Brewers’ right-hander Matt Garza will return to the rotation on Monday, the team announced on Friday. Garza was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a strained groin in late March and appears to have made a full recovery after pitching through two outings with Triple-A Colorado Springs and Single-A Wisconsin. The move will bump left-hander Tommy Milone to the bullpen, and MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports that the club will still need to make a 25-man roster move before Garza’s debut.
Garza, 33, will need to prove he’s more than just healthy, however. The veteran righty is coming off of a turbulent 2016 season, during which he put up a 4.51 ERA, 3.2 BB/9 and 6.2 K/9 over 101 2/3 innings in Milwaukee. While those numbers improved on the career lows he experienced during 2015, including a 5.63 ERA and 0.6 fWAR, they’ve done nothing to dig Garza out of the back of the rotation.
Milone, meanwhile, has had a rough start to the 2017 season. He’s looking at a 5.63 ERA over 16 innings, including one relief appearance and three starts, and has yet to pitch deeper than the fifth inning in any single start this year. His reassignment to the bullpen comes on the heels of fellow left-hander Brett Suter’s promotion to the ‘pen after the club designated outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis on Friday.
The Brewers are slated to start Garza against the Reds, who will come to town for a three-game series on Monday at 7:40 ET.
