Choi receives another chance
MINNEAPOLIS - Ji-Man Choi, whose stay with the Milwaukee Brewers this season lasted all of one day, is getting another chance to show what he can do.
The Brewers announced Friday afternoon that Choi, a first baseman with power, was recalled from Class AAA Colorado Springs to replace Ryan Braun, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list Thursday with a back issue.
Choi found himself in the starting lineup right out of the gate, as he served as the designated hitter in the opening game of the Brewers’ three-game interleague series against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
“I’m extremely happy just to be back here again. Words can’t express how I’m feeling right now,” Choi said through interpreter Daniel Cho.”I don’t feel like anything’s different. I feel like I’ve just continued on and progressed since then.
“Because I’ve been playing pretty much every day in Colorado Springs, it feels like a normal day right now. I’m glad that I’m in the starting lineup.”
Choi, who played in the New York Yankees’ system last year, signed a minor-league contract with the Brewers over the winter and made the opening day roster after a strong showing in spring training.
But, after doubling to ignite the winning rally in the 12th inning of the opener in San Diego, the left-handed-hitting slugger was sent to Colorado Springs to open a roster spot for reliever Dan Jennings, who was signed after being released by Tampa Bay.
“I feel like for anyone it would have been a hard situation,” Choi said of his quick demotion. “But I just want to think about right now, being here right now and just overcoming that.”
Choi, who turns 27 Saturday, was performing well for the Sky Sox, batting .307 with a .430 on-base percentage, four homers and 22 RBI in 35 games. His walk-strikeout ratio was nearly equal, with 26 walks and 27 strikeouts.
He missed time earlier in the week with an illness but collected a pair of hits in his return to the Colorado Springs lineup Thursday before being pulled and informed of his promotion.
“Half the team has the flu bug right now,” Choi said of the Sky Sox. “But my case was a little bit more serious.”
It makes sense that the Brewers would want to add a left-handed power bat for the Twins series. Minnesota is starting three right-handed pitchers, and the DH will be used in the series.
“He’s been swinging the bat well for quite a while now, and I think he fits really well with this series and this stretch of pitchers,” manager Craig Counsell said. “It looks like we’re facing a good string of right-handed pitching coming up, and obviously the DH helps in this series.
“Makes it easier for a guy like Ji-Man to be on the roster. A combination of all those reasons makes him the right guy.”
Choi didn’t waste any time making an impact as he homered in the second inning Friday night.
With Braun’s DL stint being retroactive to May 14, he could return as soon as Thursday against the New York Mets at Miller Park.
“I don’t know if 10 days is for sure, but I do think we’re thinking it could be at some point on the home stand,” Counsell said.
Sigh of relief: Jimmy Nelson was breathing a bit easier Friday after receiving good news from Neal ElAttrache.
Nelson had traveled from Phoenix to Los Angeles on Thursday to have his surgically repaired right shoulder examined by the surgeon who conducted the extensive procedure in September.
“It was really good,” Nelson said. “ElAttrache was extremely happy and pleased with the way those three main repairs are healing. He made it pretty clear that this is the hardest part of this whole process, those (structures) actually healing, because they are three rather unique, extensive repairs.
“Now that they’re healed, he’s very confident that that’s not going to change throughout the rest of this process. That’s a big sigh of relief there. When you’re on the DL and you start feeling an ache or pain, as an athlete or a person, period, your knee-jerk reaction is to start filing through scenarios in your head.
“Obviously, worst-case scenario is he would have had to go back in there to clean something up. That wasn’t even an idea he threw out there. He was plenty pleased with how well it had healed and how strong it was.”
Nelson had taken five days off from throwing after experiencing some soreness before his appointment, and ElAttrache advised a rest period of 10 days this time.
Nelson will return to throwing after that and work his way back to playing catch at a distance of 150 feet with no timetable for a return to the mound.
“Even he said I put myself in such a good position early on in this process. I’m so far ahead, when stuff like this happens, it’s not a setback,” Nelson said. “A setback is when you’re on schedule and something happens and you’re behind schedule. Like, this isn’t a setback.
“This is just taking more time on the back end than it was on the front end, you know?”