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Brewers To Place Christian Yelich On Injured List

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After holding Christian Yelich out of game action for the past week with an ailing back, the Brewers will now place their star outfielder on the injured list, per the Athletic’s Will Sammon and others (via Twitter). The corresponding roster move is yet to come.

Yelich has dealt with a back issue throughout his time in Milwaukee, but it’s usually been the type of injury that improves with a few days rest. At this point, if Yelich still isn’t quite ready for action, they may as well use his roster spot to add another potential contributor. Because he hasn’t appeared in a game since April 11th, Yelich will be able to return from the injured list in just a couple of days. Still, in the meantime, the Brewers can bring in another body for the rest of the weekend series. The Brewers head west for a three-game series in San Diego on Monday.

The Brewers once-deep outfield has suffered a couple of injuries this week. Lorenzo Cain was placed on the injured list a couple of days ago, as was second baseman Kolten Wong. Without Cain or Yelich, Jackie Bradley Jr. is the man in center, Avisail Garcia is back in right, with Billy McKinney, Tyrone Taylor, Jace Peterson, and Daniel Robertson capable of piecing together the action in left.

Latest On Christian Yelich

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Although Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich hasn’t appeared in a game since Sunday, the team doesn’t seem overly concerned about his ailing back. Manager Craig Counsell said Yelich began baseball activities Thursday and is “making progress,” per Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Counsell likened Yelich’s current back ailment to the ones that he dealt with in previous seasons, noting that the former MVP didn’t require an IL stint in those cases and was able to return within a few days.

Brewers Place Lorenzo Cain On 10-Day IL

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  • The Brewers have placed center fielder Lorenzo Cain on the 10-day IL with a strained left quad and recalled outfielder Tyrone Taylor, the team announced. There’s no word on how much time Cain will miss, but he strained his other quad during the spring and was limited to seven exhibition games as a result. The 35-year-old has gotten off to a slow start this season with a .154/.214/.423 line in 28 plate appearances.

Lorenzo Cain Exits With Left Quad Issue

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  • Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain exited their game versus Chicago with “left quad discomfort,” Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. The Brewers shifted Jackie Bradley Jr. to center and brought in Billy McKinney to handle left when Cain departed. Cain also dealt with a quad issue (on his right side) in spring training, but that didn’t prevent him from debuting on time this season. It remains to be seen whether this will cost him any time.

Christian Yelich, Travis Shaw Day-To-Day After Leaving Brewers’ Game

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4:40 pm: It doesn’t seem there’s much cause for concern. Manager Craig Counsell says Yelich is day-to-day with lower back tightness (via Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal). Third baseman Travis Shaw is also day-to-day after leaving the game with a right shin contusion. It’s possible both players are back in the lineup for tomorrow’s contest against the Cubs.

2:34 pm: Brewers star outfielder Christian Yelich left this afternoon’s game against the Cardinals in the second inning, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was among those to note (Twitter link). He’s dealing with back soreness, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (via Twitter).

Jackie Bradley Jr. replaced Yelich in left field. Bradley, Lorenzo Cain and Avisaíl García would make up the Brewers outfield on most days if Yelich is forced to miss any time, with Billy McKinney on hand as depth. Of course, there’s no indication at this point Yelich’s removal was anything more than due caution.

The 2019 National League MVP, Yelich had a down year (by his lofty standards) during the shortened 2020 season. He’s off to a rather bizarre start in 2021. Yelich already has ten hits and six walks over his first 37 plate appearances, but he’s also struck out twelve times and has yet to hit a home run.

Brewers Place Kolten Wong On 10-Day IL

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2:10PM: Wong’s injury may be “on the minor side,” manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).  A firmer timeline will be established after Wong undergoes more treatment, but the team is hopeful he won’t be out of action for much beyond the 10-day minimum.

10:28AM: The Brewers have officially announced the moves, placing Wong on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain.  Peterson’s minor league contract was selected, and to create a 40-man roster spot, righty Bobby Wahl was moved to the 60-day injured list.

10:03AM: The Brewers are placing second baseman Kolten Wong on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique injury, FanSided’s Robert Murray writes.  Utilityman Jace Peterson will be called up to take Wong’s spot on the active roster.

