Sal Frelick's injury puts Brewers outfield in tough spot, how can they manage?

Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick had to leave Friday night's game against the New York Mets with a hip injury after a hard collision with the side wall in right field. There's a window cutout for the grounds crew that Frelick hit the corner of and he was immediately down in a heap.

Frelick limped off the field, but then had to be essentially carried from the dugout to the clubhouse. After the game, manager Pat Murphy said initial X-rays were inconclusive and that he would be getting an MRI on Saturday.

If Frelick can't play for a little while, which Murphy noted "you have to lean towards that right now" then the Brewers outfield depth just got that much more shallow. They've already lost Christian Yelich for the season and if Frelick needs an IL stint, he's going to miss at least the start of the postseason.

Frelick is a light-hitter, as evidenced by his .259/.320/.335 slash line, but is an excellent defensive outfielder. That's where a large portion of his on the field value is. Without Frelick, the Brewers are down to just three true outfielders on the active roster with Jackson Chourio, Blake Perkins, and Garrett Mitchell.

Where to look for extra outfield depth?

While the trio of Chourio, Perkins, and Mitchell is a very capable group in the starting lineup, who else can earn some playing time out there in case of either another injury or a pinch hitting situation?

Currently on the active roster, Isaac Collins has played a lot of outfield in Triple-A and could be an option in left field, although the Brewers haven't given him a ton of playing time since calling him up. Eric Haase also has some left field experience and that could be a good way to get his bat in the lineup even though you likely lose quite a bit on the defensive end.

Should Frelick get placed on the IL, the Brewers can call up another player, which very well could be Brewer Hicklen. Hicklen earned the Crew's initial September call up, but was demoted after being thrown out at third on a baserunning blunder.

If the Brewers want another left handed hitter to fill the void left by Frelick, Tyler Black could be an option as well. He's gotten some playing time in centerfield this year in Triple-A and has been up and down a few times with Milwaukee this year.

The Brewers should get a better idea of just how long Frelick will be out when they get the MRI results back. Regardless of what the tests say, it's unlikely Frelick plays again in the regular season as the Brewers will want to rest his hip these final two days. The likely best case scenario involves Frelick being ready to go for Game 1 of the Wild Card series on Tuesday, but the worst case scenario leaves the Brewers without another one of their starting outfielders for the entire postseason.