The Brewers today announced one roster move (with a corresponding one coming tomorrow) and a rehab update on one of their starting pitchers:
Rodríguez being optioned is not shocking. When he was recalled for Craig Yoho on Saturday, it was viewed as a temporary solution to cover some innings. He’s done that: he pitched the ninth inning of the Brewers’ 6-2 loss to the Cubs on May 3, then covered 3 1⁄3 innings (allowing six earned runs) in their 9-1 loss to Houston on Wednesday.
No corresponding move has been announced, but the scuttlebutt is that Logan Henderson is returning to the big-league club tomorrow. Henderson made his major league debut on April 20 against the Athletics and threw a gem — six innings, three hits, one walk, one run, and nine strikeouts — but he was promptly returned to Nashville ahead of Tobias Myers’ return to the rotation.
Milwaukee’s listed starters for the next three games are Jose Quintana, Myers, and a TBD; notably, this skips over Freddy Peralta, who had groin soreness after his last start. Henderson would seem to be the likely starter on Sunday, giving Peralta a couple of extra days — it seems unlikely that an IL stint would be necessary, as they could have just put him on the IL now and not optioned Rodríguez. In any case, it’ll be interesting to see how the rotation shakes out over the weekend.
The other note today is that Aaron Civale is starting his rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville, starting the 30-day window before a decision needs to be made about his roster status. Civale looked bad in his one start this season, and with Brandon Woodruff’s impending return, the addition of Quinn Priester, and Chad Patrick pitching well, it’s entirely possible that some tough questions will be asked when Civale is ready to return to the big leagues. For now, though, it’s worth remembering that pitchers get hurt all the time and these things tend to resolve themselves.