Brewers lefty Robert Gasser has already acquired 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 robust accurately” however can be not “damaged.” ElAttrache really useful surgical procedure, Gasser defined, however extra for sturdiness issues than to restore quick injury. ElAttrache additionally advised Gasser that non-surgical rehab may very well be a viable choice as a result of the ligament will not be presently ruptured.
Understandably, it appears Gasser would like to keep away from going beneath the knife if in any respect potential. Surgical procedure is a final resort in these circumstances, and as Gasser himself mentioned of the 2 opinions he’s acquired up to now: “They each mentioned I can rehab. I’m simply making an attempt to determine what the very best transfer is.”
Any type of UCL surgical procedure — be it Tommy John surgical procedure, an inner 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/inner brace hybrid would preserve Gasser out of motion late into the 2025 season no less than. A strict inner brace with no full UCL reconstruction may 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 circumstances erring towards the later finish of that spectrum. Speculatively talking, if essentially the most real looking rehab situation has Gasser returning in mid-to-late August subsequent season anyhow, he may view the rest-and-rehab route as successfully risking the ultimate six weeks of subsequent yr for an opportunity at pitching an entire 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 robust outcomes up to now 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 fee within the majors is problematically low, however he’s offset that thus far with Maddux-esque precision, issuing a stroll to only one the 114 batters he’s confronted. Each of these fee stats are more likely 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 probably be with out Brandon Woodruff for your complete season whereas he recovers from final October’s shoulder surgical procedure. Left-hander Wade Miley is finished for the yr after present process Tommy John surgical procedure final month. Every of Jakob Junis, Joe Ross and DL Corridor can be on the injured listing in the intervening time. That’s left the Brewers with Freddy Peralta, Colin Rea, Bryse Wilson and Tobias Myers within the rotation. Milwaukee may 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 report and presently maintain a 6.5-game lead over the Reds and Cubs (each tied at 32-34 on the season). Even when the division seems to be fairly winnable proper now, they’ll nonetheless want reinforcements for a possible postseason rotation.
