NL Central Notes: Pirates, Cherington, Myers, Steer
The Pirates have gotten off to a difficult start in 2025. The club is 8-15 overall, leaving them in last place in the NL Central and six games back of the division-leading Cubs. While the club’s pitching staff is right around league average by measure of ERA and top-six by FIP, an offense that has produced a wRC+ of just 70 to this point in the year. Despite those struggles on offense, general manager Ben Cherington told reporters (including Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) before Friday’s game that external solutions to the lineup are unlikely, though the team is always open to exploring deals.
“It’s April. Most teams are going to rely on the players that are inside the organization,” Cherington said. “We certainly have an eye out and already we have an eye outside the organization. We will keep an eye on things. We keep having conversations, but trades don’t usually happen this soon. We’ve got to rely on the guys that are here….We are going to get healthier. And then over the course of the season if we do what I believe we will do, then they’ll be opportunities to add to it at some point.”
Spencer Horwitz, Nick Gonzales, and Endy Rodriguez are all currently on the injured list, robbing the Bucs of three players expected to operate in starting or regular roles this season. Perhaps their returns will be enough to get Pittsburgh on track, yet the Pirates will also need several of their healthy but struggling regulars to start heating up.
More from around the NL Central…
- The Brewers‘ injury-riddled rotation might be getting some help this week with the return of Tobias Myers, who told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy that he expects to be activated from the 15-day IL to start Thursday’s game. Myers suffered an oblique strain in mid-March that delayed his 2025 debut, but he came out of his third minor league rehab start Friday feeling in good shape, and ready to get back to the Show. It is a testament to Milwaukee’s pitching depth and development that even the makeshift version of its rotation is still posting good numbers, but obviously the Crew will happily welcome back Myers. A surprise emergence himself during his 2024 rookie season, Myers posted a 3.00 ERA over 138 innings for the Brewers last year.
- Spencer Steer was the Reds‘ starting first baseman today, marking the first time this season that Steer has played a position other than designated hitter. Steer’s longstanding right shoulder problems have been an issue since last season, and after the injury resurfaced during Spring Training, the decision was made to keep Steer as a DH (and off the injured list) until he could throw without discomfort. Today’s return to the field is a good sign that things are slowly returning to normal for Steer, though the larger issue is his ice-cold start at the plate — Steer had a .111/.186/.204 slash line in 59 plate appearances heading into today’s game.
Tobias Myers To Start Season On IL Due To Oblique Strain
March 17: Myers will start the season on the IL due to an oblique strain, as expected. Manager Pat Murphy relayed the news to Hogg today, though he still seemed optimistic that it will be a brief absence, saying that a return in April “could be in play.”
March 15: The Brewers suffered what could be a brutal blow to their rotation today when right-hander Tobias Myers exited today’s game against the Angels with left oblique discomfort, as noted by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Myers suggested to reporters after the game that the issue “seems mild,” but Hogg adds that Myers is set to undergo imaging tomorrow but is likely to require a stint on the injured list given the nature of oblique issues, which often require a month-long absence even for mild strains.
Myers, 26, enjoyed a phenomenal rookie season with the Brewers last year. A sixth-round pick by the Orioles back in 2016, he bounced through the Rays, Giants, Guardians, and White Sox organizations over the years before finally landing in Milwaukee and getting a shot at the big league level. He made the most of the opportunity, pitching his way into a rotation role and sticking there with an excellent 3.00 ERA in 138 innings of work. His peripheral numbers were slightly less rosy, with a 3.91 FIP, a 3.99 SIERA, and a 4.22 xERA all suggesting the righty is more of a mid-rotation or back-end starter than the 140 ERA+ production he offered last year might initially suggest. Even so, Myers figured to be a key piece of the Brewers this year as a stalwart of the club’s rotation.
That may now be set to change, at least for the beginning of the season. If Myers does wind up missing time, it’s a worrisome way for the club to start the 2025 campaign. Myers would join Brandon Woodruff, Aaron Ashby, DL Hall, and Robert Gasser on the injured list to open the season. While Freddy Peralta, Nestor Cortes, and Aaron Civale all appear to be healthy and on track to begin the season on time, there’s little certainty beyond that group.
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy notes that while veteran left-hander Jose Quintana has not been ruled out for Opening Day, it’s possible the southpaw will need to spend some time in extended Spring Training before he’s ready to begin the season. Quintana, 36, signed with the Brewers earlier this month and is about a week behind the rest of the club’s healthy pitchers after getting a late start to Spring Training. The Brewers won’t necessarily need a fifth starter until April 2 against the Royals, which provides the club some flexibility as Quintana builds up to game readiness. With that being said, it does the club no favors when it comes to finding a replacement for Myers in the rotation.
