After Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Mat Gamel limped off the field Tuesday night in San Diego with a knee injury, the initial thought was that it was just a twisted right knee.
However, Brewers general manager Doug Melvin confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and MLB.com on Wednesday afternoon that Gamel's MRI taken after the game revealed a torn ACL, potentially ending his season.
The Brewers decided to send Gamel back to Milwaukee for further tests with the team's head physician, Dr. William Raasch.
Gamel injured his right knee chasing after a Nick Hundley foul pop-up in the first inning of Tuesday's loss in San Diego. The knee appeared to buckle just before he crashed into the padded wall. He stayed in the game immediately afterward but was pulled in favor of a pinch hitter during the second inning after looking uncomfortable in the on-deck circle.
Travis Ishikawa replaced Gamel at first base and was scheduled to start there Wednesday. During his postgame meeting with reporters, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke expressed concern that Gamel's injury could be serious.
"I felt pretty good when he stayed in the game," Roenicke said. "He seemed to be strong. Any time a guy walks off after trying to swing, you're going to be concerned about him. With the knee, there's so many things that you can tweak. Whether it's a slight tear or whatever the case may be, there's a lot going on."
The Brewers were counting on Gamel, 26, to be the team's everyday first baseman after the offseason departure of Prince Fielder in free agency.
In 21 games this season, Gamel is hitting .246 with one home run and six RBI. The team now will have to explore a long-term solution at first base, including possibly moving Corey Hart from right field to the position. Hart was supposed to get work at first base in spring training but missed most of camp after undergoing minor knee surgery on March 6. If Hart were to move to first base, it’s possible one of the team's three center fielders — Nyjer Morgan, Norichika Aoki or Carlos Gomez — could move to right field.
Utility infielder Brooks Conrad also could get a call-up from Triple-A Nashville, where he's batting .400 with five homers, to be a backup at first base.
