Brewers Lose Yet Another Starting Pitcher to Injury as Eric Lauer Heads to IL

Stop if you've heard this one before, but the Milwaukee Brewers starting rotation will now be down yet another pitcher as their fight with the injury bug continues to be a losing battle.

Coming into this week, the Brewers were already down three starting rotation candidates as Aaron Ashby, Brandon Woodruff, and Wade Miley all sat on the team's injured list. Miley became the newest addition last week when he was placed there with a back injury.

Well, now he is only the second newest addition to the IL because on Monday, the Brewers announced that they are adding another starting pitcher to that group, pushing an already thinly stretched position group even further toward its limits.

Brewers starting pitcher Eric Lauer was placed on the IL Monday with a right shoulder injury.

After two solid seasons in a Brewer uniform that saw him put up a combined 3.47 ERA in 53 appearances, left-hander Eric Lauer was off to a rough start in 2023. Through nine appearances (eight starts), the southpaw had gone 4-5 with a 5.48 ERA and a 1.523 WHIP.

His start on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays was his worst of the season to date. Lauer managed to last only three innings while giving up six runs on six hits and two walks while also serving up three homers in a game the Brewers would end up losing 8-4.

If there is any comfort to be taken it's that the injury, which was listed as a shoulder impingement, was to his right, non-throwing shoulder. Though it was bad enough to require a stint on the injured list, it still could have turned out worse.

Additionally, the Brewers announced that reliever Tyson Miller was recalled from Triple-A and that Rule 5 pick Gus Varland was returned to the Dodgers.

With Lauer on the injured list, the Brewers opted to call up some relief help instead of replacing his rotation spot right away. That honor went to right-hander Tyson Miller, who is up for his second stint of the year with Milwaukee.

Miller got to pitch in three games his first time around and fared quite well. In 4.2 innings, he gave up one run on just three hits with no walks while striking out a pair. That one run came in a road contest against the Giants in a game the Brewers were already losing 3-0 and wound up losing 4-1.

The book was also closed today on Rule 5 pick Gus Varland, who was designated for assignment last week, cleared waivers, and returned to his original team, the Dodgers. While the Brewers could have made a deal to keep Varland, in the end they decided not to do so.

Milwaukee currently lists Lauer's next turn in the rotation as TBD so plans are still to be made as to who will cover his spot in the rotation.