MILWAUKEE -- The Brewers placed setup man Nick Mears on the 15-day injured list because of back tightness on Friday, the latest blow to a bullpen suddenly depleted of some of its most trusted arms.
Mears’ injury comes at a time the team was already without All-Star closer Trevor Megill (right flexor), key Trade Deadline acquisition Shelby Miller (right elbow) and unsung right-hander Grant Anderson (right ankle).
Miller is lost for the season and faces the prospect of a second career Tommy John surgery, but the Brewers hope to get Anderson and Megill back from the IL in the coming weeks. Anderson is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville on Saturday, and the Brewers have mapped out a plan to get Megill back to active duty by Sept. 16, manager Pat Murphy said. Megill threw off the mound on Thursday for the first time since landing on the IL on Aug. 27.
“It’s just tough right now,” Murphy said after Thursday’s loss to the Phillies, hinting at the loss of another reliever. “We’ll deal with it the best way we can. You look around, everybody’s had injuries, it just seems like we’ve had more than anybody. And I’m not complaining, because our guys step up every time.”
Right-hander Carlos Rodriguez was recalled from Triple-A Nashville, but he doesn’t have the same high-leverage profile of Mears, who has a 3.42 ERA in 59 games. With Megill and Miller down, right-hander Abner Uribe and left-hander Jared Koenig have drawn the save opportunities so far.