Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Scooter Gennett is dealing with a shoulder injury and may not be ready to start on Opening Day. He underwent an MRI and is awaiting results to see how his shoulder injury has progressed.
Gennett has been shut down over the past few days with shoulder soreness, and the Brewers want to be cautious with the injury. The team does not want to bring him back too soon to avoid any setbacks in his recovery. The second baseman has not been progressing much after suffering the injury last week, so he underwent more testing. Manager Craig Counsell said that the team will make a decision on Gennett when they have more information.
"He hasn't responded great," Counsell said. "It's definitely going slower than we'd like. Again, I don't think we're close (to putting opening day in jeopardy). I think we're fine until we get to 10 days away from the season."
UPDATE: Gennett's MRI that revealed "mild shoulder tendinitis." Remains day-to-day.
Gennett had a down season last year while hitting .264 with six home runs and 29 RBI for the Brewers in 114 games. The team has Rule 5 Draft selection Colin Walsh as an option to take over for the 25-year-old if he continues to deal with the shoulder issue. The Brewers open the season in less than a month, and if Gennett doesn't show some progress soon, he could be placed on the disabled list to start the year.
"I don't think we're even close to being worried yet about that," Counsell said.
Gennett is not the only player dealing with an injury for the Brewers. Ryan Braun is out for the team while dealing with recovery from back surgery, while outfielder Brett Phillips and relievers Jeremy Jeffress and Zack Jones are also banged up. Braun had back surgery in the offseason and is expected to debut with the team in spring training in a couple of weeks. He should be ready for the start of the season.
Jeffress is dealing with a hamstring injury, but he was able to throw a bullpen session on Monday and could be close to getting into game action. Jones is dealing with a strained shoulder and is on track to have a bullpen session this week. Phillips has an oblique strain and he likely will sit out until he is fully healthy.
