Brewers: How Might Rowdy Tellez Injury Impact Crew's Trade Deadline Direction?

Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rowdy Tellez had been slumping since early May before being placed on the IL with forearm inflammation prior to the All-Star break. His struggles at the plate could be attributed to playing through this. Since May 5th, he batted just .186 with a .528 OPS, three doubles, three homers, and 14 RBI.

After getting some time off due to being on the IL and the All-Star break the Brewers had announced that they were going to activate Tellez this Tuesday prior to the Philadelphia Phillies series. Unfortunately that will have to be put on hold as he sustained a freak injury shagging fly balls Saturday in Cincinnati.

As part of his conditioning, Tellez was shagging fly balls during batting practice. Unfortunately he sustained an injury near the wall that resulted in a ring finger tip fracture and nail bed injury that required 17 stitches to repair. This will keep him out at minimum another 3-4 weeks.

Taking a look at the calendar, four weeks from now is the middle of August. Should he be ready to return at that time there will be approximately six weeks left in the regular season. Complicating this matter further is the fact that the trade deadline is just two weeks away.

How might the Rowdy Tellez injury impact the Brewers' trade deadline direction?

Prior to this freak injury to Tellez, the team was in need of some more offense. Had this injury not occurred and he started to show signs of turning things around, Milwaukee might have made external additions via trade at different positions. Now they might not have any choice but to bring in a new first baseman.

A few realistic options to consider at third base include Boston Red Sox players Bobby Dalbec and Justin Turner as well as Rockies first baseman CJ Cron. Jeimer Candelario of the Washington Nationals could be considered as well, but he last played first base in 2020. Less likely options are all intra-division players including Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and Carlos Santana.

If the Brewers elect to stay pat and not trade for a first baseman then Owen Miller would be the guy who gets to continue playing at the position. Keston Hiura has been tearing things up in the minor leagues and could be an option as well. It is totally possible that Milwaukee elects to just continue to ride the hot hand the remainder of the season.

If the Brewers stay internal with their first base solution, the options aren't very plentiful. So don't be surprised if they look for help at the position when the MLB trade deadline comes around in two weeks.