the Brewers ended up making other trades that squeezed Lamet out of their plans. Lamet, and the other players in the Hader deal, were acquired on Monday, the day before the trade deadline. As the deadline played out yesterday, the club also added Bush and Trevor Rosenthal in separate deals. Perhaps the Brewers value those hurlers higher than they view Lamet, which led to Lamet losing his roster spot today.
Although Lamet technically has options remaining, Hogg points out that he recently surpassed five years of MLB service time. Players beyond that threshold cannot be optioned without their consent, meaning Lamet had to be DFA’d to be removed from the roster. That also means that, should Lamet clear waivers, he would have the right to refuse an outright assignment and elect free agency without forfeiting his salary, as all players beyond five years of MLB service can.
Frankly, it would be very surprising if Lamet cleared waivers, given his track record and modest salary. He was one of the best pitchers in baseball during the shortened 2020 season, logging a 2.09 ERA over 12 starts with a 34.8% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate. He has dealt with injury woes in subsequent seasons, being relegated to bullpen duty and occasionally getting optioned to the minors. Still, he’s making a modest $4.775MM salary this year and can be retained for another season via arbitration. Due to his injuries, underperformance and time spent in the minors, he likely wouldn’t earn a huge raise for 2023.
Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, it complicates Lamet’s status. For one thing, the Brewers won’t be able to work out a deal to send Lamet elsewhere, as they would have been able to do prior to the deadline. For another thing, for clubs that are looking for bullpen upgrades from outside their organization, waiver claims are now effectively the only way to do so. It seems highly likely that some club will give Lamet a shot, either a contender looking for a boost down the stretch or a rebuilding team that will give him some time to regain his previous form and perhaps trade him in the offseason or next year.
Beyond Lamet’s status, this will immediately change the calculus for evaluating the Hader trade. “The players we are receiving in this trade help ensure that the future of the Milwaukee Brewers remains bright while not compromising our desire and expectation to win today,” is how Stearns phrased the trade at the time. “This mix of present Major League talent and high-level prospects furthers our aim to get as many bites of the apple as possible and, ultimately, to bring a World Series to Milwaukee. Trading good players on good teams is difficult, and that is certainly the case with Josh. We also recognize that to give our organization the best chance for sustained competitiveness, to avoid the extended down periods that so many organizations experience, we must make decisions that are not easy.” Two of the four acquired players, Robert Gasser and Esteury Ruiz, have already been assigned to minor league clubs. Though they could be called up later in the year, this currently leaves Taylor Rogers as the lone player from the trade on the big league roster. While Rogers is certainly a fine player, few would argue that he’s been capable of pitching at the elite level of Hader.
As for Severino, he recently returned from an 80-game suspension after a positive PED test. That gave the Brewers a surplus of catchers, as Omar Narvaez and Victor Caratini were both playing well in Severino’s absence. It was reported in recent days that Narvaez was drawing trade interest, though nothing came together before the deadline. Instead, the club has merely decided to move on from Severino and stick with the Narvaez-Caratini tandem.
As for Peralta, he landed on the IL in May due to shoulder soreness and now returns after an absence of over two months. He had a tremendous breakout last year, pitching to a 2.81 ERA and 33.6% strikeout rate. This year, his performance dipped a bit, perhaps due to the shoulder issues. He had a 4.42 ERA and 30.3% strikeout rate, still high but not quite as dominant, before landing on the shelf. If his health issues are behind him and he can return to his 2021 form, he will help the Brewers form one of the most fearsome rotations in the sport, lining up next to Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Eric Lauer and Aaron Ashby.
Brewers To Activate Freddy Peralta From 60-Day IL This Week
The Brewers are planning to activate right-hander Freddy Peralta from the 60-day injured list during the club’s upcoming three-game series in Pittsburgh from August 2-4, manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Todd Rosiak of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Peralta hasn’t pitched in a big league game since May 22 due to a posterior strain in his throwing shoulder.
