MILWAUKEE -- Logan Henderson found a letter from the MLB Commissioner’s Office on the chair in front of his locker at PNC Park over the weekend. It came after the 23-year-old Brewers starter had been a tick late getting to the mound for his start against the Orioles in Milwaukee and didn’t deliver the first pitch until 6:42 p.m. CT -- two minutes behind schedule. That’s a $5,000 fine, the letter explained. “I’d been in the big leagues maybe 10-11 days at that point, so it hit hard,” Henderson said. It was a prank, of course, the sort of thing teammates and coaches don’t pull on a player unless they really like him and know he can take it. Like when then-Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy had first-round Draft pick Sal Frelick convinced that Murphy was the team’s “video guy” for much of Frelick’s first Spring Training. Or how Murphy repeatedly sent pitcher Aaron Ashby hustling to the clubhouse to put on his spikes for a pinch-running opportunity that was never going to come. |
The Brewers optioned Henderson -- their No. 12 prospect -- back to Triple-A on Monday, but they know he’ll be back. He’s 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA through his first four Major League starts and is a significant part of the organization's future plans. And for two days leading up to his Sunday start against the Pirates at PNC Park, he was very much on the hook. “I was more defeated than anything,” Henderson said. “I knew I started late, but I was thinking, [$5,000] is pretty steep.” Henderson started asking around. He was legitimately late, after all, or at least pushing it close, for both his start at home against the Orioles on May 20 and the start before that on May 14 at Cleveland. That’s partly a matter of logistics. Major League ballparks are simply bigger than the fields in the Minors, and the timing of the National Anthem varies from park to park. Those very small things require subtle adjustments to a starting pitcher’s pregame routine, which is customized down to the minute. And while pitching coaches Chris Hook and Jim Henderson had the option of simply saying that to Logan Henderson -- stressing the importance of adding a buffer for the snapped shoelace here or there, or the last-minute bathroom break -- they also decided to have a little fun. “The best was when he went to Murph,” Henderson said. “Murph is the master of that stuff.” |
Hook instructed Logan Henderson to write a letter to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred asking for relief. Henderson dutifully set up a Google Doc and planned to sit down to write on Saturday night. But rather than have him worrying about that on that the eve of a start, Hook pulled Henderson aside on Saturday afternoon and let him in on the joke. “He’s such a cerebral kid and his level of preparation is really high,” Hook said. “He knows his routine and when you make him aware of deficiencies, he’s really quick to fill those in. There’s a level of awareness to, ‘Hey, I need to get better at this.’ And he’s 23, so he’s on the younger end of the youngest guys here. “He’s just been really, really good.” It came as no surprise to anyone that Henderson handled being punk’d like a pro. He’s eager to pay it forward once he gets back to the big leagues, which will probably be soon. “It was a really cool welcome to the team,” Henderson said. “It’s all love between the guys and the coaches. Hopefully when one of the rookies comes up next time, I can be in on something like that.” |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Jackson Chourio hit the first pitch from Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet for a home run on Monday, the Brewers’ first leadoff homer this season. Who was the last Milwaukee hitter to hit one? A) Chourio B) William Contreras C) Frelick D) Brice Turang |
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If you’ve been following the Brewers this season, it’s possible to understand why they optioned Henderson back to the Minors on Monday, and to hate the move at the same time. “I almost feel the same way sometimes,” manager Murphy said. “The kid has been so good.” Murphy spoke on the topic at length ahead of Milwaukee’s Memorial Day matchup against the Red Sox at American Family Field, when the team used the open spot to reinstate left-hander DL Hall from the 60-day injured list. The reasons included fortifying a bullpen under a heavy strain lately, maintaining as much starting pitching depth as possible throughout the organization and protecting Henderson’s workload, considering he’s already two-thirds of the way to his previous career high for innings. If you’re interested in what goes into a difficult decision like this one, it’s all laid out in our story from Monday. The most important message for Henderson as he departed was this: You’ll be back. “You have to let him know how appreciated he is,” said left-hander Ashby, who had a conversation with Henderson before he departed. “That’s not easy, coming up here being successful and being sent back down. But sometimes that’s the best thing for the team as a whole, and you have to keep that mindset. “I think it’s on all of us players to know that he’s valued here and that he’s doing a great job. There's things he can still work on [in Triple-A] but I think he’s going to be a significant part of this team this year.” |
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B. Contreras
Contreras was the last Brewers hitter to belt a leadoff home run, believe it or not. He connected against old friend Corbin Burnes in Baltimore last year on April 14, and it stood as Milwaukee’s only leadoff shot in 2024. It was one of Contreras’ eight starts batting leadoff. |
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