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Trevor Megill

Brewers To Place Trevor Megill On 15-Day Injured List

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The Brewers will be placing right-hander Trevor Megill on the 15-day injured list due to a back problem, according to multiple members of the team’s beat (including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Acquired in a trade with the Twins in April 2023, Megill is the latest in a string of relievers to hit a new level of performance after coming to Milwaukee.  Megill had a 6.03 ERA over his first 68 2/3 career big league innings with the Cubs and Twins in 2021-22, but with some intriguing secondary metrics that hinted at a higher ceiling, and he delivered on that potential with a 3.63 ERA over 34 2/3 frames with Milwaukee last season.

Megill has been even better in 2024, with a 2.41 ERA and excellent walk (5.9%) and strikeout (29.4%) rates over 33 2/3 innings in the Crew’s bullpen.  While he has allowed a lot of hard contact and has become rather an extreme fly ball pitcher this season, Megill’s 98.8mph fastball has been one of baseball’s more dominant offerings, pairing nicely with his curve to fool batters.

This performance has come in several high-leverage circumstances, as Megill has acted as Milwaukee’s closer (saving 20 of 23 chances) while Devin Williams has missed almost the entire season due to stress fractures in his back.  Williams only made his season debut yesterday, so the Brewers are facing some unfortunate irony in losing Megill to a back problem just as Williams returns.  Bryan Hudson was also just placed on the 15-day IL due to an oblique strain, in another big hit to the relief corps.  Nick Mears was acquired in a trade with the Rockies on Saturday, but with Hudson and now Megill both out, the Brewers could certainly look to further bolster the bullpen prior to tomorrow’s trade deadline.

Brewers Notes: Megill, Uribe, Quero, Mitchell

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Brewers right-hander Trevor Megill was placed on the 7-day concussion list this morning, the team announced. Right-hander JB Bukauskas is up from Triple-A Nashville to take his spot on the roster. The injury occurred in bizarre and frightening fashion, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (X link) Megill contracted food poisoning last weekend and in the aftermath felt light-headed, fainted and wound up suffering a concussion when his 6’8″ frame dropped to the ground.

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.

Brewers Select Caleb Boushley, DFA Julio Teheran Amid Flurry Of Roster Moves

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The Brewers have selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Caleb Boushley, the team announced. To make room on the roster, Julio Teheran has been designated for assignment. In addition, the team has swapped out one lefty for another, optioning Ethan Small and recalling Clayton Andrews in his place. Lastly, the Brewers also placed right-hander Trevor Megill on the restricted list.

Boushley will be making his MLB debut, just two days ahead of his 30th birthday. Selected by the Padres in the 33rd round of the 2017 draft, he played in the Padres system throughout the first five years of his professional career. He joined the Brewers organization ahead of the 2022 season and pitched well for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, starting 25 games and posting an ERA of 3.25. The righty hasn’t performed quite so well this year, pitching to a 5.11 ERA in 29 games (26 starts). Still, he has evidently done enough to earn a call to the show after seven years in the minor leagues. It seems unlikely the Brewers are considering Boushley for a spot on the postseason roster, and with the NL Central crown already locked up, they might just be giving the career minor leaguer a long-awaited cup of coffee with the big league squad.

As for Teheran, this marks an unceremonious end to his mini-comeback season. The two-time All-Star had not played a regular role for an MLB club since 2020. He spent most of the 2021 campaign on the injured list and then split his time in 2022 between the Atlantic League and the Mexican League.

The 32-year-old looked excellent through his first six appearances with Milwaukee, posting a 1.53 ERA and averaging nearly six innings per start. However, he struggled through his next four outings before landing on the injured list and missing the next eight weeks of the season. Teheran returned in mid-September as a long reliever, and while he looked capable, giving up just two earned runs in nine innings of work, it was far from a guarantee that the Brewers would find a spot for him on the postseason roster.

Small was recalled on Wednesday and threw a single scoreless inning against the Cardinals. It was a substantial improvement over his last big league appearance back in May, when he gave up five runs on nine hits in three innings of mop-up work against the Giants. Nonetheless, the Brewers have decided to replace him with Andrews, another 26-year-old lefty with limited major league experience. Andrews made his MLB debut in July and has thrown a grand total of 1 2/3 big league innings, giving up eight earned runs on eight hits. Both pitchers have much better numbers at Triple-A, although Andrews was especially dominant over the final two months of the minor league season, pitching to a 2.12 ERA in August and September.