Should Myers require a trip to the shelf, McCalvy suggests that left-hander Tyler Alexander or right-hander Elvin Rodriguez could be leaned on to make starts. Neither of those are particularly inspiring options for more than a spot start or two. Alexander has had some solid years as a swing man with the Tigers and Rays over the years, but his 4.60 ERA across 52 career starts leaves much to be desired. Meanwhile, Rodriguez has just 33 innings of 9.55 ERA under his belt in the majors. Other options could include non-roster invitee Bruce Zimmermann, who pitched to a 4.16 ERA in the minors for the Orioles last year, or a prospect like Jacob Misiorowski. The young righty has just 17 2/3 innings of experience at the Triple-A level, making him a less than ideal candidate to jump to the majors right away, but other prospects like Chad Patrick could be more realistic options.
Brewers Manager Discusses Rotation Options
The Brewers’ season came to a heartbreaking end last week, as they carried a lead into the ninth inning of their deciding game against the Mets in the Wild Card round, but the Mets put together a late rally and took the series. For Milwaukee, that means the focus has now shifted to 2025 and manager Pat Murphy recently discussed some topics related to the roster, with Curt Hogg rounding them up in a piece for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
One of the players Murphy discusses was Aaron Ashby. The lefty once looked like a budding starting before getting derailed by shoulder issues. He finished 2024 on a strong note out of the bullpen but it seems the skipper hasn’t given up on the possibility of the southpaw being a rotation option again in the future.
“If you’re asking me today if he belongs in that late inning role, I’d say no,” Murphy said. “I’d say he’s more of a candidate to throw more innings because his stuff is pretty special and there’s a variety there. That’s going to be discussed, the path. And it has to be player-driven. The player has to want certain things or at least be in a healthy discussion about it.”
Ashby showed his potential when he first came up to the big leagues. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he tossed 139 innings in a swing role, making 23 starts and 17 relief appearances. He allowed 4.47 earned runs per nine innings but with better peripherals. He struck out 27.1% of batters faced, gave out walks at a 9.7% rate and kept balls in play on the ground at a 57.8% clip.
The Brewers clearly believed in what was ahead for Ashby, as they signed him to an extension during that 2022 campaign. The five-year deal guaranteed him $20.5MM and also came with club options for 2028 and 2029, valued at $9MM and $13MM respectively, with a $1MM buyout on the first one.
Unfortunately, the first year of that deal was wasted. Ashby dealt with shoulder problems in 2023 and eventually required arthroscopic surgery, not pitching in the majors at all. Here in 2024, Ashby had been relegated to a depth option. He spent most of the first half on optional assignment, being recalled twice to make spot starts.
In late August, Ashby was recalled from the minors and added to the Milwaukee bullpen. He tossed 19 2/3 innings over 12 appearances down the stretch, with excellent results. He had a 1.37 ERA, 36.8% strikeout rate, 3.9% walk rate and 51.1% ground ball rate.
Given those excellent results, there might be some temptation to just keep Ashby in a relief role, but it’s also understandable that the Brewers haven’t given up on the rotation path. A solid starter is more useful to a club than a good reliever, generally speaking, and the Brewers should be able to put together a bullpen without Ashby’s contributions. Even if Devin Williams is traded, which seems to be on the table, Milwaukee can turn to guys like Trevor Megill, Joel Payamps, Bryan Hudson and Jared Koenig for key bullpen roles.
The variety that Murphy referred to is indeed present, as Ashby threw five different pitches in the majors this year: a four-seamer, sinker, changeup, curveball and slider. It seems he had a bit of rust in harnessing that arsenal while getting over his lost season in 2023, as he walked 17.4% of batters faced in Triple-A this year while posting an 8.04 ERA. But as mentioned, he was able to get in a good grove by the end of the year.
Going forward, it seems Ashby can still try to carve out a rotation role if he wants one. Also in the rotation mix will be Tobias Myers, who Murphy views as a lock for a job. “In my thoughts, he’s a definite,” Murphy said. “But he’s got to go do it in the offseason. He’s got to come back out, recapture that mentality and recapture the arsenal, which isn’t always easy.”
It’s unsurprising that Myers has earned some job security after his strong performance in 2024. He pitched 138 innings for the Brewers this year with a flat 3.00 ERA. He had a 22.3% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate and 37.6% ground ball rate. He benefitted a bit from a .282 batting average on balls in play and 81.1% strand rate, but even his 3.91 FIP and 3.99 SIERA suggest he would have been solid without as much favor from the baseball gods.
