The good news for Sal Frelick and the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday was further imaging showed no structural damage to his left hip.

The bad news was that the outfielder is still hobbled significantly – so much so that he was utilizing a crutch to maneuver around, which would seem to indicate that Frelick's availability for the upcoming wild-card round is unlikely at best.

"Pretty sore and stiff this morning, obviously. It's usually the worst the next morning, after you sleep on it," said Frelick. He injured the hip in the third inning of the Brewers' 8-4 victory over the New York Mets on Friday when he collided with a cutout in the right-field wall while chasing a foul ball.

"The relatively good news is everything's intact," Frelick continued. "There's a muscle that protects the pelvis and kind of supports it, and that's what took the full brunt of the hit, which is good because it did its job. But it's pretty crushed so there's a pretty bad contusion that's pretty much what's not allowing me to walk.

"It's kind of just how fast can we get that muscle back working and activated because it's just kind of shut off right now from the impact. That's all I know from what the docs told me."

While Frelick's offensive contributions have been relatively modest this season (.259 average, two homers, 32 RBI, 18 stolen bases) the second-year pro has been tremendous defensively in the outfield and particularly in right.

Frelick has accounted for seven outs above average (21st among all outfielders) and 16 defensive runs saved (ninth-best in the majors and fourth-best among outfielders).

Garrett Mitchell becomes the primary option in right with Frelick sidelined, manager Pat Murphy said. Also considered a plus defender, Mitchell's seen twice as much time in center this season as he has in right.

“One of the best defenders in baseball in right field," is how Murphy described Frelick. "Garrett’s not as experienced in right field. He’s not as good as Sal (defensively). Not taking any shot at Garrett; Garrett’s a terrific player, and he’s got a huge future.

"Sal’s got the experience and has played that position. It’s one of his fortes. It hurts us. It’s not about the numbers. It’s what he means to the club.”

Milwaukee has until Tuesday to ponder its potential outfield alignments, and Saturday's lineup against the Mets had rookie Isaac Collins in left, Mitchell in center and Jackson Chourio in right.

Murphy said no definitive call on Frelick's availability will be made until it absolutely needs to be.

"Nobody has ruled (Frelick) out," Murphy said. "The fact that he can’t walk on his own makes it less likely. Daunting. Less likely to be anytime soon. We’re going to slow-play it and not make a decision on the roster until we absolutely have to.”

More: Who do you want the Milwaukee Brewers to play first in the playoffs? Here's how you voted.

Murphy was asked whether it made sense for Frelick to go all out on a play he had relatively little chance of making in a game that had little meaning for the Brewers, who were already locked into the No. 3 spot in the NL playoff picture.

“I think that’s how you get hurt, is when you try to play careful," he said. "There’s no place for 'careful' in highly competitive sports. Having a quarterback slide and what it means to have a quarterback slide, it’s different. Sal was trying to make one of his many great catches. He gives an all-out effort every time, and there’s hazards with that.

"You tell a running back not to go full speed and he can really get hurt. You tell a fighter to not knock a guy out, and he can get really hurt. You can tell a basketball player don’t go hard, he could get hurt. The game is played at a certain speed. It’s hard to throttle that down.

"Now, you’re playing at Wrigley, there’s hazards everywhere. He did not suspect there was a hazard there.”

Murphy was noticeably emotional when speaking to reporters about Frelick's status.

“This guy’s a huge part of our team, one of the best defenders on the team," he said. "We’re a team where defense is really important to us. He’s one of our key defensive players. Offensively he puts it in play and makes big things happen. He can cause havoc on the bases.

"It’s kind of our identity, and that’s taking a little piece our of our deal.

"It’s a big loss."

More: With lots going on for his Mets, David Stearns makes his return to Milwaukee

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sal Frelick's availability for Brewers in the playoffs is in doubt