Brewers Rumors

Minor Deals: Brewers, Clevlen, Alaniz, Boleska

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 13, 2011 at 3:50pm CDT

The D'Backs released Ron Mahay and the Mariners claimed Jeff Gray. Here are the rest of today's minor moves…

The Brewers released Alex Periard and Demetrius McKelvie, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (Twitter links).
The Reds signed Brent Clevlen, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Clevlen, a former top prospect who's now 27, has big league experience with the Tigers and Braves.
The Phillies released Adrian Alaniz, according to Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus (on Twitter). The 27-year-old right-hander struggled in eight appearances at Class A this year, posting a 7.71 ERA. He has a 3.19 ERA with 7.8 K/0 and 3.0 BB/9 in five minor league seasons, but has yet to pitch above Double-A.
The Pirates released Double-A right-hander Tom Boleska, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). Boleska, a 24-year-old right-hander, has a 2.73 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in five minor league seasons, but has struggled in 12 appearances at Double-A this year.
The Mets acquired Bubba Bell from the Indians and assigned him to Triple-A, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter). The Indians acquired Bell from the Red Sox in March and he hit .292/.346/.375 at Triple-A..

NL Central Links: All Six Teams

By Tim Dierkes | May 11, 2011 at 9:14am CDT

The Cardinals lead the NL Central by one game over the Reds. A link for each of the six teams:

The $680MM deal to sell the Astros to Jim Crane's group "could be completed as early as next week," report Zachary Levine and Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle. Ownership of the club could be tranferred to Crane "as early as July," they write. Crane is believed to prefer having an agreement in place before the June 6th draft, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
Pirates reliever Jose Ascanio's rehab period ends today, reports Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and the team must decide whether to add the out of options righty to the 25-man roster or risk losing him to another team. The 26-year-old has been battling shoulder and elbow injuries, but MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch wrote Monday that adding him to the big league bullpen is the most likely move.
You read yesterday about the hug heard 'round the Midwest, as Cubs GM Jim Hendry embraced Albert Pujols before the game at Wrigley. The hug means next to nothing; as CSN's Patrick Mooney points out, Hendry has tons of connections throughout the industry. Still, it can't hurt to note that Cubs owner Tom Ricketts shook hands with the free agent to be as well.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has begun an "open-ended convalescence" in the words of Joe Strauss' source, as he recovers from shingles. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter says La Russa "will miss the rest of the team's current road trip and perhaps significantly more time."
Despite allowing five runs and nine hits in six innings, Brewers offseason acquisition Shaun Marcum picked up his fourth win yesterday. Marcum is showing no ill effects from his springtime shoulder stiffness; his 4.17 K/BB ratio ranks sixth in the NL. With a strong season I can see him getting close to $10MM for 2012, his final arbitration year.
Aroldis Chapman won't be sent to the minors to work out his issues, Reds manager Dusty Baker told John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The hard-throwing lefty has allowed at least one run and two walks in each of his last three appearances.

Quick Hits: Red Sox, Twins, Abreu, Boggs

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 6, 2011 at 3:20pm CDT

On this date in 2007, the Yankees signed Roger Clemens as a free agent. Clemens would pitch 99 innings for the Yankees with a 4.18 ERA, 6.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 before calling it a career. The Yankees made the playoffs that year before losing to the Indians in the Division Series. Here are today's links:

As Alex Speier of WEEI.com points out, investing heavily in relief pitching is risky. Though it's early, Boston's expensive, revamped bullpen has struggled and Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler are now on the DL.
Twins GM Bill Smith told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Joe Mauer, now on the DL with bilateral leg weakness, will “get back to being Joe Mauer.”
Bobby Abreu told Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes.com that he plans to play three or four more years (link in Spanish). Abreu would like to reach 300 homers (he has 277), 400 steals (he has 376) and 600 doubles (he has 532) to boost his Cooperstown credentials.
Brandon Boggs accepted his Triple-A assignment and was recalled to take the place of Nyjer Morgan, who is on the DL, the team announced.

Outrighted: Boggs, Bowker, Alan Johnson

By Tim Dierkes | May 4, 2011 at 6:52pm CDT

Today's notes on recently-outrighted players:

The Brewers sent Brandon Boggs outright to Triple-A to create roster space for Zack Greinke, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter). Boggs has three days to choose between Triple-A and free agency.
Pirates outfielder John Bowker cleared waivers and was assigned to the team's Triple-A affiliate, according to their Twitter account. Bowker had been designated to clear a spot for waiver claim Xavier Paul.
Same goes for Rockies' righty Alan Johnson, according to the Pacific Coast League's transactions page. The Rockies had designated Johnson for assignment to create 40-man roster space for Alfredo Amezaga. Johnson made his MLB debut for the Rockies this year, when he started on April 17th.

Brewers Acquire Jordan Brown

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 2, 2011 at 4:21pm CDT

The Brewers acquired minor leaguer Jordan Brown from the Indians for cash considerations, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (on Twitter). The move creates roster space for returning Rule 5 pick Josh Rodriguez at Triple-A, according to MLB.com's Jordan Bastian (on Twitter).

Brown, a 27-year-old first baseman/outfielder, debuted with the Indians in 2010 and had spent the first month of the 2011 season at Triple-A. He has a .278/.373/.472 line at Columbus one month into his seventh minor league season (his fourth at Triple-A). The 2005 fourth round pick has a .305/.369/.471 line in 2523 minor league games. However, he struggled through 26 big league games last year, hitting .230/.272/.310 in 92 plate appearances.

