Luis

Lara

Bauers has been dealing with a relatively minor foot issue for the last couple weeks. He’s presumably available off the bench with rookie Luis Lara taking over in right field to open the contest.

The Brewers weren’t exactly quick to activate Frelick, who, after just a couple of weeks off due to a shoulder injury, went 10-for-36 with two homers over 10 games for Triple-A Nashville on a rehab assignment. It seems like a sign that they’ll treat him as more of a fourth outfielder now than the lineup fixture he’s been in recent years. Frelick hit just .236/.301/.330 in 313 plate appearances before going on the injured list, and Luis Lara has been a bit of an upgrade both offensively and defensively in his place.

Luis Lara gets a chance to patrol center field with Mitchell receiving some extra time off to rest a lingering foot issue. The 27-year-old outfielder is hitting .202 with zero homers and six steals across 28 games since the All-Star break.

Lara was hitless in his first three at-bats until he led off the seventh with a single and scored on a base hit by David Hamilton. He then homered off infielder Leo Rivas as Seattle put a position player on the mound in the blowout loss. Still, it counts as Lara’s first career home run all the same. Lara later drove in another run on a base hit in the same inning. The 21-year-old outfielder is hitting .242/.327/.363 with 13 runs scored, 15 RBI, and two steals across 104 plate appearances.

Lara is 1-for-16 in his last five games, putting him at .224/.333/.345 in 69 plate appearances since his callup. The plan likely is to keep him in the majors for the rest of the season, but he figures to lose playing time after Sal Frelick comes off the injured list, and if he’s struggling at that point, perhaps he could be sent down, rather than Brandon Lockridge.

Lara drew a walk in the fourth inning and stole second before scoring on a base hit. He then was credited with an RBI on a groundout in the fifth, then tripled in the seventh to drive in two runs, putting his speed on display. The 21-year-old outfielder is hitting .289/.391/.447 with six runs and 10 RBI across 46 plate appearances.

Bauers added that it’ll merely be a pain management and tolerance issue since he’s not dealing with a new injury. It sounds like there’s a decent chance that he manages to avoid a trip to the injured list, which is an unexpected positive development for the Brewers. The 30-year-old slugger is out of the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Giants with rookie Luis Lara in right field. He should be considered day-to-day moving forward.

It’s a bit unclear how much time Bauers is going to miss, but he’s probably headed to the injured list after fouling a ball off his toe during Monday’s series opener in San Francisco. He’ll undergo follow-up imaging to determine his potential return timeline. However, fantasy managers should brace for a multi-week absence, even in a best-case scenario. His departure from Milwaukee’s right field mix puts even more pressure on top prospect Luis Lara to perform until Sal Frelick (shoulder) is back from the injured list in a few weeks.

Frelick is expected to be ready to return at some point in early-to-mid August. Milwaukee top prospect Luis Lara will continue playing regularly in his absence for the next couple weeks. Frelick hit the injured list with a right shoulder strain that had been bothering him for a while back on July 18.

Mitchell will get a rare day off with left-hander Kyle Freeland toeing the slab for the Rockies on Sunday afternoon. Luis Lara will start in his place in center field and will bat seventh for the Brewers on Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee.