Jim Henderson placed on DL; Caleb Gindl recalled

[ewitkows]

Cincinnati – On the heels of a tough eighth inning last night that saw him surrender the game-winning home run to pinch-hitter Brayan Pena, reliever Jim Henderson has been placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Milwaukee Brewers with right-shoulder inflammation.

 

Outfielder Caleb Gindl has been recalled from Class AAA Nashville to take Henderson's place on the roster.

 

Henderson's appearance last night against the Reds was his fourth in 11 days. He pitched an inning in each of the Brewers' extra-inning victories in St. Louis earlier in the week before a nightmarish eighth inning last night in which he gave up four hits and a walk and was ultimately charged with five earned runs as the Reds turned a 3-3 tie into an 8-3 victory.

 

Henderson had allowed a total of four earned runs in his previous 13 outings.

 

The move of Henderson out of the closer's spot in favor of Francisco Rodriguez just prior to opening day came on the heels of a spring training in which Henderson displayed decreased velocity. Although Henderson's velocity had improved since then, it's possible he's been dealing with a shoulder issue for quite some time.

 

So, after one game with a 13-man pitching staff, the Brewers are back down to 12.

 

Gindl, meanwhile, was hitting .284 with two home runs and six runs batted in over 25 games for Nashville. He gives the Brewers a little more flexibility with their roster tonight with Logan Schafer eligible to come off the disabled list tomorrow.

 

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[monty57]

Wednesday, Wang (who never plays) went 3 IP and Duke went 1 IP. Yesterday, Kintzler went 1 IP, Henderson (now on DL) went 0.2, and Wooten went 0.1 IP.

 

The 'pen needed some rest, which they have received in the last couple of games. I think they should be okay now. I'm glad to have an actual OF up to play RF. Hopefully Braun is back sooner rather than later, and with Ramirez and Segura already back in the lineup, we can stop putting rag-tag groups on the field.

 

Really, I hope Gindl does well in this small window he has, as he could really help the team as the backup corner OF, splitting time with Davis and giving Braun some time off. Schafer is necessary on the roster because he can play CF, but I like Gindl's bat more than Schafer's, so I like him better as a corner OF. In that light, he's competing with Weeks right now for a roster spot. It's up to management to decide who is more valuable to the team.

[FVBrewerFan]

The move of Henderson out of the closer's spot in favor of Francisco Rodriguez just prior to opening day came on the heels of a spring training in which Henderson displayed decreased velocity. Although Henderson's velocity had improved since then, it's possible he's been dealing with a shoulder issue for quite some time.

 

Actually, I noticed this last night, if I remember right he topped off at 93, while earlier this eason he was hitting 96 consistently. So this move doesn't surprise me. Maybe he's a guy that needs more rest in between appearances, who knows.

[Bnowell4evr]

I hope Gindl's stay on the roster is permanent and LF becomes a platoon once Braun returns.

[monty57]

I hope Gindl's stay on the roster is permanent and LF becomes a platoon once Braun returns.

 

Me too, but barring injury, that only happens at the expense of either Weeks or Overbay, as we need Schafer on the roster as backup CF, Maldonado as backup catcher and Bianchi as utility IF. I think he should take Weeks' spot, but I doubt that happens.

[torts]

can I just point out that we won 20 games in April because KRod was closing and not Henderson? how many of those saves would have been blown by him? hope the trip to the DL helps him regain whatever control/velocity he lost, but man I dont think ive ever been so thankful for a pitching demotion (losing the closer role) than this one.

[MillerParkSouth]

Hendy was probably the worst non-Wang reliever in the pen so far, hopefully he can get healthy and then get right in Nashville.

[Bombers]

can I just point out that we won 20 games in April because KRod was closing and not Henderson? how many of those saves would have been blown by him? hope the trip to the DL helps him regain whatever control/velocity he lost, but man I dont think ive ever been so thankful for a pitching demotion (losing the closer role) than this one.

Agreed - like Axford last year and his 22 era in April. A 20-8 start could have been 16-12 real quickly.

[SRB]

I hope Gindl's stay on the roster is permanent and LF becomes a platoon once Braun returns.

 

Khris Davis is a platoon player now? When did that happen?

[monty57]

I hope Gindl's stay on the roster is permanent and LF becomes a platoon once Braun returns.

 

Khris Davis is a platoon player now? When did that happen?

 

It should have been a "soft platoon" all year, but management insisted on keeping two 2B and two 1B so Gindl was relegated to AAA. Davis won a lot of hearts in limited play at the end of last season, which led to what were probably unrealistic expectations. He and Gindl are probably about equal value, with Davis providing more power and Gindl better plate discipline. Neither should be expected to be a star, but both have value. One's a lefty, one's a righty, and both can get time playing LF, with Gindl also getting starts in RF, as Braun seems to need a lot of time off.

[SRB]

It should have been a "soft platoon" all year, but management insisted on keeping two 2B and two 1B so Gindl was relegated to AAA. Davis won a lot of hearts in limited play at the end of last season, which led to what were probably unrealistic expectations. He and Gindl are probably about equal value, with Davis providing more power and Gindl better plate discipline. Neither should be expected to be a star, but both have value. One's a lefty, one's a righty, and both can get time playing LF, with Gindl also getting starts in RF, as Braun seems to need a lot of time off.

