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Mets Acquire Eric Hanhold To Complete Neil Walker Trade

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The Mets announced that they’ve acquired minor league right-hander Eric Hanhold from the Brewers as the player to be named later in the August trade that sent second baseman Neil Walker to Milwaukee.

The 23-year-old Hanhold, Milwaukee’s fifth-round selection out of the University of Florida in 2015, spent the 2017 campaign pitching for the Brewers’ Class-A Advanced affiliate. In 30 appearances (three starts, 27 out of the bullpen), he totaled 64 innings with a 3.94 ERA, 8.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and a whopping 58.6 percent ground-ball rate. Hanhold didn’t rank among the top 30 prospects in a deep Brewers farm system (per MLB.com), but Baseball America wrote at the time of the draft that he featured a 90-94 mph heater that could touch 95 with downhill plane and heavy sink (subscription required and recommended). His go-to breaking pitch is a slider, per that report, though he also broke into pro ball utilizing a changeup as a third pitch.

Hanhold continues a trend for the Mets, who have turned a number of veteran free agent on expiring contracts to a crop of fairly hard-throwing relief prospects that are reasonably close to Major League readiness. Right-handers Jamie Callahan and Jacob Rhame, acquired in the respective Addison Reed and Curtis Granderson trades, have already been added to the big league roster. In addition to Hanhold, Callahan and Rhame, the Mets have added minor league relievers Drew Smith, Stephen Nogosek, Gerson Bautista and Ryder Ryan in trades of Walker, Granderson, Reed, Lucas Duda and Jay Bruce.

To this point, the trade has paid dividends for the Brewers, as Walker has .268/.388/.465 with three home runs and five doubles through his first 85 plate appearances in a Milwaukee uniform.

NL Notes: Brewers, Acuna, Braves, Ruiz, Marte

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The Brewers began the season with just about the lowest payroll in baseball, which makes the team’s charge into playoff contention all the more surprising, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes.  Despite spending far less on players than the other contenders, the Brew Crew entered today three games out of both a wild card spot and first place in the NL Central.  Here’s the latest from around the National League.

  • Braves youngster Ronald Acuna blossomed into one of the game’s best prospects this season, and Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser (subscription required) outlines how Atlanta was able to sign the talented and surprisingly unheralded outfielder in 2014 for a mere $100K bonus.  Interestingly, Acuna said that he was expecting to sign with the Royals before the Braves upped their offer to that $100K, and thus Acuna simply went with the highest bidder.
  • Rio Ruiz is hitting well in September and hoping to work himself into the third base picture for the Braves next season, David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.  The rookie still has just a .604 OPS over 119 total plate appearances this year, largely due to a nasty slump that led to his demotion earlier in the season, though Ruiz feels he has improved his work both at the plate and especially in the field.  Third base stands out as a clear area of need for the Braves in 2018, though it remains to be seen if the team will make a veteran acquisition or if they’ll stick to the rebuilding plan and continue giving playing time to Ruiz, Johan Camargo or other internal options.
  • Starling Marte talks to ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera (also, here is the link to the interview in its original Spanish) about his life, career and how he is trying to come back from the 80-game PED suspension that marred both his season and his reputation.  The Pirates outfielder said he still doesn’t know how nandrolone got into his system, though ultimately, “it was my mistake” for not being careful about everything he ingested.

Jimmy Nelson Out For Season

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7:32pm: If Nelson does require surgery, the procedure he’d undergo carries a success rate of better than 90 percent, Rosiak tweets.

12:46pm: The Brewers announced that Jimmy Nelson will miss the rest of the season with a right rotator cuff strain and a partial anterior labrum tear. General manager David Stearns said Saturday that it’s unclear whether Nelson will require surgery, according to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (on Twitter).

The premature end to Nelson’s year is a devastating development for the 73-68 Brewers, who trail the NL Central-leading Cubs by four games and sit three games back of the Rockies for the league’s last wild-card spot. The Brewers are currently in the midst of a three-game series against the Cubs and took the opener on Friday, 2-0, behind Nelson. The 28-year-old tossed five innings of four-hit, two-walk ball and added seven strikeouts, and he threw one of those frames with a labrum tear, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. Nelson suffered the injury on the base paths after hitting a fifth-inning single.

