It was reported just over a month ago that Uribe would require surgery to fix a right lateral meniscus tear in his knee. At the time, it wasn’t known what kind of return timeline he would be looking at, as it would depend on what doctors found once the procedure began. President of baseball operations Matt Arnold said it could have been something as mild as “a light cleanup” but that evidently hasn’t come to pass and he won’t be able to return again in 2024.

Uribe, now 24, had a strong debut with the Brewers in 2023. He tossed 30 2/3 innings, allowing just 1.76 earned runs per nine. His 15.7% walk rate was certainly on the high side but he also punched out 30.7% of batters faced and got grounders on 53% of balls in play.

But 2024 has been more tumultuous. It started out well for Uribe, as closer Devin Williams required a stint on the injured list and the Brewers gave Uribe a shot in the role. His first three appearances this year all resulted in him recording a save, but things got rockier from there. His results tapered off and he also received a six-game suspension for his part in a brawl with the Rays.

Uribe was optioned to the minors on May 1, the same day he received that suspension. At that point, despite the strong start to the year, he had a 6.91 ERA through 14 1/3 innings. He was still getting lots of ground balls but his 21.2% strikeout rate was well below last year’s pace and his already-problematic walk rate jumped even higher to 18.2%.

His six-game suspension was reduced to four games but he hasn’t yet served it. Suspensions for on-field violations require the team to play a man short, so the Brewers still have to find some time in the future to recall Uribe and have him on the roster serving his suspension while they play shorthanded. Until then, the suspension will remain hanging over him in a state of limbo.

On top of his shaky performance, the suspension and getting sent to the minors, Uribe now has to focus on a lengthy injury rehab. Because he was injured on optional assignment, he’s not currently collecting major league pay or service time. Since he’s out for the year, the Brewers could recall him at some point and transfer him to the 60-day injured list. Doing so would open up a 40-man roster spot for them, but it would also require them to give Uribe that big league pay and service time.

He came into this year with 86 days of service and added another 34 earlier this year, putting him at 120. It takes 172 days for a player to roll over a year, so he’s 52 shy of that right now. There are 73 days left in the 2024 season. He is burning his second option year here in 2024 but will still have one option remaining for the future.

The injury continues what has already been a tough season for Uribe, who posted a 6.91 ERA over 14 1/3 innings out of Milwaukee’s bullpen before he was optioned to Triple-A at the start of May.  His most notable on-field moment of 2024 was an altercation with Jose Siri in a brawl between the Brewers and Rays on April 30.  Uribe was issued a six-game suspension that was lowered to four games on appeal, though he has yet to serve any of that suspension (which applies to MLB games only) since he has been in the minors.

The move back to Triple-A seemed to get Uribe on track, as he had posted a 1.04 ERA over 8 2/3 innings and seven appearances with Nashville.  Another call-up to the big leagues seemed likely at some point, though now Uribe’s development has been interrupted and perhaps stalled altogether by this knee injury.  The righty is unfortunately quite familiar with meniscus injuries, as a torn left meniscus cost him virtually the entire 2022 season with Double-A Biloxi.

Uribe rebounded from that lost year by pitching well in the minors in 2023, and then excelling in his first taste of MLB action.  The hard-throwing reliever averaged 100.7 mph on his fastball over his 30 2/3 innings with Milwaukee last season, en route to a 1.76 ERA, 30.7% strikeout rate, and a 53% grounder rate.  However, Uribe did enjoy a .239 BABIP, and his 15.7% walk rate continued the control issues that plagued him throughout his minor league career.  Those problems worsened this season, as Uribe’s walk rate rose to 18.2% while his strikeout rate plummeted to 21.2%, resulting in that inflated 6.91 ERA.  (His 4.94 SIERA is almost two full runs better, though still uninspiring.)

The surgery stands out as a lousy birthday gift for a pitcher who turns 24 later this week.  Uribe’s young age means that there is plenty of time for him to figure out his control issues and perhaps emerge as a dangerous bullpen weapon, yet Uribe has already amassed a lengthy injury history at an early stage in his career.  Because the injury occurred in Triple-A ball, Uribe won’t amass any big league service time while he is on the minor league IL, unless the Brewers at some point promote him and place him on the MLB version of the 60-day IL as a means to create 40-man roster space.

That series of health woes has left Milwaukee with a patchwork rotation comprised that features only three set members at the moment: staff ace Freddy Peralta, journeyman Colin Rea and swingman-turned-starter Bryse Wilson. The Brewers announced earlier today that righty Tobias Myers will start tonight’s game and has since optioned lefty Aaron Ashby to Triple-A (clearing way for the selection of righty James Meeker’s contract). They’ll feature plenty of “TBA”s in the near future when looking at upcoming pitching matchups.

