The silver lining of the Brewers' latest run of relief pitcher injuries

Back on Thursday night, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy held a solemn postgame press conference, recapping the night's loss to the Philadelphia Phillies before revealing to a group of team insiders that another Brewers' reliever was set to hit the IL in the coming days. Despite not being able to reveal the specific player at the time, it was deduced that the player in question was 2024 trade deadline acquisition Nick Mears. On Friday afternoon, the team confirmed that Mears was headed to the 15-day IL with back tightness.

Over the last three weeks, Milwaukee has lost relievers Grant Anderson, DL Hall, Trevor Megill, Shelby Miller, and now Mears to injuries. With a decimated bullpen group, Murphy was forced to get creative in last night's win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, using Erick Fedde in the seventh inning before turning to Rob Zastryzny, Tobias Myers, and Aaron Ashby to finish things off. That combination of pitchers, none of whom were on Milwaukee's Opening Day roster, surrendered just one run to the Pirates in three innings of work, but Fedde and Myers are starters moonlighting as relievers, Zastryzny is just a week removed from his own lengthy IL stint, and Ashby has thrown in eight of the last 13 games. Somehow, Murphy is piecing together at least three innings from his decimated bullpen group night in and night out, as he awaits the returns of his key relievers currently on the injured list.

While it's certainly discouraging to see reliever after reliever go down with injuries, especially with the Brewers vying for the top seed heading into the postseason, there's a thin silver lining among the dark cloud of injuries: outside of trade deadline acquisition Shelby Miller, each of the four big-league relievers currently on the IL are expected to return prior to the start of the postseason.

Four of the five Brewers relievers currently on the IL expected to return before the playoffs

After settling in with the Brew Crew, Shelby Miller, the Brewers' main trade deadline acquisition, was riding a run of really strong performances before going down with a season-ending elbow injury during an outing against the Phillies on Labor Day. Miller, who will likely require another Tommy John surgery, won't pitch until the end of the 2026 season at the earliest, at which point he will likely be a part of another organization.

However, Anderson, Megill, Mears, and Hall are all expected to make full recoveries prior to the end of the regular season on September 28. Anderson is expected to be the first to return to the Brewers bullpen. He began a rehab assignment with the Nashville Sounds on Saturday night and allowed three earned runs in one inning of work, but more importantly, tossed 21 pitches and left healthy after going down with right ankle tendinitis on August 24. Anderson is eligible to return from the IL when the Brewers head to Arlington to take on the Texas Rangers on Monday, meaning the 28-year-old could face his former team in his return to the Brewers' pen.

Megill is set to follow Anderson, with an expected return date of September 16, according to the Brewers' injury and transactions page on MLB.com. The Brewers' closer is already throwing bullpens, and will throw in a live batting practice session on Tuesday, according to Brewers' on-field reporter Sophia Minnaert.

Mears will likely be the third of the four injured relievers to return to the Brewers' bullpen. Despite being placed on the IL on Friday afternoon, the Brewers retroactively began Mears' required 15 days on the IL on Tuesday, the 2nd, meaning the 28-year-old right-hander could return to the big leagues as early as September 17. According to Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, the Brewers are expecting Mears' IL stint to be close to the minimum stay, meaning it's likely he returns on or shortly after the 17th, which should give him enough time to ramp back up for the postseason.

Finally, while it won't be with much time to spare, DL Hall is expected to return from the IL prior to the end of the regular season. Hall, who is dealing with a right oblique strain, went on the IL back on August 16, but questions remain as to when he will be healthy enough to pitch again. According to the Brewers' injury and transactions page on MLB.com, the "Brewers say there is a "potential" for a late-September return." The Brewers could certainly use Hall, his 3.35 ERA, and his ability to cover multiple innings back in their bullpen for the postseason, and for now, it seems as if that is a real possibility.

Injuries are never a good thing, but season-ending ones are even worse, especially for a league-leading squad at the end of the year. As of now, outside of the devastating loss of Shelby Miller earlier this week, the Brewers have avoided a major injury that would impact their chances of success in the postseason. Though it isn't exactly how Pat Murphy and company drew up their September, things still remain in tact for a deep postseason run. With a balanced workload and plenty of days off over the next four weeks, there's no reason for that to change before the calendar flips to October.