Brewers OF Sal Frelick (knee) eyes return later this week

MILWAUKEE — Brewers outfielder Sal Frelick was out of the lineup for a second straight night with a knee issue but believes he should be ready to play again later this week.

Frelick had left the Brewers’ 4-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday with discomfort in his left knee after hurting it while taking a swing. Frelick underwent an MRI that showed no major damage, and the 2024 NL Gold Glove right fielder said he felt much better when he woke up Tuesday.

“From what the trainers are saying, it seems like they’ll try to keep me out until the off day to get an extra day and be ready to go on Friday,” Frelick said before the Brewers’ Tuesday night game with the Houston Astros.

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The Brewers complete a three-game series with the Astros on Wednesday afternoon before beginning a six-game trip Friday at Tampa Bay.

Frelick said he felt a grab behind his left knee after swinging the bat in the second inning of Sunday’s game. He briefly stayed in the game before getting removed in the fourth inning.

“My whole body rotated, but the spike on my toe [stayed] in the dirt. My foot almost came out of my shoe,” he said. “I tried to play another inning, but my knee was blowing up on me. … Based on my previous meniscus stuff, I think we dodged a bullet there.”

The 2021 first-round draft pick said he underwent two meniscus surgeries on that knee while playing for Boston College, but he hadn’t had any other issues with it until Sunday.

Frelick said the MRI he underwent showed no tear but “just a ton of inflammation in there.” But he says he’s feeling better now.

“Yesterday I came in and was not too much better,” Frelick said. “This morning, I woke up and it was like unbelievable.”

Frelick, 25, is batting .297 with a .381 on-base percentage, one homer, nine RBIs and seven steals in 35 games. That follows a 2024 season in which he hit .259 with a .320 on-base percentage, two homers, 32 RBIs and 18 steals in 145 games.

His absence has tested the depth of an outfield that already has Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins on the injured list. Mitchell last played April 25 as he deals with a left oblique strain. Perkins still hasn’t made his 2025 debut as he recovers from a fractured right shin.