Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Brewers Rumors

Brewers To Sign Jorge Alfaro To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Brewers and catcher Jorge Alfaro are in agreement on a minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The backstop is represented by CAA Sports.

Alfaro, 32 in June, was once a top 1oo prospect. His power was considered his best trait and he has occasionally showed flashes of tapping into it during his big league career but he has largely undercut that with his lack of plate discipline or contact skills.

To this point, he has appeared in 496 major league games and stepped to the plate 1,710 times. Only 4.2% of those ended with Alfaro taking a walk while 34% of them resulted in a strikeout. Both of those numbers are well worse than typical league averages. He did launch 48 home runs in there but his .253/.302/.393 batting line leads to a wRC+ of 86.

That’s actually not awful production for a catcher, as backstops are usually about 10% below league par. In 2024, all MLB catchers combined to hit .234/.300/.378 for a 91 wRC+. But Alfaro was largely considered a bat-first prospect and that’s been borne out in the big leagues. Baseball Prospectus has graded him as a decent framer, close to average with the running game and subpar in terms of blocking. Statcast has liked his work with the running game but hasn’t been fond of his framing nor blocking. FanGraphs has been pretty down on his work apart from a nice bump in 2018. That middling glovework would perhaps be acceptable with big offensive numbers but Alfaro hasn’t been able to provide that.

The Brewers have a strong reputation for improving a catcher’s defense, so perhaps they can give Alfaro a bit of a bump there. Alfaro might have a bit of rust, since he essentially missed the 2024 season. He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs but was released just before Opening Day and didn’t sign anywhere else. For what it’s worth, he has been playing winter ball this offseason and performing well. In 12 games for Tigres del Licey of the Dominican Professional Baseball League, he hit .303/.361/.455. He had seven strikeouts in 36 plate appearances, a rate of 19.4%.

There are currently three catchers on Milwaukee’s 40-man roster. William Contreras, whose defensive metrics improved after coming over from Atlanta, is the clear number one. Eric Haase currently projects as the backup. His career numbers are fairly similar to Alfaro, in that he’s hit some home runs but has poor walk rates, strikeout rates and defensive grades. Jeferson Quero is one of the top prospects in the league but may not be a short-term option. He started 2024 at the Triple-A level but required shoulder surgery after just one game and missed the rest of the year.

Since Quero is just 22 years old, has just one game of Triple-A experience and missed essentially a full season, the Brewers will probably not want to push him too hard to start 2025. As such, Alfaro might slot in as #3 on the club’s depth chart right now behind Contreras and Haase, though further moves could obviously change that. He’ll give the club some experienced non-roster depth who could step onto the roster if an injury creates a need. If that comes to pass, he is out of options, which is also true of Haase.

Bob Uecker Passes Away

By | at

The Brewers announced this morning that former big league catcher, legendary broadcaster and franchise icon Bob Uecker passed away last night. He was 90 years old. The Uecker family has since issued a statement detailing that he “faced a private battle with small cell lung cancer since early 2023, which he met with the same strength and resilience that defined him.” Uecker continued calling Brewers games throughout the 2023-24 seasons. The Brewers issued the following statement:

Today we take on the heaviest of burdens. Today, we say goodbye to our beloved friend, Bob Uecker.

Ueck was the light of the Brewers, the soundtrack of our summers, the laughter in our hearts, and his passing is a profound loss. He was the heart and soul of Wisconsin and a dear friend. Bob loved people; his presence warmed every room and he had a way of welcoming all of us into his world as if we were lifelong friends.

Saying goodbye to Bob shakes us all. He was so much more than a Milwaukee Brewers icon. He was a national treasure. Bob entertained us with his words and storytelling, so it is no surprise that his passing now leaves us at a loss for our own words.

There is no describing the impact Ueck had on so many, and no words for how much he was loved. We are left with a giant void in our hearts, but also remember the laughter and joy he brought to our lives.

It’s a devastating loss for fans everywhere. After 54 years of calling games in Milwaukee, Uecker’s voice is synonymous with Brewers baseball, but his celebrity and popularity transcend those Midwest roots. Nary a baseball fan in the world is unfamiliar with his humor and wit. Uecker’s mastery of storytelling and self-deprecating humor — particularly his willingness to poke fun at his own six-year playing career, during which he batted .200/.293/.287 — provided ceaseless entertainment for those who were tuning in at any given moment.

