MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Brewers playoff roster is set and Sal Frelick is in but Bryan Hudson is not.
Frelick’s status for the National League Wild Card Series against the New York Mets, which opens this afternoon at 4:38 p.m. (CDT), was uncertain after the outfielder suffered a severe contusion when he crashed into an unpadded section of the right-field wall at American Family Field during a game against the Mets last weekend.
X-rays and a subsequent MRI revealed no structural damage and Frelick made the 26-man roster after clearing a series of physical test’s during the team’s workout Monday afternoon.
“It’s a credit to Sal and our medical staff to get him ready,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “We’ve all seen Sal crash into walls and pop back up and when he didn’t get up, I thought there was no way he’d play. Fortunately, it was nothing structural and he’s going to play through it.”
Murphy said that he doesn’t expect Frelick to be limited. He wasn’t quite 100 percent during the workout Monday but the medical staff anticipated more improvement with another night of rest and he reported to the stadium Tuesday in good shape.
“It’s great for the ball club,” Murphy said.
Squad’s all set for Round 1 #Undaunted x @amfam pic.twitter.com/hRpdZXf5oJ
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 1, 2024
Brewers Place Sal Frelick on Wild Card Roster
Hudson, meanwhile, had been one of Milwaukee’s best relievers all year long before he was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on September 3. The left-handed reliever had a sparkling 1.73 ERA in 43 appearances but a noticeable drop in velocity led to the Brewers sending him out to give him a more structured workload, fine-tune a few issues with mechanics and velocity and to get some rest after covering 62 1/3 innings, a significant jump from the 8 2/3 he worked in six outings for the Dodgers a year ago.
Left-hander Hoby Milner off the Wild Card roster, too. Both moves, Murphy said, had more to do with the right-handed nature of teh Mets’ position-player group than it was a reflection on either pitcher’s performance.
“The Mets don’t feature as many left-handed pockets for us so we went with a different set of guys,” Murphy said. “If we were playing a different team, like the Diamondbacks for instance, I’m confident (Milner and Hudson) would be in there.”
Also left off the roster was right-hander Colin Rea, who started Milwaukee’s regular-season finale on Sunday. In all, the Brewers will carry 12 pitchers for the best-of-three series along with three catchers, six infielders and five outfielders.
Brewers Wild Card Series Roster
Pitchers (12): Aaron Ashby, Aaron Civale, DL Hall, Jared Koenig, Nick Mears, Trevor Megill, Frankie Montas, Tobias Myers, Joel Payamps, Freddy Peralta, Joe Ross, Devin Williams.
Catchers (3): William Contreras, Eric Haase, Gary Sanchez.
Infielders (6): Willy Adames, Jake Bauers, Rhys Hoskins, Andruw Monasterio, Joey Ortiz, Brice Turang.
Outfielders (5): Jackson Chourio, Isaac Collins, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell, Blake Perkins.
NL Wild Card Series Schedule
No. 3 Brewers (93-69) vs. No. 2 Mets (89-73)
(all games at American Family Field, Milwaukee)
(all times CDT)
Game 1: Today, 4:32 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 2: Wednesday, 6:38 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 3: Thursday, 7:38 p.m. (ESPN2)
Brewers & Mets, By the Numbers
Head-to-head record: Brewers 5, Mets 1
Runs: Brewers 28 (4.7 rpg), Mets 17 (2.8 rpg)
AVG: Brewers — .256; Mets — .207.
OBP: Brewers — .333; Mets — .271.
SLG: Brewers — .360; Mets — .318.
OPS: Brewers — .693; Mets — .589.
Stolen Bases: Brewers 17; Mets 3.
ERA: Brewers — 2.67; Mets — 3.81.
Main Photo: © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
