NewsWith DiFelice out, Brewers add Butler
Reliever will miss rest of season with strained shoulder
Josh Butler was 9-3 with a 2.97 ERA across three levels this season. (Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
09/15/09 9:15 PM ET
CHICAGO -- Mark DiFelice may avoid another right shoulder surgery, but he couldn't avoid a season-ending trip to the disabled list. The Brewers placed the reliever on the 60-day DL Tuesday with the strained right shoulder he suffered on Sunday in Arizona, and they purchased the contract of another right-hander, Josh Butler, a bright spot in the organization's thin stable of pitching prospects. DiFelice finished with a 3.66 ERA in 59 games this season. He tweaked his surgically repaired right shoulder on a ball-four offering to D-backs pitcher Max Scherzer on Sunday and worried that he had re-torn his labrum, an injury that sent DiFelice to the surgeon's table following the 2001 season and might have been career threatening had he suffered it again. An MRI scan on Monday in Milwaukee revealed only "wear and tear," DiFelice said later that day, but with less than three weeks remaining in the season, Brewers officials determined he would not have enough time to return. "Because of the amount of the season left, we can't be in that uncertain position," Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said. "We knew he was going to be 15 days, anyway." "It was smart," DiFelice said. "They wanted to shut me down, and now I can just rest up for next year." DiFelice will remain with the team for the rest of the season. Ash left the door open for him to pitch during the final week of the Major League season in the fall instructional league in Arizona, but DiFelice said he might prefer to remain with the Brewers. Either way, the year will end on a down note. "It's rough," DiFelice said. "I didn't want to go into this offseason on the 60-day DL [as a] question mark for Spring Training, which I hope there isn't." Butler, 24, would have been added to the 40-man roster this offseason anyway because the Brewers would not have risked exposing him to the Rule 5 Draft. Now, he'll get a brief taste of the big leagues before reporting next month to the Arizona Fall League. He is a strong candidate to start against the Astros on Friday in place of Manny Parra, who still is bothered by a stiff neck. In 24 games for four Milwaukee affiliates this year, including 23 starts, Butler was 9-3 with a 2.97 ERA. He missed about a month in the middle of the season with a rib-cage injury, but Butler was at his best for Double-A Huntsville, where the 6-foot-5 Californian went 2-1 with a 2.85 ERA and 33 strikeouts versus 13 walks in eight starts. The Brewers acquired Butler last April in a trade that sent outfielder Gabe Gross to the Rays. Butler was in uniform No. 62 beginning Tuesday, when he arrived at Wrigley Field and found himself sharing a locker in the crowded visitor's clubhouse with John Axford. "That's OK. We were roommates at [Class A] Brevard County, so we're used to it," Butler said. Butler was packing up his car in Huntsville ahead of a long drive home to San Diego on Monday morning when he learned he was headed to the Majors. "It was definitely a surprise," Butler said. "I played pretty much everywhere in this organization this year, and being here is a good way to finish it off. ... Just coming back from last year, which was one of the worst years I've had, being mentally strong and staying on track this whole year, has meant a lot to me. It's been a great ride. It's kind of surreal right now."Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
