Guerra out for rest of season to protect arm

CHICAGO — The Brewers stumbled onto a pleasant surprise this season with right-hander Junior Guerra, and now they’re trying to protect the 31-year-old rookie starter’s arm.

Guerra, who has gone from waiver claim to rotation regular, will not pitch for the Brewers again this season. The right-hander had a stint on the 15-day disabled list in August for elbow inflammation, but manager Craig Counsell said the decision isn’t related to an injury. It’s about innings, with Guerra already at a career-high 148 1/3 thrown between Triple-A Colorado Springs and the Brewers.

“We’ve just gotten to the point, innings-wise, where we just want to stop,” Counsell said Saturday at Wrigley Field. “He’s completely healthy. He finished strong. He finished exactly the way we wanted him to finish coming off the injury. It’s just, we know that he’s an important part of this thing going forward, so his offseason has started because his innings have gotten to the point where [it’s] more than he’s ever thrown, for sure.”

Guerra began his professional career in 2006 in the Braves organization before getting released in March 2007. He was signed by the Mets as a free agent in October ’07 but was …

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