Article: How Should Milwaukee Brewers Manage Freddy Peralta's Shoulder Injury Concerns?

[Tim Muma]

The health and effectiveness of Freddy Peralta will be imperative to the Milwaukee Brewers' success in 2023. GM Matt Arnold wisely built pitching depth this offseason in response to the club's injury issues a year ago, which included Peralta's two stints on the injured list. Still, taking care of the 26-year-old is critical, because none of the extra arms on the roster have his impact potential.

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

 

Freddy Peralta's value to the Milwaukee Brewers can't be overstated. The biggest questions for the team are, can they keep him healthy, and how do they accomplish it while getting the most out of his skill? Last season, the right-handed hurler missed more than two months with a right lat strain. Peralta returned to the club on August 3 to make seven appearances (31.2 innings) but left his September 8 start after two frames with "shoulder fatigue." That landed him back on the injured list (IL). 

Though Peralta came back to pitch in three more contests before the season's end, he tossed just 7.2 total frames in them, while giving up seven hits and four earned runs (4.70 ERA). More concerning is that Peralta's shoulder problem began in 2021, making it a bit of a trend. Peralta left the August 18, 2021, game after an awkward swing at the plate. However, he admitted afterward that his shoulder felt "a little uncomfortable yesterday and a little bit today before the game." The two shoulder issues, coupled with the lat injury, must concern the Brewers, since the lat and shoulder are connected in their movements and effectiveness when throwing.



Peralta brings tremendous value to the Brewers, posting 4.0 fWAR in 144.1 innings in 2021 and a 2.0 fWAR in 78 frames last season. That only tells part of the story. He's a vital bridge between Cy Young candidates Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff and the second half of the rotation. What can the Brewers do to get the most out of Peralta without stifling his impact or losing him for longer stretches? A few options could be in play:

1 - Use a Six-Man Starting Rotation
The Brewers mainly employed a six-man rotation in 2021, coming off the short 2020 campaign. Manager Craig Counsell and company were worried the sudden uptick in innings pitched from one season to another put arm health in danger. It worked beautifully, both in keeping pitchers healthy and in the staff's record performances.

Getting Peralta (and others) at least five days of rest between starts instead of four could relieve the strain on his shoulder and lat. Making 26 starts and averaging 5.1 innings per outing would get Peralta to nearly 140 innings. If he's near his peak performance levels in those fewer starts with extra rest, the value will be there.

2 - Plan for Short Starts
It's difficult to judge if total innings or innings per outing have a more significant effect on Peralta's shoulder. The Brewers may prefer maximizing his number of starts but limiting the number of up-and-downs (times visiting and getting cold on the dugout bench, then having to ramp back up for a new inning).

Milwaukee could plan for starts of three or four innings (or by pitches), planning to piggyback another multi-inning pitcher to follow Peralta. This gets Peralta through the top-middle of the order twice and allows him to hone his pitches over shorter periods. He would likely max out at 130 innings or so, but it could be best for the team and Peralta's long-term health.

3 - Utilize Sporadic Extra Days Off
The Brewers could also monitor Peralta on a start-by-start basis. In watching his velocity, command, and body language each time on the mound, Counsell and his staff can make decisions when needed.

With Milwaukee's added pitching depth, Peralta could take seven or eight days off while the Brewers utilize a different starter or go with a bullpen day. This option creates more uncertainty in his schedule, but it offers the club a chance to let Peralta ride deeper when he's strong and recharge him when he appears to be losing something.

4 - Move Peralta to the Bullpen
There could be unique value in having an arm like Peralta's coming out of the pen, especially for multiple innings or in high-leverage situations. It would also clearly limit the amount of innings he would throw, both within a game and throughout the season. He could be the right-handed version of Josh Hader, utilizing him more frequently than as a starter and picking spots when he impacts the game the most.

There are a couple of downsides. For one, there would be even more uncertainty with Peralta's usage daily. Maybe he doesn't get enough time to loosen up in the pen, comes in too early, and that hurts his shoulder. Plus, trying to bounce back more frequently is often more challenging than a five or six-day schedule. He's also been slightly less effective as a reliever in his career. Peralta has allowed a .667 OPS in relief (.619 as a starter) and owns a 1.29 WHIP out of the bullpen (1.09 as a starter).

Regardless of when or where he is pitching, Peralta is a formidable weapon in the Brewers' arsenal. Though it was in a smaller sample size, Peralta sat in the 90th percentile in some key Statcast metrics in 2022. You can see why Milwaukee needs him as often as possible.


