Wily Peralta moved to the Milwaukee Brewers bullpen

Wily Peralta’s time in the Brewers rotation has come to an end.

Prior to tonight’s game against the Padres, Craig Counsell announced in his pregame media session that Wily Peralta has been moved to the bullpen. Peralta has been struggling all season, recording a 6.08 ERA and 5.38 FIP in eight starts, with a 7.20 K/9 and a 3.83 BB/9. In his last start on Sunday, he allowed seven runs (six earned) in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings. He was allowed at least two runs in every start except his first. A move to the bullpen could help Peralta, who has some good tools to work in a bullpen role. He will likely be relegated to middle relief/mop up duty for now, until he can get himself back on track.

Meanwhile, this leaves a spot open for Friday’s game against the Cubs, where Peralta was scheduled to start next. However, the Brewers likely tipped their hand earlier today. Paolo Espino was scratched from his scheduled start for Colorado Springs this afternoon, with no news given as to why he was scratched. With the news on Peralta, as well as a spot on the 40-man roster available, it’s likely that Espino is coming up for a spot start or two. His stint may not be long, with Junior Guerra close to returning. However, with another struggling starter in the rotation in Zach Davies (5.80 ERA, 5.09 FIP), this could turn into an audition for Espino and Davies, with the better starter keeping his job.

Of course, all of this is speculation right now. We should know more in the next day or two as the remaining pieces fall into place. Stay tuned.

Statistics courtesy of FanGraphs