MILWAUKEE -- Following Thursday night's 6-5 loss to St. Louis, the Milwaukee Brewers optioned outfielder Josh Prince to Triple-A Nashville to clear room for Aramis Ramirez's return from the disabled list Friday.
Prince, 25, was called up from Nashville when Ramirez went on the disabled list on April 6, but has found playing time hard to come by. Prince had just one hit in five at bats, a pinch hit double on April 7 against Arizona.
"He needs to go down and play," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "I haven't got him many at-bats at all. When he first came up I gave him a couple but then it really hasn't been much. We want him to play every day. We want him to be versatile, so he is going to move around in Triple-A and play outfield and some infield and hopefully be a super utility."
Learning to fill a bench role with limited to at-bats is not easy, especially for young players like Prince.
"I think it's something that you have to learn how to do, to be ready to come off the bench and play at any time, to hit at any time," Prince said. "It was a tough situation but I felt like I handled myself pretty well while I was here to do it."
While disappointed to be sent down, Prince knows playing every day is better for him in the long run.
"It's what I love to do," Prince said. "I love to play the game and I love to be on the field. But of course there's no better place to play or to be than the big leagues.
"They want me to play everywhere and continue to get better at every position. Get better so I can one day do that here."
Ramirez will return from the disabled list exactly four weeks after spraining his left knee sliding into second base on April 5. While Roenicke hinted that he may not play a full game right away and might not play in back-to-back games, Ramirez's return to the cleanup spot will be a welcome sight for the Brewers.
Since Ramirez went down, Milwaukee's cleanup hitters are 13 of 90 (.144) with 28 strikeouts and just five RBI.
Follow Andrew Gruman on Twitter.