Figuring out the best option for Peralta will have an influence on numerous pitchers and their usage throughout the season. Arnold's creation of pitching depth, including starters and multiple-inning relievers, gives Counsell various options, without painting the coaching staff into a corner. The Brewers have proven they are willing to strategize in unique ways and take whatever measures are needed to utilize the team's talent to its full extent. Peralta is both a special challenge and a perfect opportunity to continue doing so.

 

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[Brock Beauchamp]

With the acquisition of Miley, returning to a six-man rotation might be a viable option. I think that makes the most sense, at least through the first couple of months of the season.*

*assuming it's even possible but with the Brewers having seven viable options, six may be healthy at any given moment

[Tim Muma]

2 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

With the acquisition of Miley, returning to a six-man rotation might be a viable option. I think that makes the most sense, at least through the first couple of months of the season.*

*assuming it's even possible but with the Brewers having seven viable options, six may be healthy at any given moment

I could see mostly using a 6-man rotation, while also using off days to skip starts for some guys other than Burnes & Woodruff. That way they can maximize the starts of those two and still give them 5 days rest (with off days).

[Jake McKibbin]

3 minutes ago, Tim Muma said:

I could see mostly using a 6-man rotation, while also using off days to skip starts for some guys other than Burnes & Woodruff. That way they can maximize the starts of those two and still give them 5 days rest (with off days).

I think similarly, probably on 5 days rest and using the early rest days to their advantage to at least ease into the season for first two months and see where they fit after that

[sveumrules]

I went through the schedule a bit ago & with where the days off fall it looks like there’d be about 20 games that would require a sixth starter.

Could line it up as a modified six man rotation hoping for something like (33 GS) Burnes & Woody (25 GS) Freddy, Lauer & Miley, which leaves 21 games for some combo of Houser/Ashby.

Having Adrian/Aaron in the bullpen stretched out for multi inning work/spot starts would also add some nice depth to the relief corps. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

6 minutes ago, Tim Muma said:

I could see mostly using a 6-man rotation, while also using off days to skip starts for some guys other than Burnes & Woodruff. That way they can maximize the starts of those two and still give them 5 days rest (with off days).

Yeah, that's basically how I'm envisioning it. If there's an off day, bump Ashby/whomever but keep Burnes and Woodruff on a six day schedule when it makes sense.

[Jopal78]

I thought Peralta said at the Fan Event thing that his shoulder is 100%. Obviously, since they let him return to pitching last year suggests he was healthy from a medical standpoint too. 

Not sure why they'd need to manage a pitcher who says he's 100% healthy, differently from any other healthy pitcher on their team. But I guess the site needs that clickbait for revenue, so there's that. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

15 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

Not sure why they'd need to manage a pitcher who says he's 100% healthy, differently from any other healthy pitcher on their team. But I guess the site needs that clickbait for revenue, so there's that. 

We're talking about a pitcher who has zero 150 IP seasons in his professional career and has crossed 100 IP only three times. It's not exactly crazy-talk to wonder how the team plans to manage his workload.

[wiguy94]

It will be interesting to see how CC plans to use our improved SP depth this year. I know he has already committed to DW being the closer, but I hope he uses our improved depth to be super flexible with our pitchers outside of DW, Burnes, and Woodruff. That could be piggyback starts, skipping starts, bullpen stretches out of Miley, Lauer, Peralta, Ashby, Houser. I'm excited to see what CC has in store for us.

[Tim Muma]

32 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

I thought Peralta said at the Fan Event thing that his shoulder is 100%. Obviously, since they let him return to pitching last year suggests he was healthy from a medical standpoint too. 

Not sure why they'd need to manage a pitcher who says he's 100% healthy, differently from any other healthy pitcher on their team. But I guess the site needs that clickbait for revenue, so there's that. 

Well...I hope he would be at 100% since he hasn't pitched in a few months. Unfortunately, the past two seasons he has had some shoulder/lat issue during the season. As noted in the article, while the 2021 injury was exacerbated by a swing, he had admitted his shoulder was already feeling uncomfortable - meaning it had to do with throwing, not hitting. Peralta may need more monitoring, rest, med care, etc. than other pitchers based on his recent problems.

Brock's note about his lack of innings speaks to this, as does the potential issue with pushing him up too many innings, too quickly. That might have contributed to his shoulder problem, going from 29.1 innings in 2020 to 144.1 in 2021.

[Jopal78]

1 hour ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

We're talking about a pitcher who has zero 150 IP seasons in his professional career and has crossed 100 IP only three times. It's not exactly crazy-talk to wonder how the team plans to manage his workload.

Ok, but that sort of speaks more to him being in the major leagues at 21 years old then being a swing man his first 3 years in the majors, doesn't it? Of course you failed to notice that, until 2021 Corbin Burnes (26 years old) had zero 150 IP seasons in his professional career and had crossed 100 IP only once. Were the Brewers equally crazy for not managing his workload in '21?

