Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Tyrone Taylor. Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Brewers outfielder in danger of missing 2023 Opening Day

Originally posted on WI Sports Heroics | By Tyler Koerth_ | Last updated 2/28/23

As Brewers position players reported to spring training, it was announced that Tyrone Taylor was going to miss the first two weeks of Cactus League games with an elbow sprain. The outfielder injured his elbow during offseason workouts and re-aggravated it upon reporting to camp. Now, it appears that he is not progressing as expected. This will put him in jeopardy of not being ready for Opening Day on March 30, 2023.

Craig Counsell says Tyrone Taylor isn’t progressing from his sprained elbow as had been hoped, which would appear to put the possibility of him opening the season with the Brewers in jeopardy.

— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) February 28, 2023

Tyrone Taylor is in danger of opening the season on the IL because of his sprained right elbow. “We’re not any closer,” Craig Counsell said this morning. “We’re starting to be concerned, for sure, because we want to get him started and he’s not doing any baseball activities.”

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) February 28, 2023

Who will be the Brewers starting right fielder if Taylor begins the 2023 season on the injured list?

Outside of Taylor, the Milwaukee Brewers have Christian Yelich, Garrett Mitchell, Jesse Winker and Blake Perkins on their 40-man roster. Yelich is expected to start in left field, Mitchell center field and Winker at designated hitter. Perkins has not yet made his MLB debut. It’s possible that a non-roster invitee plays his way onto the Opening Day roster and starts in right field.

Recently, the Brewers signed veteran outfielder Tyler Naquin to a minor league contract. He may be the favorite to make the Opening Day roster and start in right field. However, Naquin does have some defensive concerns. Additionally, like Yelich and Mitchell, he is also a left-handed batter.

From a right-handed-hitting standpoint, Brian Anderson, who primarily plays third base, also has experience in right field. In the farm system, Joey Wiemer is a prospect who could make the jump, but he may not be ready until later in the season.

It will be interesting to see what the Brewers do if Taylor is unavailable for Opening Day.

This article first appeared on WI Sports Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: