CLEVELAND -- Just when the Brewers thought they were rounding the corner on their injury woes, there’s a new one to worry about.
The team placed veteran left-hander Jose Quintana on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a left shoulder impingement and recalled righty Tobias Myers, who’d just been demoted to Triple-A Nashville on Sunday. While the Quintana move was made retroactive to Sunday, it means he won’t start as scheduled on Saturday against the Twins at American Family Field.
“He’s going to get further testing [Thursday] and then we’ll be more apt to tell you if it’s longer term or not,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I expect it’s not. That’s what I get from him, and I trust him.”
In the immediate term, it means Myers will slide into Quintana’s spot Saturday. In the longer term, it may open an opportunity for right-handed prospect Logan Henderson (Milwaukee's No. 12 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline), who was called up from Triple-A on Wednesday and delivered five sharp innings in the Brewers’ 9-5 win over the Guardians at Progressive Field.
Saturday's game was originally earmarked for right-hander Brandon Woodruff’s return from a multiyear rehab from right shoulder surgery, but he was derailed by a right ankle injury and the assignment went to Quintana, who would have been pitching on three extra days of rest after developing some shoulder discomfort prior to his most recent start against the Rays. Quintana used the extra time to get treatment and was expected to test the shoulder in a bullpen session on Wednesday morning before the Brewers’ series finale in Cleveland.
The IL decision came after that bullpen session, making Quintana the sixth starting pitcher to land on the IL since the start of Spring Training, joining DL Hall (left lat), Aaron Ashby (right oblique), Myers (left oblique), Aaron Civale (left hamstring) and Nestor Cortes (left elbow).
That’s on top of the two starters, Woodruff and rookie Robert Gasser (right elbow), who began the year on the IL while recovering from surgeries. And it’s also on top of Rule 5 Draft pick Connor Thomas, who might have made a spot start or two this season had he not landed on the IL with a left elbow injury.
Add that all up, and it’s nine length options who have missed significant time for the Brewers, who played their 44th game of the regular season on Wednesday.
There are positive developments on the horizon, barring more setbacks. Civale allowed two singles in five scoreless innings while throwing 40 of 60 pitches for strikes in Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader for Nashville. Hall started Game 2 and pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings, with one hit, three walks, one strikeout and 30 of 49 pitches for strikes. Then Ashby followed with two scoreless innings, topping out at 96.2 mph while allowing two hits and two walks with one strikeout.
Ashby and Hall are most likely to return to the Brewers in long-relief roles but Civale is ticketed for the rotation. The righty, who has scattered three hits in nine scoreless innings over two starts for the Sounds so far, will probably make at least one more rehab start before Milwaukee consideres bringing him back.
Woodruff might not be far behind if his ankle cooperates. By rule, he cannot pitch for an affiliate for seven days after the expiration of his first 30-day rehab assignment, but once that pause is over, he should be able to resume with Nashville.
All of those moving pieces make Henderson a critical piece of the pitching puzzle. He struck out seven while navigating five innings on 72 pitches on Wednesday, using his fastball/changeup mix to hold the Guardians to two runs on four hits.
“I think he blew more guys away with the heater today,” Brewers slugger Rhys Hoskins said, “most likely because they’ve got the changeup in the back of their mind. I thought that was pretty impressive. … Impressive stuff. He’s super poised out there.”
Coupled with Henderson’s victory over the A’s on Easter Sunday, he is the second pitcher in Brewers history to win his first two Major League appearances. The first was Gasser last season.
“Honestly, I’m just grateful to be up here to help the team win, whether that’s every couple of weeks or every fifth day,” Henderson said.