Prior to today’s 10-8 win over the Reds, the Brewers placed outfielders Tyrone Taylor and Darin Ruf on the 10-day injured list. Taylor (whose placement is retroactive to June 2) is dealing with a right elbow sprain, while Ruf has a laceration on his right knee. In corresponding moves, Milwaukee called up Blake Perkins from Triple-A, and as reported yesterday, Jon Singleton’s contract was selected from Triple-A.
The new faces delivered today, as Perkins hit a grand slam to help the Brewers score the victory in Cincinnati. However, losing Taylor and Ruf further thins the Brewers’ depth, as the club now has 14 players (six of them position players) on the injured list. It isn’t yet known when either player could be back, as Bally Sports’ Sophia Minnaert notes, since Ruf’s laceration is quite severe and Taylor will undergo tests to determine the nature of his elbow problem.
Taylor first sprained his right elbow in late February, which kept him out of action for Spring Training and delayed his 2023 debut until May 2. Whether due to the lost spring prep time, lingering elbow soreness, or both, Taylor has badly struggled at the plate, hitting only .160/.179/.240 over 78 plate appearances. It’s a big dropoff for a player who had a solid .241/.303/.453 slash line over 729 PA of part-time duty in 2019-22, and it seemed like Taylor might have been in line for a larger role given the rather unsettled nature of Milwaukee’s outfield.
Ruf just signed the Brew Crew in the middle of May, coming to Milwaukee after he elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate. Stepping into a first base platoon as the right-handed hitting complement to Rowdy Tellez, Ruf also wasn’t hitting much (.531 OPS) over his first 30 PA for Milwaukee before he badly cut his knee during Friday’s game. Ruf was chasing a foul ball when he collided with the tarp rolled up on the sidelines at the Great American Ballpark.
Another week, another 2 injured to the IL for Milwaukee. At least these 2 are like 30th and 40th, if that, on the 40man. Taylor may have played his last game for Milwaukee if he’s out 3+weeks.
I haven’t looked it up to confirm, but I’m pretty sure Counsell is the only one on the team that hasn’t been on the IL yet this season.
We’re getting into the part of the season where some of these “injuries” seem to coincide with rough performances. Taylor just can’t get going. Voit, Lauer, Winker, Taylor all needed to hit the reset button. Counsell just can’t seem to find a pattern or order that works this year. I’m sure the players would like a chance to get just a bit more time in one position or in the batting order, if for nothing else, to just get a little peace of mind to relax and play. The constant shuffling and wondering where you’ll be playing the next day can wear on them. Tough to do when there doesn’t seem to be any one identity that this team has. Defense is still good, offense is still in the bottom 10%, pitching is very up and down. I’m glad to see some of these guys come up to try to provide a spark, nevertheless.
We hit yesterday in the win. Our lineup is beginning to look like a AAA team! Where is our number one prospect and Urius,on a rehab assignment! He was ready to play last week. Our mash unit is still in first. I do not know how!