Even those who don’t follow the game closely surely have fond memories of Uecker’s frequent appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, his portrayal of fictional play-by-play man Harry Doyle in the Major League franchise of films, and his starring role in six seasons on Mr. Belvedere.

Baseball and the broadcast booth were always Uecker’s home. He stayed loyal to his native Milwaukee, calling games for more than half a century and building a legacy that will be forever remembered by not one but two statues in his honor at the team’s home park. But Uecker’s larger-than-life personality and unyielding charm made him a natural, beloved celebrity who entertained not only baseball fans but people all over the globe. Few can claim to have reached such a broad audience and done so while being so universally cherished.

Uecker was a titan of the broadcast world — one of MLB’s most beloved characters by fans, media and players alike. In 2003, he was deservingly enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, where he delighted the audience with a speech teeming with the type of humor and wry delivery that only Uecker and his signature voice could provide.

We at MLBTR extend our most heartfelt condolences to the Brewers organization, the Uecker family and those who were lucky enough to call him a friend, and we join the countless baseball fans around the world with a heavy heart in light of this morning’s news. Rest in peace, Mr. Baseball.

Felix Mantilla Passes Away

By | at

Eleven-year MLB veteran Felix Mantilla passed away on Friday at age 90.  Mantilla appeared in 969 games with the Braves, Mets, Red Sox, and Astros from 1956-66, playing primarily as a second baseman, but with a lot of time spent at third base and shortstop plus all three outfield positions.

Though Mantilla never played for the Brewers, the organization paid tribute to Mantilla by recognizing him as “an iconic figure…who was an inspiration to all of us in the Milwaukee baseball community.  We will forever remember Felix for his time with the Milwaukee Braves, but even more for the impact he had on thousands of children through the Felix Mantilla Little League.”

One of the first Puerto Rican players to break through in Major League Baseball, Mantilla was signed by the then-Boston Braves during the 1951-52 offseason and made his MLB debut in 1956 once the franchise had moved to Milwaukee.  He was primarily a middle infielder during his six seasons with the Braves but bounced around to multiple positions in his role as a bench player.

Mantilla won a World Series ring for his role on the 1957 championship team, and while Mantilla contributed only a walk over 11 plate appearances in the Fall Classic, his one run scored was of vital importance.  Entering the 10th inning of Game Four as a pinch-runner, Mantilla scored the game-tying run just before Eddie Matthews’ two-run walkoff home run.

The Mets selected Mantilla away from the Braves as part of the expansion draft, which meant that Mantilla (playing an everyday role for the first time in his career) was part of the infamous 1962 Mets team that went 40-120-1 in the franchise’s inaugural season.  He was traded to the Red Sox after that lone season in New York, which sparked the most successful run of Mantilla’s career — he hit .287/.369/.474 with 54 homers over 1297 plate appearances with Boston from 1963-65.  Thirty of those home runs came in 1964, and the 1965 season saw Mantilla make the All-Star team for the only time in his career.

Despite this success, Mantilla was traded to the Astros after the 1965 campaign, and his numbers drastically dropped off in the move from Fenway Park to the pitcher-friendly Astrodome.  He never played another professional game after the 1966 season, as an Achilles injury that required surgery seemed to curtail his playing career at age 31.

Mantilla finished his career with a .261/.329/.403 slash line and 89 home runs over 3029 plate appearances.  He is a member of the Puerto Rico Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, and as noted in the Brewers’ memorial, Mantilla has had a lasting legacy in Milwaukee as the namesake of a Little League program since 1973.

We at MLB Trade Rumors express our condolences to Mantilla’s family, friends, and loved ones.

Latest On Brandon Woodruff

By | at

Brandon Woodruff hasn’t pitched since September 23, 2023, as a shoulder surgery the following month cost the right-hander the entire 2024 season.  It also cost him what likely would’ve been a big long-term contract in free agency this offseason, and the injury also temporarily cost Woodruff his spot on the Brewers’ roster, as Milwaukee non-tendered him last winter before re-signing him to a two-year contract worth $17.5MM in guaranteed money.

