Brewers lefty Robert Gasser has already obtained a pair of opinions — one from the crew’s medical workers, one other from famend surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache — on his ailing left elbow and is headed to satisfy with Dr. Keith Meister to obtain a 3rd opinion, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Gasser advised the Brewers beat this weekend that his ulnar collateral ligament is “not as sturdy correctly” however can also be not “damaged.” ElAttrache really helpful surgical procedure, Gasser defined, however extra for sturdiness considerations than to restore rapid harm. ElAttrache additionally advised Gasser that non-surgical rehab might be a viable choice as a result of the ligament shouldn’t be at present ruptured.
Understandably, it appears Gasser would favor to keep away from going beneath the knife if in any respect potential. Surgical procedure is a final resort in these instances, and as Gasser himself mentioned of the 2 opinions he’s obtained to date: “They each mentioned I can rehab. I’m simply making an attempt to determine what the perfect transfer is.”
Any type of UCL surgical procedure — be it Tommy John surgical procedure, an inside brace process or a hybrid of the 2 — would wipe out the rest of Gasser’s season. A full Tommy John or a Tommy John/inside brace hybrid would hold Gasser out of motion late into the 2025 season not less than. A strict inside brace with out a full UCL reconstruction might have him again on the mound sooner than that.
Provided that we’re now into mid-June, there’s maybe some further advantage the non-surgical route — relying on the kind of surgical procedure being thought of. Restoration from both Tommy John surgical procedure or that hybrid process would include a 12- to 16-month rehab window in all probability, with most instances erring towards the later finish of that spectrum. Speculatively talking, if essentially the most life like rehab situation has Gasser returning in mid-to-late August subsequent season anyhow, he might view the rest-and-rehab route as successfully risking the ultimate six weeks of subsequent 12 months for an opportunity at pitching a complete season in 2025.
Whichever path Gasser takes, he’s in for an prolonged absence from the Milwaukee rotation. That’s a vital hit, given each the left-hander’s sturdy outcomes to date in his debut marketing campaign and the wave of different accidents Milwaukee has incurred. In his first 5 begins, the 25-year-old Gasser pitched to a 2.57 ERA in 28 innings of labor.
Gasser, acquired from the Padres within the 2022 Josh Hader commerce, entered the season ranked among the many Brewers group’s greatest pitching prospects. His 14% strikeout charge within the majors is problematically low, however he’s offset that thus far with Maddux-esque precision, issuing a stroll to simply one the 114 batters he’s confronted. Each of these charge stats are prone to change over a bigger pattern; the southpaw fanned 28% of his Triple-A opponents and walked 8.4% of them in 135 innings in 2023.
From a crew perspective, the Brewers will likely be with out Brandon Woodruff for all the season whereas he recovers from final October’s shoulder surgical procedure. Left-hander Wade Miley is finished for the 12 months after present process Tommy John surgical procedure final month. Every of Jakob Junis, Joe Ross and DL Corridor can also be on the injured checklist for the time being. That’s left the Brewers with Freddy Peralta, Colin Rea, Bryse Wilson and Tobias Myers within the rotation. Milwaukee might flip to pitching prospect Carlos Rodriguez to take the ball tomorrow.
No matter what occurs with Gasser, beginning pitching will seemingly catch the attention of Milwaukee as subsequent month’s commerce deadline approaches. Their depth has already been stretched exceptionally skinny, and any additional accidents would show tough to beat. Regardless of all their accidents, the Brewers are the one NL Central membership with a profitable document and at present maintain a 6.5-game lead over the Reds and Cubs (each tied at 32-34 on the season). Even when the division appears to be like fairly winnable proper now, they’ll nonetheless want reinforcements for a possible postseason rotation.
