Brewers’ Piña expected to miss rest of season
The Brewers placed catcher Manny Piña on the 10-day injured list Friday with torn meniscus in his right knee, an injury expected to knock him out for the remaining 30 games of the season.
To replace Piña on their roster, the Brewers recalled catcher Jacob Nottingham from the alternate training site in Appleton.
"We think it's regular-season ending," manager Craig Counsell said of Piña's injury. "It will require surgery but Manny will recover from this fine and he'll have a largely normal offseason. It's not going to linger for him, so that's good news."
The Brewers also announced they designated right-hander Justin Grimm for assignment, removing him from their 40-man roster.
Grimm had been added as an eligible 29th player for the doubleheader Thursday night against Cincinnati and pitched in the second game, surrendering his fourth home run of the season in only 42⁄3 innings.
Piña, 33, was injured when he hit the first-base bag awkwardly in the second game of that doubleheader getting back on a pickoff move by Reds lefty Wade Miley. Piña appeared to hyper-extend his right leg on the play and left the game.
"When I got back to the base, I felt my knee moving in the wrong way," Piña said. "When I touched the base, I knew right away something happened, something was not good. I didn't feel too much pain after the game but when I was at my apartment, trying to sleep, it was very painful.
"It hurt when I walked, so I knew it was not good. In my mind, I don't want to steal a base. I stayed close to the base. He has a very good move. He did his good move and he surprised me. I went back fast to the base and that's when I felt my knee pop."
Piña said he expected to have surgery early next week and that the doctor told him a best-case scenario was a four-week recovery.
"I hope the team goes to the playoffs and I can play at that time," Piña said.
In 15 games this season, Piña was batting .231 with a .333 OBP and .744 OPS, with two home runs and five RBI in 45 plate appearances. He had been a real force behind the plate, calling games, framing pitches and throwing out five of nine runners attempting steals.
"It's a loss," Counsell said. "Manny has continued to do a nice job. Manny has always been a rock-solid supporting piece. That's how I'd describe him. It's never any different. He's always consistent in what he does. We know what we're going to get. He's very invested in our preparation from a pitching side.
"On the other side of it, it's an opportunity for Jacob Nottingham that is important. I hope he makes the most of it."
Nottingham, 25, who also plays first base, was briefly on the active roster earlier in the season but did not play. He played in 18 games with the Brewers over the two previous seasons, batting .231 with a home run and four RBI.
Grimm, who made the club as a non-roster invitee to camp, struggled mightily in four appearances, posting a 17.36 ERA and allowing nine hits, four walks and nine runs in 4 2/3 innings, with six strikeouts.
Garcia’s legs are rested
Avisaíl García has been filling in at the centerfield position since Lorenzo Cain opted out of the season after one week of play and it has taken a toll physically, Counsell said. Accordingly, he was used as the designated hitter Friday night in the series opener against Pittsburgh.
Garcia's offense has fallen off in the process, dropping his average to .222 with a .640 OPS entering that game. He had only nine hits in 46 at-bats over his previous 12 games, a .196 batting average, with a .579 OPS.
“We've asked Avi to play center field and he's done a really good job,” Counsell said. “We also understand it has taken something from him a little bit physically. That's real; we've tried to consider it. I think his defense out there has been important and good, and we need it.
“I don't think there's an offensive trade-off, but I told him we need to get him off his feet a little bit. It's my job to sense when that's happening. I thought today, after a long day (Thursday), was one of those days.”
Yelich gets night off
Counsell had been looking for a game to give some rest to Christian Yelich, who was starting to slip again at the plate with only three hits in his last 23 at-bats (.130). Yelich was 1 for 14 (.071) for his career against Pittsburgh lefty Derek Holland, so Counsell decided that was the game.
“There's no injury issue,” Counsell said. “This hasn't been one of his more favorable matchups. I was looking for an off day somewhere in here. I thought this was the right day after a doubleheader and with a guy he hasn't had great success against.”
Yelich got off to a horrid 1-for-27 start for the season, then picked up the pace (.943 OPS since then) and appeared headed for a recovery until falling off again recently. The two-time batting champ is hitting only .190 with a .320 OBP and .768 OPS, with seven homers and 15 RBI.
Sogard in a slide
Eric Sogard has had a few big moments at the plate this season – most notably his 11th-inning, game-winning double at Pittsburgh on July 27 and his run-scoring single in the Brewers' 1-0 win at the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 5.
But the veteran infielder hasn't provided much more, especially of late, going 0 for his last 11 with a .176 season average. The hope was that Sogard would be able to provide some juice at the top of the lineup after having a career year in 2019 with a .290 average, 13 homers and 40 RBI over 110 games split between Toronto and Tampa Bay.
Instead, Sogard has only 13 hits, 11 of which are singles with two doubles (.203 slugging) to go along with three RBI over 24 games.
“He's been in a slide, there's no question about it,” Counsell said. “He's just gotten a little off with some mechanical things and for a guy like Eric, he's a smaller guy and he needs to be right. He's working hard, trying to get locked back in and it's important that he does.”