Curtiss suffers an unfortunate early exit
Ligament tear in elbow will likely need surgery
CHICAGO – Reliever John Curtiss had gotten off to a shaky start with the Milwaukee Brewers but that didn’t make the news Wednesday any less difficult to take.
An examination revealed Curtiss had a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, which almost certainly will require Tommy John reconstructive surgery and force him to miss the rest of this year as well as the entire 2022 season. The good news is that the Brewers will control his contract for three years beyond that.
Curtiss came out of the second game of the doubleheader Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs with elbow discomfort after recording two outs in the fourth inning.
“This a tough one,” said president of baseball operations David Stearns, who acquired Curtiss from Miami before the July 31 trade deadline for minor-league catcher Payton Henry. “One of the things he prided himself on was durability. One of the first things he told us when he walked in the door was, ‘I’m available every day. You don’t need to ask me.’
“It’s really unfortunate. We feel awful for John. I think he was very excited to come to this team. He was excited to pitch in a pennant race, hopefully pitch in the playoffs again. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”
Curtiss, who struggled to a 12.46 ERA in six outings, was the second reliever acquired recently to go down with a UCL injury. Former Brewers closer John Axford, obtained from Toronto in a minor-league deal, injured his elbow in his first outing last Monday against Pittsburgh.
“It’s baseball,” Stearns said. “I am
very confident we could not have foreseen either of those. It's really too bad for those two guys because I think both of those guys really believed they were going to contribute to this and in various ways felt fortunate to be here.”
Curtiss will get the obligatory second opinion on his elbow, but with the 38year-old Axford the main decision is whether he wants to try pitching again.
“It's likely headed toward a surgical procedure; a reconstruction procedure,” Stearns said. “'Ax' is still weighing his options. He's at a different point in his life and his career.”
To replace Curtiss in the bullpen, the Brewers summoned right-hander Justin Topa, a double Tommy John survivor who had been out since spring training with a flexor strain injury.
Topa had been on the 60-day IL and was most recently pitching for Class AAA Nashville.
“It's been a lot of work, a lot of ups and downs but I'm happy to be back,” said Topa, 30, who made his majorleague debut with the Brewers with six outings (2.35 ERA) last season. “The team has been playing unbelievable. I was keeping tabs when I was out in Arizona, then Biloxi and Nashville. It's just good to be back and join this group of guys and keep it rolling.
“I felt good health-wise, arm felt good, body felt good. I felt like I was making my pitches, especially in my later outings. It was good to get the hitters' reactions. I was in Arizona a long time. A couple of days I threw, it was 116-plus (degrees). So, it was good to get out of there.”
As for avoiding yet another Tommy John procedure, Topa said, “When it happened, it was terrible timing, late in the spring. It could have been the third elbow (surgery). That was always in the back of my mind. Thankfully, we got good results on the MRI and had a good attack plan in rehab. I caught a break, for sure.”
Manager Craig Counsell said he would have to be cautious with his usage of Topa until he gets some more innings under his belt.
“He's still a little young in his progression,” Counsell said. “He's pitched but on a schedule, is what I'd say. It's not going to be scheduled, but we'll be cautious. Everything else is good. He's pitched very well.”
The Brewers also placed left-handed reliever Angel Perdomo on the 10-day IL for the second time this year with lower back discomfort.
Perdomo reported the issue after a problematic outing in Game 2 of the doubleheader during which he walked the bases loaded. Lefty Hoby Milner was recalled from Nashville to take his place.
The Brewers technically “sent” lefthander Aaron Ashby back to Nashville after his rain-shortened start in Game 2, but he will remain with the club on the taxi squad.
Because he was the allowed 27th man for the doubleheader, he is eligible to be activated at any time.
Hader set to return Thursday
Closer Josh Hader is expected to be activated from the COVID-19 injury list Thursday in time for the series finale against the Cubs. Hader has been in quarantine since Aug. 2 after reporting symptoms and testing positive.
With the return of Hader, the Brewers will have their full complement of available relievers with the exception of Jandel Gustave, who remains in quarantine in a hotel in Atlanta. He was kept there after contact tracing and later tested positive, extending his time in isolation.
As for how the bullpen has handled the constant revolving door of pitchers in and out, Counsell said, “I give Josh and Devin (Williams) a ton of credit for that. Those guys handle themselves with that mentality and then (Brent) Suter brings it up in a good way. They've all handled it really well.
“It's just kind of do your job. The turnover has been steady down there. Names have changed and faces have changed quite a bit. They've rolled with it all and they continue to do their jobs. That's all you can ask.”
Left-hander Eric Lauer, who had been pitching in the rotation before going on the COVID-19 IL, is eligible to return Friday in Pittsburgh and will undergo testing Thursday to see if he clears. Right-hander Adrian Houser, who went on the COVID list three days later than Lauer, could take longer to return than the minimum 10 days.
The ultimate vulture move
Suter has drawn the nickname “The Vulture” for his penchant for entering games in which the Brewers are behind or tied, then recording a victory – he has 11 – when they take the lead for good. But Miguel Sánchez was the ultimate scavenger when he took over for Curtiss with two outs and a 3-2 count on Johneshwy Fargas in the bottom of the fourth.
Sánchez threw one pitch to strike out Fargas and then exited in favor of Jake Cousins in the fifth. In the interim, the Brewers scored six runs to turn a 1-0 defict into a 6-1 lead and held on for a 6-3 victory, giving Sánchez his first majorleague victory.
“One pitch and a win,” Counsell said “Miguel's done a really nice job for us this year. He's done what Suter has done for us in the past, almost a utility guy reliever is how we describe him.
“The one thing about Miguel – any time you put him in the game, he's ready for any situation. The situation doesn't get too big for him. He's been areal steadying force during all this craziness that's been going on with the bullpen. I can't remember the situation when we called him up but the way he's pitched has made us keep him here.”
Suter did not come away from that game empty-handed, however. After bailing Perdomo out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the sixth and finishing the game, he recorded his first majorleague save.
Suter would have recorded save No. 1 Saturday night against San Francisco but rightfielder Avisaíl García missed a fly ball that would have been the final out in the ninth, and the Brewers eventually lost, 9-6, in 11 innings.