The Milwaukee Brewers are coming off of a thrilling series victory over the Chicago Cubs. Their latest victory came on Sunday, a 7-1 win that saw Brince Turang hit the team’s fifth grand slam in their last eight games. Milwaukee is now 50-34 on the season and six-and-a-half games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central. The Pittsburgh Pirates are nine games back, the Cincinnati Reds 11 games back, and the Craig Counsell-led Chicago Cubs are in last place at 11.5 games back.
As an added bonus, the Brewers announced that outfielder Garrett Mitchell would be finally joining the Major League team on the road in Colorado to start out their road trip. The young outfielder had been sidelined all season by a finger injury that he sustained during batting practice in Spring Training.
Milwaukee Brewers Outfielder Garrett Mitchell Is Ready to Contribute
As fans may remember, Mitchell made a splash when he was first called up to the Big Leagues in late 2022. In his first 28 Major League games, he hit .311/.373/.459 with two home runs, nine RBI, and eight stolen bases. He used this showing to springboard himself on the Milwaukee’s Opening Day roster in 2023.
Unfortunately, Mitchell was limited to just 19 games last season due to a separated shoulder he suffered sliding into third base early in the season. He hit just .246/315/.446 with three home runs and seven RBI during that time. Despite returning late in the year, then-manager Craig Counsell left him off the Brewers’ postseason roster.
Mitchell came into Spring Training determined to make sure he was not left off of any roster ever again. He was off to a blazing start, hitting well over .300 when he suffered yet another freak injury. While taking batting practice, he fouled a ball off of his finger, resulting in a fracture that required surgery.
A few weeks ago, Mitchell began his rehab assignment in Milwaukee’s minor league system. In 14 games, he hit .314/.410/.588 with four home runs and 13 RBI.
The Milwaukee Brewers Designate Owen Miller for Assignment
Unfortunately, adding Mitchell to the Big League roster meant that someone on the team was going to have to be sent down or be designated for assignment. Earlier today, the club announced that Owen Miller, a Mequon, Wisconsin native, was being designated for assignment to make room for Mitchell.
Brewers announce the corresponding 40-man move to activate Garrett Mitchell.
Owen Miller was designated for assignment. We won’t forget his May 2023.
— Dominic Cotroneo (@Dom_Cotroneo) July 1, 2024
In 14 games with the Brewers so far this season, Miller was hitting just .185/.185/.222 with three RBI. Of course, he was not getting much playing time either.
With Mitchell joining the roster, the Brewers now have a very crowded outfield that includes Christian Yelich, Blake Perkins, Jackson Chourio, and Sal Frelick. Jake Bauers has also played some outfield for Milwaukee this season.
It will be very interesting to see how manager Pat Murphy balances his immensely talented outfield going forward. Yelich is going to be an All-Star this year and is a lock to play every day (though sometimes as the designated hitter). Perkins may be the best defensive center fielder in baseball and Chourio had a scorching hot June.
Finding at bats for everyone is certainly going to be a challenge.
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