The Brewers had to make a late change to their Sunday lineup picture, and it sent rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt to the injured list.
Pat Murphy said before the series finale against the Twins at American Family Field that Pratt was getting an MRI on his right hamstring. That came as a bit of a surprise, since Pratt had played all nine innings the night before and, according to Murphy, still felt good enough to go again Sunday.
Milwaukee went ahead and made the move shortly before first pitch, placing Pratt on the 10-day injured list after diagnosing a right hamstring strain. To fill the opening, the club signed utility player Jihwan Bae to a Minor League contract and selected him to the active roster.
It’s a tough break for Pratt, who had been trending up at the plate since his big league debut on June 16. He got out to a strong start by going 7-for-19 in his first six games, then hit a rough patch. Lately, though, the bat had come around: Pratt was slashing .325/.374/.475 since July 7 over a 25-game span, and that run included his first career homer on July 20 against the Mets.
Bae comes to Milwaukee after four seasons with the Pirates. In 163 big league games, he’s hit .223/.294/.293.
He was claimed off waivers by the Mets on Nov. 6, spent this season at Triple-A Syracuse, and hit .257 in 91 games before being released on Aug. 4.
In Other News...
Tyrone Taylor Just Reopened A Brewers Debate Fans Hate Hearing
Tyrone Taylors name still carries a little extra weight in Milwaukee, and for good reason. After five years with the Brewers, he was dealt from the Mets to the Cubs in the same move that sent Clay Holmes to Chicago and brought top prospect Jefferson Rojas into the conversation, instantly dropping a familiar face into one of baseballs most uncomfortable rivalries for Brewers fans. Taylor also knows exactly how much this matchup can seep into the atmosphere at American Family Field, where Cubs supporters show up in enough numbers to turn a home game into something closer to a split crowd.
That is what makes his latest comments land with a little more sting for Brewers followers who already dislike hearing about the Cubs in any context. The rivalry has long been one of the most charged in the division, and Taylor has seen enough of both sides to talk about it with some perspective. His history against Chicago only adds another layer, because when a player with Milwaukee roots starts revisiting that matchup, it tends to reopen the same old debate about just how much the Cubs still loom over the Brewers season. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Fans Just Got A New Reason To Watch The Farm
The Brewers farm system gave fans a little bit of everything in the latest round of minor league action, with several affiliates offering reasons to keep tabs on the pipeline. Braylon Payne continued to stand out as one of the systems more intriguing young bats, while Ryan Birchards pitching drew attention and Daniel Dickinson showed progress on the defensive side, the kind of day-to-day development that can matter as much as any box score result for an organization trying to build depth.
There was also some movement worth watching, with Brandon Sproat making his Nashville debut as the roster shuffle kept the upper levels in motion. For Brewers followers, the appeal is less about any single game and more about the larger picture taking shape across the affiliates, where promising talent and incremental progress are beginning to stack up in ways that could eventually matter in Milwaukee. [Read more 🡒]
