Brewers star closer has been diagnosed with two stre s fractures in his back, reports Jeff Pa san of ESPN ( ). Hell be shut down entirely for six weeks and is expected to be out of MLB action for around three months. Its a ma sive hit to the Milwaukee bullpen two weeks before Opening Day. Williams made two appearances this spring before pausing his work as he battled back sorene s. He visited a spine specialist this afternoon. That examination revealed the fractures. Fortunately, Pa san indicates that Williams is expected to make a full recovery. That the injury shouldnt affect Williams throughout his career is a positive, but theres no question its a significant lo s for the first half of the upcoming season. The two-time All-Star is among the best relievers in baseball. He has turned in a sub-2.00 ERA in consecutive years, including a sparkling 1.53 mark over 58 2/3 frames last season. Williams shut down 36 games in 40 attempts in his first full campaign as a closer. He rode his patented wiffle ball changeup, the so-called Airbender, to a ma sive 37.7% strikeout percentage. Williams was Ville Husso Jersey named the National Leagues Reliever of the Year for the second time in his career. As is the case with virtually every Milwaukee player approaching free agency, Williams found himself in trade rumors during the offseason. That speculation returned after they dealt to the Orioles, but Milwaukee didnt find a deal to their liking. They elected to keep him at the back of the bullpen instead. Williams should eventually return to the ninth inning, but hell now begin the season on the 60-day injured list and will be out of action at least into the middle of June. Its unclear if Milwaukee skipper Pat Murphy will go with a committee approach to the ninth inning or pick a defined closer while Williams is on the shelf. If they go the latter route, any of , or could be candidates. Payamps was somewhat quietly one of the more productive relievers in the NL last season. The secondary piece acquired in the / three-team trade, Payamps turned in a 2.55 ERA with plus strikeout, walk and ground-ball numbers acro s 70 1/3 innings. Uribe has more traditional closing stuff. One of the hardest throwers in the sport, he averaged a blistering 99.4 MPH on his sinker as a rookie. Uribe turned in a 1.76 ERA behind a 53% grounder percentage and a 30.7% strikeout rate over his first 30 2/3 MLB innings. Its eye-popping stuff, but his command could keep him out of the ninth inning. Uribe walked more than 15% of opponents last season. Megill, acquired in a minor trade with the Twins last April, struck out nearly 36% of batters faced as a Brewer. He worked to a 3.31 ERA through 32 2/3 frames. Megill averaged 99.1 MPH on his heater, which he paired with a wipeout curveball in the mid-80s. Having that trio of power arms means Murphy should still have a good relief group with which to work, yet theres no one who can be expected to replicate the production that Williams posts on an annual basis. Milwaukee controls Williams via arbitration through the 2025 season. Hes making $7MM this season. Milwaukee has a $10MM option for next year but could retain him in arbitration even if they opt for a $250K buyout instead of the option value. If Williams progre ses as expected, he should be back on the mound before the deadline. Theres a chance hed be a midseason trade candidate if the Brewers unexpectedly fall out of contention in the NL Central, but the offers they receive could be complicated by other teams trepidation about the injury. Keith Primeau Jersey