Brewers activate two former All-Stars off IL

The Brewers announced four roster moves, including the activation of both Wade Miley and Jesse Winker from the injured list. Miley was placed on the 15-day IL due to a lat strain on May 17, while Winker has been on the 10-day IL since May 28 due to a cervical strain. To create space on the active roster, the Brewers optioned right-hander Tyson Miller to Triple-A and designated first baseman Jon Singleton for assignment.

Miley inked a one-year deal worth $4.5M in guaranteed money to come to Milwaukee during the offseason, and the veteran southpaw has delivered a 3.67 ERA over 41 2/3 innings. Miley’s 40.4% grounder rate and 10.3% barrel rate are both significantly worse than in recent seasons, but it’s hard to yet make any big projections given the small sample size of innings. The lefty has made up for those numbers with a borderline elite 5.3% walk rate as well as his customary good work at limiting hard contact.

Miley will start Saturday’s game against the Pirates, and his return brings some more relief to a Milwaukee rotation that has been hit hard with injuries. Brandon Woodruff will still be out until at least the All-Star break, and Aaron Ashby will miss all of the 2023 season due to shoulder surgery. But with Miley now back on the mound, the Brew Crew are at least a step closer to their initial first-choice rotation. Adrian Houser will be shifted to the bullpen, leaving Miley, Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Colin Rea and Julio Teheran as Milwaukee’s current rotation.

Winker was another offseason acquisition, picked up from the Mariners along with Abraham Toro in exchange for Kolten Wong. The trade hasn’t worked out for either team to date, as Wong and Winker have each badly struggled with their new clubs. Winker has looking to bounce back from a relatively disappointing 2022 campaign in Seattle, yet the 108 wRC+ he posted with the Mariners is far above the 60 wRC+ (off a .204/.315/.231 slash line) that Winker has delivered over his first 127 plate appearances in a Brewers uniform. There’s still plenty of time for Winker to turn things around, as perhaps the three weeks on the IL both healed his neck problem and might serve as a fresh start to his 2023 season.

The Brewers selected Singleton’s contract from Triple-A earlier this month, and he hit only .103/.188/.138 over 32 PA. While an underwhelming slash line, just making it back to the big leagues for the first time since 2015 marked a personal victory for Singleton, whose battle with marijuana addiction took him out of baseball entirely for three seasons until he launched a comeback in the Mexican League in 2021. If Singleton clears DFA waivers and the Brewers outright him to Triple-A, Singleton can choose to become a free agent, since he has been outrighted off a 40-man roster in the past.