There are some questions for the Brewers to answer in their rotation going forward. Freddy Peralta will be locked into one spot and it seems Myers will as well. Colin Rea posted a 4.29 ERA this year and the Brewers have a $5.5MM club option for 2025 with a $1MM buyout. That makes it a net $4.5MM decision, which is a bargain for a solid back-end starter. Guys like Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Luis Severino got one-year deals worth between $11MM and $13MM last offseason. The Brewers themselves gave $8.5MM to Wade Miley, though he unfortunately required Tommy John surgery early in the year.
Aaron Civale can be retained for 2025 but he will cost more than Rea. He’s eligible for arbitration and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a salary of $8MM next year. Given the aforementioned prices for back-end starters, that’s reasonable for Civale, who had a 4.36 ERA in 31 starts this year. But the Brewers generally work with tight budgets and might have less TV revenue coming in next year, so perhaps they might explore the trade market.
DL Hall is another option, as he worked both out of the rotation and bullpen in 2024. But he missed a lot of time due to a left knee sprain and wasn’t able to pile up a big sample of work. He finished the year with a 5.02 ERA across seven starts and six relief appearances.
Another big question mark will be Brandon Woodruff, who missed all of 2024 recovering from shoulder surgery. He’s under contract for 2025 but he’ll be a great unknown for next year, likely until spring training rolls around. Robert Gasser could return late next year after undergoing UCL surgery a few months ago. Jacob Misiorowski is one of the best pitching prospects in the league and he finished the year at Triple-A, but he also walked 14.4% of batters faced on the year and might still need some fine tuning.
Between Peralta, Myers, Woodruff, Ashby, Hall, Rea, Civale and Misiorowski, the Brewers have eight potential rotation options, though the long winter ahead could change the picture via additions or subtractions.
The Brewers’ Rotation Is Holding Up
The Brewers have the best run differential in MLB. Milwaukee has outscored its opponents by 139 runs, putting them 14 runs clear of the second-place Yankees’ +125 gap. Milwaukee is coasting to another division title and sit half a game behind the Phillies for the #2 seed in the National League, which would give them a first-round bye in the postseason.
It’s not a shock that the Brewers are good. They’ve proven time and again they’re capable of outperforming a middling payroll to compete for a playoff spot. Yet few would’ve predicted they’d be this good: 24 games over .500 with the largest division lead in baseball. Milwaukee’s previous success was built largely around the three-headed rotation monster of Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta and Brandon Woodruff. Between the Burnes trade and Woodruff’s shoulder injury, they’ve been forced to make do with a far less established rotation. Milwaukee’s rotation might not have the firepower it once did, yet it has held all the same.
Brewers starters are 12th in the majors with a 3.92 earned run average. That’s already an achievement considering the challenges of pitching at Miller Park, and they’ve been even better lately. Since the trade deadline, only the Astros and Tigers have a lower rotation ERA than Milwaukee does. Detroit’s mark is skewed by frequent use of openers; Tiger “starters” have an MLB-low 112 1/3 innings since the end of July. Milwaukee’s starters have tied for the third-most innings over that stretch (174 2/3), narrowly behind Houston and the Mets. For the past month and change, the Astros and Brewers have had the most valuable rotations in the league.
Not coincidentally, they were two of the league’s best teams last month. While Houston’s rotation turnaround has been a big story in its own right, Milwaukee’s rotation performance is probably more surprising. The Brewers signed Jakob Junis to take a season-opening rotation spot; he made one start, got hurt, and was eventually moved at the deadline. Wade Miley and Robert Gasser each blew out early in the season. Joe Ross and DL Hall each spent multiple months on the injured list.
The Brewers have given multiple starts to 13 different pitchers this year (15 if one includes the opener appearances by Jared Koenig and Rob Zastryzny). They’ve only had three pitchers top 50 innings working from the rotation in a Milwaukee uniform. Still, between a pair of unexpected contributors and two buy-low deadline pickups, they’re trending towards October with a settled starting five.
Peralta has headlined the group. He’s the team leader in starts (28) and innings (153 2/3). Peralta carries a 3.75 ERA behind a strong 27.3% strikeout rate. While he can battle the home run ball at times, Peralta is one of the better pitchers in the league. He was supposed to deliver at the front of the rotation, and he has.
