Brewers will open with Stephen Vogt on the DL, leaving Piña and Bandy as their catchers

PHOENIX – The Milwaukee Brewers aren’t sure when catcher Stephen Vogt will be able to play this season, but when he is ready, they want him on their club.

With that in mind, the Brewers decided that Vogt, sidelined with a strained right shoulder, will open the season on the disabled list, ending speculation he might be released rather than pay his $3.065 million salary, which was not guaranteed. That money becomes guaranteed on opening day, DL or not.

“The more we talked about it internally, we began to get a better understanding of Stephen’s timeline, the extent of the injury,” Brewers general manager David Stearns said Sunday. “We want him here. Stephen brings a lot to this team.

“Part of it is what he does on the field, which we all see. Part of it also is what he does in our clubhouse, the type of presence he has become here, what he brought to us last year when we acquired him, and what he continues to be this year.”

Vogt has been shut down from throwing for much of camp with the shoulder strain.  He tried to work through it recently but was unable to do so, and currently is restricted from any throwing.

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Vogt, 33, was claimed off waivers from Oakland on June 25 last season. In 45 games, he batted .254 with eight homers and 20 RBI but had issues throwing out runners, catching just one of 28 on steal attempts. Vogt worked hard over the winter to build up his arm and shoulder but suffered the strain nevertheless.

As for how long Vogt will be sidelined, Stearns said, “It’s probably at least a two-to-four-week no-throw. Then, it’s plyometric drills to get back. So, it’s certainly into the regular season. It’s probably a good couple of weeks to a month into the regular season. Then, we’ll take it from there.

“I’m not going to put a firm time frame on it. At the end of the day, this is a shoulder strain. These take different amounts of time to get back to normal. We’re not really going to know when we turn a corner until Stephen starts throwing and throws without pain.”

Vogt’s injury likely prevents the Brewers from having to make a tough decision on Jett Bandy, who is out of minor-league options. Manny Piña likely will play more once the season begins, with Bandy backing him up.

“That’s our plan right now,” Stearns said. “There’s always the possibility of external acquisition, throughout our team, between now and opening day. But our plan right now is that Manny and Jett will be our main two catchers.”

There are other decisions looming for Stearns and his staff. If Ryan Braun is going to double as a left fielder/first baseman, and the Brewers keep 13 pitchers, there doesn’t appear to be room for Jesús Aguilar, who was very productive as the backup first baseman last year (16 HRs, 52 RBI).

“That’s one of a number of ‘crunch points’ we have to sort through over the next couple of weeks,” Stearns said. “There are a number of different configurations we can go through. Some of them have the extra position player. Some of them have the extra pitcher.

“We haven’t made a decision on that, either, but we’re talking about it. Some of it has to do with how all of these pieces are going to fit together, where we’re going to get playing time for various guys.”

The Brewers still have two rotation spots to fill behind Chase Anderson, Zach Davies and Jhoulys Chacín. Lefties Wade Miley and Brent Suter appear to have the edge but Junior Guerra, the 2017 opening day starter, and rookie Brandon Woodruff remain in the discussion.

“I would imagine that will go pretty darn close to the end (of camp),” Stearns said. “We’re in no rush. We’ve got plenty of time. I know it doesn’t feel like it but we’ve still got time. We’re going to gather all the information we can, and then come to a decision.”

The Miley decision must come before the end of camp. He has a clause in his contract that allows him to ask for his release if not placed on the big-league roster by Thursday. The Brewers would have 48 hours to either add him to the roster or grant his release.