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Brewers Sign Dee Strange-Gordon

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April 21: The Brewers have now formally announced their minor league agreement with Strange-Gordon. He’s been assigned to their alternate training site for the time being.

April 8: The Brewers have agreed to a minor league contract with infielder/outfielder Dee Strange-Gordon, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets.

Milwaukee will be the second straight National League Central organization for Strange-Gordon, who spent time with Cincinnati during the offseason and in the spring. The Reds ended up releasing him toward the end of March, and though Strange-Gordon subsequently rejected minors offers from other teams, he’ll now settle for one a little over a week into the season.

While the 32-year-old Strange-Gordon has an accomplished resume – two All-Star bids, an NL batting title, a Gold Glove Award and three seasons with at least 58 stolen bases – the former Dodger, Marlin and Mariner has struggled recently. From 2018-20 in Seattle, Strange-Gordon batted a meek .266/.293/.343 (good for a 73 wRC+) in 1,091 trips to the plate. Strange-Gordon stole 55 bags in that span and saw time in the middle infield and multiple outfield positions, but the Mariners made the easy decision to decline his $14MM club option in favor of a $1MM buyout after last season.

Now that he’s joining the Brewers, Strange-Gordon will give the team some middle infield depth behind Kolten Wong and Luis Urias after it dealt Orlando Arcia to the Braves on Tuesday. The Brewers’ outfield boasts Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Avisail Garcia as regulars, while Daniel Robertson and Billy McKinney are on their bench.

Neil Walker Announces Retirement

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Longtime major league second baseman Neil Walker has retired from baseball at the age of 35. Walker broke the news to Sweeny Murti of WFAN as a guest on the “30 for Murti” podcast.

A Pittsburgh native, Walker was a first-round pick (No. 11) of his hometown Pirates in 2004. Five years later, Walker made a 17-game big league debut, and he became both a regular and a consistently solid contributor beginning the next season. During a 3,386-plate appearance run from 2010-15, the switch-hitting Walker put up five seasons of at least 2.4 fWAR (including a career-high 4.1 in 2014, when he won a Silver Slugger Award) and batted .273/.338/.443 with 93 home runs.

Walker’s time with the Pirates concluded when they traded him to the Mets for left-hander Jon Niese prior to the 2016 campaign. The move didn’t work out at all for the Bucs, with whom Niese’s production spiraled, though Walker continued to perform well in Queens. He batted .275/.344/.462 and smacked 33 HRs over 757 PA in a Mets uniform in parts of two seasons, but with the team out of contention late in 2017, it traded him to the Brewers for the stretch run.

Walker didn’t re-sign with the Brewers, instead returning to New York n a one-year, $4MM guarantee with the Yankees. With a .219/.309/.354 line in 398 trips to the plate, Walker turned in his worst offensive season as a regular in 2018. He enjoyed somewhat of a bounce-back campaign the next season on a $2MM deal as a member of the Marlins, though he still had to settle for a minor league contract with the Phillies going into 2020. While Walker did make it to the majors for a 12th straight season, he struggled enough over 18 games that the Phillies designated him for assignment in September.

Although Walker had a less-than-ideal ending, he still enjoyed a far more successful and lucrative career than the vast majority of major leaguers. He’ll end with a .267/.338/.426 line, 149 homers and 21.6 fWAR/19.6 rWAR across 1,306 games and 5,152 trips to the plate. Walker also earned nearly $52MM in the bigs, per Baseball-Reference.com.

MLBTR congratulates Walker on an impressive career and wishes him the best in retirement.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Brewers To Place Christian Yelich On Injured List

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4:34 PM: Eric Yardley has been recalled to take Yelich’s roster spot, per the team. As expected, Yelich’s placement on the injured list is retroactive to April 14th, which should make him available to return next weekend.

3:34 PM: After holding Christian Yelich out of game action for the past week with an ailing back, the Brewers will now place their star outfielder on the injured list, per the Athletic’s Will Sammon and others (via Twitter). The corresponding roster move is yet to come.

Yelich has dealt with a back issue throughout his time in Milwaukee, but it’s usually been the type of injury that improves with a few days rest. At this point, if Yelich still isn’t quite ready for action, they may as well use his roster spot to add another potential contributor. Because he hasn’t appeared in a game since April 11th, Yelich will be able to return from the injured list in just a couple of days. Still, in the meantime, the Brewers can bring in another body for the rest of the weekend series. The Brewers head west for a three-game series in San Diego on Monday.