The pitchers coming after Peralta entered the year with a lot less fanfare. Colin Rea logged 124 2/3 innings over 26 appearances a year ago. He posted a 4.55 ERA with middling peripherals. When Milwaukee brought him back on a $4.5MM deal on November 2, the most notable aspect of the deal seemed to be its timing — a few days before the official opening of free agency. Rea secured a spot in the Opening Day rotation, likely as the #5 arm.
Through four months, Rea ranks narrowly behind Peralta for second on the team in innings. He has tossed a career-high 146 frames with a solid 3.70 ERA. His 8% swinging strike rate and 19.4% strikeout percentage still suggest he’s more of a back-end arm, but Rea has thus far avoided any regression in terms of run prevention. He has an ERA between 3.25 and 4.22 in every month of the season, welcome consistency for a rotation that has dealt with significant injuries.
Rea has been a surprisingly key contributor, though he at least started the year on the MLB roster. That wasn’t the case for Tobias Myers, who has gone from minor league signee to #3 starter. The 26-year-old righty was a prospect of some regard early in his career, performing well through Double-A. Cleveland acquired Myers in a regrettable trade that sent future top prospect Junior Caminero to the Rays. Triple-A hitters obliterated him in 2022, leading multiple teams to cut him loose without giving him a look at the big league level.
Myers signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee going into 2023. He spent most of the season in Double-A, where he racked up huge strikeout totals against generally younger opposition. Myers never got himself back on the prospect radar, but he earned a look from the Brewers in mid-April when the rotation was floundering.
Shuttled on and off the active roster through the end of May, Myers had a 5.40 ERA in seven appearances. That’s the kind of production expected from a minor league signee pressed into action. As recently as a few months ago, it wasn’t clear if the Brewers would keep him on the roster all season. Gasser’s injury in early June gave Myers another shot. He has seized it.
Over his past 15 starts, the rookie owns a 2.27 ERA while working nearly six innings per appearance. He has a roughly average 21.1% strikeout rate and is limiting walks to a 6.3% clip. Myers has unquestionably been aided by a meager .264 average on balls in play. He doesn’t miss enough bats to be an ace. Yet even with some level of inevitable regression, Myers looks like a polished strike-thrower who fits in the middle of a rotation. Were it not for an absolutely loaded field in the National League this year, Myers might have gotten some Rookie of the Year attention.
Effective as Rea and Myers had been early in the summer, Milwaukee’s front office understandably viewed the rotation as their priority at the deadline. Myers was early into what has become a three-month stretch of excellent play. Rea’s workload was a question mark. Milwaukee made one of the first pickups of note early in July, bringing in Aaron Civale from the Rays. The night before the deadline, they flipped Junis and young outfielder Joey Wiemer (who’d been mostly squeezed out with the Brewers) to the Reds for Frankie Montas.
Both acquisitions were rebound hopefuls. Civale and Montas had each looked like upper mid-rotation arms at their best, but they’d fallen on harder times. Both pitchers had an ERA narrowly above 5.00 with their previous teams. They’re each allowing fewer than four earned runs per nine in Milwaukee. Civale has a 3.72 mark across 48 1/3 innings as a Brewer. Montas carries a 3.82 ERA in 33 frames following the trade.
Civale’s underlying performance isn’t dramatically different from where it’d been in Tampa Bay. His strikeout and walk profile has gone in the wrong direction. He’s getting more ground-balls with the Brew Crew — somewhat diminishing the home run issues that really plagued him with the Rays — but he’s giving up more contact than ever before. As with Rea and Myers, the change is largely about his ball in play results. Opponents hit .312 on balls in play off Civale with the Rays; that’s down to .257 since the trade.
Montas has shown more obvious signs of improvement. His strikeout rate with the Reds sat a below-average 19%. It’s up to 22.7% in his brief stint in Milwaukee. His fastball velocity has climbed from the 94-95 range to sit more comfortably above 96 MPH this month. Montas’ velocity was steadily building throughout the year in Cincinnati, so perhaps he’d have found this level regardless of where he was traded. Even if that’s the case, the Brewers deserve credit for identifying him as a buy-low target.
All of a sudden, manager Pat Murphy has a number of options he can choose from in constructing a playoff rotation. Milwaukee is going to win the NL Central. They’ll at least play in a three-game Wild Card set. Winning that (or tracking down one of the Dodgers or Phillies for a bye) would guarantee at least a five-game Division Series.
Peralta is the obvious call to pitch the first game. Myers’ recent form probably gives him a leg up as a Game 2 starter, though that could be determined by how well he finishes the regular season. Montas may not be all the way back to the peak he showed with the A’s, but he’s pitching well enough to be a fine choice for either Game 2 or 3. That’d likely leave Murphy to choose between Civale and Rea for a potential fourth game, perhaps in tandem with a multi-inning relief appearance from Hall.
