"Giving Yovani Gallardo nine days of rest didn't work, so the Brewers' decision-makers began discussions Wednesday that could lead to shutting down the young right-hander for the season.

"We're not addressing it today," said general manager Doug Melvin. "If we do anything, we'll talk to him first."

Because Gallardo missed most of last season with a knee injury and is among the league leaders in pitches thrown (3,125), the Brewers have tried to ease his workload in the final weeks of the season. He was given nearly a full turn off before pitching ineffectively Tuesday night in a 13-7 loss to the Cubs.

Unable to find a consistent release point, Gallardo (12-12, 3.84) allowed seven hits, five walks and seven runs in 5 1/3 innings. He admitted afterward to being rusty with his command after the long layoff, negating the plans to give him extra rest.

Gallardo's pitch counts have risen because he leads the National League with 91 walks and is fourth with 197 strikeouts. He would like to get to 200 strikeouts for the season and is not in favor of being shut down but might not be given a choice.

"That's something we're looking into," said manager Ken Macha. "It'll become clearer as the days come on. It's not etched in stone yet."

The Brewers have a statistical formula to determine the salaries of players with less than three years of service time, but Melvin said shutting down Gallardo at this point would not be to save money. Nevertheless, the matter is being discussed with Gallardo's agent, former big-league pitcher Bobby Witt.

"It has nothing to do with money," said Melvin. "If it was about money, we wouldn't have nine extra guys up here. It's about protecting the kid's future.""