MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich has come off the injured list as the Milwaukee Brewers get more reinforcements after missing some top hitters early this season.
Milwaukee activated Yelich on Tuesday after the 2018 NL MVP and three-time All-Star missed a month with an adductor strain. To open a roster spot for the outfielder/designated hitter, the Brewers optioned first baseman/outfielder Tyler Black to Triple-A Nashville.
“It’s obviously frustrating when you’re not out there and not able to contribute,” Yelich said before batting third as a DH against San Diego. “I’m definitely glad to be back.”
The 34-year-old was hitting .314 with a .375 on-base percentage, one homer, 10 RBIs and three steals in 15 games before going on the IL. He went 0 for 4 in his first game back Tuesday night in the Brewers’ 6-4 victory over the Padres.
Yelich last played on April 12, when he started to feel discomfort while grounding into a forceout in the first inning of an 8-6 loss to Washington. He got pulled for a pinch hitter in the fifth inning.
Milwaukee was without Yelich, outfielder Jackson Chourio and outfielder/first baseman Andrew Vaughn for much of the last month. Chourio went on the injured list on opening day and Vaughn played just one game before joining him as both dealt with fractured bones in their left hands.
Chourio and Vaughn were both activated on May 4. The Brewers went 14-9 while Yelich was out, including a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees last weekend.
“The guys did a great job,” Yelich said. “They’ve been playing well. Hopefully I’ll be able to contribute to that a little bit.”
Yelich’s return could provide a power surge to a lineup that entered Tuesday with a big league-low 26 homers. Although the Brewers entered Tuesday ranked eighth in runs (195) and fifth in on-base percentage (.333), they were 28th in slugging percentage (.353).
Brewers manager Pat Murphy said before Tuesday’s game that “we’re still finding ourselves” and that “we’re still understanding what kind of offense we need to be.”
“We’ve faced some really good pitching, if you think about it, some of the best in the major leagues,” he said. “So I think it’s hard to evaluate it by numbers in those small increments. But certainly we weren’t as confident as we’ve been at times. I think it’s good timing that Yeli’s back because our road is very, very difficult.”
Black batted .333 with a .357 on-base percentage, no homers and seven RBIs in nine games with Milwaukee. The 25-year-old entered this season batting .211 (12 of 57) in his previous major league stints.
“Tyler knows that he’s good enough to play in the big leagues,” Murphy said. “Tyler knows that he belongs. He knows that he’s wanted. His time will come again.”
In other injury news, the Brewers estimated that outfielder Brandon Lockridge could return in mid to late June. Lockridge sustained a major cut and bruise to his right knee while sliding into foul territory in the fourth inning Friday as he tried to catch a fly ball.
“There’s some other testing we want to get done, so we’re going to get another scan done to make sure that there’s no further bruising of the bone and that type of thing,” Murphy said. “It takes a while for the swelling and everything to calm down. He’s got another test to go through, but we’re anticipating somewhere around a month, maybe six weeks.”
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