 

Davis won a lot of hearts by dramatically out-hitting Gindl at every level of the minor leagues and at every stage of his career. To my knowledge he has never shown dramatic platoon splits prior to this season, and this season involves a meaningless sample size (we're talking a handful of specific SP that are creating the difference), and yet he's a platoon player now?

 

There's a reason the Brewers traded Aoki and handed Davis a full-time starting job. And there's a reason Gindl has consistently been passed over for MLB playing time, making this his fourth consecutive season at AAA.

[brewmann04]

Its funny that no one knew about this before Yesterday blow up maybe they could have DL him Sooner.

[BruisedCrew]

I think Gindl coming up today tells us that Braun will be going on the DL tomorrow when Schafer comes back. If Braun isn't close to playing after a week, might as well give him another week.

[brewmann04]

They should have put Braun on the DL right away but guess they can back date it.

also now maybe RR will be forced to use the Young Lefty.

[HiAndTight]

I hope Gindl's stay on the roster is permanent and LF becomes a platoon once Braun returns.

 

 

And Khris Davis is all the sudden a platoon player because? After putting up a line of .297/.369/.549 with an OPS of .918 last year in the 56 games he got in, I'm not quite ready to anoint him a platoon type player after roughly 20 starts as the main guy in LF.

 

I think that's ridiculous. Caleb Gindl is deserving of a roster spot and is a great 5th OF'er. I have no problem using him from time to time vs tough right handers to give Davis AND Braun a day off. I do not believe that Davis should be out of the lineup vs right handers however.

 

It is time however to start treating Braun almost like a catcher. 140 starts a year if everything goes well with regular games off.

 

Kinda ironic that most of us had concerns over signing Prince long term instead of Braun because durability issues and yet Prince is on the field 162 games a year and Braun's dealing with constant issues.

[HiAndTight]

can I just point out that we won 20 games in April because KRod was closing and not Henderson? how many of those saves would have been blown by him? hope the trip to the DL helps him regain whatever control/velocity he lost, but man I dont think ive ever been so thankful for a pitching demotion (losing the closer role) than this one.

Agreed - like Axford last year and his 22 era in April. A 20-8 start could have been 16-12 real quickly.

 

 

And that's taking the human element out of it. A blown save can cost you more than one game just as coming from 3 runs down in back to back games vs the Cardinals can have a greater impact than just two wins.

They should have put Braun on the DL right away but guess they can back date it.

also now maybe RR will be forced to use the Young Lefty.

 

Absolutely. Right now you're basically saying as soon as he feels good enough he's back in the lineup. I'd rather wait until he feels good enough to get back in the lineup....and then give him another 3-5 days off. Just no reason to push it. Especially since we'll have Schafer back. Davis, Gindl and Schafer can handle the corner OF spots.

[DHonks]

Compared to Schafer and Davis, Gindl was the better prospect and better performer in the minors, so I really am glad to see him on the roster. Being lefty with good obp, good avg, good pop, and good defense, he deserves to play. Davis has looked over-exposed lately, and Gindl's obp skills could be helpful against all the righties coming up

[SRB]

Compared to Schafer and Davis, Gindl was the better prospect and better performer in the minors, so I really am glad to see him on the roster. Being lefty with good obp, good avg, good pop, and good defense, he deserves to play. Davis has looked over-exposed lately, and Gindl's obp skills could be helpful against all the righties coming up

Davis was way better in the minors. And they were both non-prospects so I don't know if national prospect reputation really matters.

[gregmag]

Also, Davis did poorly in April last year. Obviously his role then was very different, but maybe he's more of a hot-weather hitter. I like Gindl, and I'm glad he's up, but Davis has a far better track record as a hitter.

[PrinceFielderx1]

I'm just glad Garza isn't going on the DL. That was scary.

[igor67]

Gindl is exactly who the scouts always said he would be. To be clear scouts are often obnoxious about this type of player, but he was a guy with solid tools, limited projectability and fairly advanced ideas on hitting. All of which leads to a guy who can race through the minors quickly, but one who ultimately improves very little over the years. His peak was probably a couple of years ago with that really awesome year in AAA. Schafer has more upside than he has shown, while Davis has just always hit but in the ways that scouts don't want to like. Even in his "bad start" this year he is 5th in SlG % on the team. Yes there is a balance to be had in being competitive now vs. playing for later but everyone has ups and downs. The key is to make solid judgements on players and give them a chance to make the adjustments. If we applied the same reasoning to Peralta for example we'd have moved him to the pen by June of last year because of his control.

That said I'm completely comfortable with Gindl being up and spelling Davis (currently out HRing the other Chris Davis) some of the time when he'd have the platoon advantage and using him as a defensive guy from time to time. If things are still out of whack by June then you think more seriously about platooning that spot.

[chadomac]

I still think they should stick with Davis starting 4ish days per week in LF, but I wouldn't mind seeing more Gindl. He was really solid last year. I like Logan for defense and speed on the bases, but Gindl showed signs of actually being able to hit big league pitching. I hope Gindl stays up and plays at least once per week over in LF while filling in for Braun when needed. I wouldn't even think of giving up on Davis starting until after the All-Star break. I won't deny he looks like the Khris Davis that came up the first time much more than the Khris Davis that came up the second time, though. Hoping he figures it out soon, our offense needs him.