Swindle called back up; Burns demoted

You can officially scratch Mike Burns’ name off the list of possible Brewers starters for Tuesday.

The team optioned the right-hander back to Triple-A Nashville on Monday ahead of a four-game series against the Washington Nationals and promoted reliever R.J. Swindle, giving manager Ken Macha two left-handed specialists to play with in the bullpen.

Swindle allowed four runs in 2 2/3 innings over two brief stints with the big-league Brewers this year but has been nearly unhittable at Nashville. In 31 relief appearances there, he has a 1.03 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Left-handed hitters are hitting .148 against Swindle, who elicits oohs and ahhs with his super-slow curveball.

Burns was largely ineffective after promotion to the starting rotation. He was 2-3 in five starts with a 7.20 ERA, prompting the Brewers to remove him from the rotation. As of this morning, Macha still hasn’t named his starting pitcher for Tuesday, prompting all sorts of trade speculation.

Macha will almost certainly have to offer an answer today.