The expectation was that Woodruff would be able to return to the mound in 2025, and in an interview with MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy earlier this week, Woodruff said he’s “in a really, really good spot” in his recovery.  He was given the go-ahead by Dr. Keith Meister (his surgeon) to go ahead with his standard offseason ramp-up process, and Woodruff is currently throwing twice-weekly bullpen sessions of fewer than 30 pitches.

The next steps will involve extending the pitch count and tossing multiple simulated innings, then facing live batters.  Brewers assistant athletic trainer Bryn Hester has worked with Woodruff “multiple times” this offseason, and Woodruff is slated to visit the team’s spring camp site this week to throw at the Brewers’ pitching lab.  Notably, Woodruff hasn’t tested his velocity this offseason, which was a planned tactic so he could focus simply on testing his shoulder and getting accustomed to pitching again rather than trying to hit any checkpoints on his fastball.

This focus on process is perhaps why Woodruff can’t yet guarantee that he’ll be ready for Opening Day, even though “I can tell you my mindset is to get ready for that.”  Woodruff told McCalvy that he views perhaps as much as the first half of the season as something of an evaluation period, as it might not be until later in the season that he’ll have his old velocity and full command of his pitching repertoire.

“The further I get out, the more months that I get under my belt, the better it is,” Woodruff said.  “Really, these first couple months coming up during the season are crucial.  I think if I can get through those okay and do just fine, I’ll be okay.”

Woodruff also revealed that he was aiming to try and pitch to hitters in a live batting-practice setting by the end of the 2024 season, though his shoulder “just wasn’t ready.  Like, I couldn’t do it.  And now I look back on that, I’m like, ’Gosh, that wasn’t but three months ago, and look at where I’m at now.  I’ve made so much progress.’ ”

A longtime staple of Milwaukee’s pitching staff, Woodruff has a 3.10 ERA and two All-Star appearances over his seven seasons and 680 1/3 innings in the big leagues.  Even while battling shoulder problems throughout the 2023 season, Woodruff still managed a 2.28 ERA during his small sample size of 67 innings, helping lead the Brewers to another division title.

The full-powered version of Woodruff projects to be the staff’s ace, or at least co-ace along with Freddy Peralta.  The two right-handers figure to headline a Brewers rotation that also includes Tobias Myers, Aaron Civale, and new acquisition Nestor Cortes, though there’s naturally some flexibility built into that group based on Woodruff’s recovery timeline.  DL Hall and Aaron Ashby are the top depth starters, and a reunion with veteran Wade Miley also seems a possibility, though Miley is undergoing his own recovery from a Tommy John surgery last April.

It obviously shouldn’t be taken for granted that Woodruff will be able to regain his old form, given the severity of his injury and his lengthy layoff.  However, if he can pitch like something close to his pre-surgery self, Woodruff will line himself up nicely for a longer-term free agent contract next offseason, as he’d surely decline his end of a $20MM mutual option for the 2026 season (and pocket the $10MM buyout).

Since Woodruff turns 32 next month, it might be that his surgery cost him the opportunity to truly maximize his earnings.  As we’ve seen many times over, teams are still willing to pay good money to pitchers with checkered injury histories, even for pitchers who don’t have Woodruff’s strong track record.  The cost-conscious Brewers might well have traded Woodruff last winter (as they did Corbin Burnes) if he’d been healthy, but the club will instead hope to have Woodruff again helping the club reach the postseason, and this time make a deeper run into October.

17 Players Exchange Filing Figures

By | at

This evening’s deadline to exchange filing figures has come and gone. The majority of arbitration-eligible players agreed to contracts to avoid going to a hearing. There were 17 instances where the player and team did not come to terms.

Technically, nothing prevents players and teams from continuing to negotiate. However, virtually every team takes a “file-and-trial” approach to the process. Clubs will mostly refuse to continue talks about one-year deals after this date. They’ll often make exceptions for discussions involving multi-year contracts or one-year deals with a club/mutual option. It’s unlikely that all of these players will end up getting to a hearing, but the majority probably will.

If the sides go to a hearing, a three-person arbitration panel will either choose the player’s or the team’s filing figure. They cannot pick a midpoint. That’s designed to prevent the parties from anchoring by filing at extremely high or low figures. Teams’ preferences for the file-and-trial approach follows a similar logic. The idea is to deter players from submitting a higher number from which they could continue to negotiate until the hearing begins.