Rosenthal On Mariners, Bautista, Machado, Rays

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 2, 2011 at 3:43pm CDT

The depth of the Indians’ rotation is their biggest question, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Now that Carlos Carrasco and Mitch Talbot are on the disabled list, the Tribe’s other options are being tested. Here’s Rosenthal’s latest from around the league:

The Mariners have the resources to bring in additional veterans when they want to, according to Rosenthal.
Jose Bautista, one of the top players in the game right now, is impressing just about everyone, including his own skipper. “His game awareness is as good as you’re going to get,” manager John Farrell told Rosenthal. “His ability in that regard takes him to another level."
A scout told Rosenthal that Manny Machado “looks like a man playing with little boys.” The Orioles selected the 18-year-old shortstop prospect with the third overall pick in last year’s draft and he has a 1.090 OPS in Class A.
The Rays may need to upgrade over Casey Kotchman at first base, but a definitive improvement may be difficult to find. The Brewers are likely to keep Prince Fielder, as Rosenthal points out.

NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Braun, Pena, Pirates

By Luke Adams 2 | May 1, 2011 at 12:35pm CDT

After losing five of their first seven games, the Cardinals went 14-5 to finish April with a two-game lead in the NL Central. As the Cards attempt to extend their current winning streak to five games this afternoon behind Jaime Garcia, here's a roundup of today's NL Central-related links:

The ninth inning carousel in St. Louis has been the team's achilles heel so far, says Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Ryan Franklin is out as the closer and is in the final year of his contract, but GM John Mozeliak doesn't know who the Cardinals' closer of the future is yet. "This season will dictate if [Mitchell] Boggs or [Jason] Motte or [Eduardo] Sanchez is the answer," he said. "It's a little early to render that verdict."
Farm director John Vuch tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the Cardinals have placed an emphasis on acquiring power arms in recent years.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports digs into the specifics of Ryan Braun's long-term contract extension with the Brewers.
Carlos Pena isn't the first big free agent bat to get off to a slow start for the Cubs, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Despite a poor April, Pena still believes he can be a "huge contributor" in Chicago.
The promotion of former fourth overall pick Danny Moskos gives the Pirates two left-handed relievers, something that manager Clint Hurdle was hoping for heading into the season, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Braun, Castro

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 26, 2011 at 9:47pm CDT

Every club but the Astros is within two games of first place in the NL Central, where Joey Votto is following his MVP season up with a phenomenal start. Here's the latest from baseball's biggest division…

The Brewers have signed infielders Hainley Statia and Angel Gonzalez to minor league deals and assigned them to extended Spring Training, according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (on Twitter).
Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. told McCalvy that he was pleased to see Ryan Braun sign long-term in Milwaukee, where he is under contract through 2020. Ripken, of course, spent his entire 21-year career with the Orioles.
Starlin Castro committed three errors in one inning yesterday, but as Yahoo's Jeff Passan explains, the 21-year-old shortstop has overcome bigger obstacles than that. Before he signed with the Cubs, Castro's father took him out on a fishing boat in the Dominican Republic and gave him a taste of a life he might have known if he hadn't become a pro ballplayer.

Gabe Gross Retires

By Tim Dierkes | April 26, 2011 at 7:33am CDT

Gabe Gross has decided to retire, reports Jon Johnson of The Enterprise Ledger. Said Gross:

"I just felt like my heart wasn’t into it. This and quitting football are the two hardest decisions I’ve ever made."

Gross signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in February, and after a March release he was ready to hang up his cleats. But then he took the Marlins up on an offer last week. When his Sunday physical was delayed, he thought about it for an extra day and decided to retire to spend time with his wife and two kids.

The 31-year-old finishes his career having earned approximately $5MM, including his signing bonus as the 15th overall pick out of Auburn by the Blue Jays in 2001. He posted a .239/.330/.385 line in seven seasons for the Jays, Brewers, Rays, and Athletics. Gross was involved in the 2005 deal in which the Jays also sent Dave Bush to the Brewers for Lyle Overbay.

Quick Hits: Dodgers, Brewers, Sampson, Yankees

By Zachary Links | April 24, 2011 at 3:57pm CDT

Some links for Sunday afternoon..

The Dodgers have become an embarrassment to the sport of baseball, writes Troy Renck of The Denver Post.
Brewers right fielder Corey Hart is set to return on Tuesday and the club will have to clear a roster spot, writes MLB.com's Adam McCalvy. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, both Erick Almonte and the recently-promoted Brandon Boggs are out of options.
Although Chris Sampson was somewhat shocked on April 1st when he learned that the Rockies would be releasing him, he was optimisitic that opportunities would likely fall into his lap toward the end of April, writes Stephen Goff of Examiner.com. Sampson signed a minor-league deal with the Marlins yesterday.
Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald sees Jarrod Saltalamacchia's coronation as the Red Sox's starting catcher as being indicative of the lack of catching depth in the majors.
Cutter Dykstra isn't exactly expected to accomplish what his father did, writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The 21-year-old was recently shipped to the Nationals from the Brewers.
The Yankees no longer have the largest payroll of any sports team on the planet as a pair of soccer teams have unseated them, according to Nick Harris of Sporting Intelligence.

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