The Brewers have shut down 27-year old righty swinging RF Corey Hart due to two fractured fingers on his right hand. He played in 115 games for the Brewers this season and he was 109 for 419 (.260 avg, .753 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 12 homers, 48 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. This was a step back for Hart as he was really good in 2007 and 2008 for the Brewers. A lot of that was due to his health as the Brewers will be depending on him to get back to his previous level of play in 2010.

The Brewers have lost starting 2B Rickie Weeks for the season due to wrist surgery. He was having a breakout season for the Brewers before he was injured. Weeks played in 37 games this season for the Brewers and he was 40 for 147 (.272 avg, .857 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 9 homers, 24 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Brewers are going to try to replace Weeks in house with Craig Counsell and Casey McGehee. Counsell has played in 35 games this season for the Brewers and he is 32 for 99 (.323 avg, .801 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 1 homer and 7 RBIs. McGehee is a younger model as he has played in 19 games for the Brewers this year and he is 9 for 38 (.237 avg, .600 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 3 RBIs. The Brewers might have to go outside the organization to replace Weeks eventually.

The Brewers have placed righty reliever David Riske on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow tightness. He has pitched in 1 game this season for the Brewers working 1 inning and allowing 4 hits and 2 earned runs. Riske has now pitched in 46 games (0 starts) in his career with the Brewers and he has disappointed with a 1-2 record, 5.61 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP. The Brewers have expected much more than they have gotten from Riske so far.

UPDATE: Riske will be undergoing Tommy John Surgery and he will miss the remainder of the 2009 season.

The Brewers have placed stopper Trevor Hoffman on the 15-day D.L. with a strained right oblique muscle. Hoffman pitched in 3 games for the Brewers this spring going 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.33 WHIP. Hoffman is major league baseball’s all-time leader in saves with 554. 25-year old righty Carlos Villanueva will serve as the Brewers’ closer until Hoffman is ready to return to action. Villanueva has pitched in 10 games this spring for the Brewers going 0-1 with a 6.28 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He has pitched in 116 games (21 starts) in his major league career to date and he is 14-14 with 2 saves, a 3.94 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He should do a decent job for the Brewers until Hoffman is ready to return to action.

The Brewers will be without starting 3B Bill Hall for the next 4-6 weeks due to a partial tear of his left calf muscle. Hall played in 128 games for the Brewers last season and he was 91 for 404 (.225 avg, .689 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 15 homers, 55 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Hall has now played in 755 games in his major league career and he is 634 for 2,462 (.258 avg, .771 OPS) with 348 runs scored, 96 homers, 343 RBIs and 48 stolen bases. If Hall is not ready to start the 2009 season because of this injury then rookie Mat Gamel and veteran Mike Lamb will battle to replace him.