Luis Lara's playing time...

[TURBO]

I said this in another thread, but it seems like a decent topic for discussion.

Since we have too many cooks for the kitchen now that Lockridge will be returning shortly, what does this mean for Lara's playing time?  At some point, Frelick will be back as well, and I don't see him being sent down to AAA, probably a short rehab, maybe?

In all seriousness, we might as well send Lara back down to Nashville.  Lockridge being back is probably going to cut Lara's playing time down even more.

There is no sense in having Lara on the roster if he gets 2-3 starts a week, and gets pinch hit for in the later innings in the games he does start.

I was really hoping he'd get regular playing time from the get-go, but that isn't how Murphy does things.

[long ball]

I’m probably in the minority, but I don’t really mind him being the 4th outfielder.

who knows what happens at the deadline. If the Brewers add a complementary bat who plays corner outfield, Lara may get optioned if Frelick returns at some point. 

[adambr2]

I’m super frustrated with Murphy’s handling of Lara. When they called him up, I assumed there was some sort of plan for him to get playing time. Pratt was handled well in that regard. 

Lara, not so much. And it’s not like he’s just been riding the struggle bus. He got some playing time early and did well with it. Since then he’s been jerked around in every OF position and has played sparingly. His ABs are still far too small of a sample to read into at all, but he’s never given any impression of being overmatched at the plate. There’s been some up and downs in the field. You’d expect that right now.

If they really just see him as a 4th outfielder then that’s fine, but I don’t really believe they did this long-term contract with him with that in mind. 

Yesterday was kind of the tip of the iceberg for me. You’ve got a guy who is known for being a platoon bat and you pull Lara to go righty/righty with Vaughn. Had a lefty reliever been brought into the game I would have understood and supported it. Just option Lara if you aren’t even going to give him the opportunity to hit there. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

I mentioned yesterday that I wouldn't have hit for Lara with Vaughn yesterday. But I think it's a little too early to get upset about the way he's being handled; let's see it play out. Vaughn had a couple games where he was swinging the bat well & we had a couple men on, that might've played into going against the platoon advantage there.

I'm not surprised Lara has been moved around. before coming to Milwaukee they were throwing him in RF a little in Nashville. That, and Mitchell's emergence kinda wrote that script.

It'll be an interesting week. There's always the possibility of adding another OF via trade (doubtful IMO). You also hopefully get a better sense of where Frelick is at. As for Lockridge, I saw an AB or two last night & he looked pretty rusty. That's not surprising, but I just wanted to mention it in case some think he may play only a couple games there & return to the roster. Right now is the opportunity for Lara & I agree I'd like to see him get a little more run.

[gregmag]

It doesn’t have to be a problem. You have 18-21 outfield starts each week; let’s call it 20. It’s late in the season with October coming, so guys can use the occasional day off – certainly a historically fragile guy like Mitchell and a guy who seems prone to slip into bad habits like Chourio. With Frelick out, you can go with something like

Chourio 6

Mitchell 6

Lara 4

Lockridge 4

If Lockridge takes time to shake the rust off, finding starts for Lara gets even easier. The immediate problem arises if you want to keep playing Bauers in the outfield. I don’t think his recent offense justifies playing him there over a bunch of guys who can defend rings around him, but that’s me. 

(It would sure be nice to have the DH spot available for some Bauers and Vaughn starts.)

When Frelick gets back, that’s a different conversation. But really, what are the odds of Chourio, Frelick, Lockridge, AND Mitchell staying healthy through the World Series?

[Jim French Stepstool]

25 minutes ago, gregmag said:

It doesn’t have to be a problem. You have 18-21 outfield starts each week; let’s call it 20. It’s late in the season with October coming, so guys can use the occasional day off – certainly a historically fragile guy like Mitchell and a guy who seems prone to slip into bad habits like Chourio. With Frelick out, you can go with something like

Chourio 6

Mitchell 6

Lara 4

Lockridge 4

If Lockridge takes time to shake the rust off, finding starts for Lara gets even easier. The immediate problem arises if you want to keep playing Bauers in the outfield. I don’t think his recent offense justifies playing him there over a bunch of guys who can defend rings around him, but that’s me. 

(It would sure be nice to have the DH spot available for some Bauers and Vaughn starts.)

When Frelick gets back, that’s a different conversation. But really, what are the odds of Chourio, Frelick, Lockridge, AND Mitchell staying healthy through the World Series?

Great point re Bauers in the OF. It hasn't really stung us yet, and hopefully won't. And I feel mostly OK when he's in LF. But Bauers in right scares me a little.

Also a great point re the DH role. Like everyone else I hope Yelich can get hot & maybe his last couple games are a precursor, but a roster sure can flow a lot more freely when you don't have someone that can only DH.

[Matt]

If there's someone whose playing time should take a hit, it's Bauers. He should never see the OF.