Brewers lose veteran hurler to injury

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MILWAUKEE -- Matt Bush’s trouble with the long ball wasn’t entirely the product of a velocity drop, but it sure didn’t help.

Bush landed on the 15-day injured list Monday with right rotator cuff tendonitis and will be shut down for 2-4 weeks, per manager Craig Counsell. The move wasn’t exactly a surprise, coming a day after Bush surrendered two more home runs and the first four of the Red Sox's nine runs in a disastrous eighth inning of a 12-5 Brewers loss at American Family Field.

They were the ninth and 10th home runs Bush has surrendered in his last 25 1/3 innings with the Brewers dating to last season, and the third and fourth homers he’s allowed in 7 2/3 innings this season while working with a 94.3 mph average fastball. That’s down from where Bush usually pitches. Way down. Last season, when the Brewers acquired Bush from the Rangers at the Trade Deadline, his fastball averaged 97.3 mph. The Brewers could really use that version of Matt Bush in their reconfigured bullpen.

“In the beginning [of Spring Training] I had a little bit of elbow discomfort,” he said. “And then, I don't know, it's hard to pinpoint. It's definitely something to think about -- like my velocity, I've never had a problem with it, and it's been an issue [this year]. I've just been constantly working on strengthening and trying to get it right and lately, it's just not there. It's obviously much worse right now.

“I kept trying to think about what it could possibly be, and that's the only thing I could come up with. Like I said, I've never had an issue with velocity before. I never had much issue with the shoulder, either. So, it's kind of new for me. It's just very unfortunate.”

Bush’s career has been full of trials, both those of his own making and some out of his control. He was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Padres in the 2004 MLB Draft as an infielder before transitioning to pitching in '07. But then, he had a wave of off-the-field issues through his time in the Minors from 2009-12, including multiple alcohol-related arrests before he was sentenced to 51 months in prison following his involvement in a near-deadly crash with a motorcyclist.

After making his comeback as a pitcher, Bush underwent surgery to repair a partially torn UCL in his right elbow in '18 but the "repair and reinforcement" procedure didn't work, so Bush had to undergo Tommy John surgery in ‘19 before signing another rehab contract with the Rangers. He entered Spring Training in '20 intending to make a comeback before the COVID-19 shutdown. In ’21, he made the Opening Day roster only to suffer a right flexor tendon injury that limited him to four appearances.

In ’21, he finally found success, only to stumble late in the season with the Brewers.

Now, he’s back on the IL.

“This is an amazing team. I'm having so much fun, I'm enjoying this game so much right now, and it sucks,” he said. “It's hard. I've been through so many injuries, and just staying strong mentally through this is going to be most important for me because I tend to look at the negative side because I've been so used to bad injuries that involve surgeries, involve lots of time off. So, just keeping my mind at bay, like, ‘Hey, this is just rest. We're going to bounce back. Everything's going to be OK.’

“It's just a mental grind, like anything else. That's all it is. It's just a point now where it's like, OK, I can't just mentally grind through it, because it's painful. And it's not good for the team, not knowing if I'm going to be able to get the job done because of how my shoulder feels. It's already putting me at risk of not doing well. So, it makes it very difficult dealing with pain.”