Incredibly, the Brewers are not only still in first place but have a relatively commanding 5.5-game lead over the division at the moment. Still, it’s wholly unsurprising to see FanSided’s Robert Murray suggest that starting pitching will be a major point of focus for Milwaukee’s front office in the weeks leading up to next month’s trade deadline. Murray writes that the Brewers “considered” righty Mike Clevinger in free agency before the 33-year-old re-signed with the White Sox on a one-year deal.

Milwaukee’s level of interest in Clevinger following four shaky White Sox starts and an IL placement for elbow inflammation isn’t clear, but he’d be a reasonable low-cost pickup — both in terms of salary ($3MM base) and cost of acquisition. Clevinger has pitched 16 innings with a 6.75 ERA, a 19.2% strikeout rate and an 11.5% walk rate. He did not complete five innings in any of his four starts with the Sox prior to being placed on the 15-day IL in late May. There’s still seven weeks for him to get healthy and get back to his 2023 form, when he tossed 131 1/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball (4.28 FIP, 4.81 SIERA). If Clevinger can indeed right the ship, the offseason interest from Milwaukee will be an interesting point to keep in mind, but for now the Brew Crew is surely trying to find more immediate upgrades.

Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel also writes within his latest mailbag that Milwaukee is likely to pursue pitching depth at the deadline. That’s only natural, but Hogg also fields multiple questions on the trade candidacy — or lack thereof — of Willy Adames. Milwaukee’s shortstop is just months from reaching the open market, and the Brewers have in the past been willing to trade from the big league roster in the midst of contending pushes as a means of stockpiling future talent. Their 2022 trade of Josh Hader, in particular, is the most prominent instance of this.

That said, Hogg paints a trade of Adames as unlikely, citing a recent interview with Brewers owner Mark Attanasio wherein he acknowledged that the team has not only received trade offers but compelling ones for Adames in the past — as recently as this offseason. “…[T]here may have been some merit to build for the future,” Attanasio said of the offers received for Adames. The club’s owner also touted Adames as one of the heartbeats of the clubhouse, however. And, as Hogg rightly notes, Adames is a slam-dunk qualifying offer candidate at season’s end — one who’ll surely sign a large enough contract to net the Brewers a comp pick at the end of the first round — if he indeed signs elsewhere.

The previously mentioned injury problems for the Brewers don’t stop in the rotation. Milwaukee has been without outfielder Garrett Mitchell and, even more critically, star closer Devin Williams all season. Young fireballer Abner Uribe took over some of Williams’ closing duties early in the season and had a strong start, tossing 12 1/3 innings with a 3.65 ERA, a 27% strikeout rate and three saves to begin the season. Uribe was torched for five runs in two-thirds of an inning against the Yankees in late April and gave up another run against the Rays three days later before being sent to Nashville to work shaky command that had led to a glaring 18.2% walk rate.

Now, however, Uribe is also on the shelf. He recently sustained a knee injury and was placed on the minor league injured list, general manager Matt Arnold revealed to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Uribe is slated to undergo an MRI next Tuesday, at which point the club will surely have further updates on his status.

1:05pm: Major League Baseball announced several suspensions today in relation to last night’s confrontation between the Rays and the Brewers. Milwaukee right-handers Freddy Peralta and Abner Uribe got suspensions of five and six games, respectively. Their manager Pat Murphy got a two-game suspension. Outfielder Jose Siri of the Rays got three games. All four parties also received undisclosed fines.

Murphy is serving his suspension starting today but both of the Milwaukee hurlers are appealing, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Siri will also be appealing his suspension, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

Siri homered off Peralta in the third inning and then was plunked by Peralta in the sixth. The umpires conferred and ejected Peralta, despite the fact that no warnings had been issued in the game to that point. Murphy objected to the ejection and he was also ejected.

Siri came up again in the eighth with Uribe pitching. Siri hit a grounder to Rhys Hoskins at first base, who flipped the ball to Uribe as he covered first and recorded the out. Siri and Uribe exchanged words by first base before Uribe took a swipe at Siri. The two tried throwing punches towards each other as various parties tried to intervene with the benches emptying. Both were ejected after the fracas died down.

Adam McCalvy and Adam Berry of MLB.com spoke to the relevant parties after the game and relayed some natural differences of opinion about what transpired. Crew chief Chris Guccione said the umpires thought it was “clear-cut” that Peralta intentionally threw at Siri, though the pitcher denied it. “How many homers did I give up in seven years? A lot, and I never did something after,” Peralta said. “It’s my first time I got ejected from a game in seven seasons and there’s no reason for me to hit him.”

