Brewers place left-handed reliever Angel Zerpa on injured list with forearm tightness

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Brewers left-handed reliever Angel Zerpa has been placed on the injured list because of left forearm tendinitis.

The Brewers announced Wednesday that Zerpa had gone on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Sunday. Brewers manager Pat Murphy indicated Zerpa could be out for a significantly longer period.

“It looks like it could be more serious,” Murphy said before the Brewers' game with the Arizona Diamondbacks. “He's not going to be back anytime soon.”

The Brewers selected left-hander Brian Fitzpatrick from Triple-A Nashville to replace Zerpa on the roster.

Zerpa, 26, is 0-2 with a 6.39 ERA and two saves in 12 appearances. He allowed at least one earned run in each of his last three outings.

His last outing came in the 10th inning of a 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Murphy said catcher William Contreras noticed something was off, and the Brewers removed Zerpa before the inning was over.

“The velocity was down some, but it wasn’t down drastically,” Murphy said. “But William looked over and kind of recognized it wasn't the same. That's when we got him out of there, we checked him out. Now it's an IL, and there's going to be further testing, further evaluation, a second opinion."

The Brewers acquired Zerpa from Kansas City in a December trade that sent outfielder Isaac Collins and right-hander Nick Mears to the Royals.

Losing Zerpa hinders the depth of a Milwaukee bullpen that already had left-hander Jared Koenig on the disabled list. Koenig, who is dealing with an elbow issue, last pitched on April 4 and is expected back in late May or early June.

Fitzpatrick, who turns 26 on June 1, was 1-1 with a 0.00 ERA in 10 relief appearances with Nashville. He struck out 11 and allowed only two unearned runs over 10 1/3 innings.

The 6-foot-7 reliever went 5-4 with a 3.59 ERA in 38 appearances in the minors last season.

“I love to compete," Fitzpatrick said. “I leave it all out there. I don't leave any regrets on the field.”

The Brewers also announced that outfielder Luis Matos had cleared waivers and was outrighted to Nashville. Matos, 24, hit .200 with a .238 on-base percentage and no homers or RBIs in nine games with Milwaukee.

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