The Brewers have three southpaws higher up on the depth chart (Hoby Milner, Wade Miley, and Andrew Chafin), so it’s unlikely they’re auditioning Andrews for a postseason role. More likely, they’re just taking stock of the various arms in the organization over the final days of the regular season.

Finally, while the restricted list can sound ominous, Megill is simply spending an extra day with his wife and newborn baby, having maxed out his three days on the paternity list. He is expected back tomorrow, Craig Counsell told reporters (including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

Brewers Place Wade Miley On Injured List

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The Brewers placed left-hander Wade Miley on the 15-day injured list due to elbow discomfort and recalled righty Trevor Megill from Triple-A Nashville, per a team announcement. Miley tells Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he’s not dealing with a ligament issue (Twitter links). Rather, he’s been pitching through bone spurs in his elbow. Miley has already received a platelet-rich plasma injection to help combat the pain, and manager Craig Counsell told Hogg and others today that the team is hopeful it’ll just be a minimal absence.

It’s the second IL stint of the season for Miley, who went on the injured list back on May 17 due to a lat strain. He was out until June 17 with that injury and will now be shelved again for a yet-to-be-determined period of time.

Miley, 36, has pitched to an excellent 3.06 ERA in 67 2/3 innings this season and was particularly sharp in between IL stints, logging a 2.08 ERA with a 22-to-10 K/BB ratio and 45.1% ground-ball rate in 26 innings across five starts. Overall, he’s fanned a well below-average 16.7% of his opponents in 2023 but also sports a strong 6.9% walk rate. He’s done a good job limiting hard contact (87.6 mph average exit velocity) and keeping the ball in the yard (1.06 HR/9) despite a homer-friendly home venue.

Miley joins righty Brandon Woodruff and fellow lefty Aaron Ashby on the injured list. Milwaukee figures to deploy Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Julio Teheran, Adrian Houser and Colin Rea in the rotation for the time being.

That could be a short arrangement, however. Woodruff is headed out on a minor league rehab assignment on Saturday, according to Counsell (Twitter link via Sophia Minnert of Bally Sports Wisconsin). Ashby is also trending toward a rehab assignment, Hogg tweets, though the plan for right now is to bring him back to the big leagues as a reliever rather than a starter.

If both Miley and Woodruff remain on track for returns sooner than later, the Brewers could well feel they have sufficient rotation depth. But there’s minimal depth beyond the current group — hence the earlier signing of Teheran, who’s been a staff savior in eight starts — so if either incurs any kind of setback it could prompt Milwaukee to look for additions between now and the Aug. 1 deadline.

Twins Acquire Taylor Floyd From Brewers

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The Twins have acquired minor league right-hander Taylor Floyd from the Brewers.  The move completes the late-April deal that sent Trevor Megill to Milwaukee, as Floyd will act the player to be named later that was owed to Minnesota.

Floyd was a 10th-round pick for the Brew Crew in the 2019 draft, and the Texas Tech product has spent his entire pro career in Milwaukee’s farm system.  Working exclusively as a reliever, Floyd has missed a lot of bats (30.68% strikeout rate) over his 147 1/3 innings in the minors, but his walk rate rose drastically when pitching at high-A and Double-A ball in 2022.  As Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen explains, an unusual offseason training quirk altered Floyd’s normal submarine delivery heading into the 2022 season, which probably accounted for his lack of control.

Longenhagen still ranked Floyd as the 39th-best prospect in the Brewers’ system even in the wake of that shaky 2022 campaign, and it seems like Floyd has stabilized things in 2023.  In 23 2/3 innings at high-A, Floyd has a 3.04 ERA, 34.8% strikeout rate, and a much more palatable 7.6% walk rate.  The right-hander also has a 49.1% grounder rate, continuing his career-long trend of keeping the ball on the ground roughly around half the time.

Brewers Sign Darin Ruf, Place Luke Voit On IL

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The Brewers announced they have signed first baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf to a one-year contract. Right-hander Brandon Woodruff was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster while first baseman Luke Voit was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained neck to get Ruf onto the active roster. Additionally, the club optioned righty Colin Rea and recalled fellow righty Trevor Megill.

