PHOENIX – Corey Hart underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, and the procedure was successful, leaving his estimated return sometime in the range of 3 to 4 weeks.
Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said the news was good and that Hart would begin his rehabilitation as early as Wednesday.
"Dr. (William) Raasch is pretty confident with what he did,” Roenicke said. "Hopefully, Corey reacts to it and everything goes smooth there."
Roenicke said Hart's injury could impact the team's opening day roster. Hart had been getting a refresher course in playing first base this spring in order to provide some backup for rookie Mat Gamel. But should he start the year on the disabled list, which appears likely, Roenicke will need to find some coverage at first.
Two players fighting for a roster spot could have the inside track, though neither projects as a regular first baseman: prospect Taylor Green and utility man Brooks Conrad, whom the Brewers signed in January.
Green is the less likely of the two to get time at first, both because he's as inexperienced as Gamel and, like Gamel, is a left-handed batter. Roenicke said Conrad could fill in at first if needed and as a switch hitter, taking on left-handed pitching.
No worries: Oakland held the Brewers to just two hits Tuesday, and through the first three games, Milwaukee batters are hitting just .158 (15-for-95).
Roenicke isn't concerned with those numbers.
"It's so early," Roenicke said. "I'd much rather them do that than just go up there and hack. I'm OK with what they're doing. I know sometimes they get frustrated when they're not getting hits."
Family matters: Rickie Weeks led off the Brewers' first inning with a walk but got caught in a rundown attempting to steal second.
Attempting to slide back to first base, Weeks was tagged out by his own brother, Jemile, the A's starting second baseman, who applied a bit of a tackle as his older brother tried to get back.
The younger Weeks, who made his debut with Oakland last season, said no words were exchanged between the brothers, who have been playing with and against each other for years.
Jemile said there was nothing extra on the tag itself.
"I probably didn't need to tackle him, though," he joked.
Rickie Weeks was the Brewers' designated hitter for the third time in as many games and will likely fill that role again Wednesday as he continues to recover from offseason surgery on his ankle. Roenicke Weeks played catch Tuesday but still had some issues.
"He played catch today and still felt it a little bit," Roenicke said. "Right now I'm planning on DHing him again. I think this is just kind of making sure it goes away. Rickie says he can play, but I told him, let's get rid of it. It's early enough in camp."
Marcum sits out: Starting pitcher Shaun Marcum was held out of all action Tuesday and will remain shut down through at least Wednesday and possibly Thursday, also after experiencing soreness in his right shoulder. As a result, his first start, originally scheduled for March 10, has been pushed back.
He declined to discuss the injury prior to the Brewers' game against Oakland.
Should Marcum be unable to resume throwing, Roenicke is confident the team will be able to find a suitable replacement in-house. Right-hander Marco Rivera filled in last season when Zack Greinke started the season on the disabled list and made a few spot starts along the way while also working out of the bullpen.
Roenicke also suggested that some of the organization's best pitching prospects could be ready for a big-league start, should the need arise. Mike Fiers and Wily Peralta would be the leading candidates and are expected to open the season at Class AAA Nashville.
"Those three, we think, are ready to pitch in the big leagues," Roenicke said. "If something happens during the season, that's who we're looking at. Now, things always change. You saw that with Estrada last year -- we didn't bring him into camp, we had a need, he comes over and pitches for us and all of a sudden, he was our guy."
Quick hits: Manny Parra made his first appearance of the season on Tuesday, throwing a scoreless inning and recording a strikeout with a walk and a hit … Roenicke said he will likely keep playing reigning NL MVP Ryan Braun on an every-other-game basis for most of camp … Starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo struck out four of the seven batters he faced Tuesday.
He said it: "I can only head in one direction from here. The overwhelming odds are that I'm going to put one in fair territory one of these days." – Ryan Braun, after going 0-for-2 Tuesday with a strikeout. Braun is 0-for-4 this spring with three strikeouts
On deck: After morning workouts at Maryvale Baseball Park, the Brewers will make the trek to Glendale to take on the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch. Right-hander Marco Estrada will start for the Brewers while the White Sox will start Jake Peavy in the 2 p.m. CST contest.
