What's Behind Brice Turang's Bat Knob Change; Timelines on Yelich, Hoskins, Sánchez

Manager Pat Murphy was in a good mood Wednesday. Seeing an old friend doesn't hurt, but he was quick to disclaim the idea that the first game in which the Brewers will play against former manager Craig Counsell carries any special significance.

"The fact that Couns is coming over, that fills me up inside," Murphy told reporters Wednesday. "That’s great joy. But for a minute, you know? I’ve got a job to do. And the fact that it’s the Cubs… right now, it’s really not the Cubs. It’s a version of the Cubs. So that doesn’t mean anything."

Indeed, Chicago's spring training travel lineup includes light-hitting third baseman Nick Madrigal as the cleanup hitter. Nothing done under such circumstances can be taken overly seriously.

Brice Turang's Accidental Change in Lumber
Fans probably noticed the oversized knob of the Brewers' sophomore middle infielder in the team's first televised Cactus League game Tuesday. It's noticeable, right away, but Turang said it was the furthest thing from a conscious, calculated change of equipment.

"It’s a funny story, actually," Turang said. "I was getting my bats shipped back home, and the company lost them—they couldn’t find them, nothing. And I only had one of these bats at home, so I started using it, and I ended up liking it. So ever since then, I’ve been using it."

All of the bats sticking out of Turang's locker inside the team's clubhouse at American Family Fields of Phoenix have the same style handle, so don't expect him to abandon his unexpected find soon. On the other hand, don't expect a hitter with an overhauled approach at the plate, either.

"I’m just trying to hit low line drives, back up the middle," Turang said. "Get on top of baseballs. Last year, you learn from it, you make an adjustment, and you try to get better this year—to understand how last year went, and what to do to fix that, and stay in [the feel of what works]."

As we've discussed multiple times here recently, Turang could benefit from a subtle change in approach, but as he noted, he did find something that worked for a stretch in the middle of last season. His new challenge will be to hold onto that success more consistently in 2024.

Christian Yelich, Rhys Hoskins Nearing Cactus League Debuts; Gary Sánchez Further Behind
Murphy said Wednesday that each of his two biggest bats are likely to debut this weekend. Since each spent Tuesday hitting in sim game action against the likes of DL Hall and Devin Williams, it's safe to say that they're not only healthy and ramping up on schedule, but that they've already seen a couple of the nastiest hurlers they'll encounter all season.

Uhhhh DL Hall is going to be a problem. Three up, three down, three punch outs in the first inning of his sim game. Manager Pat Murphy said today the #Brewers want Hall to win a job in the rotation, and he was effusive in his praise for the lefty’s changeup. Checks out. pic.twitter.com/56Bh1HQ7ND

— Matthew Trueblood (@MATrueblood) February 27, 2024

There's no specific target number for spring plate appearances for either player, according to Murphy, who noted that how much exposure a player needs to live pitching from an opponent varies widely anyway. 

The picture is a little cloudier for Sánchez, whose injured right hand and wrist have allowed him to catch live BPs and sim games and who is throwing well, but who just took batting practice against pitched balls for the first time Wednesday. Absent any setback, Sánchez should still be in the mix for Opening Day, but any little thing could delay him enough to force him to begin the season on the injured list. Murphy did note that Sánchez has been progressing well, able to do a little more each day.