Brewers will open season without their All-Star closer. Devin Williams has stress fractures in back

PHOENIX (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers will open the season without All-Star closer Devin Williams, who won't throw for six weeks and could miss at least three months while recovering from two stress fractures in his back.

Williams pitched through back soreness at the end of last season, when the Brewers were NL Central champions. The right-hander was feeling discomfort again this spring, and after an initial MRI in Arizona, was examined Wednesday by Dr. Robert Watkins in California. Watkins, a leading spine specialist, diagnosed the fractures.

“My understanding is it's going to be six weeks of no throw just to shut him down, and then Devin will determine the pace beyond that,” Brewers general manager Matt Arnold said Thursday. “We just want to be extra cautious with him, and make sure he gets the good treatment that he needs.”

Williams told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a story posted online Thursday that there was a difference in the initial diagnosis and what Watkins saw when the pitcher went for a second opinion.