Brewers' pitching situation becomes unsettled with injuries to lefties Wade Miley and Boone Logan

PHOENIX – The Milwaukee Brewers' pitching plans, both in the starting rotation and bullpen, became unsettled Wednesday with injuries to left-handers Wade Miley and Boone Logan in an exhibition game against Oakland at Maryvale Baseball Park.

Miley, who appeared to have a foot in the door in winning a spot in the rotation, exited his start in the fifth inning with a left groin strain. He incurred the injury fielding a bunt and was taken for an MRI to determine its severity.

Logan threw only three pitches in the seventh inning before leaving with discomfort in his shoulder/triceps area. The team was awaiting word on the severity, but Logan missed the second half of the 2017 season with Cleveland with a torn latissimus dorsi muscle behind the shoulder.

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Logan also underwent an MRI, and manager Craig Counsell said the team would have the results Thursday morning. 

"Pending the significance of these things, it obviously changes quite a bit," Counsell said. "Certainly, Logan was a lock (to make the team) and Wade had made a really good case to be on the team.

"If it’s something we’re going to have to deal with, it may change things pretty quickly. We’ve got to keep options (open) and having a day like this is probably a good example of why you have to have options available.

"You feel like you have too many guys until all of a sudden you don’t. This is what depth is all about. It was a bad day on the injury front. We’ll reassess it and hopefully it’s not too bad."

The timing of the injury was unfortunate for both Miley and the Brewers. The minor-league contract he signed shortly before the start of spring training has an “out” clause that states he can request his release if not added to the major-league roster on Thursday.

If Miley requests his release, the Brewers would have 48 hours to either add him to their roster or let him go. Because he is on a minor-league deal, Miley would not go on the Brewers' disabled list unless they added him to the roster.

If Miley is added to the roster, he receives a $2.5 million salary with another $3.2 million available in incentives.

"We're going to have to sort through all of that," Brewers general manager David Stearns said. "Step 1 is to determine the magnitude of the injury. ... We'll discuss with our doctors what that means from a time frame perspective and inform the player. Then, there are discussions that follow that.

"It's the same thing as every minor-league player. If we go down a path where he's still with the organization, we would rehab him, hopefully get him back to health. You bring guys in because you believe they have the ability to contribute at the major-league level.

"Wade had a nice spring. Today is unfortunate for a number of reasons. It's unfortunate timing. But Step 1 is figure out what the injury is, how serious and we'll take it from there."

Miley was competing for one of two openings in the Brewers' starting rotation behind Chase Anderson, Zach Davies and Jhoulys Chacin. Others in the mix are left-hander Brent Suter and right-handers Junior Guerra and Brandon Woodruff

Miley was cruising with a shutout but walked Jake Smolinski to open the fifth. Sheldon Neuse was awarded an infield hit when shortstop Nate Orf and second baseman Eric Sogard collided trying to field his grounder up the middle.

Dustin Fowler bunted to the left side and Miley fielded it and turned to throw to third base. He slipped as he went to make the throw and held onto the ball, immediately grimacing upon suffering the groin strain.

"He pitched very well today, maybe his best start," Counsell said. "He was throwing the ball outstanding, I thought. It’s unfortunate and hopefully it’s not very severe.

"It's not good for anybody. Obviously, a guy having a good camp in his situation. But this is not a season-ending thing. It’s a groin injury that we just took him out of the game for. So let’s see what we’ve got and then we’ll see where we’re at with it."

Logan, 33, signed a one-year deal over the off-season with a club option for 2019 that guarantees him a minimum of $2.5 million. He has a $1.875 million salary this year and a $4.125 million option for '19 with a $625,000 buyout. 

"Certainly, he’s coming off an injury, so I would say it’s going to make us cautious as we kind of progress from it," Counsell said.