Eric Lauer joins Brewers’ growing COVID-19 injured list,
The Milwaukee Brewers’ COVID-19 injured list keeps growing and growing.
The latest addition came Wednesday morning when manager Craig Counsell announced left-hander Eric Lauer tested positive for the virus, joining six teammates on the COVID-19 IL.
Others on that list include leftfielder Christian Yelich, relievers Josh Hader, Hunter Strickland, Jake Cousins and Jandel Gustave; and first baseman Keston Hiura, whose positive test came after he was sent to Class AAA Nashville last weekend.
A seventh player, infielder/outfielder Jace Peterson, was in quarantine for seven days because of contact tracing before returning to the team Monday. Gustave, stuck in a hotel in Atlanta, also is in a seven-day quarantine because of contact tracing.
Counsell said Lauer had no virus symptoms before the positive test result came back. To replace him on their roster, the Brewers activated right-hander Sal Romano, claimed off waivers from the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
Asked if he thought positive tests on the club would keep coming, Counsell said, “I don’t think we know. I don’t think anybody knows what to think, really. That’s kind of what’s going on. We’re doing the best we can with it.”
The bullpen has been thinned badly by the outbreak and it won’t help to lose Lauer, who has been a valuable swingman on the staff, pitching in both relief and making spot starts. In 15 games, including 11 starts, he is 4-4 with a 3.50 earned run average, including five shutout innings Monday night against Pittsburgh in a 6-2 victory.
“It feels like baseball seasons offer us things that, we try to prepare as best as we can, and things are always going to happen, and you have to react to them a little bit, you prepare for them, but we’re also reacting to things and doing our best without a lot of advance notice,” Counsell said.
“The guys are in a good space. They really are. I think we’re playing good baseball. Unfortunately, baseball happened last night, and it didn’t go great (in blowing a 4-0 lead in an 8-5 loss to the Pirates). Nothing terrible happened last night. We lost the game. Things didn’t go right. Whatever. Come out today and play again.
“We’re doing fine. We’re doing good. We’re playing good baseball. We’ve got a good baseball team. We’re going to have challenges. Every team has different challenges. These are our challenges. We’ve got to just put our heads down and keep getting through them.”
The Brewers are Romano’s third team this season. He was designated for assignment by Cincinnati in mid-May after getting off to a rough start, posting a 5.23 earned run average over 14 appearances. He signed a minor-league deal with New York and was sent to Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he had a 3.47 ERA over 23 1⁄3 innings.
Romano was promoted to the majors and had two scoreless outings for the Yankees before being designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for left-hander Andrew Heaney, acquired from the Los Angeles Angels.
The 27-year-old Romano was a 23rd round draft pick of the Reds out of high school in Connecticut in 2011 and pitched in five seasons in the majors, going 15-19 with a 5.15 ERA in 83 games, including 41 starts. In 271 innings, he allowed 288 hits and 107 walks with 206 strikeouts and a 1.458 WHIP.
The Brewers certainly know Romano. He pitched against them 11 times with Cincinnati, including six starts, and didn’t fare well, going 1-5 with a 5.21 ERA.
Axford out for season
Counsell also announced that reliever John Axford, who injured his elbow Monday night in his return to the club at age 38, had suffered a significant injury and would miss the remainder of the season.
Axford, 38, was acquired by his original major-league team in a cash deal with Toronto after making a comeback this year and pitching for Class AAA Buffalo. He came into the game against the Pirates in the ninth inning with a 6-0 lead and received a standing ovation from Brewers fans but retired only one of five hitters before suffering the elbow injury.
Counsell said Axford was assessing his medical options but if Tommy John surgery is involved, at his age he likely will call it a career.
“He was climbing a tall hill,” Counsell said. “What he was doing was really hard to do. He got really far up the hill and then the last part just ended up being too tough.”
Curtiss hasn’t had best of luck
To say the least, things haven’t gone well in the early going for reliever John Curtiss, acquired Friday in a trade with the Miami Marlins.
In his first three outings, he has been charged with six runs in 1 2/3 innings (32.40 ERA) with six hits, one walk and two strikeouts.
Curtiss has been a victim of circumstances to a certain point, however. In his first outing Saturday night in Atlanta, during which he was charged with five runs in two-thirds of an inning, including a grand slam by Dansby Swanson, a defensive play in the infield wasn’t made that was not ruled an error.
Curtiss entered the game Tuesday night in place of fellow trade acquisition Daniel Norris against the Pirates in the seventh inning with a run in, the bases loaded and one out, with the Brewers ahead, 4-1. The first batter he faced, Bryan Reynolds, hit a grounder to shortstop Willy Adames that could have been a double play but it skipped past Adames for a run-scoring error.
The next hitter, Hoy Park, doubled in three runs to put the Pirates ahead, 5-4. The Brewers would tie the score, 5-5, before losing, 8-5, in 10 innings.
“His appearances have been a little strange,” Counsell said. “We’ve made some defensive mistakes, and there’s been some soft contact followed by the hard contact in a couple of them.
“He’s been out there before. He’s been in these spots. He’s going to keep getting the ball and we need him to keep going.”