Lockridge to IL…..Perkins recalled

[markedman5]

 

[adambr2]

Expected, but still — booooooooo.

There are at least 2-3 guys in AAA that have earned an opportunity over him at this point.

[Ro Mueller]

I assume this essentially negates Perkins’ option, since he’s being recalled due to injury. They can only be optioned 5 times in a season and this was Perkins’ 2nd one of 2026. So I assume he goes back to only 1 option used in 2026 for now. Or maybe he’s even used none, since his first recall was on Opening Day due to injury as well.

[gregmag]

33 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

Expected, but still — booooooooo.

There are at least 2-3 guys in AAA that have earned an opportunity over him at this point.

But the only opportunity here is to be an extra outfielder until Yelich gets back, which should be soon. Actually I guess they’ll probably send Black down when Yelich comes back – but Perkins will still have a reduced role.

I’m a big Perkins fan, and I think his numbers this season obviously understate his ability, but I agree with the consensus that other outfielders have passed him on the depth chart. The problem with bringing up Lara now is that he, like Perkins, wouldn’t have much playing time, so why bring him up to sit on the bench? If Mitchell gets hurt, which does occasionally happen, I think Lara will be the move unless he’s really taken a downturn.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Given the 40-man roster & options-remaining implications, this made sense.

Also, from the 'I refuse to believe this' files, Perkins is hitting .263 this season vs LHP, with a .364 OBP & an OPS of .785. He's a career .255 hitter vs lefties, and that's who he'll be facing while Lockridge is out. I suspect he'll be in the lineup Tomorrow vs Rodan.

[Jim French Stepstool]

5 minutes ago, gregmag said:

But the only opportunity here is to be an extra outfielder until Yelich gets back, which should be soon. Actually I guess they’ll probably send Black down when Yelich comes back – but Perkins will still have a reduced role.

I’m a big Perkins fan, and I think his numbers this season obviously understate his ability, but I agree with the consensus that other outfielders have passed him on the depth chart. The problem with bringing up Lara now is that he, like Perkins, wouldn’t have much playing time, so why bring him up to sit on the bench? If Mitchell gets hurt, which does occasionally happen, I think Lara will be the move unless he’s really taken a downturn.

Yeah, you don't bring up a 21-yr-old OF & sit him. He DOES fit the Lockridge role in that he's hitting LHP extremely well, but that's far from an everyday role which is what you want him in right now. 

The way things have been sounding, Yelich may make it back before Lockridge & if he does it'll be an interesting decision btwn Perkins & Black. They don't seem to mind sliding Chourio to CF when needed, which could buy Black some extra time.

[adambr2]

41 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Given the 40-man roster & options-remaining implications, this made sense.

Also, from the 'I refuse to believe this' files, Perkins is hitting .263 this season vs LHP, with a .364 OBP & an OPS of .785. He's a career .255 hitter vs lefties, and that's who he'll be facing while Lockridge is out. I suspect he'll be in the lineup Tomorrow vs Rodan.

Is his OPS versus righties negative?

[markedman5]

 

[StearnsFTW]

Would've liked to have seen Lara but I get it.

[Jim French Stepstool]

2 hours ago, adambr2 said:

Is his OPS versus righties negative?

LOL pretty close in '26. And just over .600 in his career.

Like I said, he should mostly (or totally) be playing vs LHP while here save for a defensive sub for a scarier LF'er like Black or Bauers.

[adambr2]

On paper, Lara is going to be a better version of Perkins at just about everything. He’s a gold glove caliber CFer in his own right. He hits for more power. He can run. He’s a switch hitter like Perkins, so R/L isn’t the issue either.

Is he not up because the Brewers don’t believe he can offer what Blake Perkins is doing for them right now, or is he not up because the Brewers think he’s an important piece of their future and don’t want to stunt his development by having him come up to mostly sit?

[wiguy94]

8 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

On paper, Lara is going to be a better version of Perkins at just about everything. He’s a gold glove caliber CFer in his own right. He hits for more power. He can run. He’s a switch hitter like Perkins, so R/L isn’t the issue either.

Is he not up because the Brewers don’t believe he can offer what Blake Perkins is doing for them right now, or is he not up because the Brewers think he’s an important piece of their future and don’t want to stunt his development by having him come up to mostly sit?

I would venture it's partially that they don't want him to come up to sit (especially because he's not already on the 40) but also he's way overperforming his underlying numbers in AAA so far so they might also just not believe the production would translate to MLB. Nearly half of his batted balls this year have 0 or negative LA. Tonight he had 3 batted balls over 100 EV and every single one of them was negative LA. 

[ClosetBrewerFan]

Lara is a LH and they really needed an RH OF to hit vs lefties.  So I get not calling him up.  But I would have chose Jett.  He's hit lefties well this year and has heated up in the past week. Jett could still use more time in AAA but Perkins has little value right now. 