It still may not be an elite starting staff, but it’s hardly a liability. A shorter series will allow Murphy to leverage his excellent relief group more heavily. Late in close games, the scales should tip in Milwaukee’s favor. The rotation now looks strong enough to get them there.
Brewers Place Robert Gasser On Injured List
1:40pm: Gasser is on his way to Los Angeles to meet with Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a second opinion, per Rosiak on X.
1:05pm: The Brewers announced today that they have recalled left-hander Aaron Ashby and right-hander Tobias Myers from Triple-A Nashville. Lefty Robert Gasser has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 2, with a left flexor strain while right-hander Janson Junk was optioned to Triple-A Nashville.
Gasser, 25, started on Saturday but he felt tight and sore in his elbow after that start. Manager Pat Murphy gave a positive update yesterday, per Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on X. “There’s a possibility he could miss some time,” Murphy said. “But from the first MRI, I guess it looks pretty normal.”
Despite that perspective, it seems that either the club decided to be cautious and let Gasser’s arm heal up or further testing revealed something more concerning. It’s unclear exactly how long the club currently expects him to be out of action at this point, but he’ll miss at least a couple of turns through the rotation while on the IL.
An injury to a pitcher’s throwing elbow is always a concern but it’s an unfortunate development for the Brewers even if Gasser is only slated for a short stint on the IL. He has performed well in his first five career starts with a 2.57 earned run average thus far. His acclimation to the major leagues will now be put on pause and the team will lose yet another rotation option.
Brandon Woodruff is going to spend the entire season on the injured list after last year’s shoulder surgery. Wade Miley had Tommy John surgery and won’t be able to return this year. Jakob Junis initially went on the IL due to a shoulder impingement but had his return delayed when he was hit by a batted ball during batting practice. DL Hall is out due to a knee sprain and Joe Ross due to a strained lower back.
Despite all the rotation injuries, the club is 36-25 and six games up on the Cubs in the National League Central. Ashby is going to take the ball today and the club is off tomorrow. They can then turn to Freddy Peralta, Bryse Wilson and Colin Rea through the weekend but will need to figure out how to construct their rotation beyond that.
Junis started a rehab assignment last night but only tossed two innings and probably needs a few more outings before rejoining the big league club. Ashby could stick around but he has an ERA of 6.80 in Triple-A this year and his one previous MLB start saw him allow four earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. Myers has made seven appearances for the big league club this year but with a 5.40 ERA in those.
Given the rotation uncertainty and the club’s position in the standings, it seems highly likely they will be looking for starting pitching prior to the trade deadline at the end of July. Quick returns from Junis, Gasser and some others would obviously improve the situation but there should be plenty of room for additions. Peralta is a legit playoff game starter but Wilson just moved in from the bullpen this year while Rea is a journeyman who’s about to turn 34 years old and only striking out 15.8% of opponents.
There are still plenty of teams trying to suss out their deadline approach but there are some clear sellers right now. The White Sox are the worst team in baseball and should be marketing Erick Fedde, while Garrett Crochet could be available as well. The Marlins have already started selling and could make Jesús Luzardo or Trevor Rogers available. The Angels have Tyler Anderson, Griffin Canning and Patrick Sandoval as plausible trade candidates. Plenty of other pitchers could become available depending on how clubs like the Tigers, Blue Jays, Mets, Astros and others fare in the weeks to come.
Brewers Place Joe Ross On Injured List
The Brewers announced that right-hander Joe Ross has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a low back strain, while fellow righty Tobias Myers has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move.
It’s surely not the birthday that Ross pictured for himself, as he turns 31 years old today. He started for the Brewers last night but departed after just one inning, with the club later relaying that the righty is dealing with a low back strain. Now it seems the issue is serious enough that Ross will need to head to the IL for at least 15 days, though it’s unclear exactly how long the club expects him to be out of action.
Injuries have been a big part of the journey for Ross, especially in recent years. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2022, the second such procedure of his career. That put him out of action for the rest of that year and most of 2023 as well.
Despite the long layoff, the Brewers took a shot on Ross and signed him to a major league deal in December. The results so far have been pretty good, especially when considering all that missed time. He has made nine starts with a 4.50 earned run average this year. His 18.9% strikeout rate is a bit below average but his 8.6% walk rate and 42% ground ball rate are both right around par.
