2:15 p.m: The Brewers estimate Yelich will be out until mid-May, so about four to six weeks, according to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
11:49am: The Brewers on Tuesday designated an outfielder/designated hitter Christian Yelich on the 10-day injured list due to a strained left hip, according to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Milwaukee selected the infielder/outfielder’s contract Greg Jones from Triple-A Nashville to replace Yelich on the 40-man roster. It frees us on the left Rob Zastryzny moved from 10-day IL to 60-day IL to make room for Jones on the 40-man roster.
Yelich had a strong start, as he slashed .314/.375/.451 with a homer, triple, double and three steals in his first 56 plate appearances. The 34-year-old left Sunday’s game with what the team described as a possible hamstring injury, before he was diagnosed with a hip strain. There is no immediate timetable for his return, although so far there is no indication that Yelich is expected to face an extended absence.
Today’s IL layup marks the third time in the past few weeks that Milwaukee has lost a key piece to injury. Yelich joins the outfielder Jackson Chourio and first baseman Andrew Vaughn on the injured list. Both suffered broken hands – Chourio suffered a hairline fracture after being hit by a pitch and Vaughn a hamate fracture that required surgery. On the other side of things, the Brewers are pretty remarkable without a starter Quinn Priester (thoracic outlet signs) and reliever Jared Koenig (elbow).
Yelich’s move to the injured list should open up some playing time for a series of bench options and the team’s bats to rotate into the designated hitter position in the lineup. Backup handler Gary Sanchez you can see some looks there, as a batsman would Luis Rengifo (at least on days there David Hamilton plays third base). Outsiders Brandon Lockridge, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick again Blake Perkins there are options for both outdoor and DH work.
Jones, 28, was selected by the Rays in the first round in 2018 and was placed briefly behind MLB.com’s list of the top 100 sports prospects back in 2022. He has never put things together at the Triple-A level, however, and is 1-for-7 in a small sample of eight big league plate appearances. Jones with the feet of the ships provides the highest speed. He went 46-for-49 in stolen base attempts in 89 minor league games as recently as 2024.
However, Jones also dealt with various injuries and struggled to produce at the middle level even in Triple-A. His .262/.344/.438 batting line over four Triple-A seasons looks solid against the big league batting average but is below Triple-A – especially in the Pacific Coast League, where he spent that ’24 season. He’s been particularly flagged for a lack of communication skills and pitch recognition, coming off a 36.3% strikeout rate in his Triple-A career that looks to be compared to a solid but unspectacular 8.6% walk rate. That said, Jones is currently hitting .317/.462/.390 in 52 plate appearances with Nashville. He stole seven bags from nine stores.
Although drafted as a shortstop, Jones has played mostly in the outfield in recent seasons. Scouting reports have always been skeptical of his ability to stick at short, and his blazing speed appears to be in the middle of the field. Jones has experience at all three outfield positions and has picked up 16 games at second base during his professional career. He is a lefty bat who can jump the diamond and provide speed off the bench while supporting in several positions.
Zastryzny was rehabbing a shoulder problem during spring training when he suffered an intercostal strain. During that hiatus, the Brewers announced that he would be out until the end of April. Today’s move to the 60-day IL doesn’t reset his IL clock but it does mean he’ll be out for at least most of May now.
The pedestrian Zastryzny threw 29 1/3 innings with the Brewers over the past two seasons and earned a gaudy 2.12 earned run average despite pedestrian strikeouts and walk rates of 20.5% and 9%, respectively. Even with Zastryzny and the aforementioned Koenig sidelined, Milwaukee has three remnants in the bullpen: Angel Zerpa, Aaron Ashby again DL Hall.
