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The Milwaukee Brewers are on the road in Cleveland to begin a series tonight, and a familiar face has rejoined the ballclub after spending time on the Injured List. Per Will Sammon of the Athletic, backup catcher Manny Pina has returned to regular duty, while Luke Maile was optioned back to Triple-A to make room on the roster.
Manny Pina is back from the 10-day injured list. Luke Maile was optioned.
— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) September 10, 2021
Pina hadn’t appeared in a big league game since August 28th, and while he’s hit for power and provided his signature defense behind the plate this season, he is having the worst offensive year of his Brewers’ career. The long-time backup has hit just .181/.285/.389 in 172 plate appearances for a 79 OPS+, though he has cracked 9 home runs and driven in 27 while throwing out 32% of would-be base stealers.
Maile made two starts and appeared in four other games as a defensive replacement during his most recent stint with the big club, and has generally shown well this season. He’s collected eight hits and two walks — including four doubles — across 31 MLB plate appearances in 14 games. In 42 games and 143 plate appearances for the Triple-A Sounds, he’s hit .215/.331/.314.
Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference