- Brewers GM David Stearns updated Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on several injured Milwaukee players. Sean Nolin recently received a PRP injection to see if he can avoid Tommy John surgery; the southpaw suffered a slightly torn UCL during Spring Training. Rule 5 draft pick Zack Jones has spent the entire season on the DL with shoulder stiffness and Stearns hopes Jones can begin a rehab assignment in early June. Former top outfield prospect Rymer Liriano is still recovering after being hit in the face with a pitch during Spring Training and there isn’t any timetable for a return. Stearns said there is a chance Liriano could miss the entire season. Also in the piece, as previously reported, reliever Will Smith will begin a rehab assignment this week with an eye towards returning to the Brewers’ roster in the first week of June.
Brewers Rumors
Will Smith To Begin Rehab Assignment
- Brewers manager Craig Counsell says lefty Will Smith is ready to begin a rehab assignment and could return to the team in the first week of June, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Twitter links). Smith tore his lateral collateral ligament late in Spring Training and opted to rehab it rather than having surgery. He began throwing off a mound last week. A quick return would be a boon for both Smith and the Brewers — he had figured to get at least some opportunities at closer this year, and if he does pile up saves or holds, he’ll likely get a nifty raise on his $1.475MM 2016 salary through the arbitration process next winter. Perhaps we would be getting ahead of ourselves in imagining he might close, however — Jeremy Jeffress has done well in the closer’s role, and there’s no urgent reason for the Brewers to remove him. The team surely would, however, enjoy the return of a reliever in Smith who posted a 2.70 ERA, 12.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in a terrific 2015 season. He and Jeffress could also be good trade chips for the Brewers this summer.
Brewers Notes: Walsh, Flores, Approach
- Rule 5 second baseman Colin Walsh and out-of-options outfielder Ramon Flores are both struggling immensely for the Brewers, but manager Craig Counsell tells Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the team isn’t planning to give up on either player anytime soon. “I don’t think anybody sets specific dates on this stuff,” said Counsell when asked specifically about Walsh. “You have to feel it. At some point, we have to see what they can become.” Counsell acknowledged that not every player is destined for an everyday job but stressed the importance of finding role players that can contribute to a winning club, even if it’s difficult for those players to get consistent at-bats. “Every team’s got guys at the back end of their roster,” said Counsell. “Those guys are going to play the least. We’re evaluating that. … There’s going to be times when you might have to live through stretches of development.”
- MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy also spoke to Counsell about the fact that the Brewers are leading the league in an undesirable category: taking called third strikes. Counsell explained that he feels velocity has “changed the game” and that the looking strikeouts have been a recent topic of conversation among Milwaukee decision-makers. “There’s multitudes of ways to talk about this, but one of them is, do you get hits on pitches at the edge of the strike zone?” he asked rhetorically. “Should you swing at it with two strikes, or take it? We had this conversation this morning, actually. Can you get a hit if you swing at it? The ideal result for a hitter [on a pitch at the edge of the zone] is a foul ball, actually. But there are five hitters in the game who can intentionally hit foul balls.” The concepts raised by Counsell and the idea of taking a fringe pitch in a full-count setting have previously been explored by the Astros, which is of course where Milwaukee GM David Stearns previously served as an assistant GM.
Brewers Notes: Braun, Nolin
If the Brewers shop star left fielder Ryan Braun this year, his contract will serve as a deterrent to many clubs, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, who adds that Braun’s wrist is also a concern (Twitter link). The Brewers scratched Braun from their game Saturday because of a sore right wrist, the severity of which is currently unknown. Notably, he has dealt with significant right thumb issues in past seasons. Braun, 32, is hitting a red-hot .367/.434/.586 with seven home runs in 143 plate appearances this season and has another five years and $76MM, including a $4MM buyout in 2021, remaining on his contract after 2016.
- Injured Brewers reliever Sean Nolin looks poised to undergo Tommy John surgery, tweets Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The left-handed Nolin, whom the Brewers claimed off waivers from Oakland in February, has been on the shelf all season because of a UCL sprain.
Brewers Notes: Braun Trade, Smith Rehab
This summer could be the perfect time for the Brewers to trade Ryan Braun, writes ESPN’s Buster Olney. The 32-year-old will gain 10-and-5 rights early next season, allowing him to veto any trade. Braun can already block trades to 23 teams, with the D-backs, Angels, Dodgers, Marlins, Padres and Giants representing the only teams to which he can be traded without his consent. Olney spoke to a number of executives and evaluators regarding Braun, and the general consensus was that his heightened 2016 play has made the once-near-impossible thought of a trade much more plausible. Braun’s contact rate is the best of his career, and he’s enjoying the second-lowest swinging-strike and out-of-zone swing rates of his career. One evaluator noted to Olney that Braun has learned to lay off the high fastball that was once a pitch with which he could be put away in two-strike counts. An executive from another club opined that the Brewers will still have to eat a considerable amount of Braun’s salary to facilitate a deal, however; by my calculation he’s owed $90.85MM through 2020, including the remaining money on this year’s $19MM salary and the $4MM buyout of his 2021 option.
