MILWAUKEE -- Brewers rookie right-hander Logan Henderson was hoping for the best as he awaited the results of an MRI scan on Friday. But it was impossible to hide the disappointment about being sidelined for Saturday’s scheduled start against the Mets and beyond.
The Brewers placed Henderson on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Monday, with right elbow inflammation and recalled Tobias Myers from Triple-A Nashville to start in Henderson’s place. But there was good news in the wake of the Brewers’ 3-2 win over the Mets, as the MRI showed a flexor strain but no significant damage to the elbow ligament, per manager Pat Murphy.
The duration of Henderson’s absence is to be determined, Murphy said.
“This is definitely frustrating. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t,” Henderson said. “But it’s part of the game. I’ve got to take care of my body, and I’ve been doing my best to, but things like this happen in the game. Moving forward, I’m going to do everything I can to prevent things like this.”
Henderson, 23, the Brewers' No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline, was called up to start against the Nationals in Washington D.C. on Sunday in place of fellow rookie Jacob Misiorowski, who landed on the IL himself with a bruised left shin. Henderson threw 4 1/3 quality innings, allowing one run on only three hits with two walks and four strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 1.78 in five starts during a season split between Nashville and Milwaukee.
When he picked up a baseball on Monday in Atlanta for catch play, he didn’t feel right. So Henderson alerted the medical staff.
“I’m just not bouncing back the way I usually do,” Henderson said. “I feel like I wouldn’t be doing the guys a service to go out there and throw on that elbow.”
Henderson was the Brewers’ fourth-round Draft pick in 2021 and missed time early in his pro career with arm injuries, including a fracture in his right elbow that required surgery to install pins. But he returned to pitch 78 2/3 innings in 2023 and 81 1/3 innings in ‘24 before logging a career high 103 innings so far this season.
Also on Friday, the club activated reliever Shelby Miller, acquired from the D-backs at the Trade Deadline, from the 15-day IL.
It’s Miller’s second stint with the Brewers, having finished the 2019 season at their then-Triple-A San Antonio club and returning in 2020 as a nonroster invitee to big league camp, the year the sport paused due to the coronavirus pandemic. But after coming to Milwaukee for “Summer Camp” and briefly reporting to the alternate training site in Appleton, Wis., Miller opted out of the rest of that season to spend the rest of the year with his family.
“[My son] Kyler was like a week old at that point,” Miller said. “I was in Appleton, Wisconsin, on a Minor League deal in the middle of nowhere. I just felt like my heart was more at home at that point in my career … so I just decided to go home and be with my family and watch my kid grow up. First time being a dad, so my heart was just kind of in that moment more than it was in baseball.
“Now he loves coming to the field. It’s crazy how it comes full circle. He’ll be up here in September and be a part of this late run we’re on.”