Brewers lose yet another key pitcher to injury in latest blow to roster

Brewers reliever Trevor Megill is hitting the injured list today due to a lower back injury. This is his first injury since early April when he had a concussion and was placed on the 7-day concussion list.

After having a solid July with only two bad appearances, another reliever ends up injured for the Brewers. The timing on this couldn't have been any worse as Megill was viewed to be the setup man in the bullpen behind Devin Williams who was just activated after missing the first four months with a back injury.

Just today, Pat Murphy said that Trevor Megill was dealing with back discomfort for a while but the team did not expect it to turn into an IL stint. He had 20 saves while Williams was gone, coming up in big moments to secure wins. Trevor Megill will undergo an MRI to see how bad the damage is but this isn't a good sign whatsoever. If this injury is determined to be worse than just 15 days on the injured list, the Brewers will be missing an arm that provided a 2.41 ERA, 2.73 FIP, 1.04 WHIP, and 1.0 WAR.

With Megill hitting the injured list, reliever Tyler Jay will make his way up to the Brewers today after just being optioned to Triple-A Nashville yesterday because of the Nick Mears trade. Jay made his first appearance with the Brewers on July 27th. He struck out a batter, walked two, and forced Jake Burger into a double play.

With the injury, this could potentially leave Hoby Milner to be the new setup man in the Brewers bullpen. Pitching in the 8th inning this season, Milner has posted a 1.88 ERA, 2.69 FIP, and 1.05 WHIP in 14.1 innings pitched. His K/9 and BB/9 are also significant in the 8th inning as he has an 8.2 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9. Milner's LOB% is also high sitting at a 98.7% rate, making things quite easy for the Crew near the end of ballgames. Milner was just used as the setup man last night in a win against the Marlins, facing three batters and striking out two without giving up a hit.

Another player that could be placed in the setup role is Joel Payamps, whom has the most time pitched in the 8th inning. Payamps has been decent as a setup man this year for Milwaukee, posting a 4.76 ERA, 5.85 FIP, and 1.24 WHIP. Opposing teams are hitting .246/.306/.477 against Joel Payamps in the 8th inning including 12 strikeouts and 5 walks.

The Brewers have a good amount of options to replace Megill for now but going out and acquiring another reliever at the deadline would be a smart idea, giving depth and less work on the bullpen.