More on the Brewers and their division…
- Left-hander Will Smith will throw off a mound today for the first time since tearing the LCL in his right knee in a freak Spring Training accident (while taking off his shoe), reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Smith, whose workouts to this point have included running on an anti-gravity treadmill, is hoping to avoid surgery and will begin a throwing program if today’s mound session goes well. However, Haudricourt notes that if he experiences problems, surgery could be the ultimate outcome anyway. Smith, 26, came to Spring Training with a chance to become the Brewers’ closer, but right-hander Jeremy Jeffress has seized that role with eight saves and a 2.63 ERA in 13 2/3 innings thus far.
Brewers Acquire Jhan Marinez, Designate Michael Kirkman
The Brewers have acquired righty Jhan Marinez from the Rays, according to a club announcement. To clear roster space, southpaw Michael Kirkman was designated for assignment.
Marinez, 27, has seen scattered major league time in parts of three seasons dating back to 2010. He’s only logged nine total frames, so there’s not much of a track record to go on. Of course, Marinez has racked up 178 1/3 frames at Triple-A in five campaigns, compiling a 3.63 ERA with 9.4 K/9 versus 4.7 BB/9.
As for Kirkman, his stay in Milwaukee didn’t last very long. The 29-year-old has received one appearance each with the Brewers and with the Padres this season, allowing five earned runs in 2 1/3 frames. Kirkman owns a 5.28 ERA in his 109 career innings at the major league level, with 8.6 K/9 to go with 4.6 BB/9.
Brewers Sticking With Rule 5 Pick Colin Walsh
- The Brewers made some roster moves today, with Scooter Gennett activated from the DL and fellow infielder Yadiel Rivera being optioned to Triple-A. As Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel notes (Twitter links), the decision shows the team’s commitment to struggling Rule 5 pick Colin Walsh. He has an unusual .098/.327/.122 slash line through 55 plate appearances, with 13 walks but just four hits. GM David Stearns would say only that “the evaluation process is ongoing” with respect to Walsh, who obviously will need to stay on the active roster all year if his control rights are to remain Milwaukee property.
Minor MLB Transactions: 5/10/16
Here are today’s minor moves from around the game…
- Left-handed reliever Sam Freeman has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A from the Brewers, the team announced today (on Twitter). Freeman, 28, tossed 7 2/3 innings for Milwaukee earlier this season but yielded an alarming 11 runs on 13 hits and nine walks in that time. He delivered solid bottom-line results for the Rangers last year, logging a 3.05 ERA in 38 1/3 innings, though metrics such as FIP, xFIP and SIERA each indicated that ERA to be largely smoke and mirrors, chiefly because of his trouble consistently throwing strikes. Freeman has averaged 5.3 walks per nine innings pitched in the Majors but a more palatable 3.6 per nine at the Triple-A level, and he’ll look to get back to that level following his outright. Of course, he’ll be doing so in a dreadful environment for pitchers: Colorado Springs.
Rosenthal: Brewers Would Require Significant Haul For Jeffress
- In order to deal closer Jeremy Jeffress, the Brewers could require a return similar to the mammoth haul the Phillies received from the Astros for Ken Giles, per Rosenthal. The rebuilding Brewers and Jeffress have built a strong relationship thanks to the team’s role in helping the right-hander overcome his past marijuana issues. Because of that, Jeffress turned down major league offers from other clubs to sign a minor league contract with the Brewers two years ago, Rosenthal relays. In his first season as a closer, the 28-year-old has converted all seven save opportunities while allowing three earned runs in 8 2/3 innings. In 160 2/3 major league innings, Jeffress has compiled a 3.14 ERA to accompany an 8.4 K/9, 3.87 BB/9 and 57.1 percent ground-ball rate. Those are quality numbers, but they’re a far cry from the dominant stats Giles posted before the Astros dealt a Vincent Velasquez-headlined package for him over the winter. Giles is also three years younger than Jeffress, won’t be eligible for arbitration until 2018, and isn’t scheduled for free agency until after the 2020 season. Jeffress, meanwhile, has three arbitration-eligible years before he’ll be able to hit the open market.
Brewers Claim Michael Kirkman From Padres
The Brewers announced today that they have claimed left-hander Michael Kirkman off waivers from the Padres. San Diego had designated Kirkman for assignment earlier in the week after just one appearance. Kirkman, 29, allowed four runs in just an inning and a third in his lone appearance as a Padre. He’d allowed three runs on three hits and no walks with six strikeouts in six innings for San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate this season.
Milwaukee is no stranger to Kirkman, as the left-hander spent a good portion of the 2015 campaign pitching with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate in Colorado Springs. Last year, Kirkman posted a 2.81 ERA across 32 innings in that hitter-friendly environment. However, despite an impressive 34 strikeouts in that time, he also issued 28 walks, continuing control problems that have followed him for much of his professional career. Indeed, Kirkman has averaged 5.1 walks per nine innings pitched in his 374 innings at the Triple-A level. His control has been slightly better in an admittedly limited sample at the Major League level, where he has a lifetime 5.25 ERA with 8.6 K/9 against 4.6 BB/9 in 108 innings. The entirety of his Major League experience, aside from this year’s brief cameo in a Padres uniform, has come with the Rangers, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2008 draft.
Tom Haudicourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel tweets that GM David Stearns tells him Kirkman is out of options and will thus join Chris Capuano as a second left-handed option in the Brewers’ big league bullpen following Sam Freeman’s recent DFA. A corresponding 25-man roster move has yet to be announced. (Apologies to our readers for previously and incorrectly writing that Kirkman had a minor league option remaining.)
