Brewers: Spring Training Injury Updates Looking Positive

Of the many goals the Milwaukee Brewers had set for themselves going into spring training, one probably stood out above the rest: get as many players through to the MLB regular season healthy.

That is always a delicate balance that teams have to go through this time of year. Players need to get stretched out and in regular season shape, but don’t want to be pushed too far for fear of developing an early nagging injury.

So far, the Brewers have been pretty clear on the injury front the Cactus League season is now a week old. But there are still a few players working their way back to full health, so let’s take a look at who they are and their status at this point in spring training.

Young Brewers shortstop’s injury determined to be minor after being removed from Friday’s game.

The first big in-game injury scare for the Brewers came last Friday when shortstop Luis Urias came up lame after grounding out in the third inning against the Rockies. He would end up being removed as Milwaukee went back out on defense afterward.

The hope among Brewers fans was that the move was more precautionary than anything. According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, that was exactly the case.

Urias already had his share of preseason bad luck with the Brewers last season and was hoping to not repeat that trend in 2021. If the injury is indeed minor, he’ll be back at it soon, which is good considering manager Craig Counsell’s apparent plans for him as a starting shortstop.

Brewers taking it easy with veteran center fielder as he still looks to take part in his first spring training game.

After sitting out a majority of the 2020 season, it was expected that it would probably take a while before center fielder Lorenzo Cain would see his first game action of spring training. A slight injury has potentially pushed that debut even further per Robert Murray of FanSided.

The news came the same day that Milwaukee was said to be making a splash signing of former Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. While the two moves aren’t directly related, the addition of Bradley Jr allows the team to be even more careful with Cain this season.

Cain will be turning 35 next month and played in just five games in 2020 before opting out of the remainder of the season. The chances of him playing a full 2021 season were already quite slim so being overly cautious with even small injuries is clearly the right move.

NL’s 2021 Rookie of the Year and Reliever of the Year is on track to be ready for Opening Day for the Brewers.

One Brewer who has been working his way back from injury prior to the start of spring training is 2020 standout reliever Devin Williams. So far, per Sophia Minnaert of Fox Sports Wisconsin, things are going right to plan for the man with the golden changeup.

After a dominant year that saw him bring home multiple awards after the season, Williams was a surprise scratch from the postseason roster when it was announced that a shoulder injury would keep him out of the Wild Card round.

Williams has been working the shoulder back to full strength ever since, so it’s good to hear that he is still on the right path as the regular season draws near. The Brewers will need him at full strength for the pitching staff to put forth a similarly impressive performance in 2021.

Week two of Cactus League play starts tomorrow with a game against the Los Angeles Angels. It’ll be the next step in the Brewers’ quest to stay relatively injury-free.