The Brewers announced today that shortstop Willy Adames has been reinstated from the seven-day concussion list, with infielder Brice Turang optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Adames had a scary incident over a week ago when he was struck in the head by a foul ball while sitting in the dugout. He was sent to hospital for testing but seemed to avoid any serious injuries as he didn’t suffer any fractures and resumed baseball activities a few days later, which has allowed him to return after an absence of under two weeks.
The roster casualty of his return is Turang. Now 23, the youngster has been considered one of the top 100 prospects in the league at times during his rise to the majors. Baseball America gave him the #88 slot going into 2021 but didn’t have him on their list in the past two years. FanGraphs was still bullish coming into 2023, giving him the #65 slot in their preseason top 100.
The Brewers traded away Kolten Wong this winter, which opened the door for Turang to take over the second base job next to Adames. Unfortunately, his first taste of the big leagues hasn’t gone well. He’s struck out in 27.1% of his plate appearances while walking at just a 6.2% clip. His .205/.254/.307 batting line amounts to a wRC+ of just 52. He does have nine steals in 12 tries and has solid defensive grades at the keystone, but that batting line is clearly untenable.
He’ll now get a chance to get back into a groove in the minors, which will likely delay his path to free agency and perhaps arbitration. Since he cracked the Opening Day roster this year, he was on track to get a full year of service time but will now fall short of that as long as he spends 20 days in the minors.
With Turang gone, the second base duties will likely fall to some combination of Luis Urías, Owen Miller, Andruw Monasterio and Abraham Toro. Urías was just activated from the injured list and Toro was just recalled from the minors a week ago but Miller is hitting .313/.350/.463 on the season while Monasterio is at .350/.435/.550 in his first eight major league games.
I still believe in Turang more than others, but this was necessary for now.
Good move to send him down. Needs to work on plate discipline. Defense was stellar though.
Agreed. Now if Counsell will just keep Urias on the bench in favor of the newer kids (as long as they keep proving they can stick), the Crew may actually get some people on the base paths. We’ve seen what he has to contribute and it ain’t much. Solid glove/defensive replacement, but not an everyday player.
I really cant stand his lean-back batting stance. You should be hitting .280+ to have a goofy loading because it clearly works in that case, but not with Urias’ slash line.
The recently recalled guys, were in the minors for a reason. Turang should be recalled as soon as he gets his stroke back I think Toro could have ben sent down….
I was shocked he made the team out of the gate. Not sure he’ll ever hit enough to play everyday.
Owen Miller. Is this a bubble or is he in the midst a break-out season?
I really hope its a breakout. I dont see him keeping this pace, but its exciting while it lasts.
2nd percentile exit velo, 9th percentile hard hit, 24th percentile barrel, doesn’t walk… I think it’s a mirage.
If Turang has to stay in the minors for three weeks, it’ll be good for him and the Brewers. Turang gets to work on his hitting without any pressure, and the team gets an extra year of control. A win-win IMHO.
That three weeks will hopefully get Turang back on track while Miller comes back down to earth.
As for Urias, I’m not as down on him as some of the previous commenters appear to be. Versatile infielders who can pop 20+ home runs don’t grow on trees.
As an aside, I think the rookie who will take off is Weimer. Believe he will finish the year as a 20/20 hitter who will eventually get the BA up over .260 and the OBP in the .325 range. Okay, they are not Mike Trout numbers, but solid nonetheless.
And speaking of rookies, I can see Sal Frelick being our everyday CF in a few weeks. A poster above cited it would be nice to see more Brewers on the basepaths. Frelick will deliver on that. Only, when he gets on 1B, he ain’t gonna stay there long. Could steal 20+ bases before the year is out.
Finally, there’s a reason Winker has put up stellar OBP numbers in his career. I think he’ll have a good second half. Hopefully the pop he showed in ’21 and ’22 will surface. It’s puzzling he hasn’t gone deep at all this year. Better days lie ahead for the Brewers, and an NL Central crown is certainly achieveable.
I think you have to be patient with Frelick though. Yeah he’ll be coming off the IL, but it’s a thumb, and that’s going to take a while for him to get back into form I’d bet. Maybe after the all star break he’ll get a cup of coffee and see what kind of spark he brings. Weimer and his mullet are getting hot, and I’d guess they’ll want Frelick to get consistent opportunities in AAA rather than come off the bench or spot starts in the bigs. Taylor looks to be toast at the moment. Miller’s hot start is allowing Anderson to play nor RF, so we got a little lucky there.
“As for Urias, I’m not as down on him as some of the previous commenters appear to be. Versatile infielders who can pop 20+ home runs don’t grow on trees.”
I agree. Perhaps he never lived up to the high expectations when he was a Padre , but I still think he’s been a solid acquisition for the Brewers
Serious question. If Adames continues batting this poorly, is he a candidate to not be tendered a contract this offseason?
What team would trade for this year’s version Adames? Then Turang can go be the SS after.