It's clickbait on an otherwise slow day as it gets closer to pitchers and catchers reporting. 

[sveumrules]

8 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

Ok, but that sort of speaks more to him being in the major leagues at 21 years old then being a swing man his first 3 years in the majors, doesn't it? Of course you failed to notice that, until 2021 Corbin Burnes (26 years old) had zero 150 IP seasons in his professional career and had crossed 100 IP only once. Were the Brewers equally crazy for not managing his workload in '21?

It's clickbait on an otherwise slow day as it gets closer to pitchers and catchers reporting. 

The Brewers managed Burnes workload in 2021.

[wiguy94]

9 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

Ok, but that sort of speaks more to him being in the major leagues at 21 years old then being a swing man his first 3 years in the majors, doesn't it? Of course you failed to notice that, until 2021 Corbin Burnes (26 years old) had zero 150 IP seasons in his professional career and had crossed 100 IP only once. Were the Brewers equally crazy for not managing his workload in '21?

It's clickbait on an otherwise slow day as it gets closer to pitchers and catchers reporting. 

Burnes pitched 145 innings in 2017 as a 22-year-old in the minors which is more than Freddy has ever pitched in a single year. Burnes also has a prototypical SP build at 6'3", 225 pounds compared to Freddy who is small by SP standards at 5'11", 199 pounds. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

9 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

Ok, but that sort of speaks more to him being in the major leagues at 21 years old then being a swing man his first 3 years in the majors, doesn't it? Of course you failed to notice that, until 2021 Corbin Burnes (26 years old) had zero 150 IP seasons in his professional career and had crossed 100 IP only once. Were the Brewers equally crazy for not managing his workload in '21?

But the Brewers did manage Burnes' workload in 2021, running a six man rotation for pretty much the entire season, which is why Burnes finished the season with 28 starts instead of 33-ish.

Which is pretty much what I said the team should consider doing again in 2023 with the first comment in this article.

[sveumrules]

28 GS | 2594 pitches in 2021 = 92.6 pitches per start. Went over 100 in six total starts, three of which were in September.

33 GS | 3274 pitches in 2022 = 99.2 pitches per start. Was at 32 GS | 3234 pitches for 101 pitches per start before his last outing of 3 IP | 40 pitches to close the season. Threw 100 pitches or more 20 times. 

[Jopal78]

6 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

But the Brewers did manage Burnes' workload in 2021, running a six man rotation for pretty much the entire season, which is why Burnes finished the season with 28 starts instead of 33-ish.

Which is pretty much what I said the team should consider doing again in 2023 with the first comment in this article.

But wait, Peralta was also in the rotation in 2021 when it was a six man rotation, as was Houser and Woodruff yet they all suffered arm injuries almost from the get-go in '22 and missed a bunch of time.

I assume it will be business as usual in Milwaukee with every pitcher who is healthy. This is because, other than when he rode Burnes hard last September with the Brewer season hanging in the balance, Counsell doesn't often allow his starters throw more than 95 pitches or so. 

[wiguy94]

4 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

But wait, Peralta was also in the rotation in 2021 when it was a six man rotation, as was Houser and Woodruff yet they all suffered arm injuries almost from the get-go in '22 and missed a bunch of time.

I assume it will be business as usual in Milwaukee with every pitcher who is healthy. This is because, other than when he rode Burnes hard last September with the Brewer season hanging in the balance, Counsell doesn't often allow his starters throw more than 95 pitches or so. 

Woodruff didn't have an arm injury. He had a sprained ankle and issues with Raynaud's syndrome.

[Jopal78]

1 minute ago, sveumrules said:

28 GS | 2594 pitches in 2021 = 92.6 pitches per start. Went over 100 in six total starts, three of which were in September.

33 GS | 3274 pitches in 2022 = 99.2 pitches per start. Was at 32 GS | 3234 pitches for 101 pitches per start before his last outing of 3 IP | 40 pitches to close the season. Threw 100 pitches or more 20 times. 

Yep, and look where those starts came in relation to where the Brewers were in the standings:

Aug. 29th: 102 pitches

Sep. 3rd: 110 pitches

Sept. 8: 100 pitches

Sept. 14: 107 pitches

Sept. 19: 100 pitches

Sep. 24th: 102 pitches

Sep. 30th: 103 pitches.

Oct. 5th (elimintated) 40 pitches. 

Season was on the line, and they rode their ace hard to try to get in the post season. 

