Brandon Lockridge to make Brewers opening day roster; Blake Perkins optioned
· Yahoo Sports
PHOENIX – Brandon Lockridge is on the team.
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In a spring when the Milwaukee Brewers roster picture has been fairly straightforward, the 29-year-old outfielder broke through from the outside of the 26-man opening day roster to the group the Brewers will line up with on March 26.
The Brewers optioned center fielder Blake Perkins to Class AAA Nashville in a series of moves that dwindled the number of position players left in camp to 14. Milwaukee will carry 13 position players in the regular season, and non-roster invite Reese McGuire is the clear odd man out with two other catchers in the mix.
“Those are very difficult meetings, very difficult decisions,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “But ‘Perk’ is part of this thing. You have to make some decisions to keep 13 [position players].”
Lockridge forced the Brewers’ hand with his play this spring, batting .314 with four homers and a 1.128 OPS while Perkins had a .666 OPS. But it’s as much about the underneath signs of Lockridge’s play as it is about spring stats – which, when you boil it down, are ultimately meaningless.
Lockridge, after an off-season of swing and approach adjustments, is swinging the bat faster and hitting the ball harder, while Perkins’ batted-ball data is among the coldest on the team.
“He was acquired for a reason,” Murphy said. “He played great for us down the stretch last year in so many ways, off the bench and a couple of starts here and there. His approach, his energy was just spectacular. … Sometimes it’s a matter of pulling out and looking at the big picture and considering a lot more than your best 13. It’s not just who’s played the best. There’s even a bigger picture: What’s best for the club right now? There’s a lot of factors that goes into it. That seems vague, but it really isn’t.”
Murphy didn’t get into what more of those non-vague factors are, but Lockridge’s ability to provide excellent defense is likely one of them considering that has been the key component to Perkins’ game in his three years with Milwaukee.
This will be Lockridge's second opening day roster, as he was with the Padres to begin the 2025 season.
Brewers send three more players down
Shortstop Cooper Pratt was reassigned to minor-league camp while infielder/outfielder Tyler Black and pitcher Logan Henderson were optioned to Class AAA.
Henderson, coming off some elbow inflammation, has been on a slower ramp-up and will throw two innings in a game in the coming days.
“Part of this move is to make sure he can go ‘post’ regularly,” Murphy said. “We’re not going to immediately build him up to five innings. We’re going to let him go two innings and see how he responds, two innings and see how he responds. Just make sure he’s responding each time. Because, he’s had a history.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brandon Lockridge to make Brewers opening day roster