Rea's solid start allows Crew to relish roster depth

MILWAUKEE -- On a team with Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta in the Opening Day starting rotation, it was 32-year-old journeyman right-hander Colin Rea who finished the month of April with the most strikeouts in a game.

That’s just one of the many examples of the Brewers’ organizational depth being put to the test during an otherwise successful opening month.

“We have a great culture going right now,” GM Matt Arnold said before Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Angels at American Family Field. “I think the guys are feeling good together. We’ve overcome a lot of injuries this month. Credit to our depth, credit to our coaches and our players who have stepped up.

“It feels like we’re in a really good spot so far.”

The Brewers are heading into the month of May at 18-10, good for the third-best record in the National League. That’s despite losing left-handed swingman Aaron Ashby (shoulder) and outfielder Tyrone Taylor (elbow) in Spring Training, infielder Luis Urías (hamstring) on Opening Day, Woodruff (shoulder) during the first homestand and center fielder Garrett Mitchell (shoulder) on the first extended road trip -- all in addition to a series of more minor injury issues along the way.

Mitchell may be lost for the season and Ashby, Urías and Woodruff won’t be back until June at the earliest. Every team builds depth to insure against injury, and the Brewers aren’t the only team to see it tested so far. But their personnel losses have been significant.

“We always worry about it, but we’re constantly working on building that [depth], as well,” said Arnold. “We have a lot of guys in place who can step up and do the job really well.”

Among the starting pitchers who have stepped up are veteran left-hander Wade Miley (3-1, 1.86 ERA through five starts) and Rea, who made one appearance for the Brewers at the end of 2021, spent all of ‘22 in Japan and signed back with Milwaukee last winter on a Minor League contract. He stepped into the rotation after Woodruff went down and has held his own, delivering at least five innings in each of his four starts with a 4.79 ERA.

Rea’s nine strikeouts on Sunday were a career best and a season high for a Brewers pitcher. But he also surrendered solo home runs to Jake Lamb and Shohei Ohtani on a day Brewers hitters provided no support against a previously struggling Angels starter, left-hander José Suarez.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who can pitch, man,” Woodruff said. “That’s what we do here. We identify things, we bring the best out of everybody. I think you’re seeing that from Colin.”

The Brewers expect to get two of their injured players, Taylor and right-hander Adrian Houser, back on the active roster during this week’s trip to Colorado and San Francisco. Houser’s return could impact Rea and the rotation, though manager Craig Counsell wasn’t ready to say on Sunday afternoon whether the Brewers would use Houser as a sixth starter or pitch him in place of Rea.

Filling the holes left by Urías and Mitchell, meanwhile, has been more of a team effort. Urías’ injury legging out a ground ball on Opening Day at Wrigley Field opened a spot for rookie Joey Wiemer, who has become doubly important since he’s now manning center field with Mitchell down. That, in turn, has boosted the value of offseason addition Brian Anderson, who was nontendered by the Marlins before he signed with the Brewers for $3.5 million on Jan. 23. Anderson posted a 112 wRC+ and tied Rowdy Tellez for the team lead with 20 RBIs through the end of April, all while playing plus defense at third base and right field.

Asked what phase of the team has surprised the most so far, Arnold said, “Honestly, we thought our defense was going to be a strength, but it really has stepped up. [Roving infield instructor] Matt Erickson does a really nice job. Our defenders have really stepped up and insulated our pitching in a big way.”

Credit catcher William Contreras and the kids for a lot of that. Contreras has been a quick study at catcher and went into Sunday’s series finale against the Angels leading all Major League catchers with six defensive runs saved in addition to his 123 wRC+, second-best on the team to Tellez. Wiemer has made a habit of highlight-reel plays in center field, and Brice Turang’s mobility and range has come into play with the elimination of infield shifts. The Brewers’ 26 defensive runs saved lead MLB.

It’s how they won so many games in April despite losing so many players.

“Our depth … has been critical, and it’s going to continue to be critical because there are going to be some lengthy absences still,” Counsell said. “It’s tested sooner than we would have liked. But so far, we’ve done a good job of withstanding it.”