Brett

Lawrie

Lawrie signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in February in hopes of making a comeback, but he never actually made it to one of the club’s minor league affiliates. Lawrie, now 29 years old, hasn’t played in the majors since 2016 as a member of the White Sox. Odds are against him making it back at this point.

Lawrie hasn’t played in two years, so the Brewers don’t want to throw him into Cactus League games. He’ll presumably begin the season in extended spring training before joining a minor league affiliate. The 29-year-old is a long-term depth signing.

Lawrie announced the deal himself on Instagram. He last played in the majors for the White Sox in 2016, batting .248/.310/.413 with 12 homers and 36 RBI in 94 games. He did not play baseball the last two seasons. He just turned 29 years old last month and will attempt to make a comeback in Milwaukee. Lawrie was a first-round pick in the 2008 draft. He lit the world on fire in his 2011 rookie season by slashing a wicked .293/.373/.580 with nine home runs, 25 RBI and seven stolen bases in 43 games with the Blue Jays. He was never able to come close to replicating that success however. Prior to the 2015 season he was traded to the Athletics along with Franklin Barreto, Kendall Graveman and Sean Nolin in exchange for Josh Donaldson.

The Blue Jays are calling him “day-to-day.” Lawrie, 21, has batted .303/.378/.629 with nine home runs and 23 RBI in 38 games since arriving in the major leagues, but could need a bit of rest. Toronto has an off day Thursday before opening a weekend series Friday against the Yankees.

All three hits were singles, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t important. The first one broke up Ubaldo Jimenez’s no-hit bid in the seventh inning while the last one pushed Edwin Encarnacion to third base to set up a go-ahead two-run double for Rajai Davis in the 12th. Lawrie’s power-speed combo should make him a top-10 fantasy third baseman this season.

Lawrie has been sidelined since last Friday due to left groin tightness. But he reported feeling much better on Wednesday and will be cleared to return to action if he passes a running test Thursday morning.

Lawrie hasn’t played since Friday due to left groin tightness. He ran on Wednesday without incident and is expected to ramp up on-field workouts on Thursday. It shouldn’t be much longer before the 22-year-old is back in the lineup.

Lind went 0-for-4 with a strikeout on Tuesday night and is now batting just .186/.275/.309 across his first 109 plate appearances this season. Edwin Encarnacion will serve as the cleanup hitter Wednesday while Eric Thames, Brett Lawrie and Colby Rasmus are also bumped up a spot.

Lawrie hit seventh today, and that’s probably where he’ll open the season. Still, there’s a decent chance that he’ll finish it as the cleanup man behind Jose Bautista. He certainly showed that kind of ability while hitting .293/.373/.580 with nine homers in 150 at-bats as a rookie.

Lawrie hasn’t played in a week due to left groin tightness, but has increased his baseball activities over the past two days and is expected to return to the lineup Saturday. He should be just fine for Opening Day.