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Corbin Burnes is being removed from the Brewers’ pitching shuffle again this year, this time apparently due to injury.
After his most recent rough outing, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits without recording an out against the Giants, the Brewers announced Monday that Burnes has some sort of shoulder irritation and will be put on the Injured List. In his place, Burch Smith will return to the big league club.
RHP Corbin Burnes placed on the 10-day injured list (right shoulder irritation). RHP Burch Smith recalled from Triple-A San Antonio. pic.twitter.com/zKX1AwaZcj
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 15, 2019
An IL stint seems convenient if the Brewers were looking to give Burnes some time off, but the Fake Injury theory isn’t one that makes much sense. The Brewers have already used one of Burnes’ options this year, so they could have just sent him down to Triple-A if they wanted to simply get him out of the bullpen for 10 days. At this point it’s clear there are things Burnes needs to work on, so just having him sit on the IL instead of actually pitching does no one any favors — especially considering what Craig Counsell had to say after Sunday’s game:
Counsell on Corbin Burnes: "We're not having success. It's not working. The stuff is there but at some point, we're losing execution, we're making mistakes, we're getting ahead in the count and making mistakes. We have to address things with Corbin."
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) July 14, 2019
Smith was scratched from his scheduled start last night in San Antonio, so he should be a fresh arm out of the bullpen Monday night for the Brewers.