Braun placed on DL with back ailment

PHOENIX -- Ryan Braun landed on the 10-day disabled list with mid-back tightness Thursday after missing all three games of the Brewers' series win over the D-backs at Chase Field.
The team had been weighing its options in the immediate wake of Wednesday's 8-2 win, with no official roster move announced until Thursday. The DL assignment was backdated to Monday, meaning Braun is eligible for reinstatement as early as May 24 for the start of a series at home against the Mets.
Left-handed hitting first baseman Ji-Man Choi will replace Braun on the roster, with the designated hitter in play this weekend in Minnesota and three right-handers starting for the Twins. Choi has not played for Colorado Springs since Saturday because of a cold bug going around the team, but it was said to be nothing that precluded a callup. 
Bothered by lower back issues at various times in his career, especially since surgery to relieve a bulging disc in October 2015, Braun felt discomfort in a new area of his back, higher and on the right side, during Sunday's win over the Rockies at Coors Field. After striking out for the fourth time -- only the second time in his career he's been saddled with the so-called "golden sombrero," Braun quietly left the game while most of the focus was on starter Freddy Peralta's stellar Major League debut.
Braun was in the original starting lineup for Monday's series opener at Arizona, but was a late scratch.
The Brewers took two of three games from the D-backs without Braun, and were also without versatile Hernán Pérez for the final two games of the series because of a left wrist issue. But manager Craig Counsell said Perez was trending in the right direction and was likely to be a full participant beginning Friday at Minnesota.
"It's always tough when you have an active member of your roster who's unavailable, because then you're playing down a player," said Counsell. "That makes it difficult. If you're available to hit or play the field, I think you have a little more flexibility and you can get through things. But active, unavailable position players put you in a little bit of a pinch."