An IL stint seemed likely for Wong considering that he missed Wednesday’s game and then was forced into an early exit from Thursday’s game due to the same oblique problem.  No timetable is yet known for Wong’s return, as oblique injuries can sometimes require several weeks of recovery time based on the severity of the issue.

Even a shorter-term absence is an unfortunate outcome for both Wong and the Brewers, as the former Gold Glover just joined the team on a two-year, $18MM free agent contract during the offseason.  Wong’s injury also emerged just two days after Milwaukee traded shortstop Orlando Arcia to the Braves, so the Brewers are now even more short-handed in the infield.

The left-handed hitting Peterson and the right-handed hitting Daniel Robertson could form a second base platoon while Wong is out of action, with Travis Shaw and Luis Urias remaining as the everyday options at third base and shortstop, respectively.  Keston Hiura could also see some time at his old second base position, if the Brewers wanted to move him away from first base and give Daniel Vogelbach some playing time.  Dee Strange-Gordon just recently signed to a minor league deal for additional depth (perhaps essentially as Arcia’s replacement) and could see some time with the big league team in relatively short order depending on how the Brewers juggle the roster.

Kolten Wong Dealing With Oblique Issue

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Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong departed the team’s game against the Cardinals on Thursday after re-aggravating his left oblique, manager Craig Counsell told Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal and other reporters. It’s the same issue that kept Wong from playing Wednesday, and Counsell said (via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) there’s a “distinct possibility” that he’ll require a trip to the injured list. Wong, previously with St. Louis, joined the Brewers on a two-year, $18MM contract during the offseason. If he does have to miss time shortly into his Brewers tenure, it would be another blow to the middle infield depth of a team that traded Orlando Arcia to Atlanta earlier this week. The Brewers did add veteran Dee Strange-Gordon on a minor league contract Thursday, though Daniel Robertson – who replaced Wong when he exited – would be the favorite to handle most of the reps at the keystone.

Brewers To Sign Dee Strange-Gordon

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The Brewers have agreed to a minor league contract with infielder/outfielder Dee Strange-Gordon, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets.

Milwaukee will be the second straight National League Central organization for Strange-Gordon, who spent time with Cincinnati during the offseason and in the spring. The Reds ended up releasing him toward the end of March, and though Strange-Gordon subsequently rejected minors offers from other teams, he’ll now settle for one a little over a week into the season.

While the 32-year-old Strange-Gordon has an accomplished resume – two All-Star bids, an NL batting title, a Gold Glove Award and three seasons with at least 58 stolen bases – the former Dodger, Marlin and Mariner has struggled recently. From 2018-20 in Seattle, Strange-Gordon batted a meek .266/.293/.343 (good for a 73 wRC+) in 1,091 trips to the plate. Strange-Gordon stole 55 bags in that span and saw time in the middle infield and multiple outfield positions, but the Mariners made the easy decision to decline his $14MM club option in favor of a $1MM buyout after last season.

Now that he’s joining the Brewers, Strange-Gordon will give the team some middle infield depth behind Kolten Wong and Luis Urias after it dealt Orlando Arcia to the Braves on Tuesday. The Brewers’ outfield boasts Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Avisail Garcia as regulars, while Daniel Robertson and Billy McKinney are on their bench.

Brewers Select Brad Boxberger

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The Brewers announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran right-hander Brad Boxberger. He’ll join the club for their matchup against the Cubs and take the recently traded Orlando Arcia’s spot on the active roster. Righty Justin Topa was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Boxberger, 32, is a veteran of nine big league seasons who has ample experience as both a closer and setup man. He spent the 2020 season setting up for Brandon Kintzler in Miami, pitching to a 3.00 ERA with a 22.8 percent strikeout rate and 10.1 percent walk rate. It’s been awhile since his peak at this point, but Boxberger posted a 2.94 ERA through his first 177 1/3 MLB frames from 2012-15 and led the American League with 41 saves for the 2015 Rays.

In the five seasons since that stretch, Boxberger’s entire body of work has been solid enough, but he’s lacked consistency on a year-over-year basis. He’ll look to continue last year’s success while hopefully putting a rocky Spring Training effort behind him; in nine spring frames with the Brewers, Boxberger was tagged for eight earned runs on 10 hits, although his 14-to-1 K/BB ratio was certainly more encouraging.

