Huge Brewers injury update could change the Cubs' fortunes in the NL Central race

Former Chicago Cubs reliever Trevor Megill was in the midst of a dream season. Transitioning from a middle reliever to a closer, the last two years with the Milwaukee Brewers, he was having the best campaign of his career. However, that campaign may very well be over.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Brewers announced they placed Megill on the 15-day IL with a right elbow flexor strain. However, it's not thought that the reliever will be serving the minimum time on the injured list. As Jeff Passan reported, there is at least some doubt that the reliever could be back for the postseason, let alone at any point in the regular season.

Chicago Cubs rival Milwaukee Brewers suffers massive blow with the loss of Trevor Megill

That's horrible news for the Milwaukee Brewers, who went through a period where they were easily the hottest team in baseball but have since fallen back down to earth and are busy trying to hold off the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central. While the lead is plenty comfortable for now, losing their closer, who had already notched 30 saves this season, is a blow.

The move also comes out of left field. The Brewers hadn't mentioned that Megill might be hurt. However, he had struggled in his last two outings, logging two blown saves, allowing three earned runs and five hits in his last two innings pitched.

On the year, the big right-hander has been lights-out for manager Pat Murphy. A first-time All-Star, Megill boasts a 2.54 ERA and 2.56 FIP across 46 innings of work, averaging 11.3 strikeouts per nine. With the sudden loss, it's unclear who might take over the closer's role for the Brewers, or whether they might go to a closer-by-committee approach.

Whatever they decide, while no one ever roots for a player to be injured, it can't be denied that Milwaukee's loss of Trevor Megill for any length of time is good news for the Chicago Cubs' hopes of making a run in the division.