Brewers starting pitchers Eric Lauer, Freddy Peralta exit early within 24 hours

The ability of the Milwaukee Brewers' starting pitchers to remain healthy this season has been difficult. With the exception of Corbin Burnes, every other ‘typical’ starter has spent time on the injured list this year. The injuries are continuing.

Within 24 hours, two starting pitchers exited their most recent starts early. On Sept. 7 in Colorado, Eric Lauer was removed in the third inning with left elbow tightness. A day later, Freddy Peralta was on the hill for the second game of a doubleheader against the Giants and was pulled after just 44 pitches.

Brewers Starting Pitcher Injury Updates: Eric Lauer And Freddy Peralta

Lauer, a southpaw, had his elbow examined on Thursday while in Milwaukee. The Brewers did announce a diagnosis of an elbow strain, however Craig Counsell said he was not “super concerned”. He did also go on to say that Lauer will miss at least one start.

As for Peralta, he will head back to the injured list. It was announced that he had a continuation of fatigue and no new symptoms. His fatigue symptoms became very apparent during his start against the Cubs on Aug. 26 when he was pulled in the midst of a no-hitter after just 82 pitches. In his two starts after that he was removed from the game at 74 pitches and most recently 44.

What are the implications of these injuries both short and long term?

Both of these injuries are concerning. In the short term, the Brewers starting pitching staff is going to be very short-handed. With Aaron Ashby still on the mend, this will likely cause Adrian Houser to make another start, in which he was initially placed back in the bullpen after returning from his IL stint.  Jason Alexander will also likely continue to take the hill for the Brewers.

Long term, the health of Peralta is of major concern. He missed three months of MLB game action earlier this year with a shoulder injury. Of his rehab updates provided during that time, he appeared to be ahead of schedule consistently. It is possible that he was rushed back too soon, but with the fact that he is heading back to the IL, there is a lot of uncertainty if he will pitch again in 2022.

There is not much season remaining and while injuries are never a good thing, this really is not good timing. The Brewers, despite struggling over the last month, are still in the hunt for a wild card spot.