Brewers Trade Orlando Arcia To Braves

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The Brewers and Braves have lined up on a rare, early-season trade involving three players on the teams’ respective 40-man rosters. The Brewers are sending infielder Orlando Arcia to the Braves in return for right-handed relievers Patrick Weigel and Chad Sobotka, per announcements from both teams. Weigel and Sobotka will report to the Brewers’ alternate training site.

While it’s a bit surprising to see a trade of any note taking place so early in the season, Arcia’s role with the Brewers has diminished in recent years. The hope at one point was that he’d be the long-term answer at short, but Luis Urias now looks to be the preferred option at that position for the Brew Crew. Arcia has also seen some time at third base this year, but Travis Shaw made the Brewers’ Opening Day roster and is expected to serve as the primary option at the hot corner.

Arcia is off to a 1-for-11 start to his 2021 season, but he turned in perhaps the best showing of his career last summer when he slashed .260/.317/.416 through 189 plate appearances. That said, it’s somewhat disappointing for that output to represent a career-best showing for Arcia, given that he once ranked among baseball’s top 10 overall prospects at both Baseball America and MLB.com. Arcia’s glove always gave him a decent floor, but his bat simply hasn’t come around as hoped. Through 1876 plate appearances at the big league level, he’s managed just a .244/.293/.364 batting line with 42 homers and 39 steals.

The Braves obviously don’t have a need for an everyday shortstop — Dansby Swanson has the position locked down — but Arcia gives them a utility option with a solid glove. He has 4250 career innings at shortstop, so it’s not a surprise that Atlanta would be comfortable sliding him over to either second base or third base.

Ehire Adrianza had been filling that role with the club, although there’s some uncertainty surrounding his status at the moment. Adrianza left the club to tend to a personal matter recently, and he was reportedly in the process of going through intake testing to return to the club. David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets that Adrianza is expected to return to the club by this weekend.

Arcia joins Adrianza, Johan Camargo and Pablo Sandoval as utility options off the bench for skipper Brian Snitker, although the Braves can’t carry that many backup infielders simultaneously. Both Arcia and Camargo have a minor league option remaining. Arcia is the more expensive of the two, with a $2MM salary to Camargo’s $1.36MM, and it would stand to reason that if the Braves are giving up some pitching to acquire him, he’d get the nod. At some point, the acquisition of Arcia could place the roster spot of one of the other backup infielders in jeopardy.

Depending on how things play out for Arcia in Atlanta, he could be an option for them not only in 2021 but in 2022. He currently has four-plus years of big league service, which means he’ll be controllable through the 2022 season via arbitration.

In exchange for Arcia, the Brewers will pick up a pair of optionable relievers — one of whom once rated as one of the better arms in a pitching-rich Braves system. The 26-year-old Weigel ranked ninth among Braves farmhands on Baseball America’s list back in 2017 and still checked in 14th this past offseason.

His career has been slowed by 2018 Tommy John surgery, but Weigel’s 2019 return from that procedure created some optimism. In 79 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A, the righty worked to a 2.73 ERA — albeit with less-encouraging strikeout and walk rates (21.6 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively). Weigel pitched in just one game with Atlanta last year, allowing a pair of runs in two-thirds of an inning. That’s his lone MLB appearance to date.

Sobotka, 27, has displayed a knack for missing bats but has also battled control issues in parts of three seasons with the Braves. The righty boasts a fastball that averages better than 96 mph and a career 28.8 percent strikeout rate through 47 big league innings, but he’s also walked 14.2 percent of his opponents and plunked three more.

The trade gives the Brewers some flexibility on the pitching staff in a season where most teams figure to need it more than ever before, but it also closes the book on one of the organization’s most promising farmhands in recent memory. They’ll now turn the reins over to Urias, a former top prospect himself, in hopes of better results. While Urias himself hasn’t had any real big league success yet, he’s more than three years younger than Arcia and has a vastly better track record in Triple-A, where he’s put together a .305/.403/.511 line in 867 plate appearances.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported that the Brewers were in talks to trade Arcia. FanSided’s Robert Murray reported that a deal with an unknown club had been reached. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that the Braves were acquiring Arcia, and MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reported that Weigel and Sobotka were headed to the Brewers.

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