Like his team, Nelson has been a surprising success story this season. The emergent ace posted spectacular numbers across 175 1/3 innings and currently ranks fourth among major league starters in fWAR (4.9), ninth in strikeouts per nine innings (10.21), 10th in groundball rate (50.3 percent) and 15th in ERA (3.49). While Nelson’s brilliant work this year came at a near-minimum salary, his price tag will rise in the offseason. Nelson will take his first trip through arbitration, where the ERA, innings, strikeouts and 12-6 record he logged in 2017 should each help his cause.

As for the Nelson-less Brewers, they’ll likely look to their minor league system for down-the-stretch rotation help, Stearns announced (via McCalvy, on Twitter). Candidates to come up include Triple-A right-hander Taylor Jungmann and Double-A righty Aaron Wilkerson, per McCalvy.

Brewers Outright Aaron Brooks

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  • The Brewers outrighted right-hander Aaron Brooks to Triple-A, per a club announcement. He had been designated recently. Teams are obviously intrigued by his arm, as he has bounced around on waivers in recent years. But Brooks just hasn’t performed this year at Triple-A, where he owns a 6.12 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 — as well as 29 home runs allowed — over 145 2/3 innings.

Brewers Designate Aaron Brooks, Select Quintin Berry

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The Brewers have designated righty Aaron Brooks for assignment, per a club announcement. His 40-man spot will go to outfielder Quintin Berry, whose contract was selected.

Brooks, 27, was claimed off waivers recently from the Cubs. He has not pitched in the majors since brief showings with the Royals and Athletics in 2014 and 2015. Over 145 2/3 Triple-A innings in 2017, Brooks has been tagged for 29 long balls and 192 hits and carries a 6.12 ERA with 6.6 K/9 against 1.8 BB/9.

In Berry, the Brewers will be adding a notable speed-and-defense option to their bench down the stretch. The 32-year-old has played little this year in the minors and last cracked the majors briefly in 2015. But he’s a popular late-season roster addition and has appeared in the postseason previously (in 2012 with the Tigers and in 2013 with the Red Sox).

Emerging Young Starters Key For Brewers

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The Padres fired hitting coach Alan Zinter on Friday, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Zinter lasted less than two seasons in the position, having taken the job in November 2015. The Padres’ offense ranked toward the bottom of the majors during Zinter’s run, but he didn’t exactly have a world of proven talent at his disposal. Manager Andy Green explained to Lin that he’s seeking a “different voice” for the role. Meanwhile, GM A.J. Preller told AJ Cassavell of MLB.com that the Padres will begin searching for a successor immediately, but he indicated there’s no rush to hire a replacement (Twitter link).

Here’s more from the National League:

  • The Brewers’ rotation was rife with question marks entering the season, but it now appears the surprise contenders have at least three legitimate building blocks in Jimmy Nelson, Chase Anderson and Zach Davies, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observes. The emergence of that cost-controlled trio has been especially important to a team that’s not able to spend big on free agents, and Haudricourt points out that the Brewers may even have a couple more promising young starters on hand (Brandon Woodruff and Josh Hader). It’s possible they’ll go into 2018 with those five comprising their rotation, Haudricourt notes.
  • Rockies outfielder David Dahl is resigned to the fact that he won’t be able to contribute this year, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post writes. Dahl hasn’t appeared in a major league game this season, and he hasn’t played in a minor league contest since July 31, thanks to the rib injury he suffered during spring training. Now, Dahl doesn’t expect to swing a bat again until December, according to Saunders. “The thing I really need is rest, to let it heal completely, because every time I would start swinging, I would start feeling it again,” said the 23-year-old Dahl, who excited the Rockies last season with a .315/.359/.500 batting line in a 237-plate appearance rookie campaign.
  • A partial UCL tear in Wei-Yin Chen’s left elbow has kept him from taking the mound since May 1, but he’ll return to the Marlins in the coming days, Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. While Chen will finish 2017 as a reliever, the Marlins expect to slot him back into their rotation next season. After this fall’s World Series, Chen will be able to opt out of the remaining three years and $52MM left on the five-year, $80MM contract he signed with the Fish in January 2016. That’s obviously not going to happen, though, as the ex-Oriole has struggled with injuries and turned in mediocre results during his two years in Miami.

