Frelick (hip) has 'unknown' timeline as MRI shows bone bruise

MILWAUKEE – Sal Frelick is usually seen running around right field with reckless abandon, so the sight of the Brewers outfielder limping into a room with a crutch under his right arm said more than anything else about how much he was hurting Saturday.

A day after he suffered a left hip injury while crashing into an unpadded section of the wall down the right-field foul line at American Family Field, an MRI scan revealed a significant bone bruise that will sideline Frelick indefinitely. The good news, he and Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, was that initial tests did not reveal any other structural damage, leaving open a sliver of possibility that the defensively-savvy former first-round Draft pick could return to action if the team makes a deep postseason run.

“We're just trying to stay optimistic right now as a whole,” Frelick said. “Everyone, the doctors and the trainers, have said it's good news. It could have been way worse.

“The timeframe is just kind of unknown. It's how my body responds, and everyone understands that.”

Frelick, the National League’s leading outfielder with 15 defensive runs saved, is expected to remain on the Brewers’ active roster for their final two regular-season games. Placing him on the 10-day injured list would knock him out of consideration for the NL Wild Card Series, which begins Tuesday at American Family Field, and the NL Division Series should the Brewers advance.

But that doesn’t necessarily indicate that the Brewers believe he can return to the field in that short a timeframe. Murphy said that one of the concerns is that swelling around Frelick’s hip could be hiding additional injury at this early stage.

“Nobody has ruled it out,” Murphy said of a potential comeback. “The fact that he can’t walk on his own makes it less likely. Less likely to be anytime soon. We’re going to slow-play it and not make a decision on the roster until we absolutely have to.”

After spending the day with doctors, Frelick proved a quick study as he described the muscle – the gluteus medius – which took the brunt of the hit when he crashed into that spot of the wall, a window that allows the grounds crew to monitor the field.

“It did its job, but it's pretty crushed, so there's a pretty bad contusion and that's pretty much what's not allowing me to walk,” Frelick said. “That's the muscle that's activated for holding yourself up. It's kind of just, how fast can we get that muscle back working and activated, because it's kind of shut off right now from the impact. That's all I know from what the docs told me.”

With Frelick sidelined, the Brewers will rely on left fielder Jackson Chourio and co-center fielders Blake Perkins and Garrett Mitchell to cover the outfield in the postseason, with Mitchell most likely to play right.

As for the backup options, rookie Isaac Collins made his second Major League start as Milwaukee’s left fielder on Saturday against the Mets and is slated to start again on Sunday, giving the Brewers a couple of looks in case he’s needed. The team also summoned Tyler Black to Milwaukee, a top prospect who primarily plays first base but did get some outfield time this year. He wasn’t active as of Saturday. The other outfielder on the 40-man roster is Brewer Hicklen, who had a brief stint in the big leagues with the Brewers in late August and early September.

Combined, Black, Collins and Hicklen were 11-for-64 in the big leagues this season going into Collins’ start on Saturday.

Frelick, meanwhile, has a .655 OPS this season in 524 plate appearances, but that is only a small part of his value in the manager’s eyes.

“This guy’s a huge part of our team, one of the best defenders on the team,” Murphy said. “We’re a team where defense is really important to us. He’s one of our key defensive players. Offensively he puts it in play and makes big things happen. He can cause havoc on the bases. It’s kind of our identity, and that’s taking a little piece out of our deal. It’s a big loss.”