Left side of infield unsettled
Five issues facing the Brewers:
After a couple of disappointing seasons by incumbent Orlando Arcia, the Brewers fired a big shot across his bow by trading for San Diego infield prospect Luis Urías. He was considered more of a second baseman by the Padres, but the Brewers are going to look at him at short.
Whether he can handle the work defensively and provide a boost at the plate remains to be seen.
Urias had surgery last week on a bone broken at the base of his left hand playing winter ball in Mexico. The recovery time for a hitter from such a surgery is normally about eight weeks, which makes it unlikely Urías could make the Brewers’ roster for their March 26 regular season opener against the Cubs.
That gives Arcia a good opportunity to prove his worth.
With Mike Moustakas and Travis Shaw gone via free agency, the Brewers have to start over at the hot corner. It could turn out to be a time share between right-handedhitting Jedd Gyorko, coming off an injury-plagued 2019, and lefty-hitting Eric Sogard, in his second time around with Milwaukee.
On surface, there appears to be some wishful thinking involved here and Gyorko must stay on the field to make this work.
Corey Knebel’s status:
Knebel had Tommy John surgery at the end of spring training in 2019 and is expected to miss the first month or so of this regular season. The Brewers will pair him again with dominant lefty Josh Hader in the late innings. The bullpen has been a big key to the team’s success in recent seasons.
Newcomer Avisail García is expected to see regular action in the outfield, which features holdovers Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain and Ryan Braun. To get them all in the lineup as much as possible, Braun is expected to see action at first base. Garcia expects to play mostly in left field but could see action in right if Yelich is used in center to give Cain some days off. Manager Craig Counsell usually finds a way to get at-bats for all of those who can make a difference offensively.
Omar Narváez:
With Yasmani Gran