Counsell’s outfield plan sends Yelich to left
PHOENIX – Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell detailed plans for his overcrowded outfield situation this spring on Monday and it involved position switches for both incumbent corner outfielders.
For Ryan Braun, it’s actually going to be a double position switch.
Counsell said he planned to move Christian Yelich from right field to left field, the position he last played for the Miami Marlins before being traded to the Brewers prior to the 2018 season. Braun will move back to right field, the position he played in 2014-’15 before moving back to left, but newcomer Avisaíl García likely will see the most time there.
Braun also will see action at first base, along with Justin Smoak, signed as a free agent over the winter. Counsell explained that when Yelich and García are both in the starting outfield, their skill set is more suited to playing left field and right, respectively. García has a strong arm that is considered a prototypical tool for right fielders.
“It’s putting ‘Avi’ in his best position, which is probably right field, and probably Christian in his best position,” Counsell explained. “Those are the guys that probably are out there more, the most games. With Ryan playing first base, he’s just not going to be in the outfield that much.
“Whatever we do, I’d like to keep Christian in one spot, and then Avi’s going to be the one that’s going to move around. That’s how he gets his at-bats. But that’s something as we go through spring training, we’ll make a decision on.
“It’s really about how we’re going to line up the most frequently and getting guys to their best spots. I think we’ve probably got to get Ryan comfortable in right field. The thing I would probably be a little hesitant about is Ryan in right field. But I don’t think there’s any question that with ‘Avi’ and ‘Yeli’ in the game together, Garcia belongs in right and Christian belongs in left.”
So, it is shaping up to be a spring of adjustments for Braun, 36, who is in the final year of his guaranteed contract with the Brewers. Not only is he moving back to right field, he is expected to see considerable action at first base, depending on how he handles it and how Smoak is performing.
“I’ve always been a little more comfortable in left field,” said Braun, who understands this could be his final season in Milwaukee. “But because I’ll probably be going back and forth from first base and the outfield, I think ‘Yeli’ feels more comfortable in left and ‘Avi’ feels more comfortable in right. If they think it’s something that makes the most sense for the team, I’ll do whatever it is they want me to do.
“Tentatively, that’s the plan, but obviously all of these things are subject to change. I told (Counsell) I’ll do whatever. I talked to Christian this offseason and said whatever he is more comfortable doing, I’ll do (the other). When I went out there those couple of games in Pittsburgh (last season when Yelich was suffering back issues) and felt really comfortable, I said, ‘Maybe I’m better in right.’
“I haven’t done it in a little while, so we’ll see. But, whatever they think makes the most sense, I’m in for.”
At 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, García is a big, physical athlete who runs well and can play any of the three outfield spots. He is expected to also spell Lorenzo Cain in center field at times.
“He does everything well, for sure,” Counsell said. “He’s a good defender, very strong throwing arm. Hits the ball really hard. He hasn’t really stolen bases but I think he used that (speed) defensively. He actually did pick up his base stealing last year (10 with Tampa Bay).
“There’s no question, there’s a lot he can do. And the other thing is just the experience. He’s got the right amount of experience to where it can really take off for a player.”
A fifth outfielder, Ben Gamel, saw action in 134 games for the Brewers last season and has the skill set to cover all three positions but might have trouble finding playing time this year, barring injuries. Gamel started 36 games in left last season, 15 in right and 14 in center.
Gamel, a left-handed hitter, has a minor-league option remaining.
Taylor to miss entire camp
Tyrone Taylor would love to build off a 2019 season that saw him break into the major leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers.
But those plans have been put on hold as he continues to recover from left-wrist surgery he underwent in early November.
Taylor, 26, underwent a reconstruction of his ECU tendon sheath. The surgical site is still red and swollen even months later on the outside of his wrist, but after dealing with the issue for three years he’ll soon be able to put it behind him.
“In ’17 in the last game of the season I dislocated my ECU tendon and that offseason I was in a sling up to my shoulder for a couple months just to re-stabilize it, and it worked,” he said Monday. “In ’18 I was completely fine. Then last year in May I took one swing and felt it come out again. I immediately knew what was wrong with it.
“So I came back to Arizona and we got an MRI on it and it was my ECU tendon. We got a cortisone shot and it started feeling better and I couldn’t feel it, so I played. It lasted for the rest of the season and at the end of the season I got it fixed.”
Counsell predicted last spring that Taylor would debut with the team at some point during the season. The 2012 second-round pick got himself onto the radar screen after hitting .281 with a .772 OPS in 15 Cactus League games while taking part in his first major-league camp.
It didn’t look like it would be in the cards after he played in only 92 games at Class AAA San Antonio and Trent Grisham unexpectedly was promoted after a dynamite year in the minors. But after injuries to Braun and Cain left the Brewers shorthanded in the outfield, Taylor finally got the call Sept. 7.
He made the most of his limited opportunities, hitting .400 with two doubles and a run batted in in 10 at-bats over 15 games as the Brewers surged toward the second National League wildcard spot.
“I enjoyed every moment I was up there last year. It was cool,” said Taylor, who hit .269 with 14 home runs and 59 runs batted in at San Antonio despite his wrist issue.
“I don’t even think about what I did just because I was trying to help the team win and doing anything I could to try to help the team win. Because that’s all that matters up here, and that’s my favorite part.”
Taylor has been ruled out of Cactus League action this spring, with the hope that he will be back to full health and full go by late April or early May.
Another epidemic of injuries would seemingly be the only way Taylor would get back to the Brewers this season once healthy considering the presence of Braun, Cain, Yelich, Gamel and the addition of García.
But first things first. Taylor just wants the green light to begin baseball activity for the first time since his surgery.