NEWSLETTER
After receiving a second opinion, Brewers rookie center fielder Garrett Mitchell will, indeed, undergo shoulder surgery next week. As we’ve discussed, that likely means he’s out for the entire season. And there’s certainly no telling what it may mean for the rest of his career.
I feel for him, even as I acknowledge the potential impact on the division race in the NL Central, where my Cubs have started off strong.
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The only thing standing in the way of this being a *dream* start to the season for the Chicago Cubs, is the equally impressive start up in Milwaukee. Through 19 games, the Brewers (14-5) have been their typical over-achieving selves, and are tied for the best record in the National League. But boy have they been getting hit with bad injury news lately. The latest is putting the rest of the season in question for their rookie center fielder, Garrett Mitchell.
According to multiple reports, Mitchell may require season-ending surgery on his shoulder, after an MRI revealed significant damage. He’s seeking a second-opinion, but, well, that pretty rarely results in better news in these situations.
For his part, Garrett Mitchell says he doesn’t “feel that bad,” but added that “with what I heard (from doctors), it’s obviously not good.”
In case you forgot, the Brewers drafted Mitchell 20th overall back in 2020, and he immediately rocketed up the minor league ladder, debuting last season after slashing .342/.435/.466 in his first attempt at Triple-A.
And he’s certainly made an impact for Milwaukee. Last year, Mitchell had a fairly dominant start to his big league career (136 wRC+ with positive defensive contributions in center field). And while he was off to a tamer start this season before hitting the IL on April 18 (105 wRC+), he’s still a big part of their team on both sides of the ball (0.7 WAR already). Losing him for any period of time – let alone the entire season – is going to hurt. And there’s no telling what impact this may have on his career. We’ve seen first-hand what shoulder injuries did to Kris Bryant, taking him out for long periods of time and impacting his performance even when he was on the field. Just tough, tough news for a promising young player.
The Brewers will back-fill Mitchell with recently recalled Blake Perkins, as well as Joey Wiemer and Owen Miller.
And again, this is just the latest bit of significant injury news for the Brewers, who have had recent issues with BOTH of their aces, Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff. Woodruff has so far avoided surgery, but is reportedly facing a lengthy IL stint. Burnes, at least, is expected to make his next start this Sunday against the Red Sox.
