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Brewers Activate Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain; Option Tyrone Taylor, Keston Hiura

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4:17pm: Yelich and Cain are indeed in Monday’s lineup, the Brewers announced. The team optioned Taylor and infielder Keston Hiura to its alternate site in corresponding moves. Taylor’s one of the odd men out despite a fantastic .323/.400/.581 line with a pair of homers in 35 trips to the plate. Hiura has endured an awful start, though, with a .152/.247/.266 mark, 32 strikeouts and one HR over 89 PA. So far, it has been the second consecutive adverse season for Hiura, who burst on the scene as a rookie in 2019 but hasn’t come close to replicating his output from then.

Hiura has gotten the lion’s share of playing time at first base this year for Milwaukee, which has also utilized Daniel Vogelbach at the position. Vogelbach and McKinney will now split time there. Manager Craig Counsell expressed optimism that Hiura “can be our primary first baseman,” though he admitted the Brewers “need more offense” from that spot, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays.

4:03pm: Brewers outfielders Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain will return from the 10-day injured list Monday as the first-place club begins a series against the Phillies, Robert Murray of FanSided reports.

This will be the first action since April 11 for Yelich, who has been down with a back ailment. The Brewers were optimistic Yelich wouldn’t be out for long, evidenced by the fact that they didn’t place him on the IL until April 17 (retroactive to the 14th). Now that the former MVP is coming back from a three-week absence, he’ll try to build on the highly  productive .333/.459/.367 line he logged in 37 plate appearances to start the season. However, the two-time 30-plus-home run hitter hasn’t left the yard yet in 2021.

The Brewers received very strong numbers from the left field combination of Tyrone Taylor and Billy McKinney during Yelich’s absence. The same hasn’t been true in center, where Jackie Bradley Jr. has struggled in his first year with the Brewers. Bradley divided his time between center and right to open the year, but he has played the former spot almost every day since Cain went on the IL on April 14 with a strained left quad. As is the case with Bradley, Cain has come out of the gates slowly in 2021. He batted an underwhelming .154/.214/.423 in 28 PA prior to his trip to the IL.

Dodgers Claim Phil Bickford, Designate Mike Kickham

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The Dodgers have claimed right-hander Phil Bickford off waivers from the Brewers.  Both teams have announced the move, with the Dodgers designating left-hander Mike Kickham for assignment to create roster space.

Bickford pitched just one inning for the Brewers in 2021, to go along with his lone inning for the team last season.  Twice a first-round draft pick (for the Blue Jays in 2013 and, after opting to attend college, with the Giants in 2015), Bickford’s career has been stalled by injuries and a 50-game suspension for a drug of abuse in 2017.

The righty is still only 25 years old, however, and has yet to pitch in either Double-A or Triple-A ball.  It could be that some time in a proper minor league game environment will help hone Bickford’s potential as a relief pitcher, since he recorded a whopping 53 strikeouts in 32 2/3 bullpen innings (with a 2.48 ERA) for Milwaukee’s high-A affiliate in 2019.

Kickham signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in the offseason and had his contract selected by the team yesterday.  He tossed two innings of mop-up work in the Dodgers’ 16-4 victory over the Brewers, though Kickham allowed three earned runs.  The 32-year-old has now appeared in four Major League seasons, though with a sizeable gap in between — Kickham pitched for the Giants in 2013-14 and then worked in the minors before resurfacing for 14 innings with the Red Sox in 2020.

Minor MLB Transactions: 5/2/21

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Let’s round up some minor moves from around the baseball landscape…

  • The Brewers injury-ravaged pitching staff will reach further down the depth chart today. Alec Bettinger will join the Major League club to make his debut, starting today’s game against the Dodgers, per MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy (via Twitter). The Brewers also signed catcher Christian Kelley to a minor league contact, per Robert Murray of FanSided (via Twitter). The 27-year-old will provide much-needed depth at catcher for the Brewers.
  • The Pirates released a pair of minor-leaguers today. Catcher Daniel Angulo and infielder Carlos Arroyo are now free agents, per Kevin Gorman of Trib Sports (via Twitter). While settling on the assignments as the minor league season opens, the Pirates have granted a number of veterans their release.

