Brewers backstop Jacob Nottingham has undergone surgery on the radial collateral ligament of his left thumb, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy tweets. The procedure is said to have gone as anticipated.
Nottingham, who was injured during the postseason, will have just over two months to heal up before camp opens. The hope is that he’ll be a full go at or near the start of Spring Training.
This malady likely won’t have a big impact on the Brewers’ plans, particularly given the promising prognosis. If anything, it could nudge the organization to gather up a bit more catching depth.
Nottingham, 25, hit for enough power (.458 slugging percentage) to make up for a miserly .278 OBP in a twenty-game stretch with the Milwaukee organization in 2020. He stepped into the MLB fold after Manny Pina went down with an injury.
The Brewers ultimately elected to tender Pina a contract, making him the odds-on favorite to serve as the #2 backstop. Presumptive starter Omar Narvaez scuffled with the bat in his first season with the club, but seems sure to get a chance to redeem himself.
That leaves the out-of-options Nottingham with a need to make an impression in camp. If he shows well enough, and/or there are cracks in the Narvaez/Pina pairing, the Brewers could carry three backstops. If not, Nottingham may end up being dangled in trade or placed on the waiver wire.
In other news, the sewer system is working fine in Miller park.
Or… Let’s talk about the fact George Springer expects over $150 million dollars. If we had this conversation anywhere else it would be strategically buried below 256 comments so let’s have it here. That is ridiculous. Bauer asking “$36-40million AAV on a 5-6 year contract” is even more ridiculous. Now that McCann signed with the Mets, Realmuto is clearly going to finish a distant 3rd in free agent contracts. The numbers these guys are asking for don’t leave anything for their supporting cast. You can say owners should rays payroll all you want. They won’t. The end result is these players are asking for contracts that they know will be a payroll cancer to the teams they sign with. What kind of team player is that? Thank you Freddie Freeman for announcing you would take a discount after an MVP season to help your team. These other guys clearly won’t and that’s why Freddie’s team will always have a better chance of winning against them.
I have no issue with players getting as much money as the market will give them. Sure, it would help the team out a little bit if they would take a discount, but if you were a professional ball player, would you seriously take less money than what teams are willing to offer you? I highly doubt it. If a team has a good front office, they can work around expensive contracts in order to field a competitive team.
Under the current structure it makes sense to start high in negotiations. I do agree that taking a bit less so team can add more talent makes sense in the right situation.
Back to the Brewers. I’ll point out to Jeff Todd that they already added catcher depth; I think they have six catchers on 40 man roster now.
Brewers need to upgrade elsewhere where needs are greater. Obviously they need help at infield corners.
Good point bovine
*American Family Field
He could be a possible rebound player like Burnes was last year. I look for him to make the team and play some firstbase as a back up there too. His defense has come a long way now its time for the offense and power to do so
How is he a rebound player when he’s never established himself as a major league player? He can’t rebound when he’s never had a breakout season.
It could nudge them to get some catching depth??? They have 6 catchers on the 40 man roster .
most of them inspire little confidence
I remember seeing him try and catch after he suffered this injury, it was heartbreaking. It is a nasty injury, especially if you are a catcher. I wonder if the catcher’s mitt he used had a defect? I hope Not A Ham has a full recovery.
This dude rakes and hits bombs.