Brewers' John Axford done for at least 2021 season with elbow injury

The remarkable return of relief pitcher John Axford to both the Milwaukee Brewers and MLB may have ended, for good, on Wednesday. 

According to Adam McCalvy of the league's website, Brewers manager Craig Counsell confirmed that Axford is dealing with significant structural damage to his right elbow following his appearance in Monday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

The 38-year-old hadn't taken the bump against big league hitters since the 2018 season and had recently joined the Brewers via a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays for cash considerations later said to be $1. According to Baseball-Reference, Axford is second all-time in Brewers history with 106 saves, but he was only able to record a single out on Monday until he left the mound with elbow issues. 

"There’s damage to his elbow that’s going to prevent him from pitching this year," Counsell explained. "It’s significant, and he’s kind of mulling through his options right now." 

When asked to elaborate, Counsell suggested Axford suffered damage to his ulnar collateral ligament. If that's the case, the right-hander likely wouldn't return to competitive play until the spring of 2023 at the earliest. Considering his age, logic instead suggests Axford has thrown his last pitch while playing at the highest level.