MILWAUKEE -- Just four days after he limped off the field with a hip injury, and two days after he no longer required crutches to get around, outfielder Sal Frelick is not only on the Brewers¡¯ roster for the National League Wild Card Series, but in the starting lineup for Game 1.
Frelick tested his bruised left hip during the Brewers¡¯ workout on Monday afternoon and deemed himself ¡°good to go.¡± Milwaukee¡¯s medical staff agreed, so the left-handed-hitting right fielder was included on a roster that has 12 pitchers and 14 position players.
¡°It¡¯s a credit to Sal and our medical staff getting him ready,¡± Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. ¡°We¡¯ve all seen Sal run into walls and he pops right up. The fact he didn¡¯t, and couldn¡¯t -- he walked off the field by himself, but then once he got into the dugout, he had to be carried. I thought there was no way he¡¯d play.
¡°But fortunately, it was nothing structural and he¡¯s going to play through it. He¡¯s that guy. It¡¯s a great feeling, and I think it will be a big lift for the ballclub.¡±
Also on the roster was righty reliever Nick Mears, who is two outings removed from a stint on the injured list for a right forearm strain, and could see action against a Mets lineup stocked with right-handed hitters. That helps explain why left-hander Bryan Hudson, an early-season bullpen star for the Brewers before concerns about dropping velocity sent him to the Minors, was left off. So was long-tenured lefty Hoby Milner.
Both would have been on the roster, Murphy said, had the Brewers matched up against the D-backs instead.
¡°When you think about the achievements of Hudson, what he did for our team this year, or the achievements of Milner, what he did for our team this year, those are two tough ones,¡± Murphy said. ¡°But they could be on the next roster if we're lucky enough to move forward.¡±
The roster is deep in starting pitching candidates behind Game 1 starter Freddy Peralta, with Aaron Civale, Frankie Montas and Tobias Myers all included. The Brewers have yet to announce their pitching plan for Game 2 or Game 3, and all of those length options could be in play.
¡°We have guys prepared for different [scenarios],¡± Murphy said. ¡°So, God forbid a pitcher on either of our teams goes out in the first inning and has an injury, you've got to be prepared for that. A guy goes out and doesn't pitch well, you've got to be prepared for that right away with a guy probably with the ability to have some length.
¡°So those things are baked in there, and it's based on the scenario. In extra innings now, we don't have the ghost runner at second, so you might have an 18-inning game. That's how that kind of worked out.¡±
In a sign of the turnover from last year, only 10 of the 26 players on this year¡¯s Wild Card Series roster against the Mets were on the roster for last year¡¯s opening round series against the D-backs.
Here is the full roster for this round:
1B: Rhys Hoskins, Jake Bauers
3B: Joey Ortiz
SS: Willy Adames