Perhaps due to this long layoff, Counsell said the Brewers hadn’t yet determined Peralta’s role when he does return. Peralta returned to the mound for a minor league rehab assignment this week, tossing two innings and 33 pitches in his first outing, and then 52 pitches over 3 1/3 innings in his second outing this past Friday. Since this is still well short of a proper starter’s workload, the Brew Crew could ease Peralta back into action in a relief capacity, or perhaps in a piggyback role or as a bulk pitcher behind an opener.
Peralta has been the most prominent pitching injury faced by Milwaukee this season, yet the club has had the depth and quality to largely withstand Peralta’s extended absence and some other IL trips for starter over the course of the year. Since Adrian Houser is still sidelined with an elbow injury, the Brewers’ rotation isn’t up to full strength just yet, but Peralta’s return will help get the team closer to its ideal starting five.
The right-hander broke out with an All-Star season in 2021, posting a 2.81 ERA over 144 1/3 innings and joining with Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff to form a dominant top three atop Milwaukee’s rotation (with Houser, Eric Lauer, and Brett Anderson also contributing mightily). While Peralta had only a 4.42 ERA over his first 38 2/3 innings of 2022, his 3.08 SIERA and Statcast numbers paint a much more favorable view of his early-season performance. Naturally, Peralta may need a couple of appearances to shake off any rust, but the Brewers are certainly hopeful that he can regain his top form down the stretch and into what the club hopes is some October baseball.
Brewers Claim Chi Chi Gonzalez
The Brewers have claimed right-hander Chi Chi Gonzalez off waivers from the Twins, per a club announcement. Right-hander Freddy Peralta was transferred from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster. Minnesota had both selected Gonzalez’s contract for a spot start and subsequently designated him for assignment over the weekend. He’d also been up for a start as a Covid-related replacement when the Twins were in Toronto.
The Twins signed Gonzalez to a minor league pact over the winter and got some decent innings out of him in Triple-A St. Paul, where he posted a 3.44 ERA with a 23.2% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate in 36 2/3 innings (five starts, three relief appearances). Gonzalez tallied seven total big league frames with the Twins but was tagged for six runs on the strength of a dozen hits, including two homers.
A former first-round pick of the Rangers back in 2013 (23rd overall), Gonzalez has now seen action in parts of six Major League seasons between Texas, Colorado and Minnesota but has never had much success. He posted a 3.90 ERA in 67 innings as a rookie in 2015, but he did so while walking more hitters (11.4%) than he struck out (10.7%), so that production never felt sustainable. Indeed, in 201 2/3 frames since that rookie showing, he’s pitched to a collective 6.29 ERA with just a 14.2% strikeout rate (albeit against a solid enough 8.4% walk rate).
Though he hasn’t had much in the way of Major League success, Gonzalez clearly showed enough with the Twins to pique the interest of a Milwaukee front office that has done well when it comes to coaxing new levels of performance from pitchers. The 2022 version of Gonzalez, notably, is a bit different than prior iterations, too. He’s entirely scrapped his curveball, going from a five-pitch mix to a more concise four-pitch mix: sinker, four-seamer, changeup, slider. Gonzalez had begun to move away from the sinker in 2019 upon signing with the Rockies, but he’s using it nearly a quarter of the time in 2022 and enjoying standout ground-ball rates both in Triple-A (55.7%) and the big leagues (55.6%) as a result. He’s also back to sitting at 92 mph with the sinker after seeing his average velocity dip to 90.6 mph in 2021.
Gonzalez doesn’t have any minor league options remaining, so the Brewers will try to elevate his game while he’s working at the big league level. There’s no immediate need in the rotation even with injuries to Peralta and Brandon Woodruff, as the Brewers are getting strong work from Corbin Burnes, breakout lefty Eric Lauer, rookie Aaron Ashby and quietly solid righty Adrian Houser. Rookie Jason Alexander has given them a handful of good starts, too, though like a younger Gonzalez, he’s walked more hitters than he’s fanned along the way. It’s possible Gonzalez will get a spot start for the Brewers, but he’ll otherwise likely be ticketed for a long relief role for now.