Those numbers are obviously more passable than exciting, but subtracting that performance will still be unwelcome for the Brewers, given that it adds to the mounting number of rotation injuries they are dealing with. Brandon Woodruff won’t be pitching at all this year due to shoulder surgery and Wade Miley recently required Tommy John surgery, putting him out for the rest of the year as well. DL Hall and Jakob Junis are also on the IL at the moment, so today’s move gives the club a full rotation’s worth of starters on the shelf.
Freddy Peralta, Bryse Wilson, Colin Rea and Robert Gasser currently take four rotation spots. The club is off on Thursday and could perhaps survive with those four starters for a few days but will likely need a fifth starter after that, since they play 13 games without a break starting on Friday.
Myers could perhaps step into the rotation, but Bradley Blalock is another option since he was starting in the minors prior to his promotion, with a 2.27 ERA in seven Triple-A starts this year. Myers has a 1.45 ERA at Triple-A this year but his four big league starts led to a 5.29 ERA as he walked 12.2% of opponents and allowed six homers. Mitch White is also on the roster but he pitched in each of the past two games.
Aaron Ashby is on optional assignment but has an 8.90 ERA in Triple-A this year. Janson Junk, also on the 40-man and pitching in the minors, has a much better 4.91 ERA but three of his past four outings have come out of the bullpen.
Despite the rotation challenges, the Brewers are 27-20 and sitting atop the National League Central, though the Cubs are only a game and a half back. Those two clubs play a four-game set against each other next week.
Brewers Promote Robert Gasser
May 10: The Brewers have made it official, announced that they have selected Gasser’s contract today. They also recalled right-hander Janson Junk from Triple-A Nashville. In corresponding moves, right-hander Joel Payamps was placed on the bereavement list while righty Tobias Myers was optioned to Nashville. To open a 40-man spot for Gasser, righty JB Bukauskas was transferred to the 60-day IL. Bukauskas has been on the injured list for almost a month due to a lat strain and has not yet begun a rehab assignment.
May 9: The Brewers are expected to promote pitching prospect Robert Gasser to the majors, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The left-hander will be starting tomorrow’s game and making his major league debut. He’s not currently on the 40-man roster, so the Brewers will need to find a way to add him.
Gasser, 25 this month, was selected by the Padres in the 2021 draft. They grabbed him out of the University of Houston in Competitive Balance Round B, with the 71st overall pick. About a year later, he came to the Brewers via the 2022 deadline deal that sent Josh Hader to San Diego.
The Padres had him in High-A at the time of that trade, but the Brewers let him go to Double-A and Triple-A shortly thereafter. He finished 2022 with a combined 3.94 earned run average in 137 innings. He struck out 29.7% of batters faced while giving out walks at a 9% clip.
He spent all of last year with Triple-A Nashville, tossing 135 1/3 innings across 26 outings with a 3.79 ERA. He punched out 28% of the batters who came to the plate while giving out free passes just 8.4% of the time.
The lefty could have been in contention for a rotation spot to start the season but he was sidelined at the end of March due to a bone spur in his left elbow. He didn’t make his first Triple-A start of 2024 until April 24 and he has now taken the ball three times, throwing four frames each time out. He hasn’t been super sharp, with six walks and four homers allowed in his 12 innings, but has struck out 17.
Despite his name, Gasser doesn’t overpower hitters, mostly sitting in the 89-93 miles per hour range with his fastball. But he has a four-seamer, a two-seamer, a cutter, a slider and a changeup, allowing him to keep hitters off balance. Baseball America ranked him the club’s #5 prospect coming into the year while FanGraphs had him at #8 and Keith Law of The Athletic at #7. MLB Pipeline currently has him in the #5 slot.
The Brewers have been dealing with various moving parts in their rotation since late last year. Brandon Woodruff required shoulder surgery and is going to miss most or perhaps all of the 2024 season. Corbin Burnes was traded to the Orioles in the offseason. Since the season started, Wade Miley required Tommy John surgery while DL Hall and Jakob Junis have also landed on the injured list.
On top of those injuries, Freddy Peralta is going miss one turn through the rotation. He was given a five-game suspension for his part in the fracas between the Brewers and Rays about a week ago. He initially appealed that suspension and took the ball against the Cubs on Sunday, before he began serving the suspension on Monday.
Gasser’s promotion might be a temporary one to cover for Peralta. But at least for now, he’ll jump into the rotation next to Bryse Wilson, Colin Rea, Joe Ross and Tobias Myers. Myers has a 6.23 ERA through three starts and could perhaps be sent down instead of Gasser, especially if things go poorly when he takes the ball against the Cardinals tonight.