Brewers Acquire Jacob Nottingham For Cash Considerations

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Let the circle be complete. The Brewers have acquired catcher Jacob Notthingham from the Mariners for cash considerations, per the Mariners (via Twitter). The Brewers designated Notthingham for assignment this past Wednesday, at which point the Mariners claimed him off waivers. But with Omar Narvaez headed to the injured list, the Brewers once again found themselves in need of a catcher. Nottingham did not appear in a game for the Mariners.

Nottingham has been placed on the Brewers’ active roster. He’ll make his season debut today against the Dodgers. Mario Feliciano, meanwhile, has been optioned back to Triple-A after little more than a day on the active roster, per Will Sammon of the Athletic (via Twitter). Feliciano walked and scored a run in his debut yesterday.

As for the Mariners, they pick up a little bit of cash for the honor of holding Nottingham’s rights for a couple of days. Seattle DFA’ed Nottingham themselves yesterday, so there’s little reason not to send Nottingham back to Milwaukee.

Injury Notes: Yardley, Brewers, Kirk, Stripling

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Prior to Saturday’s game, the Brewers placed right-hander Eric Yardley on the 10-day injured list (placement retroactive to April 30) due to a right shoulder strain.  An extreme grounder specialist, Yardley posted a 1.80 ERA over 35 innings with the Padres and Brewers in 2019-20, but struggled to a 5.73 ERA over his first 11 innings of 2021.

Yardley is the seventh pitcher and the 16th player overall on an incredibly crowded Milwaukee injured list.  Despite missing so many key players, the Brewers are still 16-10 and in first place in the NL Central, though one wonders if the loss of healthy manpower will eventually catch up to the team.  MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy provided a rundown of known or estimated return dates for the 16 players, with a few unknowns based on a lack of information (such as Corbin Burnes’ placement on the COVID-19 injured list).

More on some injury situations from around baseball…

  • Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk left Saturday’s game due to left hip flexor discomfort.  Kirk was just 24 hours removed from his biggest performance of the season, hitting two homers in the Jays’ 13-5 victory over the Braves on Friday.  For the year, Kirk is hitting .225/.326/.475 over 46 PA, good for a 127 wRC+.  Danny Jansen would assume starting duties in Kirk’s absence, and since Toronto has an open 40-man roster spot, Reese McGuire or veteran Juan Graterol could be selected to the roster in the event of an IL visit for Kirk.  (Riley Adams and Gabriel Moreno are the only catchers on the 40-man but neither has any MLB experience.)
  • In better injury news for the Blue Jays, manager Charlie Montoyo told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith) that Ross Stripling is expected to start against the Braves on Sunday.  Stripling hasn’t pitched since April 8 due to a flexor strain, and given his absence, his outing tomorrow is probably likely to be limited to a few innings rather than a full starter’s workload.

Blue Jays Acquire Paxton Schultz From Brewers

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The Blue Jays have acquired right-hander Paxton Schultz from the Brewers, according to a Jays team announcement.  The move completes a past move between the two clubs, as Schultz is the player to be named later in the February trade that saw Derek Fisher head from Toronto to Milwaukee.

Schultz was a 2019 draft pick, selected in the 14th round by the Brewers out of Utah Valley University.  He mostly worked as a starter in college, though he has thus far worked out of the bullpen for 15 of his 17 pro games.

Schultz posted a 3.86 ERA over 23 1/3 innings in rookie ball in 2019, but since the 2020 minor league season was canceled, he was one of six Milwaukee prospects sent to the Australian Baseball League as per the team’s partnership with the ABL’s Brisbane Bandits.  The righty got to appear in eight games with Brisbane, posting a 3.29 ERA over 17 1/3 innings and posting a 17-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Brewers Place Omar Narvaez On Injured List

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3:08 pm: Narváez is expected to miss about two weeks, manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).

2:02 pm: The Brewers announced they’ve placed catcher Omar Narváez on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Fellow backstop Mario Feliciano is up from the alternate training site to take his place on the roster.

Narváez left last night’s game in the seventh inning with hamstring tightness, and testing this morning revealed the strain. His loss will be another blow to a Milwaukee offense that has already been one of the league’s worst. Brewers’ hitters have managed just a .215/.297/.368 cumulative slash, which ranks twenty-eighth in park-adjusted offense (ahead of only the Rockies and Tigers).

