One would be excused for beginning to think it just might never happen for Garrett Mitchell.
The Brewer outfielder, who has played in just 113 games across the last three seasons, injured his shoulder while sliding into a base last night while playing at Triple-A Nashville, where he has been playing this week on a rehab assignment. Mitchell suffered an oblique injury in late April and hasn’t appeared in a major league game since April 25th.
Some very unfortunate news this morning from Pat Murphy:
Garrett Mitchell injured his left (surgically repaired) shoulder diving back into a base last night at Class AAA Nashville.
Early imaging inconclusive, and he is being pulled off his rehab assignment.
— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) June 21, 2025
The setback is a real bummer. Mitchell has shown great promise in his major league career, but a variety of injuries—some freakish in nature, some not so much—have largely derailed him. Last season, Mitchell didn’t play his first game until July 1st but produced near an All-Star level for the last three months of the season.
In the first 116 games of his major league career, Mitchell hit .264/.343/.463 for a 123 OPS+ (which would be the best on this year’s Brewers) and played above average defense in center field. But he was off to a poor start in 2025 before the injury. Here’s to hoping it’s only a brief setback, but it doesn’t sound great, and it’s hardly an encouraging sign for a player who just hasn’t been able to stay on the field.
The good news is that Isaac Collins has been performing admirably lately, so it’s not as if the team has a giant hole in the outfield to fill. Expect Collins to continue starting regularly.