Brewers place Christian Yelich on 10-day IL, recall Owen Miller from Class AAA Nashville

In a move that certainly wasn't ideal but needed to be made, the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday placed Christian Yelich on the 10-day injured list with a low back strain and recalled infielder-outfielder Owen Miller from Class AAA Nashville.

Manager Pat Murphy said Monday that Yelich hadn't really exhibited much, if any, improvement in the symptoms that knocked him out of last Friday's game in Baltimore and had sidelined him since.

The Brewers recalled Joey Wiemer for additional outfield depth on Sunday and have yet another player in Miller capable of filling in while Yelich continues his recovery.

"I don't have an answer as far as timeline," Yelich said. "It's not really even locked up. I don't really know how to describe it. They're a little different every time. Just try to deal with it as best as possible and get back soon."

But now they'll need to navigate at least another week without the player who had been their hottest hitter before being sidelined.

"It's all about the player, how the player feels," Murphy said. "It crushes us; it's a big blow. But first and foremost, it's the player.

"He's not feeling right, he's been through this before, and we've got to get him right."

Yelich was off to his best start at the plate since 2019, hitting .333 with five home runs and 11 runs batted in with an OPS of 1.166 in his first 11 games.

"When you think about an NBA team losing their dude, an NFL team losing their quarterback, Yeli has been just as terrific. And it gives William (Contreras) a little bit of protection, too," said Murphy. "It seemed like every fly ball he hit was a homer. Ten days, whatever it is, hit five homers, steal bags and get on base the way he was -- we've seen it before.

"You don't want to speak too soon, but you saw it before (back in 2018 and 2019. Hopefully, he'll get back on track and pick up right back where he left off."

Added Yelich: "A lot of work has gone into feeling good and trying to get to that point. Now, just get healthy and try to pick back up where you left off and hopefully go from there."

Miller, meanwhile, was hitting .353 with four RBI and an OPS of .865 in 13 games at Nashville, where he played first, second and third base.

"He feels like he's part of it even though he wasn't here," Murphy said of Miller, who entered the game in the seventh and struck out in both his at-bats. "He's a great addition. He's kind of a Swiss Army knife; he can do a lot of different things.

"It feels good to have a guy like that."

Murphy tipped his cap to Milwaukee's front office for acquiring adequate depth to help the team withstand the glut of injuries it's faced in recent weeks. And that's not even including the rash of injuries suffered by several of the team's top prospects.

"We have great depth, and credit to the front office and player development for getting these guys ready and finding guys who can fill this role," Murphy said. "A lot of these guys are really hungry, so that makes it fun. It changes your lineup. It changes how you do things sometimes, because you're building your lineup based on what the other team is going to come at you with.

"You've got to do some adjusting. It keeps it interesting. I think that's part of the game. Injuries are part of it. It seems like, 'Who can have more injuries than us right now? Seven of our top 15 pitchers, Yelich down, (Garrett) Mitchell down, what else?'

"But every team's got their version of this. It makes no sense complaining, just get ready to win tonight."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers place Christian Yelich on 10-day IL, recall Owen Miller