Travis Shaw has been here before.
When Shaw was in high school, he tore his labrum when he dislocated his left shoulder, which required surgery to repair. Now as a 31-year-old third baseman for the Brewers, Shaw was in nearly the same position Wednesday when he popped his shoulder out of place diving for a ball to his right in the second inning against the Reds.
The injury came on a play that mirrored a diving stop Shaw made in the sixth inning Tuesday. Only this time, Shaw’s shoulder didn’t give him the chance to continue.
“It’s just the way I fell on it,” Shaw said on Saturday. “As soon as I made that extension on the landing, it popped out immediately and I wasn’t able to get it back.”
Fortunately, the recommended path for recovery right now is to rehab the shoulder rather than undergo surgery. That’s good news for Shaw, because it allows him and the team the chance to wait until August to make a decision on surgery.
It also helps that the injury happened to Shaw’s non-throwing shoulder and the arm that doesn’t lead his swing. If the dislocation occurred in his right shoulder, there’s a very real chance surgery might’ve been the initial course of action.
As of Saturday, Shaw said he’s still “pretty stiff, pretty sore and having trouble lifting my arm up.” He’s worn a sling to sleep the past few nights, but he was advised not to wear the sling during the day to allow him to move his arm around. It won’t be until he can get more range of motion back in the shoulder that he’ll begin working on strengthening it.
Shaw was moved to the 60-day injured list on Saturday, ensuring he would be on the shelf at least through early-August, but he could still return in time to help the Brewers make a playoff push in September. Shaw said the first or second week of August would be the cutoff date to make a decision on surgery, because he doesn’t want any issues to linger into the offseason.
However, he’s also confident the path he’s taking will have him healthy in a couple of months.
“We’re not giving up,” Shaw said. “I think there’s a chance that 3-4 weeks from now, we start strengthening it a bit, and 5-6 weeks from now we can possibly start developing a rehab assignment plan. Then, once I go down [to Triple-A], see how it feels playing in a game and then go from there."
Crew makes ‘no risk’ decision, acquires Strickland
The Brewers acquired 32-year-old righty Hunter Strickland in exchange for cash from the Angels on Saturday, a move the club was able to make by moving Shaw to the 60-day IL.
Strickland originally signed with the Rays on a Minor League contract before this season, then was called up to the active roster and made his season debut on April 9. Strickland made 13 appearances with Tampa Bay and posted a 1.69 ERA before being traded to Los Angeles on May 15. However, he fell out of favor with the Angels after recording a 9.95 ERA in 6 1/3 innings, and he was designated for assignment on Monday.
“We’re taking a chance on a guy. It’s pretty much no risk I guess is how you’d see it,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He got off to a good start this season, and then struggled a little bit with Anaheim, but we’re hoping we can kind of recapture the form that he had earlier in the season.”
The move adds depth to a bullpen that could surely use a breather. Not only did Milwaukee give up relievers J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen in the trade that netted shortstop Willy Adames, but the team is also currently in a stretch of 16 games in 16 days and 33 in 34.
Strickland also brings championship experience (he’s a two-time World Series champion), and if he can find that early 2021 form, he could be a useful innings-eater out of the Brewers’ ‘pen.
“You’re never quite sure where relief pitchers are going to come from,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “We’ve talked before about how volatile that segment of a team can be. Whenever there are attractive elements where a player is available we think can help us, we’ll take a shot and see if it works. We think there are some elements that could make Hunter effective with us. We’re looking forward to giving him the opportunity.”