Wang returns as Guerra is sent down
The Milwaukee Brewers continued to tweak their pitching staff Sunday, optioning starter Junior Guerra to Class AAA Colorado Springs and selecting the contract of reliever WeiChung Wang.
Guerra’s demotion comes the day after the right-hander’s worst start of the season, a three-inning, 61-pitch outing in which he allowed no hits or runs but walked four and showed a continued inability to command his pitches.
Manager Craig Counsell needed six relievers to cover what turned into an 11-inning game, so the decision to swap out Guerra for Wang made sense in the short term.
Over the longer term, the hope is the Brewers’ opening-day starter gets himself squared away with the pressure off him in the minor leagues. Guerra headed down with a 1-4 record, 4.96 earned-run average and WHIP of 1.54 in 13 starts, having gone no deeper than six innings in any of them.
Guerra was hit twice by injuries, a calf strain on opening day that kept him out for almost two months and a shin contusion that didn’t cost him any time since it occurred at the outset of the all-star break.
“I think Junior is at a spot for me where we need more strikes,” Counsell said. Only 31 of Guerra’s 61 pitches Saturday were strikes.
“It’s just tough to survive pitching when you’re throwing half strikes and half balls. It’s just not sustainable. The misses yesterday, we had spiked fastballs. That tells me there’s either a mechanical issue, but more likely to me, I think we just need to get his confidence going.”
Guerra, 32, was one of the pleasant surprises for the Brewers in Year 1 of their rebuild in 2016, going 9-3 with a 2.81 ERA and WHIP of 1.13 in 20 starts.
Now he’s the second consecutive opening-day starter to be optioned out by the team in the same year. Wily Peralta suffered the same fate 13 starts into 2016, and on Saturday he was designated for assignment by the Brewers after struggling for two months as a reliever.
By sending out Guerra and with Matt Garza currently on the disabled list, the Brewers have only three starters on their 25-man roster. They have Monday off and then open a three-game series Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals at Miller Park.
Jimmy Nelson is scheduled to start that game, with the rest of the rotation listed as TBA.
“We need to know Matt’s status,” Counsell said. “That’ll determine some of the other stuff. Hopefully in the next couple of days, we do.”
The 25-year-old Wang, meanwhile, has come full circle since making his major-league debut with the Brewers in 2014 as a 21-year-old Rule 5 draftee who had never pitched above rookie league while in Pittsburgh’s system.
Wang struggled his way to a 10.90 ERA in 14 appearances. He also spent nearly two months on the disabled list with a sore shoulder. In 39 appearances at Colorado Springs this season, Wang went 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA and WHIP of 1.25 while striking out 44 in 47 1/3 innings.
“It’s taken a while, but he’s stuck to it and he’s pitched a lot of innings down there,” Counsell said. “He’s kind of been converted to a full-time reliever now.
“His velocity has gone up as he’s been in the bullpen and I think as he’s just gotten a little older and gained some strength. He’s pitched exceptionally well this year in Colorado Springs.
“He’s earned his way up here.”
The 11th Taiwanese player to play in the major leagues, Wang was exclusively a starter in 2015-’16 – taking 50 turns overall – before being switched to the bullpen heading into this season.
“We needed to see a little bit more from him to advance,” said Counsell. “I think we’ve seen more with him being in the bullpen. You’re hoping sometimes when you switch guys to the bullpen, facing (fewer) hitters a little more samesided matchups, hopefully the velocity goes up a little bit.
“Those things all happened and he’s had success.”
Wang made his 2017 debut in the eighth but threw just two pitches. Jason Heyward singled on the second and Wang then made way for Jared Hughes.