For his part, Siri denied that he celebrated his home run in any outlandish way. “I didn’t take too much time,” Siri said through Rays interpreter Manny Navarro. “I hit the ball, took a couple of steps and then I started running like normal.”

As for the later incident at first base, Uribe had this to say: “There were some words shared that didn’t have much to do with the game that probably shouldn’t have been shared there in that exchange.”

His sparring partner described it thusly: “When I went to first base, I just went there normal, and he kind of hit me on the shoulder,” Siri said. “So I asked him why did he do that? And he just said, ‘Because I felt like it.’”

As mentioned, Murphy is serving his suspension immediately while the players are all appealing. Their suspensions will be held in abeyance until the appeal process is complete, though players in this situation will often drop an appeal at a convenient time, such as when they were planning to have an unrelated day off.

It’s another tough loss for a Milwaukee bullpen that’s without closer Devin Williams for at least the next couple months. Megill, 30, was an unheralded acquisition by the Brewers last offseason who’s tossed 36 2/3 innings with a 3.44 ERA with a massive 35% strikeout rate against a solid 8.3% walk rate. With Williams sidelined, Megill, Joel Payamps and young flamethrower Abner Uribe were slated for significant late-inning work in first-year skipper Pat Murphy’s bullpen.

The Brewers didn’t provide a timetable for Megill’s return, which is plenty understandable given the nature of his injury. Concussions are difficult to predict, and the severity can vary greatly. Even ostensibly minor concussions can have lingering effects that impact a player for extended periods of time.

In Bukauskas, the Brewers will turn a bullpen spot over to a 27-year-old former top prospect whom they acquired off waivers early in the 2023 season. He pitched six shutout innings for Milwaukee last year but carries a 5.92 ERA in a tiny sample of 24 1/3 big league innings. Rough as that may look, Bukauskas also logged a 2.92 ERA, 26.8% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate in 37 Triple-A frames for the Brewers last year, and he fanned 16 of his 41 spring opponents (39%) en route to a 3.72 ERA. There’s plenty of uncertainty in the final few spots of the Brewer bullpen, so it stands to reason that with a strong first impression, Bukauskas could potentially carve out a role for himself. He’s controllable for another five seasons if he’s able to do so.

Megill’s injury will only further open the door for the 23-year-old Uribe to establish himself as a viable high-leverage option. He’s 3-for-3 in save opportunities on the young season and, dating back to last year’s MLB debut, carries a 1.87 ERA and 29.9% strikeout rate in 33 2/3 innings. Command is an issue for Uribe, who’s walked 15.3% of his opponents, plunked a hitter and unleashed six wild pitches in his young career. However, he’s also averaged 99.4 mph on his blazing sinker and induced grounders at a hearty 53.4% clip, showing clear late-inning promise.

The Journal-Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak spoke to Uribe and his teammates about the impressive young righty’s rise to meaningful late-inning work. “I live for it,” Uribe said of pitching in adrenaline-charged scenarios like the save situations he’s encountered thus far. Murphy tells Rosiak he’s been impressed with the right-hander’s demeanor despite his youth, noting that Uribe “has learned so far and really kept his emotions under control and focused on his task.”

Payamps has picked up one save in the Brewers’ first four wins of the year as well, but it seems Uribe will be the preferred option for ninth-inning work while Williams and Megill mend. Presumably, when Williams is able to return, Uribe will slide back down into a setup role. It’s always possible the command struggles will flare up and lead to a particularly rough patch, but at least this far in his young career, Uribe looks the part of a legitimate late-inning arm who can stick at the MLB level. If that’s indeed the case, Milwaukee can control him all the way through the 2029 season and he won’t be arb-eligible until after the 2026 campaign.

Elsewhere in the organization, the Brew Crew is still in the early stages of navigating a shoulder injury for touted catching prospect Jeferson Quero. The 21-year-old suffered the injury in Nashville’s season opener, and GM Matt Arnold this week announced that Quero has been diagnosed with a subluxation in his right shoulder (link via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). He’s had one MRI and is receiving a second opinion to determine the severity of the issue and get a clear sense of his rehab plan. The Brewers haven’t announced a timetable for his return or whether surgery might be required.

Quero is widely regarded not only as one of the Brewers’ best prospects but the best prospects in all of baseball, landing on top-100 lists at The Athletic (No. 12), ESPN (No. 32), Baseball America (No. 33), MLB.com (No. 35), Baseball Prospectus (No. 38) and FanGraphs (No. 40). The Athletic’s Keith Law calls Quero a likely plus defender behind the plate with the potential for 20-homer power during his prime years.

