Devin Williams Out 3 months with stress fractures in back

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

3 minutes ago, titletownking said:

I get the positive spin and all amidst a sea of doomsayers, but there’s no possible way losing the best closer in baseball for half the season is a good thing. Especially considering the Brewers history of tight game wins the last few years.

We all know you are correct. But if you can't at least try to find a silver lining now, two weeks before the real games even begin, this season is gonna be rough. 

[Brian]

I'm just surprised he came into camp this way.  It just tells me how lost Brewers management really is.

So management go's a full 4 months without even contacting the 4th highest player on the team that is kind of a headcase to begin with. 

[monty57]

3 minutes ago, Ron Robinsons Beard said:

We all know you are correct. But if you can't at least try to find a silver lining now, two weeks before the real games even begin, this season is gonna be rough. 

Yeah, this sucks but injuries happen. How will the team cope with it, and who will step up?

My "silver lining" is that while injuries do happen, a specialist has stated that this is a 3-month injury, and not a "he's got a bum shoulder and hope he can pitch in the MLB sometime in the future" injury.

Meanwhile, the team gets a chance to see who has the fortitude to pitch in the 9th. Stats would say it's no different than any other inning, but history seems to have shown that some pitchers can't take the pressure. Williams will probably not be a Brewer in '25, so getting one of the younger guys some reps can help the team determine who could be the closer of the future.

And most importantly, Williams will be back to solidify things mid-season, so the Brewers just need to hang in there for a few months, and then they'll get their star closer back for the stretch.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

18 minutes ago, Brian said:

I'm just surprised he came into camp this way.  It just tells me how lost Brewers management really is.

So management go's a full 4 months without even contacting the 4th highest player on the team that is kind of a headcase to begin with. 

How do you get that this is on Brewers' management? It was likely lingering back pain that he was hoping would go away. He probably felt fine over the offseason when he was just doing a throwing program. It cropped up when he started ramping things up once he got to Spring Training. People live with stress fractures all the time. They are not debilitating injuries ... unless your job is to throw a baseball 98 mph.

I get that this sucks, and we are all looking for someone to blame. Sometimes crap just happens though. 

[Brian]

Because if it was an issue previously, and he is your star closer, then your completely surprised it is still an issue when camp begins in spring? 

Look at Brook Lopez and the Bucks, they were in contact with him and his Dr.'s all offseason because of his back issues. This isn't little league. Even big colleges would be on top of this with there star players. But the Brewers were totally surprised with all this. 

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

3 minutes ago, Brian said:

Because if it was an issue previously, and he is your star closer, then your completely surprised it is still an issue when camp begins in spring? 

Look at Brook Lopez and the Bucks, they were in contact with him and his Dr.'s all offseason because of his back issues. This isn't little league. Even big colleges would be on top of this with there star players. But the Brewers were totally surprised with all this. 

Where have you seen that the Brewers were surprised by this? I must have missed that.

He pitched through discomfort late last season as the Brewers made a playoff push and ultimately won the National League Central division before being eliminated in the wild-card round. With rest in the offseason, the pain subsided but it began to flare back up as Williams ramped up this spring. - JSOnline

[bigred]

On 3/11/2024 at 2:11 PM, TURBO said:

So who takes over as closer if he is out for an extended period of time?  Uribe?  Payamps?  Someone else?

I think Megill should get the 1st chance, and if he's shaky as the closer, then maybe give Payamps a try? 🤷‍♂️

[Brian]

Because he is just going for a second opinion now.  This should have been done 2 months ago. Not 2 weeks before opening day. 

[bigred]

22 hours ago, duewizard said:

I think maybe more of a closer by committee sort of thing? Megill and Payamps, maybe joined by Uribe later.

Watch them shock everyone, and make The Miz the OD closer. 😎 (In blue.....sort of)

[Fear The Chorizo]

I guess I don't really see the point of people saying he should have gotten checked out earlier.  Williams doesn't need surgery, so there would have been nothing that could have "fixed" this issue last fall.  He pitched through pain last September, then with rest he felt better.  This isn't an elbow or shoulder where a timely 2nd opinion could get a necessary surgical repair done earlier than a rest and hope approach.

What's concerning to me is that his current prognosis is to rest and then hope it's healed up again, and I don't see any reason why this couldn't flare up again a few months from now given the fact he took time off to rest before starting the offseason program.  Back issues are tricky.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

12 minutes ago, Brian said:

Because he is just going for a second opinion now.  This should have been done 2 months ago. Not 2 weeks before opening day. 

He had back discomfort in the playoffs, but it didn't sideline him. Season ended, and the discomfort went away and he felt fine. He ramped up last month in Arizona, and the discomfort came back. Why would he get a second opinion in December if his back felt fine? Every player has aches and pains at the end of a long season. I guarantee that's what he thought, and what the team thought.

I'm not sure what you are griping about here, but your blame and anger is kind of oddly misplaced. It's a crappy situation. But you make it seem like the team should have done something to avoid it. What could they have done?

The treatment for stress fractures in the back is rest and physical therapy. The fact that Williams isn't healed after the offseason is concerning. But that isn't the team's fault.

[Brian]

That was my whole point, we are just coming off the rest period, called the off season.

Now he needs more rest,  He obviously was doing something wrong the last 4 months. 

[Fear The Chorizo]

Just now, Brian said:

That was my whole point, we are just coming off the rest period, called the off season.

