As the Milwaukee Brewers’ nominal roster spot “replacement” for the injured Jackson Chourio, newcomer Brandon Lockridge has some size XL shoes to fill. Of course, the team is unlikely to put him in that role, instead defaulting to Blake Perkins or Christian Yelich to address the outfield opening.
Given that Lockridge is reportedly joining the Brewers for their series in Washington, though, the team apparently plans to use him. A plus on the base paths and in the field, he could pop in games late as a pinch runner or defensive replacement.
Overall he’s hardly the trade deadline bat fans hoped for, but general manager Matt Arnold clearly envisions his place on the roster.
Lockridge brings familiar tools to scrappy Milwaukee Brewers roster
In two major league seasons covering 107 plate appearances, Lockridge has hit .210/.248/.280, with one homerun and 10 steals. The Brewers acquired him from San Diego in exchange for Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Jorge Quintana.
With the glove, Lockridge has saved two runs in 239.2 defensive innings, the equivalent of less than 27 full games.
While Arnold says the team pursued other bats as well, he isn’t upset with Lockridge as the only offensive addition. “We had that on our radar,” he told reporter Curt Hogg, “but it was something that just didn’t come together. … anytime you take a bat on its own, there’s a lot of components to the game, and it’s not just the bat.”
Arnold likes the other tools Lockridge brings to the table.
“Our team embodies a lot of that and I think that adding someone like Lockridge definitely fits that mold. A premium athlete, a guy that fits us really well athletically and will fit in very well on a Pat Murphy style team.”
While he offers nothing in the way of power, his speed and defense do match the team’s M.O.
“Certainly there were options we were looking at that were bat-first. Obviously it takes two to tango on those type of deals and we weren’t able to come up with anything with that type of profile. But we’re certainly excited to have somebody like Brandon Lockridge here.”
Reading between the lines doesn’t take much work. It’s pretty clear that, understandably, the Brewers did not want to give up the prospects it took to get someone like Ryan O’Hearn or Eugenio Suarez. Settling for Lockridge plus nothing isn’t really a compromise – it’s more of a surrender – but he should be able to find his spots on a team that suddenly needs outfield depth.
Fans could see him on the field as early as this weekend versus the Nationals. First pitch comes tonight at 5:45 PM CT.
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