Brewers continue salvaging pitching staff with series of roster moves

Injuries happen in baseball, but no one could have anticipated how severely the Brewers would be impacted by them in the first two weeks of the season. The team was forced to carry just three true starters on their Opening Day roster in Freddy Peralta, Nestor Cortes, and Aaron Civale. Of that group, only Peralta remains healthy. Thus, the team was in desperate need of reinforcements.

Those reinforcements came in the form of a rare April trade for former first-round pick Quinn Priester, who cost the Brewers their top outfield prospect, Yophery Rodriguez, and the 33rd pick in this year's draft. Priester's arrival is accompanied by the return of 2024 trade deadline acquisition Nick Mears. Mears returns to the Brewers after an illness delayed his spring training and forced him to begin the regular season on the IL. Though Mears is not a candidate to start games for the Crew, his addition to the bullpen should offer relief to a group that has been forced to cover more innings than anticipated.

Brewers lose another important innings eater to injury

However, the Mears return is paired with discouraging news, as long-reliever Connor Thomas was placed on the 15-day IL in the corresponding roster move. According to the Brewers press release, the reported injury for Thomas is left elbow arthritis, and his stint on the IL will retroactively begin on April 6, meaning he can return to the roster in just 13 days time.

Although Thomas was off to a slow start for the Crew (20.25 ERA in 5.1 IP), he did serve as a valuable low-leverage innings eater, giving the bullpen much needed rest days during blowouts. Thomas, a Rule-5 draft pick, cannot be optioned to the minor leagues without first being offered back to the St. Louis Cardinals, essentially locking him into the Brewers 26-man roster if they want to keep him in the organization. According to MLB.com, Rule-5 picks are allowed to spend time on injured lists so long as they amass a total of 90 days on the active roster thoughout the season. If that threshold is not reached, the roster restrictions that govern Rule-5 draft picks continues into the next season.

Tobias Myers to begin rehab assignment in Triple-A Nashville

The Brewers also announced that more reinforcements are on the horizon. Tobias Myers, who went down with an oblique strain in mid-March, will begin his rehab assignment with the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds. Myers made 25 starts for the Brewers last year and posted an ERA of 3.00. His re-addition to the starting rotation will be a huge boost for the team's decimated staff.