Now he needs more rest,  He obviously was doing something wrong the last 4 months. 

He rested 1 month and then went through his whole offseason training program....which in this day and age includes throwing bullpens.  this isn't Devin punching a wall before the playoffs.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Just now, Brian said:

That was my whole point, we are just coming off the rest period, called the off season.

Now he needs more rest,  He obviously was doing something wrong the last 4 months. 

Or everybody's body is complex, and the capacity for healing is different. 

Are you trying to say that Williams should have known the discomfort would return when he literally felt fine? Or that the Brewers should have somehow known that his back would start hurting again once he ramped up in February, when again, he literally felt fine in the offseason? 

[SeaBass]

Stupid Brewers not using their omniscience effectively!

[Brian]

2 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

He rested 1 month and then went through his whole offseason training program....which in this day and age includes throwing bullpens.  this isn't Devin punching a wall before the playoffs.

Which is stupid if you have back pain. 

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

2 minutes ago, Brian said:

Which is stupid if you have back pain. 

Not if you feel fine. Why would he have done anything different if he felt fine? The articles I've read all indicate that his back pain didn't return until he ramped up in Spring Training. 

[monty57]

Sometimes bad things happen. We don't always need to get angry and blame someone.

One of the nation's leading experts has looked at Williams and determined that he will be back with the Brewers in three months. No fan emotion will change that, so it's not worth the stress. 

When something bad happens and there is nothing you can do to change it, you look forward and see what actions you can take to make the best of the situation. The Brewers will need to determine how best to position their 26-man roster to account for Williams' absence, and will need to decide if they are going to name someone as the opening day closer, or if they are going to go "by committee" until someone steps up and takes the role.

In my humble opinion, thoughts on how they should do that would be the positive/productive discussion. Neither Williams nor the team want this injury, and neither is to blame for it happening.

[TURBO]

I just can't see tossing Uribe into closing situations so soon.  I do think he is our future closer, but with such little MLB experience, I'd rather try Megill or Payamps first.

Selfishly, I have Devin Williams as a keeper in two fantasy leagues, so playing the "who is going to close" game isn't very fun from a fantasy standpoint.

[jerichoholicninja]

At least he didn't get drunk and punch a wall.

I'm not concerned. By the time Devin comes back at least two random guys we've never heard of will be lights out and the bullpen didn't miss a beat. Same as every year.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

There are a few relievers still hanging out on the FA market. Brad Hand or Mark Melancon as reclamation projects. Old friend Brad Boxberger. Trevor Rosenthal (I know, I know). Alex Reyes ...

 

[monty57]

25 minutes ago, Ron Robinsons Beard said:

There are a few relievers still hanging out on the FA market. Brad Hand or Mark Melancon as reclamation projects. Old friend Brad Boxberger. Trevor Rosenthal (I know, I know). Alex Reyes ...

 

A short while back, there was a news article on this site discussing how we may need to trade away some of our bullpen depth because we had too many talented guys for the spots available. 

We certainly didn't want to lose the best of them to injury, but we should have enough depth to cover this loss. Hopefully the internal guy who gets the job will be a better option than anyone we could find from outside the organization without the need to spend a few million extra dollars.

[wildcat2237]

I am of the very very firm belief that 2024 is a transition year for the Brewers. In accordance, my reaction to the Williams injury is "meh."  I just hope he comes back in mid-summer, pitches well, and is traded next offseason. 

[Lathund]

Really unfortunate news, and obviously the Brewers are better with Williams than without him. But one reliever missing ~3 months, even a really good one, doesn't make or break a season. For anyone who thought the Brewers still were in the running in a weak NLC, well you should still think that. For anyone who didn't, well this changes nothing. And adding a few more great relievers also wouldn't have improved things. Brewers still have a good bullpen even if it's weaker. 

I was very much in favor of exploring trades for Williams this offseason (And they might have, who knows), in hindsight that seems an even better idea now, even though I obviously had no inkling about any injuries. 

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Bummer.

Here's some "let's not freak out" arguments (though I am also freaking out):

1) Devin was going to pitch about 55-60 innings this year. Now, he'll get like 25-30. Really, all that means is that you have to replace 30 innings.

2) You don't have to find 30 ninth innings. You can create depth guys or bridge guys and hope your starters or middle relievers pitch two extra good innings a week.

3) Devin tended to struggle a little early in the year IIRC. In a perfect world, you're hopefully eliminating some of his less good innings.

4) This team has a lot of pitching depth and has shown itself to be very creative. Rather than locking guys into roles, this theoretically lets us use the "out-getter" strategy that worked so well in 2018. It's entirely possible Devin would have struggled out of the gate, and then you're in the weird territory of having to think about removing him from the ninth anyway. If his back wasn't right at the end of last year, it wasn't going to be right this year. 

5) The Brewers are built differently this year. They're going to rely less on winning one-run, low-scoring games, at least in theory. I think the team's ability to outperform their peripherals over the last several seasons is about more than just Williams/Hader in the ninth. We'll see.

I do genuinely think the psychological dimension of this is more challenging from a fan perspective. I have grown accustomed to a locked-up ninth inning, and now we'll be in wide-open territory. It's going to test Murphy as a manager. That said, because it's such a small sample of innings, there's a decent chance it costs the Brewers very little. 

I'll say this: I'm still excited for the youthquake. Bring on all these new faces, and let's see what we got. Hopefully they put together a good 70 games, and then we see where Devin is.