MILWAUKEE -- As Brewers manager Pat Murphy held court ahead of Sunday’s 4-3 walk-off win in 10 innings against the Twins at American Family Field, he revealed rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt was undergoing an MRI on his right hamstring.
The development was a bit of a surprise, as Pratt played all nine innings the previous night and, per Murphy, insisted he still felt good enough to play Sunday.
Despite that, it turns out the decision to get another look at the hamstring ended up being the right call. Milwaukee announced shortly before first pitch that Pratt was being placed on the 10-day injured list after being diagnosed with a right hamstring strain. The club signed utility player Jihwan Bae to a Minor League contract, selecting him to the active roster as the corresponding move.
“With a hamstring, there's no telling,” Murphy said when asked of Pratt’s potential recovery timeline. “He's never had this before, so there's no telling how long.”
It’s certainly a setback for Pratt, who had been taking significant strides at the plate since making his big league debut on June 16. He opened his MLB career by going 7-for-19 over his first six games before hitting a bit of a funk. But Pratt has slashed .325/.374/.475 since July 7, a 25-game stretch that included his first career homer on July 20 against the Mets.
Bae arrives in Milwaukee after spending four years with the Pirates. He’s slashed .223/.294/.293 over 163 big league games. Bae was claimed off waivers by the Mets on Nov. 6 and has spent this season with Triple-A Syracuse, where he has hit .257 in 91 games before being released on Aug. 4.
Bae received minimal notice he’d be making his Milwaukee debut on Sunday. With the announcement of Pratt being sent to the IL not coming until less than an hour before first pitch, the 23-year-old likely assumed he’d have some time to acclimate.
Nevertheless, he immediately found himself taking part in the Brewers' walk-off win over Minnesota, entering as a defensive substitution in the seventh and playing out the rest of the game at second base.
He showed he might end up being a perfect addition for the team he was joining in his first at-bat with the club, laying down a bunt and legging out a single that likely looked awfully familiar to the Brewers fans on hand.
“He just found out he was active literally 40 minutes before the game,” Murphy said, “and [he] comes up and executes a base-hit bunt.”
It was part of a next-man-up mentality Milwaukee worked with through much of Sunday’s series finale. With David Hamilton taking Pratt’s spot at short, Andrew Vaughn ended up making his second career start at third base and first since Sept. 23, 2021, with the White Sox.
Naturally, the very first batted ball of the day came Vaughn’s way on a popout.
“The ball finds you,” Vaughn said. “Everybody in baseball will say that.”
How the Brewers’ infield looks from here will be anyone’s guess, as regular third baseman Joey Ortiz also remains day to day after suffering neck tightness on Saturday.
But if the team is looking for proof it can hold down the fort while Ortiz and Pratt are on the mend, it got a great look at it Sunday afternoon.