Brewers: Willy Adames Day To Day After Ugly Looking Ankle Injury

Willy Adames stated that his goal was to play in every single game for the Brewers this season. That goal is in jeopardy.

In the first inning of Sunday’s game, Adames slid safely into home plate on a sacrifice fly by Luis Urias to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead, but the slide was awkward as Adames’ foot got caught up and he rolled over his ankle.

He laid on the ground in immediate pain and hobbled off the field. Adames would return to play defense in the bottom of the first inning but Luis Urias took over for him in the 2nd inning.

Brewers shortstop Willy Adames left Sunday’s game with a left ankle sprain.

According to the Brewers, X-Rays were negative on Adames’ ankle and it’s considered to just be a sprain. He’ll be re-evaluated in Milwaukee and is currently considered day-to-day.

On that re-evaluation, the Brewers will determine the severity of the strain, if Adames needs an IL stint, and how long he may be out. If it’s a minor sprain, he could just be out a few days and may not need an IL stint at all. If it’s a more severe sprain, Adames could be out several weeks.

A potential good sign in this is that Adames did go out to play defense that first inning after the injury, so it’s likely not too severe. Otherwise he wouldn’t have even made it out to the field in the first place.

Adames has been a key contributor on offense once again this year. He’s tied for the team lead in home runs with nine and has a 118 OPS+. Losing him for any period of time would be a tough blow to the offense.

The Brewers have Luis Urias who can handle shortstop until Adames is ready to resume the role. With him shifting over from third base, that leaves a likely platoon of Jace Peterson and Mike Brosseau at the hot corner once again.

However, if this is a longer-term absence for Adames, don’t be surprised if the Brewers call up 2018 first round pick Brice Turang, who is dominating at Triple-A. The 22 year old Turang is hitting .288 with a .778 OPS and three home runs for the Nashville Sounds. He’s not currently on the 40 man roster, but the Brewers do have an open spot, meaning they could call him up without having to DFA someone.

If the Brewers opt not to call up Turang, other utility infield options they could call upon from Triple-A include Pablo Reyes and Mark Mathias. Mathias also is not on the 40 man roster but has previous big league experience and is hitting well this season for Nashville.

We’ll learn more about Adames’ injury when the Brewers get back into town. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.