Brewers P Gagne out indefinitely

May 22, 2008 - 9:59 PM PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- Milwaukee Brewers closer Eric Gagne will be sidelined indefinitely after being diagnosed with shoulder tendinitis, the team announced Thursday.

One day after exiting Tuesday's contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates due to shoulder pain, Gagne left the Brewers to visit team physician William Raasch, who decided that the righthander should return to Milwaukee for further evaluation.

After consulting with Raasch, Gagne received a cortisone injection in his shoulder. The former National League Cy Young Award winner will rejoin the Brewers prior to Friday's contest at Washington but will not throw for the next three days.

A Brewers team spokesman told PA SportsTicker that Gagne has not been placed on the disabled list.

"It's all in the front of the shoulder," Gagne told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Now we're just waiting to see. It's just one of those things (where) you usually warm up and it goes away, but it was getting tighter and tighter.

"There's not structural damage. If it's in the front of the shoulder, that's always good. It's more muscular and inflammation."

Gagne entered Tuesday's game in the ninth inning with a 7-0 lead but could not finish off the Pirates. He allowed two runs and two hits while retiring only two batters and left complaining of tightness in his shoulder.

On May 11, Brewers manager Ned Yost temporarily removed Gagne from the closer's role to give the former All-Star a "mental break." Two days later, Gagne tossed a scoreless inning to record his 10th save of the season in a 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Overall, however, Gagne has struggled after signing a one-year, $10 million free agent contract prior to the season. He is 1-2 with a 6.98 ERA in 20 appearances for Milwaukee and has blown five saves in 15 opportunities.