It takes a lot for Sal Frelick to admit he’s hurting.
But the Milwaukee Brewers rightfielder reached his limit and on Saturday, July 18 he was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right shoulder with Blake Perkins being recalled from Class AAA Nashville in the corresponding move.
The red flag came in the Brewers’ 2-1, 10-inning win over the Miami Marlins on July 17, when he was removed from the game after making a subpar throw in on a play in right.
“Hardest thing for me to do,” Frelick said. “I don’t want to sit here and say I can play through anything or I’m tough or what not. But what I hated specifically about last night, that finally made me speak up, was just feeling like I would maybe affect the team – and that’s the last thing that I would want.
“You should play through anything you can bear. But when you’re costing the team I think you speak up and last night I felt like if I had to make a play on a tag-up or to throw a guy out, I just wouldn’t be able to. I kind of had to mentally deal with that and came to the conclusion I’ve got to say something.”
Manager Pat Murphy, probably the biggest Frelick supporter in the organization, knew it was time to pull Frelick and have him examined at that point.
“Sal will play today if he has to,” he said. “He didn’t want to come out of the game yesterday. I just was watching him from a distance and kept watching him and then I saw the throw from right field and I’m like, ‘OK, take him out.’ He’s like, ‘No.’
“It affects everything he does. That was kind of the decision yesterday. Like, ‘Hey, something’s wrong. Let’s get this looked at.’ He’s going to respond and it’s going to be nice to have him back at full strength.”
Frelick, who’s had an off-year to this point with a .236 average, four home runs, 36 runs batted in and an OPS of .630 while accounting for one out above average in right, said the shoulder pain is something he’s been trying to manage for some time and that it began creeping into his at-bats after only bothering him on throws to start.
“I’ve been dealing with shoulder pain for almost two months now,” he said. “Just kind of staying on top of it. We got an image about six or seven weeks ago and it just appeared to be a little inflammation. Then I’d say maybe the last week before all-star break to yesterday it’s just been pretty dead. I feel like I really couldn’t throw, feel like a liability out there which is why I spoke up.”
Frelick is scheduled for more imaging in the coming days.
“I’m hoping it’s something treatable and just some sort of dead arm inflammation that just needs to calm down,” he said.
His absence means more consistent playing time now for rookie Luis Lara, who entered Saturday batting .294 with a pair of RBI in seven games.
“Just an absolute stud,” said Frelick of Lara. “We’ve kind of known what we’ve got in him since big-league camp this year and seen him progress through the minors. He’s a really good kid, too. Works hard. He’s been great so far, so ultimate trust in anyone that’s out there.”
Even with an able albeit inexperienced replacement in Lara, Murphy indicated the team is going to miss Frelick during his absence.
“He’s a great player. One of the best rightfielders in the game, no question in my mind,” said Murphy. “I get to see him every day, so I know the brilliance. And when he’s right offensively he’s going to get to first and he’s going to hit in the clutch.
“He’s got the ‘It’ factor. He represents a lot of what our team is. No-nonsense. ‘Let’s just compete.’ You can’t lose those things off your team. Someone else has to pick it up.”
Perkins, meanwhile, is back for his third stint with the Brewers while Brandon Lockridge – on the IL since May 9 with a knee injury – is expected to head out on a minor-league rehab assignment early next week.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers place Sal Frelick on the injured list with a shoulder strain
Reporting by Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Todd Rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
