MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers reliever Trevor Rosenthal’s status for the rest of the season is in doubt due to a lat injury, the latest setback for a former All-Star closer who hasn’t pitched since the 2020 playoffs.
“I think there’s still a possibility (he could return) in the regular season, but it doesn’t look great,” manager Craig Counsell said before the Brewers’ game Saturday night against the Chicago Cubs. “I think we’ll kind of gather some more information in the next couple of days, how we’re doing here and what kind of direction Trevor wants to take with this.”
This represents the latest setback for Rosenthal, who hasn’t pitched since the 2020 playoffs with the San Diego Padres due to a variety of injuries. Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns said this issue was unrelated to his prior injuries.
“This is a completely new injury,” Stearns said. “It’s something he had not felt at all through his rehab projection. It just popped up on his most recent outing.”
The Brewers acquired Rosenthal from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline with the idea the 2015 All-Star could help their bullpen in the final month of the season. His lat injury cut short an appearance with the Brewers’ Triple-A Nashville affiliate.
Counsell said Rosenthal has a strain and said the injury was similar to the issue that caused Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta to miss over two months earlier this season.
The Brewers sent minor league outfielder Tristan Peters to San Francisco in exchange for Rosenthal, who had signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Giants in late July.
Rosenthal was on the injured list with a hamstring issue at the time of the trade. He had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in April 2021 and underwent surgery for a torn labrum in his right hip later that year.
“When you acquire a player that’s hurt, you’re undertaking obviously some risk,” Counsell said. “It’s unfortunate that it doesn’t look like it’s going to pay dividends, but we’ll just play it out and see what happens.”
Milwaukee entered Saturday six games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central and 2 ½ games behind the Padres in the race for the NL’s final wild-card spot.
In other moves, the Brewers selected outfielder Garrett Mitchell from Nashville, placed outfielder Jonathan Davis on the 10-day injured list with right elbow effusion and placed catcher Alex Jackson on the 60-day injured list with left wrist inflammation.
The Brewers selected Mitchell out of UCLA with the 20th overall pick in the 2020 draft. Counsell said Mitchell likely would be in the starting lineup Sunday.
“When he’s on the field, he’s an electric player,” Stearns said. “He brings a complete tool set, a complete skill set. He can impact a game throughout. He can impact defensively, offensively, on the bases.”
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