Milwaukee Brewers reliever heads to the injured list for an unusual reason

The Brewers have hit the ground running to open their 2024 campaign. Prior to today's loss they were 4-0 to start the season for the first time since 2006, and they've received valuable contributions from players all throughout their roster.

What's more, the Brewers are winning ballgames despite entering the season a bit short-handed. Wade Miley opened the year on the injured list with shoulder soreness, Devin Williams will be out for at least three months with two stress fractures in his back, and Garrett Mitchell will be on the shelf for roughly six weeks after fracturing his hand just days before the season started.

Unfortunately, the hits keep on coming for Milwaukee. Early on Wednesday morning, the club announced that reliever Trevor Megill landed on the 7-day concussion list, retroactive to March 31st. Right-hander JB Bukauskas was recalled from Triple-A Nashville as the corresponding move.

While it's obviously unfortunate to see Megill hit the injured list, it was the nature of how he suffered the injury that was the most noteworthy part of the news. Per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Megill suffered a concussion after fainting in a phone store due to food poisoning that he suffered over the weekend in New York City.

It's without a doubt one of the more unusual injuries you'll see come across your social feed. While it doesn't appear the injury will keep him out long-term, it's a scary incident nonetheless. Megill is going to be an integral part of this bullpen as the season progresses, and the Crew will be hoping for a speedy recovery for their 6-foot-8 reliever.

In the meantime, who can we expect to fill Megill's role in the Brewers bullpen?

While Megill hasn't had any save opportunities through the first four games of the season, he has been a key arm used in high leverage situations in the early goings of the season. In his absence, Elvis Peguero is the leading candidate to take over that role. Peguero has looked sharp thus far, striking out three batters in his four innings of work while not surrendering a run.

Joel Payamps and Abner Uribe will continue to tag-team the closer role while Megill is on the shelf. Payamps had started the season flawless before workload caught up to him in Wednesday's loss to the Twins, and Uribe has shown that he may be more than capable of being the club's full-time closer in Williams' absence.

Bukauskas should have a role in the middle of the bullpen as well while Megill recovers from his concussion. The 27-year-old right-hander pitched just seven innings with the Crew last season, but he didn't surrender a single run and he struck out six batters in his five appearances in 2023.

Bukauskas is primarily a sinker-slider pitcher, as those two pitches make up over 90% of his pitch mix. However, he also throws a changeup as a way to combat left-handed batters, and he has the arsenal to be an effective reliever for Milwaukee.

How much time Megill will miss is yet to be seen, but the Brewers are hoping they can get him back as soon as possible. He's expected to have a huge role in the bullpen once he returns to full health.