The Brewers have outrighted four players, per a club announcement, leaving the team’s 40-man roster with three openings. Milwaukee has dropped infielders Garin Cecchini and Jake Elmore, infielder/outfielder Andy Wilkins, and lefty Sean Nolin from the major league slate.
None of the moves are particularly surprising. Milwaukee is preparing for another winter in which the club figures not only to protect some of its own Rule 5 draft-eligible players, but also to seek undervalued assets that don’t stick with other organizations. The club lost outfielder Rymer Liriano via waivers earlier today as well.
Of course, some of the players now leaving the 40-man were brought in with hopes they’d thrive in a new environment. That is most apparent, perhaps, in the case of Cecchini, who was once a fairly highly regarded Red Sox prospect. He never earned a major league shot in Milwaukee after hitting .271/.325/.380 over 469 plate appearances at Triple-A, with 13 stolen bases and five home runs.
The 29-year-old Elmore is no stranger to this process. He has appeared in the majors in each of the last five years, every time with a different team. All said, he has produced a miserly .215/.297/.280 batting line in 478 trips to the plate, but continues to be seen around the league as a useful depth piece given his defensive versatility.
Wilkins, 28, has also bounced around a fair bit of late. He’s still looking for his first real shot at major league playing time, but hasn’t impressed at the Triple-A level since a strong 2014 campaign with the White Sox’ top affiliate. In 2016, he posted a .235/.321/.419 batting line with a dozen home runs in 374 plate appearances in the highest level of the minors.
As for Nolin, health problems have derailed his career. He had been acquired by the A’s as part of the deal that sent Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays, but Oakland gave up on him after one year and he was claimed by Milwaukee. The 26-year-old never ended up pitching competitively for the Brewers; after trying to stave off Tommy John surgery, he wound up going under the knife late in the summer. Nolin will likely miss most or all of the ensuing campaign.
I honestly thought there would’ve been a couple more outrighted. Wish they would’ve called up Garin up in September but that why I’m not the GM. Hopefully a couple can be invited as spring invites
Ah, another future Red Sox superstar haha
Haha? Betts-Bogart-Bradley-Lester and more
Give it a rest. Kids on MLB roster and those in other teams prove that nonsense. just because the powerhouse system doesn’t hit on all, some can’t hack it..
sure, there is the now and then middlebrooks and lars Anderson that got over hyped, but for each of those there was the Lester, Ellsbury, beets, reddick, bogarts, pedroia.. Could continue on and on.. That system has produced at least as many all stars as any other the last dozen years.
Prospects are prospects. Sometimes they turn into quality major leaguers, and sometimes they are AAAA players. There is something to retaining players who are performing well at the ML level.
I know we have more spots on the 40 man to open up when the season ends and guys that won’t be tendered . I was looking at possible rule5 losses and I think we have up to 7 or 8 guys that need to be protected
Surprised Cecchini didn’t catch on with a big league gig. Cecchini had a little Bill Mueller quality about him at the plate, a good quality to possess as a hitter. Best of luck to GC.