Craig Counsell when he heard that Devin Williams needed a second opinion on his ailing back:
KIDDING. I’m (80%) sure that Craig Counsell isn’t celebrating an injury to one of his former players. Those Counsell memes that were rampaging through Brewer/Cub Twitter last week were gold, though.
Welp, not an ideal way to start a season where pitching was already a concern. Apparently Devin had been dealing with some back pain at the end of last season already. Then it cleared up during the offseason before ramping up again during spring training. You knew it was a bad sign when he was seeking a second opinion before the season even started. In the history of second opinion’s on back injuries, I don’t think the follow-up article has ever read, ‘second opinion confirms that back is in perfect health!’ And his case was no different. Sounds like he’s out for 3 months, which probably means we’re not likely to see Devin until sometime in late-July once you factor in ramp-up time and rehab innings in the minor leagues.
We did touch on this on the podcast a bit on Monday but I’ll parrot my own take in writing: If you have to lose Devin for half of a season, I’d rather it be the first half as opposed to the second half. It would be much worse to lose Devin in July for the rest of the season. Now at least there’s something to look forward to, and if the rest of the back-end of that bullpen can hold up the fort, what an addition Devin will be around the trade deadline.
The question now becomes, who is going to be the closer until Devin gets back? My guess is Payamps is going to get a look, but at the end of the day I think this is going to land at the feet of Abner Uribe. He profiled as a closer during his run in the minor league system, and certianly showcased ‘closer stuff’ at the major league level last season. Mid-to-upper 90’s fastball, a wicked sinker and plus slider. He is also a bit erratic and has been known to lose control from time to time, which only adds to his ‘profiles as a closer’ resume. But the kid had a 1.76 ERA in 32 appearances last season, and lived up to his billing as one of the top prospects in the system. They’re going to give a few different people the chance to close games I would think, but my guess is that Uribe sees the most opportunities of anyone.
PS: My favorite Counsell memes:
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