Burnes had another string of 100+ starts in July when his rotation mates included Aaron Ashby and Jason Alexander. So again, when the starting pitching ranks were thinned by injury, the team leaned on Burnes to pick up the slack. Exactly what every manager would do in the same situation

[sveumrules]

7 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

Yep, and look where those starts came in relation to where the Brewers were in the standings:

Aug. 29th: 102 pitches

Sep. 3rd: 110 pitches

Sept. 8: 100 pitches

Sept. 14: 107 pitches

Sept. 19: 100 pitches

Sep. 24th: 102 pitches

Sep. 30th: 103 pitches.

Oct. 5th (elimintated) 40 pitches. 

Season was on the line, and they rode their ace hard to try to get in the post season. 

Burnes had another string of 100+ starts in July when his rotation mates included Aaron Ashby and Jason Alexander. So again, when the starting pitching ranks were thinned by injury, the team leaned on Burnes to pick up the slack. Exactly what every manager would do in the same situation

Right, after making it through 2021 with a carefully managed workload, they took the kid gloves off for Corbin in 2022.

Peralta has yet to make it through a full season, so he will continue to be on a carefully managed work load in an attempt to do so.

[Tim Muma]

2 hours ago, Jopal78 said:

I thought Peralta said at the Fan Event thing that his shoulder is 100%. Obviously, since they let him return to pitching last year suggests he was healthy from a medical standpoint too. 

Not sure why they'd need to manage a pitcher who says he's 100% healthy, differently from any other healthy pitcher on their team. But I guess the site needs that clickbait for revenue, so there's that. 

Going back to your original comment here:  Why do you think every pitcher should be treated or managed the same way. Even if every pitcher says they are 100% healthy, each person's body responds differently, has unique weaknesses, etc. This is also why some pitchers can throw 90 pitches in a game and others tire after 25 or 30. It is why there is no standard that keeps every pitcher healthy. 

As someone who has been fortunate enough to coach baseball for more than 15 years at varying levels, I put lots of thought into how my pitchers are used based on their own personal history, their body type, their training, their usage, and many other individual factors. We have certain general guidelines, but those aren't one size fits all.

Two seasons in a row, Peralta has missed time due to his shoulder/lat (which are connected in the kinetic chain of throwing). There is certainly concern for his durability. When I had a pitcher with an elbow injury the previous season, I put him on a 12-week arm program as opposed to our usual 8 weeks in the preseason. He was also limited to 1 inning per outing and always given at least 2 days rest. He said his arm was 100%, but the injury risk meant a "rebuilding" year for his arm.

[damuelle]

Great, now I'm terrified about Freddy Peralta pitching for the Dominican Republic in the upcoming World Baseball Classic... 

[Tim Muma]

18 minutes ago, damuelle said:

Great, now I'm terrified about Freddy Peralta pitching for the Dominican Republic in the upcoming World Baseball Classic... 

He is not pitching in the WBC. I know he had interest, but decided against it - likely at the urging of the Brewers.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Peralta has a history of minor shoulder issues that cost him portions of the regular season, so it's not surprising to try and manage his workload - however, the Brewers' organizational philosophy of having a roster with a 6 man rotation and some long guys in the pen should be about all the extra management needed for any starter, Peralta included.  Giving stretched out pitchers more than the rest a 6 man rotation offers could be just as problematic to a pitching arm as what a 5 man rotation rest cycle would be.  So, if Peralta is healthy and it's his turn to pitch within a 6 man rotation, give him the ball.

I just think we have to cross our fingers that 2023 winds up being a largely healthy and effective season for Freddy, which would give the Brewers a great top 3 rotation arms to churn through the regular season.

[Robocaller]

I think a 6 man rotation is a given, perhaps moving the big two up a day occasionally when their next turn would be on a day off. 

 

[Team Canada]

10 hours ago, Jopal78 said:

Ok, but that sort of speaks more to him being in the major leagues at 21 years old then being a swing man his first 3 years in the majors, doesn't it? Of course you failed to notice that, until 2021 Corbin Burnes (26 years old) had zero 150 IP seasons in his professional career and had crossed 100 IP only once. Were the Brewers equally crazy for not managing his workload in '21?

It's clickbait on an otherwise slow day as it gets closer to pitchers and catchers reporting. 

I'm sure you could be even more condescending and dismissive if you tried, but you did a decent job there. Instead of mindreading the writer's intent and what a poster did or did not observe, you might try giving the benefit of the doubt and sticking to factual responses and asking questions for others to respond to. 

Your post would have been just as strong and less jerky like so:

Ok, but that sort of speaks more to him being in the major leagues at 21 years old then being a swing man his first 3 years in the majors, doesn't it? Until 2021, Corbin Burnes (26 years old) had zero 150 IP seasons in his professional career and had crossed 100 IP only once. Should the Brewers have limited his workload in '21 because of that?