Colten Brewer has struggled so far this season with the Chicago Cubs, and the right-hander’s struggles were compounded when he was taken out of the lineup after punching the dugout wall.
Brewer was placed on the 60-day disabled list Sunday with a fractured left hand. Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports:This is Brewer’s non-throwing hand, which is probably a blessing, but catching or throwing the ball with a broken hand would definitely be difficult, if not wise.
Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Colten Brewer has been placed on the 60-day disabled list after fracturing his left hand when he punched a wall in anger during yesterday’s loss at Wrigley Field.
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) July 7, 2024
The injury occurred during the Cubs’ 7-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. Brewer replaced Kyle Hendricks in the third inning and allowed five of the first six batters he faced to reach base and gave up two runs. Brewer was unable to finish the inning and left the game after hitting Nolan Chanuel with a pitch. Brewer’s next opponent was the Cubs dugout wall.
“I didn’t mean to break my hand,” Brewer told reporters on Sunday. “Sometimes you get frustrated and you make mistakes. That’s not an excuse. I have a lot to prove out there that I’m not going to do that. Sometimes I let my emotions get the better of me.”
Brewer allowed three runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks in 2/3 innings, raising his season ERA to 5.66 with 24 hits and 22 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings.
“When something like that happens, you know you made a mistake,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “That was the conversation. And mistakes that you make have consequences. It was an unfortunate mistake and he got carried away. That’s not his character, but it’s a mistake that he made and he’s got to get over it and move on.”
Brewer is in the midst of his sixth major league season having previously pitched for the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees and is posting a career 5.66 ERA this season with an average of 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
The Cubs promoted pitcher Hunter Bigge to replace Brewer, who has pitched in 11 games for Triple-A Iowa, striking out 19 batters in 11 2/3 innings with a 1.36 ERA.
