Milwaukee Brewers: Why is Corbin Burnes on the Injured List?

The Milwaukee Brewers have placed Corbin Burnes on the Injured List with right shoulder irritation. How long will Burnes stay out, and when will he return?

Corbin Burnes was expected to have a breakout season for the 2019 Milwaukee Brewers. He struggled in a starting role, got demoted, got called back up as a reliever, and managed to get hurt. This has been the exact opposite of what was expected for a guy who looked like he would develop into a top tier starter sooner rather than later. Burnes is heading to the Injured List for at least 10 days, and Burch Smith is on his way back to the Majors.

The injury all but guarantees that Burnes is out of the running for NL Cy Young Award this year. When will he return to the Majors?

What’s Burnes’ injury, exactly?

Burnes was diagnosed with right shoulder irritation. That’s not a tear or a strain, but it means that he can’t throw comfortably.

He was clocked at 99 MPH in his last outing against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, but his shoulder was bothering him enough to need some time off.

How as Burnes doing on the mound otherwise?

He struggled in each of his last two outings for the Milwaukee Brewers. Burnes appeared on Sunday and Friday, faced nine batters, and recorded three outs. He was tagged for six runs on six hits and managed one strikeout.

Burnes had managed to whittle his ERA down to 8.00, but it’s now back at 9.00 after the rough weekend stretch.

When will Burnes return?

Burnes isn’t currently expected to miss more than the 10 days he’s required to be out, but he could end up on a rehab stint, or end up optioned back to Triple-A. There’s a non-zero chance that the Milwaukee Brewers use Burnes’ injury as an opportunity to give him a Travis Shaw-style reboot. Allowing Burnes to figure out what works for him away from the pennant race or a losing streak.

Burnes needs to become the starting pitcher that the Milwaukee Brewers believe he’s capable of developing into. He’s going to have a bad year statistically, but there’s still time to end the year strong, and carry momentum into the off season.