Nick

Neugebauer

Neugebauer is out for the season but he is hoping to be able to pitch in winter ball to get a jump on 2004.

Neugebauer, coming back from shoulder surgery, will be placed on the DL later this week. He should be ready to join a minor league team by mid-April.

Neugebauer’s comeback from shoulder surgery doesn’t seem to be going so well.

Neugebauer used to look like a potential ace with his high-90s fastball, but he’s missed most of the last three years with shoulder problems and the Brewers have decided to give up on him. Maybe he’ll resurface as a reliever someday.

Unfortunately, this isn’t very surprising. Angels medical director Dr. Lewis Yocum is scheduled to operate next week, but the Brewers won’t know exactly what’s wrong until after the surgery. Yocum also operated on Neugebauer on Sept. 19, 2001, repairing tears to his right labrum and rotator cuff.

Not a good start. ''We’re backing him off a bit,’' manager Ned Yost said. ''He did his long toss and played catch, but he didn’t throw to hitters today. We really have to protect him. He’s a 21-year-old kid. We’re going to go slow. We’ll probably have him throwing every other day. There is no need to rush.’' Neugebauer has a great deal of upside, but he’s going to have to look good this spring in order to be worth anything more than a $1-$2 bid in NL-only leagues.

Neugebauer, recovering from shoulder surgery, is expected to remain in Arizona when the Brewers break camp. He should be ready to pitch in the minors before long, but it’s going to be quite some time before he returns to the majors.

Neugebauer, recovering from shoulder surgery, will spend April working his way back to Triple-A. He might get a chance to join the Brewers in July or August.

Kinney is likely to have a spot in Milwaukee’s rotation. Neugebauer’s status for the start of the season is still completely unclear. The 23-year-old missed last year after undergoing shoulder surgery.