Brooks

Conrad

Conrad injured the shoulder diving into a base Wednesday in Arizona. The 32-year-old infielder batted .204 (11-for-54) with four homers this spring and lost out to Travis Ishikawa for a bench spot with the big club.

He also drew a walk in one of his three plate appearances. Conrad is hitting just .226 this spring, but he’s homered twice and shown than he can play multiple positions. He has a good shot to crack the Opening Day roster.

Travis Ishikawa gets the final spot on the Brewers’ Opening Day roster. Conrad, who went 11-for-54 this spring, will function as organizational infield depth.

Weeks hasn’t played since Friday because of a swollen hand. The 29-year-old second baseman is batting just .158 with a .600 OPS through 146 plate appearances this season. Brooks Conrad will start in his place in Monday night’s series-opener against the Mets.

Conrad started at first base for Nashville Wednesday and belted his fifth homer of the season. He’ll get some time there with Gamel out, but the bulk of the at-bats will go to Travis Ishikawa, with Corey Hart also in the mix.

Corey Hart underwent knee surgery Tuesday morning and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks, so the Brewers are looking at potential backups for first baseman Mat Gamel. Non-roster invitee Travis Ishikawa, who homered Monday, is another possibility.

As expected. Conrad was off to a hot start with Triple-A Nashville, hitting .400/.483/.820 with five homers, 13 RBI and a 1.303 OPS across 58 plate appearances. He made a start at first base Wednesday after the club learned that Mat Gamel (knee) would miss the rest of season and he’ll likely be thrown into the mix with the big club, as well. Travis Ishikawa figures to handle the bulk of the starts for now, though Corey Hart will also likely get a look.

Conrad, who turns 32 next week, played sparingly with the Braves this past season but has experience at second base and corner infield positions. He is expected to compete for a utility job with the Brewers in spring training.

The decision was made at Monday night’s deadline but not announced until Tuesday morning. Conrad, 31, batted .223 with a .713 OPS in 92 games this past season. He’s now a free agent, allowed to sign with any team.

With Carlos Gomez expected to be activated from the disabled list on Sunday, Conrad needed to go to open a roster spot. Conrad, promoted earlier this month, was off to a hot start with Triple-A Nashville, hitting .400/.483/.820 with five homers, 13 RBI and a 1.303 OPS across 58 plate appearances. He was awful with the Brewers, going hitless in 21 at-bats with a 1/9 K/BB rate. He could be back later this summer.