Ryan Braun Happy To Still Be With Brewers

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  • Ryan Braun remains as the last key veteran from the Brewers’ 2014 club who’s still with the team as it makes another run at contention in 2017, and he’s happy to still be in Milwaukee, he tells MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby. Rumors about being traded to the Dodgers last winter makes Braun feel especially grateful, he says. “Last year, obviously, I was close to getting traded,” says Braun. “When it didn’t happen, obviously, it makes me that much more appreciative of however much time I do end up spending here.” Braun adds that it isn’t lost on him that after him, the position player who has been with the Brewers the longest is Domingo Santana, who first suited up with Milwaukee a little over two years ago this week.

Brewers Minor League Julio Mendez In Critical But Stable Condition

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Brewers minor league infielder Julio Mendez suffered a cardiac event after being hit by a pitch during a rookie-level game Saturday in Tempe, Ariz., the team announced (Twitter link via Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). The 20-year-old Mendez is currently in critical but stable condition at a Tempe hospital. “All of our thoughts and prayers are with Julio and his family,” Brewers general manager David Stearns said in a statement. “We will provide updates as soon as we know more.”

Brewers Unsure Of What They Have In Jonathan Villar

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  • Infielder Jonathan Villar looked like a long-term core piece for the Brewers last year when he slashed .285/.369/.457 with 19 home runs and stole a major league-high 62 bases as a shortstop/third baseman. That performance was good enough for the Brewers to offer Villar $23MM on an extension in the offseason. Villar rejected the Brewers’ proposal, though, and has taken major steps backward this season as a second baseman, having hit .227/.283/.348 with nine homers and 23 steals over 393 PAs. Now, thanks to his sharp decline from 2016 to ’17, the Brewers are unsure of what they have in the 26-year-old Villar, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Haudricourt wonders if the Brewers will commit to Villar at the keystone again next year or look elsewhere, as they did when they acquired free agent-to-be Neil Walker from the Mets a couple weeks ago. General manager David Stearns hasn’t made any decisions yet for 2018, but he admits there’s uncertainty regarding Villar. “How do you judge him?” Stearns said. “I think it’s the right question. I just don’t have a good answer for you.”

Rangers Acquire Paolo Espino, Designate Tanner Scheppers

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The Rangers have acquired right-hander Paolo Espino from the Brewers for cash considerations and designated fellow righty Tanner Scheppers for assignment, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. Espino will report to Triple-A with his new organization.

The Brewers designated Espino on Wednesday after the 30-year-old had a difficult 17 2/3-inning major league debut with the club this season. Across six appearances and two starts, Espino logged a 6.11 ERA with 6.62 K/9 against 4.08 BB/9. He has been better this year at Triple-A (4.52 ERA, 8.68 K/9, 1.67 BB/9 in 75 2/3 frames) and has generally fared well at that level since ascending to it in 2010. He’s now in his fourth organization since the Indians chose him in the 10th round of the 2006 draft.

Scheppers, also 30, is certainly the more proven major leaguer of the two, but his career has gone off the rails thanks in part to a spate of injuries over the past several seasons. At his best, the 2009 first-round pick was a key member of the Rangers’ bullpen in 2013, after which Texas attempted to turn him into a starter. The hard-throwing Scheppers took the ball for the Rangers to open the 2014 season, but he only totaled four starts in eight appearances that year and posted a 9.00 ERA in 23 innings. He hasn’t worked extensively in the majors since recording a 5.63 ERA and a 5.4 BB/9 in 38 1/3 relief innings in 2015. Scheppers’ struggles have continued this season with Triple-A Round Rock, where he has registered a 5.05 ERA despite passable strikeout and walk numbers (6.8 K/9 and 2.72 BB/9) through 46 1/3 frames.

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