Brewers righty Jason Alexander is expected to miss more than a month to begin the season, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (Twitter link). The 29-year-old righty experienced discomfort in his shoulder when he was ramping up for spring training last month, and he’s likely to be sidelined into the second half of May. Alexander becomes the second Brewers pitcher who’ll miss substantial time due to shoulder trouble; left-hander Aaron Ashby will miss at least two months due to shoulder trouble of his own.
Alexander made his big league debut in Milwaukee last season, tossing 71 2/3 innings for the Brewers over the course of 11 starts and another seven relief appearances. He posted a strong 3.21 ERA over his first five starts before beginning to falter, ultimately finishing out his rookie campaign with a 5.40 ERA and a lowly 14.7% strikeout rate. Alexander’s 8.7% walk rate was generally solid, however, and he induced grounders at a strong 50.6% clip. The lack of punchouts and a susceptibility to home runs (1.51 HR/9) worked against him, but the righty had posted a 2.84 ERA in 63 1/3 Triple-A frames before being called to the big leagues.
Neither Alexander nor Ashby was guaranteed a rotation spot heading into 2023, but their absences will thin out Milwaukee’s depth a fair bit. It’s not clear whether the Brewers knew the full extent of either player’s shoulder issues when signing Wade Miley to a one-year deal last month, but what was once at least a somewhat surprising deal for a pitching-rich club could now prove pivotal. Regardless of whether Miley’s addition was made with the knowledge that Ashby and Alexander were ailing or whether it’s mere serendipity, the Brewers are surely glad to have the veteran southpaw on the staff.
The Brewers’ rotation heading into 2023 will feature Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Eric Lauer and the aforementioned Miley. Righty Adrian Houser, a rotation staple the past couple seasons, is still on hand as a sixth option, but both Ashby and Alexander would’ve also been starting candidates in the event of injuries elsewhere on the staff. Trade acquisition Janson Junk, prospect Ethan Small and DFA reclamation Bryse Wilson give Milwaukee further depth, though Wilson is out of minor league options and isn’t necessarily a lock to make the Opening Day roster.
Pedro Cerrano's Voodoo
I thought he was a Yankees exec…
Fever Pitch Guy
Scott – It’s not an injury, if you believe you’re Cal Ripken.
Joe says...
I don’t know about that but a shoulder injury sounds like Cashman’s kinda guy.
acoss13
He’s got a bed under his desk and everything, so that might explain the shoulder problem
bigdaddyt
Nice thing is despite the injury we can still have the summer of George
toomanyblacksinbaseball
Now keeper of the pole in the crawl space.
Bart Harley Jarvis
Sweet fancy Moses!
Dorothy_Mantooth
Having a shoulder injury will at least allow him to remain master of his domain.
bigdaddyt
Okay you win
BPax
He showed Jeter and Bernie Williams a thing or two about hitting. But he did put them in that Ramada in Milwaukee, so there’s that.
rennick
If only this were The Summer of George
For Love of the Game
Shouldn’t he march into Mr. Steinbrenner’s office? Plus, playing baseball has helped restore his hair and slimmed him down quite a bit!
acoss13
I hear he’s been talking to a Mets executive. They’re not talking…
Dorothy_Mantooth
I bet it has something to do with the cotton uniform he was wearing….
Bright Side
Maybe the Yankees need a Jon Voight day. So far Hal has given us John Voyt day.
BillMueller326
I bet its Lloyd Braun’s fault
getrealgone2
Ryan Braun
BillMueller326
Seinfeld reference
getrealgone2
Yes. I was joking.
BillMueller326
Gotcha, my b
Julius
At least he’s not unemployed and living with his parents.
Jacksson13
Set Back took place as a result of 2022 Festivus celebration !!
differentbears
Arbitration is just Airing of Grievances.
rabidrabbit
Pushing too hard with the Feats of Strength
getrealgone2
Someone call Dr. Wexler.
stevewpants
Is it lupus?
Julius
All right. I guess he’s just going to have to pick himself up, dust himself off, and throw himself right back down again!
harrycarey
Pretty obvious that Burnes will get the blame for both Ashby and Alexander issues along with the playoff miss last year.
brewfan27
I blame Jason Alexander for missing the playoffs
orange2001
That’s okay, Michael Richards will be called up in his place, though he’s been known to be erratic at times.
minor league guy
ironically, this is the best brewers news all week…
brewfan27
I’m actually happy with this news
CALgoldenBears
He wasn’t the master of his domain because he didn’t have man-hands
acoss13
I guess he’s going to be able to himself a “Summer of George” then!
positively_broad_st
George is getting upset!
Motown is My Town
The sea was angry that day…
vtadave
Probably would have helped if he didn’t treat his body like an amusement park.
gppm
I think this is the winning George Costanza reference! Good work my friend.
positively_broad_st
He can always get into latex sales…
Champs64
My calendar used to have “Pitchers & Catchers Report to Spring Training” this week but over the years I changed it to “Pitchers Placed on the Injured List” this week.
gppm
Maybe he should have just done the opposite of whatever he did to get hurt.
Spike Hyzer
It’s a shame it wasn’t season ending, but at least we won’t have to see him pitch until at least June. Hopefully never. Probably the worst starter in Brewer history!!
brewfan27
he needs to be released asap
Motown is My Town
And think he could have been an Architect or a Marine Biologist!
stevewpants
He was almost Head of Scouting for the Mets, but there was no meeting.
DisplacedSTLfan
Or City Planner
CravenMoorehead
Don’t mind me just here to check out all the Seinfeld related replies 🙂
Capi
Jerry I tell ya’, it’s the shoulder Jerry, it’s the shoulder!!
dkhits20
I came here for the Britney Spears’ ex-husband related replies. Extremely disappointed.
differentbears
Stearns: and you wanted to be my swingman.
refugee
Oh…so you want to shaft Burnes-y? OW…my shoulder.
beknighted
He’ll be back in time to start the Summer of George
BobGibsonFan
So many Seinfeld references… I don’t get any of them because I couldn’t stand that show. I was peer pressured into watching a few episodes… “It’s hilarious, you have to watch it.” It was painful to watch.
This one belongs to the Reds
It was a show about nothing.
Poster formerly known as . . .
Oh, well, so what? Laughter – what is that? I mean, what is the point of opening your mouth and going “Ha, ha!”? What is that? “Ha, ha!”?
stevewpants
Genius
Motown is My Town
Yada, Yada, Yada…..and his shoulder was injured
dkhits20
Ok, I’ll accept that, but if you don’t find Curb funny, you’re just wrong and I can’t relate to you.
hiflew
They should probably make sure it is a real shoulder injury and he wasn’t just shrugging his shoulders at something stupid being said.
Poster formerly known as . . .
Well, at least they eliminated the shift, so he’ll know if it’s a move.
bobsugar84
Say Vandelay Industries!!!
stevewpants
And you want to be my latex salesman?
Rsox
He was in the pool!!…
Mrbarky
He was injured in a high speed motorized wheelchair chase.
la verdad
Serenity now!!
Bright Side
Summer of George is in jeopardy.
rolafaive
Ashby and Alexander have a history of arm issues, these are the two guys you hope to replace Burnes, and Woodruff, when the team dumps them for monetary reasons, good luck with that.