Suppan placed on DL with neck issue
The Brewers whittled their choices for a fifth starter down to two on Tuesday when they placed right-hander Jeff Suppan on the 15-day disabled list with a neck injury.
Suppan’s stint on the DL with cervical disc pain was backdated to March 26, so he will be eligible to return on April 10. The Brewers probably won’t use a fifth starter until April 15 against the Cubs, so Suppan presumably could re-join the competition, but for now it’s down to left-handers Chris Narveson and Manny Parra.
The injury also means that right-hander Carlos Villanueva’s Opening Day spot in the bullpen is likely safe. Had the Brewers kept Narveson, Parra and Suppan on the 25-man roster, Villanueva may have been vulnerable because he has Minor League options remaining.
Suppan worked a simulated game at the Brewers’ Minor League complex on Tuesday morning without any apparent issues, but the club revealed that he has been getting treatment all spring for a sore neck. The issue first presented during Suppan’s entry physical before the start of camp, and an MRI scan on Monday night confirmed some pathology.
“They discovered [during the original physical] that there was some pain radiating into his arms,” Ash said. “Dr. [William] Raasch and some other doctors looked at him and felt that it was something that with some conservative care he might be able to get through. As the spring has gone on, it hasn’t dissipated as much as either Jeff or we would have hoped.”
Suppan will remain a few extra days at Maryvale Baseball Park for treatment when the Brewers break camp Thursday afternoon. But with a modified workload he should be back to 100 percent “relatively quickly,” Ash said.
The injury news came as something of a surprise on Tuesday since neither Suppan nor club officials had mentioned it. Cue the conspiracy theorists, who mused on message boards and talk radio lines about the convenient way a difficult roster decision was taken out of club officials’ hands.
“You can certainly speculate on that, but we are not looking at it that way,” Ash said. “You never like to put anybody on the disabled list if you don’t have to, but this is a situation that we feel, not only for now but for the longer term, is the best solution.”
In a separate move, the Brewers voided right-hander Josh Butler’s option to Triple-A Nashville and placed him on the Major League 15-day disabled list with an impingement in his elbow. The assignment was backdated to March 22.
Butler did not throw a single pitch in big league camp because of the injury. The rules state that teams cannot option out injured players, but often there is some grey area, and when Butler’s agent, Dan Horwitz, called Ash to discuss that grey area, the sides revisited the issue.
An MRI scan on Monday revealed what Ash termed, “minor findings.” So the Brewers reversed the roster move.
“I had a conversation with Josh a week ago or so and tried to assure him that we weren’t trying to skirt the rules,” Ash said. “We will do the right thing and put him back on the Major League disabled list, but he should be ready to go relatively quickly.”
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Adam McCalvy
Please, no Suppan, no Villanueva, no Corey Hart. Lets stop insulting the intelligence of loyal fans with guys that find ways to blow it. Lets go with some of the fresh faces to add to the roster who earned a right to be there with excellent Springs. Time to part ways with mediocrity for some younger talent thats hungry.