[wiguy94]

10 hours ago, ClosetBrewerFan said:

Lara is a LH and they really needed an RH OF to hit vs lefties.  So I get not calling him up.  But I would have chose Jett.  He's hit lefties well this year and has heated up in the past week. Jett could still use more time in AAA but Perkins has little value right now. 

Lara switch hits. Also Perkins has been solid against LHP both this year and in his career. People are getting way too down on him. He’s perfectly fine as a bench OF who is only going to get at bats against LHP going forward.

[adambr2]

12 hours ago, wiguy94 said:

Lara switch hits. Also Perkins has been solid against LHP both this year and in his career. People are getting way too down on him. He’s perfectly fine as a bench OF who is only going to get at bats against LHP going forward.

It is interesting how dramatic the splits are for Perkins. He’s a much better hitter as a RHB both for his career but especially this season, he has yet to get a hit as a lefty. Also not sure what the circumstances were that Perkins decided to bat RH against RHP but apparently he has done so 5 times in his career and albeit in a small sample he went 1 for 3 with a double, walk and sac fly. Perhaps he would be better served just exclusively batting RH.

Also I think what you’re seeing is less anti-Perkins and more people excited about Lara and ready for him to get a shot.

[TURBO]

Are they worried about service time with Lara?

If so, I understand that, but at some point, if our current outfield (minus Chourio) continues to kill us, it will be time to make the change.

I'm not up on the rules, but if we bring Lara up after June 1st, doesn't that help with the service time issue?

I'm just not seeing it with Mitchell, and losing Lockridge hurts more that I care to admit.

Love Sal, but we have to get better production from him, we just have to.  We can't continue to have three or four guys hitting every night that are pretty much automatic outs.  Something is going to have to give before it's too late.

[Turning2]

Mitchell is a bigger disappointment than Sal in my book at this point. Where is the HR pop for GM?  Maybe they will both turn it around soon. 

[jay87shot]

When Lockridge is back in a couple weeks it will be interesting to see how Murph divvies up playing time in center and right. I think Lockridge has earn more than just the right handed platoon to one of those spots. Lara should get a chance as well by midseason if there are no more injuries before than. 

 

[adambr2]

No doubt that Mitchell and Frelick both have to be better, no matter what order you want to list them in.

Among our starters, they’re the two that stand out. Ortiz is Ortiz, but we kind of already knew that. Frelick and Mitchell we expect and need more from the bat.

It is a wonder that we were able to get by without Chourio as long as we did.

[adambr2]

3 minutes ago, jay87shot said:

When Lockridge is back in a couple weeks it will be interesting to see how Murph divvies up playing time in center and right. I think Lockridge has earn more than just the right handed platoon to one of those spots. Lara should get a chance as well by midseason if there are no more injuries before than. 

 

I would anticipate that being a good month away and don’t think they’ll rush it at all with no real urgent reason to right now. 

In fact if it ends up being longer than the month I can see them holding off until the AS break. 

[Brian]

10 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

I would anticipate that being a good month away and don’t think they’ll rush it at all with no real urgent reason to right now. 

I think it will be early June before Lockridge is back. 

[Thurston Fluff]

I think Lara not being on the 40 man hurts his chances somewhat. Not just because it'd take up a spot but it would also use up an option when he gets sent back down. Not sure it's worth it for what would probably be a handful of games and maybe a start or two. If Lockridge was gone for the year then it might make more sense.

[adambr2]

31 minutes ago, Thurston Fluff said:

I think Lara not being on the 40 man hurts his chances somewhat. Not just because it'd take up a spot but it would also use up an option when he gets sent back down. Not sure it's worth it for what would probably be a handful of games and maybe a start or two. If Lockridge was gone for the year then it might make more sense.

You bring up a good point, with Lara it’s easy to forget that he’s actually only 21, still quite young for his level. So it’s not like there’s not still some room for growth and development and not really any reason to rush him unless we get into an outfield pinch. Some of the current outfielders could stand to step it up, though.

[liveforoctober]

The pending lockout changes prospect timelines for teams like Milwaukee. Any player on the 40 man roster is included in the work stoppage and can't play if the season gets put on hold. Any player not on the 40 man will still play a full minor league season.

Lara is certainly in the group of guys who the Brewers will do everything they can to keep him in AAA unless (1) they have no other choice (2) he has proven he has permanently outgrown AAA. Putting him on the 40 man and calling him up for a 15 game spell in June where he gets 20 at bats just to send him back down and then lose an entire season of development next year doesn't make much sense for a team that values development and control.

I have every expectation we will see Akil Baddoo in Milwaukee before Lara.