The Milwaukee Brewers have placed starting pitcher Shaun Marcum on the DL with elbow tightness. The move, which was made retroactive to June 15, allowed the Brewers to bring first baseman Travis Ishikawa back to the majors following his own stint on the disabled list. At this time, Marcum and the team are both insisting the injury is minor and will only force him to miss a few starts. Recent tests have shown no structural damage, so the elbow issues do not appear to be related to the Tommy John procedure Marcum had in 2008.
The 30-year-old right-hander has rounded into form nicely after a relatively slow start, winning his last three decisions and posting a 4 to 1 K/BB ratio in the previous four outings. Ishikawa’s return could put Corey Hart, who’s been getting time at first base lately, back to the outfield. While not tremendously valuable as a hitter, Ishikawa has provided the Brewer offense with some welcome power production in 2012, hitting .250/.319/.516 with nine extra-base hits in just 75 plate appearances.
It’s been a disappointing season so far for Milwaukee, as they currently stand at just 33-37, five-and-a-half games out of a weak division they were widely expected to compete for the top spot in. The team’s had some tough breaks, among them catcher Jonathan Lucroy’s odd four to six week hand injury that has kept him from appearing in a game since May 27. Lucroy, who just turned 26, was experiencing a breakout season (.345/.387/.583) at the time of the injury.
Provided that Marcum, an important piece in the Brewer starting rotation, is not out long, the team should be able to remain in the NL Central hunt. It would be surprising to see a team with this kind of talent fail to make a run at some point.
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