The Brewers once-deep outfield has suffered a couple of injuries this week. Lorenzo Cain was placed on the injured list a couple of days ago, as was second baseman Kolten Wong. Without Cain or Yelich, Jackie Bradley Jr. is the man in center, Avisail Garcia is back in right, with Billy McKinney, Tyrone Taylor, Jace Peterson, and Daniel Robertson capable of piecing together the action in left.

NL Injury Notes: Yelich, Cardinals, Inciarte, Lester

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Although Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich hasn’t appeared in a game since Sunday, the team doesn’t seem overly concerned about his ailing back. Manager Craig Counsell said Yelich began baseball activities Thursday and is “making progress,” per Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Counsell likened Yelich’s current back ailment to the ones that he dealt with in previous seasons, noting that the former MVP didn’t require an IL stint in those cases and was able to return within a few days.

  • Cardinals center fielder Harrison Bader is 10 to 14 days from being a “full go,” manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Katie Woo of The Athletic) on Friday. The Cardinals have been without Bader since he suffered a forearm injury in late March, mostly leaving center to Dylan Carlson thus far. Meanwhile, right-hander Miles Mikolas threw a second “aggressive” bullpen and is making favorable progress, according to Shildt. Mikolas didn’t pitch at all last season as he recovered from surgery on his flexor tendon, and he suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of March that has stopped him from taking the mound this year. A healthy Mikolas would be a welcome addition for the Cardinals, whose rotation has begun 2021 in dreadful fashion. Their starters rank last in the majors with a 6.33 ERA.
  • Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte appears ticketed for a trip to the 10-day IL after suffering a strained hamstring Friday, David O’Brien of The Athletic writes. Inciarte would be the second Braves center fielder to hit the IL this week, joining starter Cristian Pache. Behind Inciarte, Guillermo Heredia has the most center field experience of anyone on Atlanta’s roster. Superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. played 100 games there in 2019 and spent the majority of last season there, but the Braves are reluctant to move him out of right field, per O’Brien, who names Phil Ervin and Abraham Almonte as call-up possibilities. Ervin and Almonte aren’t on the Braves’ 40-man roster, which does have an open spot at the moment.
  • Nationals left-hander Jon Lester got through a three-inning, 49-pitch sim game on Friday without any issues, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com relays. Manager Dave Martinez believes Lester would be able to toss up to four innings right now, but the Nationals want to stretch him out further before he joins their rotation. There still isn’t a timetable for his 2021 debut, Martinez added. Multiple health issues have hampered Lester since the Nationals signed him to a one-year, $5MM guarantee in free agency. He underwent surgery to remove his thyroid gland at the beginning of March and has been in COVID-19 protocols for most of this month.

NL Injury Notes: Braves, Myers, Betances, Cain

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The Braves don’t have a timetable yet for injured right-handers Mike Soroka and Chris Martin to return, per David O’Brien of The Athletic. Soroka missed almost all of last season with a torn right Achilles, and as he was working his way back, the Braves had to shut him down because of shoulder inflammation. Martin went on the IL with the same issue on April 10 (retroactive to April 7). Between their injuries and Max Fried’s placement on the IL because of a hamstring strain, the Braves are without three of their most important pitchers.

  • Padres right fielder Wil Myers left their game Tuesday with right knee inflammation and was not in their starting lineup Wednesday. Myers has been dealing with patellar tenonitis, but it’s not believed he’ll miss much time or require surgery, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Even though Myers has had to play through discomfort, it hasn’t had an obvious effect on his production. On the heels of a massive rebound in 2020, he has begun this year with a torrid .341/.438/.659 line and three home runs in 48 plate appearances.
  • Mets reliever Dellin Betances, on the 10-day IL since April 8 with a right shoulder impingement, is still a ways from returning. Betances hasn’t begun throwing, and he won’t travel with the Mets for their April 16-22 road trip, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports. Injuries have been a constant problem over the past few years for Betances, a four-time All-Star who has thrown only 13 1/3 innings dating back to his final season with the Yankees in 2019. The Mets had high hopes for a Betances bounce-back effort when they signed him to a $10.5MM guarantee during the ensuing winter, but he yielded 10 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings in 2020. So far this year, Betances has made one appearance and thrown one inning, in which he allowed an earned run and a walk.
  • The Brewers have placed center fielder Lorenzo Cain on the 10-day IL with a strained left quad and recalled outfielder Tyrone Taylor, the team announced. There’s no word on how much time Cain will miss, but he strained his other quad during the spring and was limited to seven exhibition games as a result. The 35-year-old has gotten off to a slow start this season with a .154/.214/.423 line in 28 plate appearances.