The list of players who could go to a hearing this winter (service time in parentheses):

Angels

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Dodgers

Nationals

Orioles

Padres

Pirates

Rays

Red Sox

Yankees

—————————————

Tucker and the Cubs have the biggest gap in filing figures at $2.5MM. He’s one of the top two free agents in next year’s class and is unlikely to sign an extension, so they’re almost certainly headed to a hearing. King, who will be one of the best pitchers on the open market next winter, is the only other player with more than $1MM at stake depending on the results of the hearing. The smallest divide is the paltry $150K gap between Rengifo’s and the Angels’ respective filing figures. Hearings are scheduled to begin on January 27 and could run through February 14.

Mariners Claim Tyler Jay

By | at

The Mariners announced that they have claimed left-hander Tyler Jay off waivers from the Brewers. The latter club designated him for assignment a week ago when they acquired Grant Anderson. Seattle’s 40-man roster had a vacancy but is now full.

Jay, 31, was the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft but it took him almost a decade to get to the big leagues. Various injuries, including surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, slowed his rise through the minors. By the end of the 2019 season, he had topped out at Double-A, then didn’t pitch in any official capacity in 2020 or 2021. That was followed by stints in indy ball in the next two years, which led to the Mets taking a flier on him on a minor league deal.

In April of last year, he finally got up to the majors, though was on and off rosters all year. The Mets selected his contract in mid-April but outrighted him a few days later. He was back up in June, then designated for assignment a second time in July. His second DFA resulted in getting traded to the Brewers, though that club kept him mostly on optional assignment. He finished the year with 7 2/3 innings pitched between his two clubs, allowing four earned runs while walking six batters and recording six strikeouts.

That’s a tiny sample size, so the Mariners are probably more interested in the minor league numbers. Jay tossed 56 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level last year, between the two organizations, allowing 3.02 earned runs per nine. He had a 20.9% strikeout rate, 5.1% walk rate and 47.3% ground ball rate. For what it’s worth, the strikeout rate jumped after he came to the Brewers, going from 18.6% with Syracuse to 25.7% with Nashville, though his walk rate also went from 2.5% to 10.8% after the switch.

For the Mariners, they’re clearly intrigued enough to give Jay a roster spot, at least for now. He has just a few days of service time and a couple of option years remaining, so he can at least serve as a cheap depth piece with roster flexibility. As a former first-round pick and top prospect, perhaps there’s some untapped upside in there. They currently have Tayler Saucedo and Gabe Speier as the top lefties in their projected bullpen, with Austin Kitchen also on the roster. Jay will jump into that group and try to push for opportunities in the 2025 season.

Brewers Re-Sign Jake Bauers To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Brewers brought first baseman/corner outfielder Jake Bauers back on a minor league contract this afternoon, the team announced. He’ll be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.

Bauers spent the entire ’24 season in Milwaukee. The Brewers acquired the lefty hitter from the Yankees early last offseason. Bauers took 346 plate appearances across 116 regular season games. He hit .199/.301/.361 with 12 longballs and 13 stolen bases. Bauers walked at a strong 11.3% clip but fanned 34.1% of the time.

That has essentially been the story of his major league career. Bauers carries a .208/.302/.361 batting line in more than 1700 trips to the plate between five teams. He has shown league average power with good walk rates but too many strikeouts. He grades as an average defender at first base with subpar marks on the outfield grass.

While Bauers didn’t have a great regular season, he briefly looked to have cemented himself in franchise lore. In the decisive third game of Milwaukee’s Wild Card series with the Mets, Bauers came up as a pinch-hitter in a scoreless game in the seventh inning. He crushed a no-doubt home run off José Buttó to put Milwaukee ahead. That looked as if it might be a game winner until Pete Alonso’s ninth-inning heroics carried the Mets to victory.

That swing wasn’t enough to keep Milwaukee from running Bauers through outright waivers at the end of the season. He elected free agency but circles back for a second season with the Brew Crew. Rhys Hoskins is back as Milwaukee’s projected starter at first base. Bauers could again compete for a left-handed bench or platoon role.

