Prior to tonight’s game, the Brewers placed second baseman Kolten Wong on the 10-day injured list due to left calf tightness. With right-hander Alec Bettinger also optioned to Triple-A, infielder Pablo Reyes and lefty Hoby Milner were called up from Triple-A to fill the two open roster spots.
This is already the third IL visit of the season for Wong, who missed about four weeks total due to two separate left oblique strains. Wong initially hurt his calf last Sunday and sat out four games in an attempt to rehab the issue without another IL trip, though Wong had to make an early exit from yesterday’s game in his return to the field.
The stop-and-start nature of Wong’s debut season in Milwaukee is all the more frustrating for both the second baseman and the team considering how well Wong has performed when he has been able to play. Wong has a .291/.346/.485 slash line and seven home runs through 214 plate appearances, with a 125 wRC+/OPS+ that would represent the best of his career over a full season. Between this offensive production and his usual excellent defense over 53 games, Wong still has a 1.7 fWAR — the second-highest total of any Brewers player, and the tenth-highest fWAR of any second baseman in baseball with at least 200 PA.
Jace Peterson has been starting at second base in Wong’s absence, and Daniel Robertson can also come off the bench to team with Peterson in a platoon if he isn’t needed elsewhere around the infield. Reyes has played mostly third base for the Brewers this season but he has also clocked a few games as a middle infielder.
Wong’s injury perhaps makes infield depth an even bigger target for the Brewers than it already was, considering the team’s preference for versatile, multi-positional players. Milwaukee has overcome a lot of injury absences to take a healthy lead in the NL Central, but the Brew Crew’s position player mix is currently short some notable names in Wong, Lorenzo Cain, Daniel Vogelbach, and Travis Shaw.
This guy has been a injured as Buxton this year
remember when he got picked off first to end the game in the world series?
Considering his speed/athleticism, he was never a great baserunner for the Cards.
Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
I’m surprised the Brewers haven’t tried to re-acquire Jonathan Schoop. Seems like he would be a fit.
Please no. He was a disaster for them. He’s not welcome in Milwaukee lol
This makes me cringe lol. Thats was possibly the worse acquisition in the Stearns era
Yeah, I am pretty sure all of Milwaukee would like Schoop to be a visitor only from now on.
I’m not a doctor or sports medicine expert, but I have played many sports and workout daily. All I can say is when I’ve experienced calf tightness, it’s usually gone in a day – max 2 days. To be on the shelf for 10 days for something like this? I just don’t know.