NL Central Notes: Sonny, Hendricks, Kim, Cain

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Here is the latest out of the National League Central:

  • Reds right-hander Sonny Gray will make his 2021 debut Friday or Saturday, manager David Bell told C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic and other reporters. The Reds have gone without Gray because of a back injury, depriving them of one of their best starters. Their Gray-less rotation has received quality work across a combined six starts from Wade Miley, Jeff Hoffman and Tyler Mahle. On the other hand, ace Luis Castillo has been surprisingly inconsistent.
  • Cubs righty Kyle Hendricks wasn’t feeling well heading into Tuesday’s start, so the Cubs made him a late scratch against Milwaukee and gave the ball to Alec Mills instead. The team said it scratched Hendricks “out of an abundance of caution,” which is understandable when considering the Cubs’ current health situation. They’ve sent four players to the COVID list this week, and coaches Craig Driver and Chris Young have tested positive for the virus in recent days. [UPDATE: Manager told Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago and other reporters that Hendricks tested negative. An IL placement is a possibility, though.]
  • Lefty Kwang Hyun Kim will join the Cardinals’ rotation on Saturday in his first appearance of 2021, while righty Daniel Ponce de Leon will move to their bullpen, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Kim, who began dealing with back problems last month, was an eminently valuable part of the Cardinals’ pitching staff as a rookie in 2020. Across eight appearances (seven starts) and 39 innings, Kim notched a miserly 1.62 ERA. Some of his other numbers weren’t nearly as impressive (examples: 7.8 K-BB percentage, 5.00 SIERA), but he helped his cause by tamping down hard contact and keeping the ball on the ground at a 50 percent clip.
  • Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain exited their game versus Chicago with “left quad discomfort,” Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. The Brewers shifted Jackie Bradley Jr. to center and brought in Billy McKinney to handle left when Cain departed. Cain also dealt with a quad issue (on his right side) in spring training, but that didn’t prevent him from debuting on time this season. It remains to be seen whether this will cost him any time.

Christian Yelich, Travis Shaw Day-To-Day After Leaving Brewers’ Game

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4:40 pm: It doesn’t seem there’s much cause for concern. Manager Craig Counsell says Yelich is day-to-day with lower back tightness (via Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal). Third baseman Travis Shaw is also day-to-day after leaving the game with a right shin contusion. It’s possible both players are back in the lineup for tomorrow’s contest against the Cubs.

2:34 pm: Brewers star outfielder Christian Yelich left this afternoon’s game against the Cardinals in the second inning, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was among those to note (Twitter link). He’s dealing with back soreness, per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com (via Twitter).

Jackie Bradley Jr. replaced Yelich in left field. Bradley, Lorenzo Cain and Avisaíl García would make up the Brewers outfield on most days if Yelich is forced to miss any time, with Billy McKinney on hand as depth. Of course, there’s no indication at this point Yelich’s removal was anything more than due caution.

The 2019 National League MVP, Yelich had a down year (by his lofty standards) during the shortened 2020 season. He’s off to a rather bizarre start in 2021. Yelich already has ten hits and six walks over his first 37 plate appearances, but he’s also struck out twelve times and has yet to hit a home run.

Brewers Place Kolten Wong On 10-Day IL

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2:10PM: Wong’s injury may be “on the minor side,” manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).  A firmer timeline will be established after Wong undergoes more treatment, but the team is hopeful he won’t be out of action for much beyond the 10-day minimum.

10:28AM: The Brewers have officially announced the moves, placing Wong on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain.  Peterson’s minor league contract was selected, and to create a 40-man roster spot, righty Bobby Wahl was moved to the 60-day injured list.

10:03AM: The Brewers are placing second baseman Kolten Wong on the 10-day injured list due to an oblique injury, FanSided’s Robert Murray writes.  Utilityman Jace Peterson will be called up to take Wong’s spot on the active roster.

