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Milwaukee Brewers getting closer to full strength

By Andrew Wagner, The Sports Xchange
Milwaukee Brewers' Domingo Santana (R) is greeted at home plate by teammate Kirk Niewenhuis. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Milwaukee Brewers' Domingo Santana (R) is greeted at home plate by teammate Kirk Niewenhuis. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

MILWAUKEE -- There's good news on the horizon for the Milwaukee Brewers; not only are they playing some of their best baseball of the season -- winning five of their last six games -- but they're about to get some extra help for the bullpen and starting rotation.

Right-hander Matt Garza will make his first minor league rehab start Tuesday for Class A Wisconsin as he works his way back from a strained right lat suffered during his final exhibition start of the spring.

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The injury essentially forced Garza to start spring training over, but he's hoping to be back with the Brewers around June 14.

"It's been a long time but I'm ready to go," Garza said. "I've never dealt with a lat before. This one caught me by surprise. The four to six (weeks) time window they gave me, I said, 'OK, I can get this done.'

"As soon as it started feeling better, I started ramping up and just pushing as hard as I could go."

In the bullpen, left-hander Will Smith and right-hander Corey Knebel should be back with Milwaukee in the next two weeks. Smith is expected to wrap up his rehab assignment this week with Colorado Springs while Knebel, out all season with a strained left oblique, will join Class A Brevard County Tuesday for two games and if all goes well in those contests, move up to Colorado Springs to make back-to-back outings.

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"They're taking the next step, so we're getting closer with them," said Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell. "Within two weeks, we should have three guys back."

Slotting Garza into the starting rotation shouldn't be difficult but the return of Smith and Knebel to the relief corps will force some difficult decisions for a unit that has been among the best in baseball this season.

Still, it's a problem Counsell doesn't mind.

"Obviously, it presents some decisions," Counsell said. "But those are competitive decisions that you want to make when you're choosing between good players."

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