MILWAUKEE — Brewers rookie center fielder Garrett Mitchell is expected to miss most, if not all, of the remainder of the regular season after an MRI showed damage to the labrum in his right shoulder.
Mitchell suffered the injury while sliding into third base during the 10th inning of Milwaukee’s win in Seattle on Tuesday. He initially remained in that game but was removed in the bottom half of the inning after making a throw to home plate and crumpling to the ground in pain.
An MRI on Thursday showed “significant” labral damage that will likely require surgery, Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. Mitchell will fly to Los Angeles for a second opinion by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday. If ElAttrache agrees with the recommendation for surgery, that will likely take place Tuesday and be followed by a lengthy rehabilitation process.
The first-place Brewers haven’t had much go wrong, but now they will move forward without the upbeat Mitchell, who had emerged as a leading NL Rookie of the Year candidate and a catalyst for Milwaukee’s 14-5 start.
“I don’t really have any emotions,” Mitchell said. “Just trying to kind of process the situation. I’m doing all right. But definitely not easy to hear the news that I got, for sure.”
Mitchell, for one, is not ready to declare his season is over.
“I’m going to try [to make it back],” Mitchell said. “I don’t have many answers right now as to what it is going forward. That would be the goal, to get back and help the team if I can.”
Mitchell was hitting .259 with 3 homers and 6 RBIs this season.
“You feel for Garrett,” Counsell said. “Obviously, it’s not good news.”
For now, Counsell said fellow rookie Joey Wiemer will shift from right to center, where he has started periodically, and veterans Owen Miller and Brian Anderson will likely see more time in right field. Rookie Blake Perkins is another outfield option on the active roster.
“[Wiemer] is going to be fine,” Mitchell said. “The organization, all of the fans, should be happy, excited for him. He’s going to do a good job.”
One possible outfield replacement would have been standout prospect Sal Frelick. However, Frelick was in Milwaukee on Thursday to be examined after suffering a sprained left thumb while playing for Triple-A Nashville last week.
Another injured outfielder, veteran Tyrone Taylor, is nearing a rehab stint with Nashville. He has been out since late February with an elbow sprain. Counsell said that Taylor would largely be in spring training mode and declined to put a timetable on his eventual return.