An IL stint seemed likely for Wong considering that he missed Wednesday’s game and then was forced into an early exit from Thursday’s game due to the same oblique problem.  No timetable is yet known for Wong’s return, as oblique injuries can sometimes require several weeks of recovery time based on the severity of the issue.

Even a shorter-term absence is an unfortunate outcome for both Wong and the Brewers, as the former Gold Glover just joined the team on a two-year, $18MM free agent contract during the offseason.  Wong’s injury also emerged just two days after Milwaukee traded shortstop Orlando Arcia to the Braves, so the Brewers are now even more short-handed in the infield.

The left-handed hitting Peterson and the right-handed hitting Daniel Robertson could form a second base platoon while Wong is out of action, with Travis Shaw and Luis Urias remaining as the everyday options at third base and shortstop, respectively.  Keston Hiura could also see some time at his old second base position, if the Brewers wanted to move him away from first base and give Daniel Vogelbach some playing time.  Dee Strange-Gordon just recently signed to a minor league deal for additional depth (perhaps essentially as Arcia’s replacement) and could see some time with the big league team in relatively short order depending on how the Brewers juggle the roster.

NL Injury Notes: Wong, Akiyama, Goldy, Davis

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Brewers second baseman Kolten Wong departed the team’s game against the Cardinals on Thursday after re-aggravating his left oblique, manager Craig Counsell told Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal and other reporters. It’s the same issue that kept Wong from playing Wednesday, and Counsell said (via Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) there’s a “distinct possibility” that he’ll require a trip to the injured list. Wong, previously with St. Louis, joined the Brewers on a two-year, $18MM contract during the offseason. If he does have to miss time shortly into his Brewers tenure, it would be another blow to the middle infield depth of a team that traded Orlando Arcia to Atlanta earlier this week. The Brewers did add veteran Dee Strange-Gordon on a minor league contract Thursday, though Daniel Robertson – who replaced Wong when he exited – would be the favorite to handle most of the reps at the keystone.

  • The Reds are planning to have Shogo Akiyama back with the team in early-to-mid May, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). Akiyama started slowly for the Red last season, but he was able to adjust and post a strong second half. At least so far, however, the Reds have managed just fine without him. Tyler Naquin has helped fill the void with a massive start to the season. With Nick Senzel, Jesse Winker, Nick Castellanos, and Aristides Aquino on the roster, the Reds are in no real hurry to upset the apple cart, so to speak.
  • Paul Goldschmidt was scratched from today’s Cardinals game because of lower back tightness, per MLB.com’s Zachary Silver (via Twitter). The move was precautionary, so presumably the Cardinals don’t expect this to lead to an IL placement. Manager Mike Shildt said after the game that Goldschmidt’s day to day, and the Cardinals will know more about his status Friday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News tweets.
  • The Mets received some good news on J.D. Davis. X-rays came back negative on his bruised left hand, Tim Healey of Newsday relays (via Twitter). Davis does not appear to be headed to the injured list, though he remained out of the lineup for the Mets’ home opener today. Jonathan Villar took his place at the hot corner. Villar got the start at third base today for the first time since 2016. Luis Guillorme would also be in line to see a bump in playing time while Davis is on the shelf. It’s not clear, however, how much time Davis will miss.

Brewers Select Brad Boxberger

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The Brewers announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of veteran right-hander Brad Boxberger. He’ll join the club for their matchup against the Cubs and take the recently traded Orlando Arcia’s spot on the active roster. Righty Justin Topa was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Boxberger, 32, is a veteran of nine big league seasons who has ample experience as both a closer and setup man. He spent the 2020 season setting up for Brandon Kintzler in Miami, pitching to a 3.00 ERA with a 22.8 percent strikeout rate and 10.1 percent walk rate. It’s been awhile since his peak at this point, but Boxberger posted a 2.94 ERA through his first 177 1/3 MLB frames from 2012-15 and led the American League with 41 saves for the 2015 Rays.

In the five seasons since that stretch, Boxberger’s entire body of work has been solid enough, but he’s lacked consistency on a year-over-year basis. He’ll look to continue last year’s success while hopefully putting a rocky Spring Training effort behind him; in nine spring frames with the Brewers, Boxberger was tagged for eight earned runs on 10 hits, although his 14-to-1 K/BB ratio was certainly more encouraging.

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