Brewers place starter on 15-day IL with lower-back strain

The Brewers announced that right-hander Joe Ross has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a low back strain, while fellow righty Tobias Myers has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville in a corresponding move.

It’s surely not the birthday that Ross pictured for himself, as he turns 31 years old Tuesday. He started for the Brewers Monday night but departed after just one inning, with the club later relaying that the righty is dealing with a low back strain. 

Now it seems the issue is serious enough that Ross will need to head to the IL for at least 15 days, though it’s unclear exactly how long the club expects him to be out of action.

Injuries have been a big part of the journey for Ross, especially in recent years. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May 2022, the second such procedure of his career. That put him out of action for the rest of that year and most of 2023 as well.

Despite the long layoff, the Brewers took a shot on Ross and signed him to a major league deal in December. The results so far have been pretty good, especially when considering all that missed time. 

He has made nine starts with a 4.50 earned run average this year. His 18.9% strikeout rate is a bit below average but his 8.6% walk rate and 42% ground ball rate are both right around par.

Those numbers are obviously more passable than exciting, but subtracting that performance will still be unwelcome for the Brewers, given that it adds to the mounting number of rotation injuries they are dealing with. Brandon Woodruff won’t be pitching at all this year due to shoulder surgery and Wade Miley recently required Tommy John surgery, putting him out for the rest of the year as well. 

DL Hall and Jakob Junis are also on the IL at the moment, so Tuesday’s move gives the club a full rotation’s worth of starters on the shelf.

Freddy Peralta, Bryse Wilson, Colin Rea and Robert Gasser currently take four rotation spots. The club is off on Thursday and could perhaps survive with those four starters for a few days but will likely need a fifth starter after that, since they play 13 games without a break starting on Friday.

Myers could perhaps step into the rotation, but Bradley Blalock is another option since he was starting in the minors prior to his promotion, with a 2.27 ERA in seven Triple-A starts this year. Myers has a 1.45 ERA at Triple-A this year but his four big league starts led to a 5.29 ERA as he walked 12.2% of opponents and allowed six homers. Mitch White is also on the roster but he pitched in each of the past two games.

Aaron Ashby is on optional assignment but has an 8.90 ERA in Triple-A this year. Janson Junk, also on the 40-man and pitching in the minors, has a much better 4.91 ERA but three of his past four outings have come out of the bullpen.

Despite the rotation challenges, the Brewers are 27-20 and sitting atop the National League Central, though the Cubs are only a game and a half back. Those two clubs play a four-game set against each other next week.