Quero spent the 2023 season as one of the youngest players in Double-A but more than held his own against older, more advanced competition. In 381 plate appearances, he slashed .262/.339/.440 (107 wRC+) with an impressive 10% walk rate against a lower-than-average 17.8% strikeout rate.

In better injury news, McCalvy tweets that outfielder Garrett Mitchell is on a timeline of four to six weeks to return from the fractured finger in his left hand, which is thus far healing as expected. The 25-year-old has gotten brief looks in the outfield in each of the past two seasons, posting a combined .278/.343/.452 slash (119 wRC+) with five homers and nine steals. It’s very strong production, but those numbers are also propped up by a wildly unsustainable .441 average on balls in play and mask a more ominous 38.3% strikeout rate. It’s only 141 plate appearances, but Mitchell will eventually need to significantly cut back on the strikeouts if he’s to carve out a long-term role in Milwaukee’s outfield.

Miller has been back and forth between the majors and minors a couple of times this season, and Milwaukee just called up back up earlier this week, resulting in one appearance — two-thirds of an inning pitched in yesterday’s 7-3 Brewers victory over the Reds.  Uribe was already on the 40-man roster so a DFA wasn’t exactly necessary to move Miller off the active roster, yet the Brew Crew have apparently decided to create some extra space at the risk of exposing Miller to the waiver wire.

Miller has already changed teams twice via waiver claim, going from the Cubs to the Rangers in June 2021 and then from Texas to Milwaukee last November.  The right-hander has a 5.79 ERA over 9 1/3 innings of MLB work this season, and a 7.92 ERA over 25 innings in parts of three seasons with Milwaukee, Texas, and Chicago.  He has a 4.75 ERA in 225 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, but that includes an improved 3.86 ERA over 25 2/3 frames for Triple-A Nashville this year, as Miller has allowed only one homer.  That is a promising development for a pitcher who has been often hurt badly by the long ball in past seasons.

The hard-throwing Uribe was added to the Brewers’ 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, as while Uribe missed most of the 2022 season due to meniscus surgery, the club still wanted to keep his promising arm away from other teams.  Uribe returned to action in fine form, posting a 1.96 ERA over 23 combined innings at Double-A and Triple-A in 2023, with a huge 42.23% strikeout rate.  However, Uribe’s career-long control issues have persisted, even if his 16.5% walk rate in the minors this year is actually an improvement over his past numbers.

MLB Pipeline ranks Uribe as the ninth-best prospect in the Brewers’ farm system, giving him an 80-grade for his blazing triple-digit baseball and a 60-grade for his plus slider.  There is obviously plenty of potential here for the 23-year-old to develop into an elite bullpen arm if he can post even an average walk rate, and with such good results in a brief showing at Triple-A, Uribe is now getting an opportunity to show what he can do against big league hitters.

Turang was the Brewers’ first round pick back in 2018 (21st overall) out of Santiago High School in California. Predominantly a shortstop, Turang has also spent time at second base coming through Milwaukee’s system, while he also logged a handful of games in center field this season. In 131 games at Triple-A this year, Turang hit .286/.360/.412 with 13 home runs and was an impressive 34/36 on stolen base attempts. The 22-year-old (23 next week) doesn’t strike out much (19.6% of the time) and walks a solid amount (10.8% of the time).

MLB.com ranks Turang as the Brewer’s fourth best prospect, and their report on him also notes he projects as an above-average shortstop, citing “improved range and overall playmaking ability”. It’s not a huge surprise to see Turang added to the 40-man in Milwaukee, as his strong showing in Triple-A this past season make him a likely candidate to make his big league debut next summer.

Uribe, 22, is a Dominican born pitcher who’s posted big strikeout numbers in the past few seasons but also struggled with injuries. The Brewers’ 26th prospect according to MLB.com underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus earlier in the year, and missed most of the 2022 campaign. He only tossed three innings at Double-A this year, but in 33 2/3 innings at Single-A last year he struck out 52 batters, although he did walk 25.

While the control is certainly a concern, there’s no doubt Uribe has a lot of raw potential. He’s flashed three digits on the speed gun in the minor leagues, and in the 2021 Arizona Fall League he had 13 of the 14 hardest thrown pitches per Statcast. While Turang looks closer to the majors at this point, if the Brewers can get Uribe fit and hone his control, his ability to miss bats could make him an option for their bullpen in the not-too-distant future.