Yelich has been solid in right so far

PHOENIX - No news has been good news so far for Christian Yelich in right field.

Because of the outfield depth the Milwaukee Brewers have — and are expected to have heading into the season — Yelich will be asked for the first time to play some games in right despite having never lined up there before in his career.

As preparation, Yelich has made half of his eight Cactus League starts so far in right and in 20 total innings looked perfectly comfortable, just as he expected he would at the outset of camp.

“It’s proving to be true,” Yelich, a 2014 Gold Glove winner as a leftfielder for the Marlins, said Saturday.

“I’m getting more used to it. I’m sure I’ll be out there a few more times before (spring) is over, but I’ve been working on it in batting practice and obviously in games. The ball comes off the bat different. There’s different spins in right field than there are in left field, so just getting used to that.

“From having not really been out there much, just getting a feel for how balls play in a game and little differences. But nothing major.”

Yelich played primarily left field in Miami the first four years of his career before playing a career-high 155 games in center last season. Manager Craig Counsell has said Yelich will serve as the Brewers’ primary leftfielder.

Yelich’s time in right likely will come when Counsell has Ryan Braun in left, which would force Domingo Santana to the bench. Yelich also is expected to be Lorenzo Cain’s primary backup in center, but if Cain remains healthy that probably wouldn’t occur more than a handful of times.

Braun made his first spring start in left Saturday against the Colorado Rockies after four starts at first base. If the switch to first sticks for Braun, it will give Counsell more flexibility with his lineup.

Braun also knows what Yelich is going through, as he switched from left to right in 2014 and spent two seasons there before moving back to left.

“He’s a phenomenal athlete. He’s a special player,” Braun said. “In the time I’ve seen him so far he’s even better than I thought he was. I think he has a chance to be in the running for the MVP this year — I think he’s that good.

“He’s athletic enough, he’s fast enough, he’s young enough that I’m confident he can make the transition. But it is different for sure, when it’s something that you’ve never done.

“All of us are making sacrifices and experimenting with everything we can now, so we can see what we’re capable of doing during the season.”

Yelich said he expects to make several more starts in right over the final two weeks of camp to continue smoothing out whatever rough edges might remain.

“I thought that it would be a fairly easy transition,” Counsell said of Yelich. “It’s different and it’s still a little new. But I was pretty optimistic he’d be able to make that pretty comfortably.”

Braun still adjusting: For those who think there’s nothing to playing first base, Braun would beg to differ.

“I don’t feel remotely comfortable now,” Braun said of his time at first base. “I’m doing the best I can with it. Guys have to make sacrifices. Ultimately, if you want to get where we want to be as a team, based on the roster we’ve put together, it makes us a better team if I’m able to play multiple positions.

“I’m doing it with the understanding that it’s in the best interests of the team. But, certainly, it feels awkward and uncomfortable at times. So, I wouldn’t say I’m anywhere near comfortable at first base.”

The idea of Braun seeing some time at first base was hatched after the acquisitions of Yelich and Cain, two of the best all-around outfielders in the game.

With three starters from the 2017 outfield – Braun, centerfielder Keon Broxton and Santana — still on the roster, playing time will be at a premium. Braun has done extensive work at first base in camp and has played 19 innings there over four exhibition games but obviously feels a bit like a duck out of water.

“It’s enjoyable to take groundballs for the first time in a long time,” he said, “but it’s also stressful. I’d never done it at all. I had no idea what I’m getting myself into. It’s completely foreign to me.

“Certainly, at times, it’s stressful trying to figure out where I’m supposed to be, when I’m supposed to be there, knowing my assignments on bunt plays, figuring out bunt plays, figuring out first-and-third plays. In today’s game, with shifts, sometimes guys are all over the place. It’s a lot of stuff that’s completely new to me.”

Counsell was not surprised to hear Braun’s comments because he knew it would be a sizable undertaking to learn the nuances of first base after a decade in the outfield.

“We’re asking him to do something different,” Counsell said. “He’s new at the position. I expect it to be a little uncomfortable. You’re not going to experience every play in (four) games. We’ll keep getting him experience. The process of being comfortable is not going to happen in one day. It’s a process. But, so far, from all of our perspectives, he’s done a really nice job at it.”

Bullpen will fill around Knebel, Hader: Most years, it takes a few weeks, if not longer, for bullpen roles to be completely hashed out, and that likely will be the case in 2018 with a reconfigured Brewers relief corps.

Counsell said Saturday he knows two things for certain about his bullpen — Corey Knebel again will close games and left-hander Josh Hader will be a multi-inning reliever in key situations as he was in 2017.

“The other six guys really fit in around those two,” Counsell said.

Of Hader, Counsell added, “Occasionally, it’ll be a one-inning stint, if it sets up right, and depending on how he has been used before, and what’s coming after.”

Counsell knows he’ll have three right-handed choices to use as he chooses — Matt Albers, Jacob Barnes and Jeremy Jeffress — as well as veteran lefty specialist Boone Logan. With six spots taken, it leaves two jobs to be won before the Brewers break camp.

“It should give us the opportunity to pick the guy pitching the best to use in the highest leverage spots, but the other guys are certainly capable of it,” Counsell said.

“It’s not necessarily roles, because your role is to get outs. When are we going to see them pitch? We will settle in to things that normalize as the season goes.”

Right-hander Oliver Drake, who made 61 appearances for the Brewers last season (4.44 ERA, 59 strikeouts in 522⁄3 innings), has scuffled this spring. In five outings, he has a 9.00 ERA with a .389 opponents batting average.

Veteran right-hander J.J. Hoover, who made 52 outings (3.92 ERA) last season for Arizona, has pitched four scoreless innings in camp but is a nonroster player, which could work against him. Another non-roster veteran, Ernesto Frieri, has scuffled with his command in camp (five hits, five walks in four innings, 6.75 ERA).

Rookie Taylor Williams, who is on the 40-man roster, has thrust himself into the picture with a strong showing (1.80 ERA in five games).