Ross seeks starting spot with Crew after long layoff

PHOENIX -- Milwaukee right-hander Joe Ross knows what it is like to have a spot next to premier Major League starters. His locker stall while with Washington was between Max Scherzer and Jordan Zimmermann.

The Brewers have their own solid top two atop the 2024 depth chart in Freddy Peralta and Wade Miley, and Ross is among the many candidates looking to slide into the rotation behind them as he returns from a second Tommy John surgery that cost him most of the last two seasons.

The absence of Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff has created openings and competition for the final three spots. The competition includes veterans Colin Rea, Jakob Junis and Janson Junk; rookies Robert Gasser, Carlos Rodriguez, and Jacob Misiorowski; trade acquisition DL Hall; and Aaron Ashby as he returns from shoulder surgery that kept him out in 2023.

"They were all over me when free agency started, and it kind of makes me feel they really want me here," Ross said. "Being wanted by an organization is always great."

The Brewers' early pitch to Ross included the lure of returning to a rotation. Peralta, Miley and Rea are the only pitchers who made more than two starts with the Brewers last season.

"I'd like to get back to starting," said Ross, who has played in the Majors for six years with a 4.26 career ERA and a 26-28 record through 76 starts and 98 total appearances. "Relievers are all failed starters at some point, so there is always a chance down the line."

Ross signed a one-year, $1.75 million free agent contract on Dec. 12. The deal offered a chance to reunite with former manager/mentor Pat Murphy. Ross signed about three weeks after Murphy was promoted to manage the Brewers. The two were together with Class A Eugene in the Northwest League in 2012 while in the San Diego organization.

"What he expects of his players and his team, I feel like that is very much in line with how I feel generally about myself and my own performance," Ross said. "He was talking about raising that standard, and I really appreciate that mentality going into the season."

Ross, 30, is attempting to return to the form that made him the Padres' first-round Draft pick in 2011. He won four games and made a World Series start when the Nationals beat Houston in the 2019 Series, but he has made only 20 Major League appearances since.

Like other veterans, including Mike Leake, Ross opted out of the 2020 season because of Covid-19.

"With all that going on, it was kind of precautionary," Ross said. "Hindsight is 20-20. Would I have loved to play? Of course. That was the year after we won the World Series, so I definitely feel like I missed a part of the celebratory post-championship season.

"Whether you are hurt or end up sitting out a year, it is always tough to be away from your teammates. It was definitely a difficult decision and a decision I made, but I am back now and feeling pretty good."

Ross is one of the involuntary members of the small group of Major League pitchers who have undergone two Tommy John surgeries, the first in 2017. Now, on the other side of the second procedure performed after one start in 2022, he is back with encouragement from former teammate and fellow two-time surgically repaired Daniel Hudson.

He made eight short appearances in San Francisco's Minor League system in 2023, and he said the Giants' speed gun caught him at 99 mph. His fastball averaged 93 mph in the Majors.

"Injuries are frustrating," Ross said. "But it gives me a greater appreciation, just the opportunity to be here and keep playing. I've always been pretty grateful to be able to throw a ball for a living.

"This is not necessarily the finish line but one of the checkpoints along the way. This is what I want, to get back to earning my spot and being able to help a team. Hopefully, we can do something good this year. They have some very talented pitchers and players here."