Brewers Bullpen Candidate Suffers Injury Setback in Spring Training

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dave Gasper | Last updated Feb 20, 2025 3:13 PM ET

The Milwaukee Brewers have a large number of candidates vying for their final bullpen spots. Former first round draft pick J.B. Bukauskas is one of those candidates, back with the organization on a minor league deal with a non-roster invite to big league spring training.

With full squad workouts underway, pitchers are getting in their initial bullpen sessions and facing hitters in live BP before Cactus League games get started. That has also meant some injuries are popping up.

The 28 year old Bukauskas, facing an uphill climb already to make the Opening Day roster, just suffered a setback.

According to manager Pat Murphy, Bukauskas suffered an injury during live BP and went to get an MRI.

A setback during live BP yesterday for non-roster Brewers reliever JB Bukauskas. He underwent an MRI for a right arm injury. Pat Murphy was waiting for results before saying more.

Bukauskas probably wasn’t an Opening Day roster candidate, but it’s a blow to the club’s depth.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) February 20, 2025

The results aren't in yet, but it is concerning for Bukauskas that he's already down with an injury this early in camp. Bukauskas missed a large portion of the 2024 season with injury.

The Brewers had Bukauskas in their bullpen early last year, and he did quite well, pitching to a 1.50 ERA in six appearances. However, he suffered a lat strain and went on the IL on April 14th. Then he went on a rehab assignment in June before suffering another injury and setback, then went on another in July where Bukauskas suffered a different injury and ended up being shut down for the season after that.

Now, Bukauskas' run of bad injury luck appears to be continuing after a largely lost season last year. The results of the MRI aren't in yet, so it's unclear just how long Bukauskas will be out or if he'll even have to miss time at all.

Bukauskas does have a minor league option remaining. He's one of several non-roster invite pitchers in camp battling to make the roster and now he's going to be at least a little bit behind the other pitchers in camp as he works his way back.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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