My 3B dream was killed by Aaron Judge & Giancarlo Stanton, Brewers' Sal Frelick reveals
Sal Frelick currently slots in the right field position for the Milwaukee Brewers. The youngster is a gun fielder in the outfield and has a solid arm. But he has had a few reps at third base. However, two New York Yankees sluggers are a major reason why he has yet to fully transition to that position.
With major competition for the Brewers' outfield position, Frelick was given a nod during the 2024 Spring Training in the infield. Boston Red Sox legend David Pedroia helped him train for the position. In 12 appearances including nine starts in the position last year, Frelick had six putouts, five assists and just one error in 67 innings. However, during the regular season, he played just four innings in two games.
Since then he has played just one inning in that position in the entirety of this year. That came in a 20-9 drubbing in the second game of their series with the Yankees.
Frelick opened up about this shift on the Foul Territory TV podcast. He spoke about his experience last year facing Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton and this year's instance of Aaron Judge, where both former MVPs were facing positional players as pitchers.
"Yeah. I mean, last spring training was definitely that's all I was doing," Frelick said. "I was just taking them every day, planning on playing there. Played a little bit last year, maybe like a couple innings. I think I thought it was all fun and games, until the first time I played there, Stanton was up and we had a position player throwing. So that kind of ended my dreams of ever wanting to go back there.
"And then the same thing this year I was I played their Opening Day [week] again, throwing position player and Judge was up looking to hit his third homeroom of the game. So I had to imagine he was getting the head out and I was trying to play in the grass. And the ump kept telling me I had to play in the dirt with the new shift rule. And I told him, if I died, it was on him. So, yeah, I wasn't over there," he added.
Why Milwaukee Brewers' depth chart can aid Sal Frelick's transition to 3B?
Two of Brewers' outfielders, Garrett Mitchell and Blake Perkins are expected to make their returns by the end of this month. Mitchell has been out since April due to an oblique injury and is expected to begin his rehab in the minors before moving back up. Perkins, meanwhile, is projected for a late-June rehab assignment after being out since the start of the regular season due to a fractured shin.
If they are brought directly back into the lineup, Milwaukee could contemplate moving Frelick to third base as keeping him out of the lineup is not an option anymore. He has proved to be an important at-bat this season, hitting at .292 with 23 RBIs and four home runs. This is a lot better than the current primary 3B, Caleb Durbin, who is hitting at .208.