Even if Gasser does get optioned after just one outing, opportunities could open up later in the year. Ross will likely hit a workload limit at some point since he hardly pitched over the previous two seasons while recovering from his second career Tommy John surgery. More generally, pitchers injuries are fairly inevitable, though Milwaukee should also have Hall and Junis coming off the IL later in the year.
Time will tell how much time Gasser spends in the majors in 2024. But for now, it’s an exciting day for the young southpaw, who will take the ball tomorrow at American Family Field against the division-rival Cardinals.
Brewers Place Wade Miley On Injured List With Elbow Inflammation
April 25: The initial wave of imaging on Miley was inconclusive, manager Pat Murphy tells the team’s beat (X link via Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). He’s headed for further testing — an arthrogram, specifically — to determine if there’s any ligament damage in his elbow.
April 22: The Brewers announced a series of transactions today, most notably placing left-hander Wade Miley on the 15-day injured list due to left elbow inflammation, retroactive to April 19. Right-hander Tobias Myers was recalled in a corresponding move. Also, first baseman Jake Bauers was reinstated from the bereavement list with infielder Andruw Monasterio optioned to Triple-A Nashville.
At this point, it’s unclear if the Brewers expect the injury to be serious, but there’s always some level of concern when a pitcher’s throwing elbow is involved. Per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the left-hander is going to get some imaging done tomorrow and Miley says he is trying to fight back the negative thoughts in his head. “I don’t want to be concerned,” he says at the end of the clip in the link from Hogg. “Obviously, the ugly thought probably ends it for me, so I’m trying not to take myself there right now. I don’t know if I’d be willing to go through something like that and I’m hoping it’s nothing to that extent. But like I said, without imaging, we won’t know.”
Miley, 37, has had plenty of injury scares in recent years, only twice getting to 125 innings since 2017. In 2022, he missed time both due to elbow inflammation and a shoulder strain in his throwing arm, logging just 37 innings. He got up to 120 1/3 frames last year but also missed time due to a lat strain and some elbow discomfort. Here in 2024, he started the season on the IL due to a shoulder impingement, came back to make two starts and is now heading to the IL again.
The “ugly thought” he alluded to presumably refers to Tommy John surgery, which generally requires something in the range of 14-18 months to recover from. At this point in the calendar, that would wipe out the rest of Miley’s 2024 season and much of the 2025 campaign as well. If he were to go through all that, he would be nearing his 39th birthday by the time he got back to a mound. Based on his comments, it sounds like it’s not a road he wants to go down or even think about right now.
The club will surely provide more information when they have it, but it will be a challenging situation for them regardless due to some other injuries in their rotation. Brandon Woodruff had shoulder surgery last year and won’t be an option until late in 2024 season, if at all. Jakob Junis has been on the IL for a couple of weeks due to a shoulder impingement while DL Hall was placed on the IL just yesterday due to a left knee sprain.
That leaves Milwaukee with a rotation consisting of Freddy Peralta, Colin Rea and Joe Ross for the time being. The recent IL placements of Hall and Miley mean they will have to scramble to fill a couple of spots. Reaching into the minors leagues will also have injury complications as Robert Gasser, one of the club’s top prospects, hasn’t yet pitched in Triple-A due to a bone spur in his left elbow.
Myers, 25, was added to the club’s roster last week but was optioned the next day without getting into a game and is still looking to make his major league debut. He has been pitching multi-inning stints in the minors and could perhaps take on some bulk work for the Brewers. Bryse Wilson has past starting experience and has been throwing multi-inning stints in the big leagues this year, so he’s another option. Aaron Ashby and Janson Junk are also on the 40-man roster and could be recalled to provide some length.
The Brewers are currently 14-6 and sitting atop the National League Central, but the ongoing rotation issues will make it a challenge to hang onto that spot. The team and Miley will obviously be hoping that tomorrow’s imaging doesn’t find anything concerning and that the lefty can rejoin the club after a brief respite.
Brewers Select Tobias Myers, Designate Vladimir Gutierrez For Assignment
The Brewers announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Tobias Myers. In corresponding moves, they optioned left-hander Jared Koenig to Triple-A Nashville and designated right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez for assignment.
Myers, 25, will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game, though he took quite a circuitous route to get here. Drafted by the Orioles way back in 2016, he was traded to the Rays the following year as the O’s acquired Tim Beckham. Ahead of the 2021 Rule 5 deadline, he was flipped to Cleveland in exchange for Junior Caminero and then added to Cleveland’s 40-man roster. Myers was designated for assignment in July of 2022, getting traded to the Giants for cash. He was later claimed off waivers by the White Sox, though that club outrighted him off their roster towards the end of the 2022 season. He reached minor league free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Brewers prior to 2023.
