Lefty Brent Suter, the Brewers' king of camaraderie, is already missing the company of his teammates

Probably more so than most players on the Milwaukee Brewers’ roster, Brent Suter is truly a social creature. No one enjoys the company of his teammates more than “The Raptor," who is usually up to something out of the ordinary.

Accordingly, the 30-year-old lefty has been feeling particularly lonely in recent days with major-league camps closed to organized workouts because of the coronavirus national health emergency. Suter has been part of a small group of Milwaukee pitchers still working out – individually; group sessions not allowed – at the team’s training complex in Phoenix but made plans to return home to Cincinnati on Friday with wife Erin and 17-month-old son Liam.

“We’re hoping domestic travel doesn’t get shut down by Friday,” Suter said in a telephone interview. “If it does, we’ll have to figure something out. We just think it’s best to go home at this point.”

Most of the players went home last weekend after camps were closed to organized workouts. Suter said about 10 pitchers remained to continue throwing sessions, but some reside in the Phoenix area and are in essence at their homes.

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“It sort of feels like January where a handful of guys are going in to get their work in,” said Suter, who had a final bullpen session scheduled Thursday under the supervision of bullpen coach Steve Karsay. “We have times set for the weight room and everything. We do some throwing and some running.

“It’s not an organized workout but there are things we can do. It’s quite a different experience.”

Suter also is the Brewers’ representative to the players association and therefore tasked with getting the latest information out to teammates as developments occur, which happened at a lightning-quick pace last week. Currently, major-leaguers are waiting to see what will happen with their pay beginning next Thursday, which would have been opening day for the 2020 season.

“I have a position players group chat and a pitchers group chat that I’ve used to pass updates along,” he said. “Quite a hit on the data (usage).

“It’s been a lot of messaging back and forth, trying to keep the guys up to date. Negotiations are still ongoing on several issues. We have to play it by ear on that.”

Suter said it was a surreal atmosphere in the Brewers clubhouse at the end of last week, when players were told organized workouts would cease and they could go home. Many did so, with a handful remaining in Arizona and some making their way to Milwaukee to work out at Miller Park.

“We were preparing in the morning for sort of a normal day, then we got the information that spring training was suspended,” Suter said. “We sat around and looked at each like, ‘What do we do now?’

“Some of us went out and threw. Others went home to take care of things. There was a lot of confusion and shock. It has been a whirlwind. My wife and I were reflecting (Wednesday) night that a week earlier we were doing a normal spring training routine. Here we are, a week later, we’re heading home for a possible nationwide quarantine. It’s just crazy.”

Players have been told the earliest start date to the season would be mid-May but it’s becoming more apparent that it will be later. Possibly, much later. How will players stay ready in the interim, particularly pitchers who must have their arms built up when play resumes?

“It’s going to be interesting," Suter said. "I can’t speak for everybody but I might just rewind the clock. If we have a starting date of May 15 or May 30, I’ll rewind from then and do what I would have done in January, getting ready for March games. Just redo my throwing program.

“I want to keep throwing off the mound and staying sharp on things I’ve been working on. I want to keep mentally sharp and physically sharp. But as far as weight room and all that, I might go back to a ‘January’ schedule. It’s going to be particularly tough for the starters.”

As for what he’s been doing to fill unexpected spare time in what would have been the final days of spring training, Suter said, “We’ve been watching some movies. I’ve been playing some ball with my son. He pitches to me and I pitch to him. He is almost hitting it.”

Asked if young Liam is another budding lefty, Suter laughed and said, “No. He throws right-handed and is swinging left-handed. That’s what it is right now.”

“There is some bonus family time,” Suter added. “I guess that’s the one bright spot. But I really feel for those on the front lines and everyone who has contracted the disease. All the people and businesses that have been affected. My heart goes out to everyone. I’m hoping we can get through this thing as soon as possible.”

Suter was looking forward to the start of this season in particular after siting out the first five months of 2019 while recovering from Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery. He returned in September with an unexpected flourish, going 4-0 with a 0.49 earned run average over nine relief outings to help the Brewers' 20-7 final-month surge to the National League's second-wild card berth.

"That was an awesome experience," said Suter, who was named the NL's reliever of the month for September. "I'm so grateful that the Brewers called me up and gave me that chance to help the team."

Assuming he makes it back to Cincinnati on Friday, Suter said he’ll eventually travel to Milwaukee, where Spring Training Part II is likely to take place, assuming there is one. In the meantime, a very social creature will try to cope with being isolated from his teammates.

“I’ll miss them a lot,” he said. “It has been great seeing the guys who are still here. That’s the one drawback about going home. I won’t see teammates for however long I’m home. I’ll miss the guys but you have to put the family first.

“No one knows (when the season might begin). All we know is the earliest date is mid-May. We’re hoping for that. I don’t know if they’ll try to extend the regular season into October. Nobody has those answers. I have a gym in my house and all that if we go on a nationwide lockdown. I’ll be able to still kind of train.”

But it won’t be the same. No one misses the clubhouse camaraderie more than Suter.