Ruf, 36, has had some success as a lefty-mashing specialist in his career, though he’s been struggling a bit over the past year. After a successful stint in the KBO League from 2017 to 2019, he returned to North America by signing with the Giants prior to 2020. In that shortened season and the subsequent campaign, he hit .272/.381/.519 in 412 plate appearances for a 142 wRC+, including a .275/.390/.579 line and 156 wRC+ against southpaws.

Last year, his overall line dipped to .216/.328/.373, which led to a passable 104 wRC+ but that was obviously not as strong as his previous work. After a trade to the Mets, his production cratered, as he mustered a paltry .152/.216/.197 line the rest of the way. The Mets held onto him through the winter but designated him for assignment at the end of Spring Training. Ruf then returned to the Giants and hit a solid .261/.370/.348 in a tiny sample of nine games before landing on the injured list due to wrist inflammation. He was later reinstated from the IL and designated for assignment when the club selected shortstop prospect Casey Schmitt.

Ruf cleared waivers and elected free agency. Since the Mets initially released him, they are still on the hook for the majority of Ruf’s salary, which is $3MM this year along with a $250K buyout on a 2024 option. The Brewers will only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time Ruf spends on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Mets pay. That makes it a fairly low-risk move, at least from a financial perspective, as the Brewers see if Ruf can get back to the excellent form he showed a few years ago.

He will effectively be replacing Voit on the roster as the club’s right-handed hitting first baseman/designated hitter. Voit was signed to a one-year, $2MM deal for this season but has slumped to a .221/.284/.265 showing so far this year for a wRC+ of just 55. Once one of the most potent power hitters in the league, he led the league in homers in the shortened 2020 season before various injuries seemed to slow him down. He hit an average-ish .230/.314/.412 for a wRC+ of 105 over 2021 and 2022 while bouncing from the Yankees to the Padres and Nationals, going on the injured list for an oblique strain and ongoing knee problems. The Brewers gave him a shot this year but he hasn’t been able to capitalize on it just yet and he might have to battle Ruf for his roster spot whenever his neck strain subsides.

As for Woodruff, his transfer to the 60-day IL doesn’t come as a surprise. He was diagnosed with a Grade 2 subscapular strain in his right shoulder in April and isn’t expected back until late June. He’ll now be ineligible to return until 60 days from his initial IL placement of April 8, which would be early June. Since he wasn’t expected to return until after that point anyway, this transfer was an inevitable formality.

Brewers Acquire Trevor Megill

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The Twins have traded right-hander Trevor Megill to Milwaukee, according to a team announcement by the Brewers, who will be sending a player to be named later and cash to Minnesota in exchange for Megill’s services. Megill has been assigned to Triple-A by Milwaukee, and that the club transferred outfielder Garrett Mitchell to the 60-day injured list to make room for Megill on the 40-man roster.

A third round pick by the Cardinals in the 2014 draft, Megill made his MLB debut in 2021 as a member of the Cubs. He struggled badly in 23 2/3 innings, however, posting an 8.37 ERA and 5.61 FIP before being designated for assignment by Chicago at the end of the season. He was claimed off waivers by the Twins and has remained in the organization ever since. In 2022, he posted much better numbers than he had on the north side. His 4.80 ERA in 45 innings of work was still below average by measure of ERA+ (81), but he struck out 25% of batters faced while walking 8.7%, leading to a solid 3.29 FIP.

Megill figures to be bullpen depth for a Brewers club that has gone without Aaron Ashby this season and recently put right-handers Matt Bush and Gus Varland on the 15-day IL. Even in spite of those injuries, however, the Brewers’ bullpen is top 5 in the majors by measure of ERA so far this season, meaning Megill may need to wait until an injury makes a spot available for his first opportunity in Milwaukee.

Twins Designate Trevor Megill For Assignment

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The Twins announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Brock Stewart, a move that was reported earlier today. To open a spot for Stewart on the active roster, righty Bailey Ober was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul yesterday. To get Stewart onto the 40-man roster, righty Trevor Megill was designated for assignment.

