Brewers Select Greg Jones

The Brewers announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Greg Jones. He’ll take the active roster spot of infielder David Hamilton, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left hamstring. To open a 40-man spot, outfielder Brandon Lockridge has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

Hamilton departed last night’s game with left hamstring tightness. Manager Pat Murphy said after the game, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com, that the club would likely put him on the IL due to the schedule. The Brewers are playing a doubleheader today and then each of the five subsequent days before the All-Star Break, which begins on Monday. With that break looming, it’s possible Hamilton could end up missing only seven games if he is ready return next week, though the severity of his injury isn’t known.

For now, Jones takes his roster spot. The 28-year-old signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee in the offseason. He spent a few weeks on the big league roster earlier this season. He collected two hits in 22 plate appearances before being designated for assignment. He was then sent through waivers unclaimed, which allowed the Brewers to add him back to the roster today.

His major league track record is both short and unimpressive. He had very brief big league experience with the Rockies in 2024 and White Sox last year, before joining the Brewers earlier this year. Put together, he has a .107/.138/.214 line in 30 plate appearances.

He has been better at the plate in the minor leagues but is still more of a speed-and-defense guy. Dating back to the start of 2023, he has a .256/.347/.421 line and 94 wRC+ in the minors. He struck out in 35.7% of his plate appearances in that time. But he has swiped 103 bases in 117 tries while playing the two middle infield spots and all three outfield positions.

Jones gives the Brewers a versatile bench piece but swapping him in for Hamilton appears to leave them a little light on the left side. In recent weeks, Cooper Pratt has been covering shortstop while Hamilton and Joey Ortiz share third. Presumably, Ortiz will be more of a regular at third now next to Pratt. Jones has no third base experience, so they don’t really have a backup there.

Maybe Sal Frelick is the unofficial backup third baseman, though he has only five innings of experience at that spot. Milwaukee promoted outfielder Luis Lara earlier today. Assuming Lara is going to get regular reps on the grass next to Garrett Mitchell and Jackson Chourio, perhaps Frelick will be squeezed to the dirt.

As for Lockridge, he landed on the 10-day IL on May 9th due to a right knee laceration and contusion suffered when he crashed into the wall trying to catch a foul ball, as seen in this clip from MLB.com. Today is already the 60th day since his initial IL placement, so he is technically eligible for reinstatement at any time. His timeline is unclear. He had arthroscopic knee surgery a few weeks ago, per McCalvy.