Along that winding road, he saw his prospect stock rise and fall. Baseball America considered him the Rays’ #15 prospect going into 2018, which was on the heels of a strong 2017 performance wherein Myers tossed 56 minors league innings with a 3.54 earned run average, 31.9% strikeout rate and 4.4% walk rate. Were in not for a very unlucky 52.1% strand rate, his performance would have been even better, which is why his FIP was a tiny 1.81.
But his strikeout-to-walk ratios were less impressive in the two following two seasons. He had a combed 3.05 ERA over 2018 and 2019 but with a subpar 18.7% strikeout rate and average-ish 8.1% walk rate. The minors were canceled by the pandemic in 2020 but Myers bounced back somewhat in 2021. He tossed 117 2/3 innings over 25 outings, 22 starts, with a 3.90 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate. It was then that he was traded to the Guards for Caminero and BA ranked him the #23 prospect in Cleveland’s system.
But in 2022, as he bounced to the Guardians, Giants and White Sox, he tossed 76 innings on the farm with a ghastly 7.82 ERA, striking out just 14.2% of opponents while giving them free passes at a 13.5% clip.
With the Brewers last year, he improved in terms of strikeouts and walks but the long ball was an issue. He threw 140 2/3 frames with a 29.3% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate, but the 30 home runs allowed led to a 4.93 ERA. So far this year, he’s made three Triple-A starts with a 1.84 ERA in that small sample.
Given the inconsistency, it’s hard to know what to expect from Myers at this point, but the Brewers have largely been getting decent results out of him in the past year-plus. Since he’s stretched out, he can give the club a bit of length. He has a couple of options and can provide the club with some roster flexibility well into the future if he continues to hang onto his 40-man spot.
Gutierrez, 28, was claimed off waivers by the Brewers less than two weeks ago. He was optioned to Triple-A and made two appearances on the farm before getting bumped off the 40-man roster today. Milwaukee will have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers.
He was once a highly-touted prospect himself but has a 5.47 ERA through 154 2/3 major league innings thus far, mostly with the Reds. He missed most of 2023 while recovering from Tommy John surgery and was outrighted by the Reds at season’s end. He signed a minor league deal with the Marlins this winter and was selected to the roster but was designated for assignment after one appearance, which led him to the Brewers via the aforementioned waiver claim.
He could perhaps garner interest from other clubs, either due to his previous prospect pedigree or the various injuries piling up around the league or both. The fact that Gutierrez still has a couple of options means he won’t even need an active roster spot.
Brewers, Tobias Myers Agree To Minor League Deal
The Brewers have signed Tobias Myers to a minor league contract, reports Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. The right-hander had been outrighted and eventually released by the White Sox in September.
Myers is a former 6th-round draftee of the Orioles. He’s never pitched in the major leagues but he’s been a frequent depth target for teams over the past 12 months. Traded from the O’s to the Rays in 2017, he pitched his way up to Triple-A in the Tampa Bay farm system last year. He would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 draft last winter if not added to the 40-man roster, and the Rays dealt him to the Guardians for infield prospect Junior Caminero. Cleveland immediately added him to the 40-man, but that’s a deal they’d surely like back in retrospect.
The 24-year-old Myers had a dismal 2022 campaign. He was tagged for a 6.00 ERA over 14 starts with the Guardians’ top affiliate, and Cleveland dealt him to the Giants for cash in early July. Caminero, on the other hand, had huge numbers between rookie ball and Low-A and was recently named the #8 prospect in a deep Rays system by Baseball America. Myers would make just two Triple-A appearances with San Francisco before being designated for assignment and lost on waivers to the White Sox. He threw seven times for Chicago’s top affiliate, allowing an eye-popping 24 runs in 13 innings, before being released.
Clearly, it was a season to forget for the Florida native. Myers combined for a 7.82 ERA in 76 Triple-A frames, allowing 15 home runs with nearly as many walks as strikeouts. Still, he’s continued to intrigue a number of teams on the strength of his pre-2022 performance. During his final season in the Tampa Bay system, he combined for a 3.90 ERA across 117 2/3 innings with an excellent 30.5% strikeout percentage and just a 5.8% walk rate.
Milwaukee becomes the next team to take a shot at trying to get Myers back on track. He still has two minor league option years remaining, so if he can earn a 40-man roster spot, the Brewers could move him between Milwaukee and Triple-A Nashville as either rotation or multi-inning relief depth.