[ad_1]
Director of Brewers Craig counsell discussed some roster situations with Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (Twitter connections), Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Twitter connections) and other journalists today, and Counsell revealed that the right-hander Justin topa will start the season on the injured list. Topa underwent an MRI last night after experiencing elbow discomfort in a mock game, and the club are still awaiting the results.
Any type of elbow problem is of particular concern to Topa, who has already had two Tommy John surgeries. Despite these injury setbacks, Topa struggled for five seasons at affiliated minors and an indy stint before eventually making his MLB debut in 2020. Although Topa only pitched 9 2/3 innings in total out of six outings regular season and a postseason game, Righty opened his eyes to allowing just two earned runs and registering 12 strikeouts against a single step.
Topa and Derek fisher (hamstrings) will both be on the 10-day injured list, but Counsell doesn’t think IL will be necessary for either Lorenzo Cain or Jackie Bradley Jr. Both field veterans missed time at camp with quad and wrist issues, respectively, although Counsell has indicated he won’t push Cain or Bradley hard at the start of the season. The Brewers were already planning to roll out something of a timeshare in the outfield in order to keep everyone cool, and beyond Cain, Bradley, Christian Yelich, and Avisail Garcia, Billy McKinney could still make the team a bench role for more depth.
Speaking of the Milwaukee bench, Counsell also said that Daniel Vogelbach lists the opening day. Although the Brewers offered Vogelbach a contract over the winter, some believed the team could still cut Vogelbach (whose $ 1.4 million contract is not guaranteed until opening day) because Vogelbach doesn’t offer much bench versatility. The slugger is blocked by Keston Hiura on first base, and since the NL will not have the designated hitting spot available this season, Vogelbach is likely limited to hitting opportunities and DH duty in interleague games. Still, the Brewers decided Vogelbach was worth staying in the fold, given his 0.987 OPS in 67 PA for Milwaukee last season.
[ad_2]
Source link