Urías looking to finally shed injury bug
PHOENIX - Luis Urías prefers not to call himself snake bitten at this point of his brief tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers.
But there’s no question the young infielder already has had more than his share of bad luck with injuries.
“I don’t want to see it that way,” Urías said Tuesday. “I think it’s a tough game and obviously you’ve got to perform in the game. But a lot of things can happen outside the game, injuries and stuff.
“I’m trying to be focused on what I can do and what I can control.”
Acquired from the San Diego Padres in November 2019 with left-hander Eric Lauer in exchange for right-hander Zach Davies and outfielder Trent Grisham, Urías was expected to challenge Orlando Arcia for the starting shortstop job. But he hasn’t been able to stay on the field long enough to do so.
A fractured hamate bone in his left hand suffered while playing winter ball in Mexico last offseason required surgery and sidelined him for the first month of spring training. On the day he was slated for his first Cactus League action, the Brewers were rained out and shortly after spring training was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Brewers reconvened for summer camp in early July, but Urías tested positive for COVID-19 and was sidelined for another five weeks.
Urías finally got onto the field but, with Arcia one of the few players performing offensively, was pushed to third base. In 41 games, he hit .239 with 11 runs batted in – disappointing numbers – but did flash defensive potential.
He reported to Maryvale this spring in good physical shape, stronger than last season, but played in only three games before straining his left hamstring March 5. So, back to the sideline Urías went. He missed more than a week recovering and rehabbing before returning to action Sunday.
The next goal will be to get Urías to play games on consecutive days, both to test his hamstring and give an extended opportunity to show what he can do at shortstop. He also has a chance to be in the mix at third base again if Arcia doesn’t relinquish his hold at shortstop.
“I think Luis is kind of the guy we’re trying to find out about,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Unfortunately, just because of the injuries, he hasn’t played a ton in the spring. But also we know that he’s a young player who’s still improving, and you have to be out there to get that, right?
“You’re not going to get that by not playing. We’ve got to get Luis out there to see that.”
Entering Tuesday, the Brewers had 14 spring games remaining. Logging innings and at-bats are the primary goal for Urías, but nobody could blame him if he had “remaining healthy” on top of his to-do list.
“At the end, it’s part of the game. That stuff is going to happen,” he said. “It can happen with your legs, arm, whatever. It’s part of the game and you’ve got to keep a good mind set and get back to (playing).”
Mathias faces long rehab
In making room on the 40-man roster for third baseman Travis Shaw, the Brewers placed infielder/outfielder Mark Mathias on the 60-day injured list with a torn labrum in his right shoulder suffered in an exhibition game a week earlier. Mathias said the tear is posterior and he is still weighing medical options but likely will miss most of the season.
“I’m still waiting to hear back from the other doctor for a second opinion,” he said. “I’ve already had labrum surgery in 2014 when I was in college with a slap tear. Most surgeons don’t typically operate on (posterior tears) so I’m going to get a second opinion and see what they have to say.
“I’m trying my best to go the non-surgical route as much as possible. Depending on how severe the tear is, everybody is kind of different in how their body responds. But, typically without surgery, probably (the down time is) three to four months at the least.”
Mathias, 26, was a reliable contributor when given the chance to play during two stints with the Brewers during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. In 36 at-bats over 16 games, including eight starts in the new role of outfielder, he batted .278 with four RBI and was hoping to make the opening day roster.
“It’s frustrating,” he said. “Nobody ever wants to be on the shelf but it’s something I’ve dealt with in my career before. In 2017, I dislocated my left shoulder twice and overcame it. So, adversity is something I’m familiar with in my career and I’m up for the challenge.”
There was also bad news on reliever Bobby Wahl, who exited his outing Monday against San Diego with a right oblique strain. Counsell said Wahl, who has been injured much of his two-plus years with the Brewers, would open the season on the injured list.
There was good news on catcher Manny Piña, who came out of that same game after banging up his left shoulder in a collision at the plate.
“His shoulder and neck are a little sore but everything is fine,” Counsell said. “He won’t play today. We’ve got the off day tomorrow. He’ll be good to go on Thursday after a couple of days.”
Christian Yelich was out of the lineup for the second consecutive day but
Counsell said he was not injured. In essence, Yelich wore himself out with what apparently was an epic hitting session.
“He wasn’t scheduled to play today. We took him out (Monday),” Counsell said. “He was just basically tired after swinging a whole bunch, which he sometimes does.
“No reason to take any chances there. He’s doing fine. His back was a little sore after swinging, but he’d be playing in a regular-season game, I guess is the best way to say it.”
Roster moves
The Brewers pared their camp roster for the second time in five days by reassigning infielder/outfielder Pablo Reyes, outfielder Dylan Cozens, infielder Zach Green, catcher Payton Henry, left-hander Aaron Ashby and right-hander Zack Brown to minor-league camp.
Also, right-hander Phil Bickford was optioned to Class AAA Nashville.
Of this group of cuts, Reyes made the biggest impression by hitting .350 with two home runs and five RBI with a 1.181 OPS in a team-high-tying 13 games.
Reyes played third base, second base, shortstop and left field, demonstrating the type of versatility the Brewers love. With Mathias and Tim Lopes (oblique) on the 60-day IL, Reyes has moved up the depth chart considerably.
“Pablo had a great camp,” Counsell said of the versatile 27-year-old, who hit .289 with five homers and 13 RBI in 59 games over three seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Brewers signed him as a minor-league free agent in early January.
“Essentially what we did today is we’re just really splitting up locker rooms for a lot of these guys. You’re going to see Pablo Reyes today. You’ll see him on Thursday. You’re going to still see Pablo Reyes every day, really. But he’s played really well so far for sure.
Taking Kershaw deep
The Brewers started their exhibition game against Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw with a bang. Actually, a couple of bangs.
Leadoff hitter Kolten Wong blasted Kershaw’s first pitch out to right for his first home run of the spring, and three pitches later Luis Urías ripped his first homer out to left. Wong and Urías each added singles in their second at-bats against Kershaw, who was roughed up for eight hits and five runs over four innings.
Benefitting from the re-entry rule to return after exiting with two outs in the third, Brewers starter Josh Lindblom covered a total of 3 2/3 scoreless innings, with two hits, three walks and four strikeouts.
“Those guys on that team, they’re the gold standard,” Lindblom said. “They’re the World Series champs. It’s a really, really good lineup from top to bottom. And it’s a good test at this point in spring. So, I’m really happy with being able to go out and perform today.
“Some of the earlier outings, you don’t know who’s going to be in the lineup. You might not know some of the guys in the lineup. So, it can be a little bit of a crapshoot. But when they bring their ‘A’ lineup over you’ve got data on them, you’ve got stuff that you can use, so you go out and you execute the game plan and see how it plays out.”
Of Lindblom’s outing, Counsell said, “He kept making pitches today and that’s what you have to do against that lineup. He never gave an inch and just kept battling and making pitches. I thought it was a real positive outing.”
One of the Brewers’ top prospects, outfielder Hedbert Perez, only 17 years old and yet to play in his first professional game because of the pandemic last year, finally got into a Cactus League game and who did he face? Trevor Bauer, the 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner now with the Dodgers. Perez struck out on three pitches but still a moment he’ll never forget.
“Yeah, that’s who he plays in the big leagues,” Counsell said of Perez facing Bauer. “I’m sure he was (excited). He’s got a great attitude; he’s always happy and smiling, enjoying himself every day.”
Luke Maile and Zach Green each homered off Bauer, who went the final five innings, as the Brewers took a 7-2 victory in the best game they’ve played this spring.