Brewers option struggling Joey Wiemer to Class AAA Nashville, reinstate Blake Perkins from IL

Mired in an awful slump and essentially having fallen out of the playing rotation, outfielder Joey Wiemer was optioned to Class AAA Nashville on Sunday in advance of the Milwaukee Brewers' series finale against the Washington Nationals at American Family Field.

Outfielder Blake Perkins was reinstated from the 10-day injured list and replaced Wiemer on the 28-man roster.

Wiemer, 24, entered 2023 as one of Milwaukee's top prospects and made his major-league debut one game into the season after infielder Luis Urías was injured.

He then saw his role expand greatly when, three weeks later, Garrett Mitchell injured his shoulder and subsequently underwent surgery.

Wiemer became the team's regular centerfielder and – at least offensively – experienced the predictable ups and downs that usually accompany a youngster's first foray in the majors.

He delivered a walk-off win in May with a sacrifice fly and another in June with a single and displayed some pop with 13 home runs in 367 at-bats over 132 games.

But when Wiemer's playing time was decreased in late July after fellow prospect Sal Frelick joined the team, his offensive productivity dropped significantly to the point he was hitting just .105 with a .438 OPS in 11 games in the month of September.

All told, Wiemer hit .204 with a .645 OPS while striking out 116 times in 367 at-bats.

"I don't think he's run out of gas. I think he's struggling at the plate. I don't think there's any question about that," manager Craig Counsell said on Saturday. "As this season has gone on, Joey was in there every single day for a good portion of time but when Sal got here, Joey's playing situation changed.

"That's been different for him. He's not been in there every day, and that's been hard for him. But that's just part of it. That's just another adjustment that a young player has to make. You want those adjustments to happen very quickly, and they don't always happen that way."

Despite his offensive struggles Wiemer was a plus defender in center (102 starts) – so much so he ranked third on the team by accounting for eight outs above average. He also was credited with five defensive runs saved, although four of those came while playing right (10 starts).

"I think Joey's contributed to a lot of Milwaukee Brewer wins, absolutely," Counsell said. "Judging everything – offense, defense – goes into that. He's made a huge impact on this team."

Perkins, who last played for the Brewers on Aug. 9, had been out with a left oblique strain.

He hit .212 with two homers and 16 RBI with an OPS of .645 in 56 games and showed the ability to affect games positively both as a baserunner and a defender capable of playing across the outfield.

"I'm excited," Perkins said. "Team's playing well, postseason is coming up. There's not a better time to be here. When I need to start, start. Otherwise be ready at any time."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers option struggling Joey Wiemer to Class AAA Nashville