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The timing of this injury is less than ideal for the Brewers, but with at-bats to spread among Jackson Chourio, Joey Wiemer, and Sal Frelick (in addition to their regular outfielders) this spring, they won't feel the sting as deeply as Tyrone Taylor himself. For him, the timing is downright cruel. He was penciled in as a regular for this team, flexing between center and right field, and his hot September was supported by some mechanical changes that augured well for his 2023 campaign. Now, he has to reset himself physically; hope his elbow recovers smoothly from here (no guarantee, that); and try to carry over those improvements once he re-joins the team.
In the meantime, let's dig into the question of whom the Brewers will take north with them, now that Taylor can be crossed off the list of candidates. There are 13 position-player spots available come Opening Day, and a fistful of them are locked down already.
Catchers
William Contreras
Victor Caratini
Infielders
Rowdy Tellez
Luis Urias
Willy Adames
Brian Anderson
Outfielders
Christian Yelich
Garrett Mitchell
Jesse Winker
That's nine guys, already. As we've highlighted over the last couple of weeks, though, there are plenty of open battles for the remaining spots. On the infield, there's Abraham Toro, Brice Turang, Mike Brosseau, Keston Hiura, and Luke Voit. In the outfield, there are prospects Wiemer and Frelick, plus Tyler Naquin. Those seven were in an even tighter battle when we all assumed Taylor would be taking up one outfield slot, but having just four roster spots for the group of them is a sufficient squeeze to make things interesting.
First, let's tackle Turang. So far this spring, Urías has gotten most of his reps at second base, and Turang has played a lot of short. That would tend to indicate that the team envisions sending Turang back to Nashville for some seasoning come April. Even if that hadn't been the case, though, the Taylor injury would nudge them in that direction. The most natural and likely replacements for Taylor in terms of outfield defense are Naquin and Frelick, both of whom are left-handed hitters. Yelich, Mitchell, and Winker are lefties. Tellez is a lefty, and Caratini is a switch-hitter. Assuming one of Naquin or Frelick slides into the picture now, the team needs a right-handed bat more than another left-handed one.
Anderson will probably slide to right field much more often than previously planned, in the short term, so third base now opens up somewhat. With Urías looking awfully good at second thus far, though, and with Toro more natural at the hot corner than Turang, it seems more likely that Toro gets the newly available regular gig.
At that point, things start to fall into place better. Mike Brosseau's right-handed bat is more valuable than ever, and his defensive versatility and comfort in a backup role make him an easy call over stashing Turang on the bench. Spring looks could still determine the winner of the battled between Frelick and Naquin for the final outfield gig, Neither is on the 40-man roster, so there's no advantage there. Neither is a good defensive center fielder, which is where Wiemer could theoretically assert himself. On balance, though, based on his experience in center in the majors and his demonstrated ability to hit righties for power, I'm betting on Naquin getting the nod.
Add these three to the previous nine, then.
Infielders
Mike Brosseau
Abraham Toro
Outfielders
Tyler Naquin
That only leaves one spot to assign, and the remaining candidates are Frelick, Voit, and Wiemer. The loss of Taylor's glove makes it tempting to carry one of the rookies and juggle playing time in the outfield and at DH as needed, but it's likely that Voit has an opt-out in his minor-league deal. At the moment, Voit seems like the best fit. He can provide some of the right-handed punch the team has been lacking, and he can complement both Tellez and Winker at first base and DH.
None of that is set in stone, of course. The Brewers have an unusual amount of uncertainty for a team of their caliber this spring, and Taylor's injury has only raised that level.
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