While the team hasn’t hit much, Narváez has been on a tear. The 29-year-old is raking at a .368/.443/.529 clip through 79 plate appearances. Obviously, that level of production wasn’t sustainable, but Narváez has rather incredibly slashed his strikeout rate from 31% during a dreadful 2020 campaign to 12.7% over this season’s first month. That suggests he might’ve again found the form that made him a quality offensive player with the White Sox and Mariners from 2018-19.

Narváez has rated as an above-average pitch framer since moving to Milwaukee and has cut down six of thirteen attempted base stealers in the early going. He’s also guided a pitching staff that has more than offset the club’s offensive issues, with the Brewers sporting an NL Central-leading 16-10 record. With Narváez joining Manny Piña on the IL, Milwaukee is set to lean primarily on the light-hitting Luke Maile behind the dish.

Maile will be backed up by Feliciano, who’s in line to make his MLB debut. The 22-year-old is one of the sport’s more promising catching prospects but will be forced to make quite a leap to the game’s highest level. Feliciano spent most of the 2019 minor-league season at High-A, where he hit a strong .273/.324/.477. Other than three Double-A games to close out that year, Feliciano has no high minors experience. He and Maile are the only healthy catchers remaining on Milwaukee’s 40-man roster.

Jordan Zimmermann Nearly Retired Thursday

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Veteran right-hander Jordan Zimmermann was on the brink of calling it a career Thursday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com writes, but he changed his mind when the Brewers selected his contract. “I think I was retired for about two hours,” said Zimmermann, a Wisconsin native whom the Brewers promoted as a result of recent injured list placements for fellow pitchers Corbin Burnes, Brett Anderson, Zack Godley and Josh Lindblom. Now that Zimmermann will continue on, the former Nationals star will try to get his career back on track after a subpar run with the Tigers from 2016-20.

Brewers Place Corbin Burnes, Zack Godley On IL

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The Brewers placed right-handers Corbin Burnes and Zack Godley on the injured list Thursday, the team announced. Manager Craig Counsell was unable to discuss why Burnes went on the IL, which suggests the hurler tested positive for COVID-19, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. Meanwhile, Godley landed on the 10-day IL with a right index finger contusion. Milwaukee recalled righty Alec Bettinger and lefty Eric Lauer in corresponding moves.

While it’s unclear how much time Burnes will miss, the Brewers can ill afford to go without him for long. The flamethrowing 26-year-old broke through as one of the game’s premier starters last season and has continued to roll in 2021. Burnes has pitched to 1.53 ERA with even more impressive fielding-independent numbers (0.50 FIP, 1.18 xFIP, 1.24 SIERA), and he has somehow managed to avoid walking anyone over the first 29 1/3 innings of his season. Not only that, but Burnes has fanned a whopping 49 hitters – putting him two strikeouts away from tying Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen’s 51:0 K:BB ratio for the all-time record to begin a season.

The loss of Godley is much less troubling for the Brewers, though it does further subtract from their starting depth. Milwaukee, which is also without injured starter Brett Anderson, selected Godley’s contract before its game against the Marlins on Wednesday. Godley threw just three innings of three-run ball in a 6-2 loss before exiting with his injury.

Lauer, who made 54 starts between San Diego and Milwaukee from 2018-20, will slot into the Brewers’ rotation for the time being. Although Lauer faced a daunting opponent, the Dodgers, on Thursday, he rose to the occasion with five shutout innings in a 2-1 victory.

Brewers Select Jordan Zimmermann

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The Brewers have selected right-hander Jordan Zimmermann and optioned fellow righty Patrick Weigel to their alternate site, the team announced.

Zimmermann’s promotion comes with the Brewers dealing with a rash of health problems, including in their rotation. Left-hander Brett Anderson went on the 10-day injured list with a strained hamstring last week, while replacement Zack Godley landed on the 10-day IL after one start because of a finger issue. Worst of all, the Brewers placed star righty Corbin Burnes on the IL on Wednesday, likely on account of a positive COVID-19 test.

Zimmermann was a standout in his own right earlier in his career, though his production has tanked since he left the Nationals for the Tigers on a five-year, $110MM contract prior to the 2016 campaign. The former workhorse threw 514 1/3 innings with Detroit, including just 5 2/3 last year, and pitched to a woeful 5.63 ERA. As a result of that miserable stretch, Zimmermann was unable to land a guaranteed contract during his trip to free agency this past offseason. The 34-year-old sat on the open market for a few months before signing a minor league deal with the Brewers in February.

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