According to manager Pat Murphy, the Brewers will welcome back outfielder Garrett Mitchell off the injured list tomorrow. The Brewers are optioning infielder Tyler Black to the minor leagues to make place for Mitchell on the active roster, but they will still need to clear a 40-man roster slot to accommodate his activation from the 60-day IL before tomorrow’s game against the Rockies in Colorado.
Mitchell, 25, has been sidelined for the whole 2024 season. He suffered a fractured finger on his left hand just before Opening Day in March and has been out ever since. The teenager was Milwaukee’s first-round draft pick in 2020, and he made his big league debut in 2022 with a late-season call-up, batting.311/.373/.459 with a wRC+ of 136 in 28 games. He expected to begin the 2023 season with a good grasp on a starting spot in Milwaukee, but shoulder surgery kept him out for the bulk of the season, limiting him to only 73 plate appearances last year.
As frustrating as those failures have been for both the Brewers and Mitchell, the teenager now appears to be on track to make an impact in the club’s lineup on a more consistent basis. The former top-100 prospect has done admirably in 11 Triple-A games while recovering this year, batting.310/.408/.643 in that time. While he is unlikely to carry that slash line to the majors, he might provide a boost to a Brewers offense that has struggled in June. Milwaukee’s hitters have slashed.245/.322/.347 with a 92 wRC+ over the previous 30 days, ranking 22nd in the majors and fourth from the bottom of the National League. The troubles have mostly been caused by a lack of power in the lineup, as the club’s combined ISO of just.102 ranks dead last in the majors this month, roughly 15 points below the 29th-place Marlins.
Mitchell is expected to get at least semi-regular at-bats when he returns to the lineup, though incorporating him to the club’s deep outfield mix will undoubtedly need some creativity on Murphy’s behalf. Franchise player Christian Yelich will undoubtedly continue to see regular playing time in left field and at DH, and it’s difficult to imagine the Brewers reducing top prospect Jackson Chourio’s playing time now that he’s finally hitting his stride in the majors, with a.318/.361/.546 slash line in June. Mitchell’s comeback is expected to come at the expense of Blake Perkins, Sal Frelick, or Jake Bauers, as both outfield corners are already covered.
Perkins and Frelick have been splitting time in center field this year, but both have been somewhat below average at the plate, with Perkins struggling especially against southpaws. When not filling in for Perkins in center field, Frelick has played outfield corner as Yelich shifts to DH, relegating slugger Rhys Hoskins to first base and pushing Bauers to the bench, despite posting a respectable 106 wRC+ in a platoon role. The return of Mitchell as another lefty bat in the lineup may cause Frelick to spend more time in the infield after striving to make himself playable on the dirt this spring, while also potentially allowing Yelich to make more frequent DH appearances.
Black, a consensus top-100 prospect entering the season, will be sent to Triple-A to make place for Mitchell. The corner infielder has only participated in 11 games for the Brewers this season, but he has struggled with his limited opportunities, batting.242/.324/.303 in 37 plate appearances while splitting time between first base and designated hitter. The 23-year-old is expected to return to the minors, where he has slashed an impressive.275/.375/.483 at the highest level in 53 games this season, to await his next opportunity in the big.