Megill, 29, made his major league debut with the Cubs in 2021. He posted an 8.37 ERA in 28 appearances, though he struck out 26.1% of batters faced and walked just 7%. He was claimed off waivers by the Twins at season’s end, though they quickly non-tendered him and re-signed him on a minor league deal. He got selected to the roster in May and made 39 appearances for the Twins last year, registering a 4.80 ERA. It’s possible that he deserved even better, given his .368 batting average on balls in play and 62.5% strand rate. Decent peripherals like a 25% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 45% ground ball rate led to a 3.29 FIP and 3.38 SIERA.

The righty was optioned to Triple-A to start this season but has gotten out to an atrocious start. He’s tossed 9 2/3 innings over seven outings, walking 25.5% of batters faced, which has contributed to an unsightly 13.03 ERA. He struck out 31.4% of batters faced and got grounders at a 50% clip, but the overall results were clearly not great.

The Twins will now have a week to trade Megill or pass him through waivers. Despite his rough start to the year, other clubs may overlook that small sample and take a flier on the righty based on past results, as he still has a couple of options and has yet to qualify for arbitration.

Twins Select Aaron Sanchez

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The Twins announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Aaron Sanchez. He will take the active roster spot of fellow righty Trevor Megill, who has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left oblique strain. To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder Kyle Garlick was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Sanchez, 30, had a tremendous season for the Blue Jays in 2016, throwing 192 innings with a 3.00 ERA, 20.4% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 54.4% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, various injuries have held him back in subsequent years, relegating him to a depth arm.

He began this year on a minor league deal with the Nats, eventually spending just over a month with the big league club. He then signed another minors deal, this time with the Twins. Since then, he’s twice been selected to the big league club before being designated for assignment and outrighted to the minors, with today’s selection being his third selection by the Twins and fourth on the year overall. Between all of those transactions, he’s thrown 58 1/3 innings in the bigs this year with a 6.33 ERA, 16% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate and 52.4% grounder rate. He has over six years of MLB service time and will return to free agency at the conclusion of the season.

As for Megill, 28, this IL placement will finish his season. He threw 45 innings for the Twins this year with a 4.80 ERA, though much stronger peripheral stats. His 25% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 45% ground ball rate are all a bit better than the league average marks. He might have been held back by some bad luck, as his 62.5% strand rate is well below the mean and his .368 batting average on balls in play is well above. He and the Twins will hope for better results next year and into the future, as he’s yet to reach arbitration eligibility.

As for Garlick, he’s been on the IL since mid-September due to a wrist sprain and this transfer will officially quash any chance of him returning. He finishes the year with a .233/.284/.433 batting line, good enough for a wRC+ of 104.

Twins Place Sonny Gray On IL With Hamstring Strain

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The Twins announced that they have placed right-hander Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. His roster spot will go to fellow righty Trevor Megill, who has been reinstated from the COVID IL. Additionally, righty Dereck Rodriguez, who was designated for assignment on the weekend, has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A.

Gray, 32, started yesterday’s game against the Guardians but was pulled after throwing just 44 pitches in two innings. Though Gray could technically return on the last day of the season, October 5, it’s quite likely that this will conclude his 2022 campaign.

Acquired from the Reds in a March trade, Gray was very good when healthy enough to take the mound. He made two other trips to the IL, one for a hamstring strain in April and another for a pectoral strain in June. Around those injuries, he made 24 starts and threw 119 2/3 innings with a 3.08 ERA, 24% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 44.5% ground ball rate.

That has sort of been the story for the Twins as a whole as well, as they seemed to be the best team in the AL Central for much of the year until mounting injuries dragged them down. They had a lead as big as 5.5 games in late May, but have since slid down to third place, seven games back of the Guardians and three behind the White Sox. Given that their postseason chances are effectively gone at this point, it makes logical sense to let Gray put his feet up for the next little bit as opposed to taking a chance on making his injury worse. Gray joins 17 of his teammates on the IL, bringing the club’s total to 18.

Minnesota’s rotation is now left with Joe Ryan, Dylan Bundy, Bailey Ober and Josh Winder, leaving one spot to be filled. It’s possible that rookie Ronny Henriquez, who threw 73 pitches after Gray’s departure yesterday, could just step in, though that remains to be seen.

Gray is in the final guaranteed season of the extension he signed with the Reds back in 2019, though there’s a $13.1MM club option for 2023. That’s a bargain price for a pitcher of Gray’s caliber, making it a fairly easy decision for the Twins to exercise it and bring him back for 2023.

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