3 questions for Brewers' thin rotation

MILWAUKEE -- Chase Anderson started Saturday’s game for the Brewers against the Cubs and Zach Davies is scheduled for Sunday.

After that, who knows?

“Apologies to the fantasy baseball people,” said Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell, who was handling things well for a skipper with two healthy starting pitchers.

With Brandon Woodruff and Jhoulys Chacín on the 10-day injured list and Gio González's availability uncertain, here’s a look at some of the questions facing the Brewers as of Saturday afternoon:

What’s the latest on Gonzalez?

The veteran lefty pitched a gem for six innings in Friday’s 3-2 Brewers win before his shoulder tightened in the top of the seventh and forced an early exit at 93 pitches. Gonzalez reported on Saturday feeling the normal soreness associated with his longest start since he was still wearing a Nationals uniform last August, and said he was “very hopeful” about taking his next turn in the rotation.

But then Gonzalez added, “Always mentally ready. Physically, we’ll see where it goes from here.”

So, to be determined. Adding to the uncertainty, Friday marked just the second start since Gonzalez returned from a stint on the IL with shoulder inflammation. The Brewers won’t be sure of his status until he begins his between-starts throwing routine on Sunday; as Counsell said, “There’s a chance he makes his next start still.”

What’s the pitching rotation after Sunday?

It will be a busy week for “To Be Announced.” The Brewers have no scheduled starters beyond Davies on Sunday and don’t plan to make any decisions until they get to Monday’s off-day. It’s likely that an internal candidate will start Tuesday’s series opener at Oakland, Counsell said. Adrian Houser and Freddy Peralta are candidates to shift to the rotation from a bullpen that was nine arms strong on Saturday. Houser is probably preferable, since Peralta has looked promising lately as a late-inning reliever, but it all depends what happens against the Cubs.

Gonzalez, if healthy, is an option for Wednesday if he’s ready. That would allow the Brewers to go back to Anderson on regular rest on Thursday.

But there’s a chance Gonzalez will need more time. There’s also an argument to be made for the Brewers choosing to give him more time in order to line him up for next weekend’s three-game series at Wrigley Field against a Cubs team struggling to hit left-handed pitchers. That was evident Friday, as Gonzalez took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. In either of those instances, the Brewers would need someone else to pitch on Wednesday because they aren’t going to use Anderson or Davies on short rest with the rest of the rotation thinned by injuries.

Keep an eye on Trey Supak’s Triple-A debut on Saturday. The 23-year-old right-hander, No. 13 on MLB Pipeline’s list of Milwaukee’s top prospects, was just promoted from Double-A Biloxi, leaving him one step from the Majors. He is already on Milwaukee’s 40-man roster.

Does all this pitching uncertainty bother a manager?

“No,” Counsell said. “It’s pretty far off from my perspective. It is. It's next week. We're playing a big series here at home. There's an off-day in there. Someone's going to pitch for us. I'm confident we're going to provide a pitcher."

Could the Trade Deadline help provide answers?

• Watch MLB Network for around-the-clock Trade Deadline coverage

Yes. President of baseball operations David Stearns has said that the team’s results would help drive buy/sell decisions, and Friday’s come-from-behind win was the Brewers’ seventh victory in 10 games. The Brewers do not have a deep farm system, so it may be difficult to add multiple pitchers, but Stearns has come up with help for the Major League club at each of the past two Deadlines. Stearns plans to remain behind in Milwaukee to talk trades while the team is out west.