Brewers Acquire Grant Anderson

By | at

The Rangers announced they’ve traded reliever Grant Anderson to the Brewers for minor league pitcher Mason Molina. Milwaukee designated left-hander Tyler Jay for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Texas had designated the 27-year-old Anderson for assignment earlier in the week when they finalized the Joc Pederson deal. The low-slot righty has made 49 MLB appearances for the Rangers as an up-and-down reliever. His major league work hasn’t been great, as he has allowed 6.35 earned runs per nine over 62 1/3 innings. Anderson’s respective strikeout (21.5%) and walk (8.8%) rates aren’t far off league average. He has had massive home run issues, though, giving up 16 longballs (2.31 per nine innings) in his major league career.

That hasn’t been as big a problem in the minors. Anderson didn’t allow a single homer over 27 2/3 Triple-A innings this year. He fanned 28.3% of minor league opponents and turned in a sub-3.00 ERA in the Pacific Coast League. Anderson has a 3.87 mark over parts of three seasons for the organization’s top affiliate in Round Rock.

Anderson still has a minor league option remaining, so Milwaukee can keep him at Triple-A Nashville for another season. The Brewers have Trevor Megill, Joel Payamps, Nick Mears and Jared Koenig locked into the Opening Day bullpen. Milwaukee could carry Rule 5 pick Connor Thomas in long relief. That’d only leave a couple ’pen spots up for grabs if everyone is healthy, so the flexibility afforded by the option is valuable.

Milwaukee acquired Jay from the Mets in July. The 30-year-old southpaw was limited to two MLB appearances after the deal. He tossed three scoreless innings with three walks and strikeouts apiece. Jay had pitched five times for New York earlier in the year, his first taste of big league action.

A former top 10 pick of the Twins, Jay has spent seven seasons in the minor leagues. He had a productive year in Triple-A between the New York and Milwaukee systems, combining for a 3.02 earned run average through 56 2/3 innings. He struck out a slightly below-average 20.5% of opponents while showing excellent control (5.1% walk rate). Milwaukee will trade Jay or put him on waivers within the next five days.

Molina, 21, was Milwaukee’s seventh-round pick last summer. The Arkansas product threw five scoreless innings in Low-A during his initial professional action. The 6’2″ lefty had turned in a 4.47 ERA over 15 appearances (13 starts) for the Razorbacks in his junior season. Baseball America wrote at the time of the draft that Molina’s 89-90 MPH fastball plays above its velocity because of its life at the top of the zone. Molina’s command is a work in progress. He’s a low minors developmental flier for the Rangers.

Brewers Reach New Broadcast Deal With Diamond Sports Group

By | at

The Brewers announced on Tuesday that they’ve reached agreement with Diamond Sports Group to handle in-market broadcasting for the 2025 season. Unsurprisingly, the team did not reveal how much they’ll make in rights fees.

It’s a reversal from plans announced in October. At the time, Major League Baseball announced that it would take over in-market broadcasting for Milwaukee. That came shortly after Diamond, the parent company of FanDuel Sports Networks (formerly the Bally Sports Networks), announced that it was abandoning its contract with the team. Diamond subsequently finalized a plan to avoid liquidation and emerge from bankruptcy to continue operations for at least one more year.

Evidently, Diamond and the Brewers had kept open communications even though Milwaukee initially intended to turn broadcasts to the league. They’ve found a mutually agreeable price point — presumably below what Diamond would have owed under their previous agreement — to stick with the company for another season.

Brewers business operations president Rick Schlesinger tells Adam McCalvy of MLB.com that the team could turn the rights to MLB as soon as the 2026 season. “Long term, whether it’s 2026 or thereafter, I do think MLB Media is the place where we’re ultimately going to land, and I think that’s going to be in the best interest of the fans and the teams and the league to get a model that provides for the widest possible distribution across the most number of platforms with the highest technology and the best economics for the league and the teams,” Schlesinger said. “But we are comfortable with the quality of the production that Diamond Sports, Ballys and now FanDuel are operating under, and we like the continuity. Our fans will find the games the same places they found it last year.”

It isn’t known if this will have any impact on Milwaukee’s player payroll. The Brewers have only made one major league free agent addition this offseason, signing lefty Grant Wolfram to a deal that presumably landed around the league minimum. RosterResource calculates their payroll around $118MM, narrowly above the approximate $116MM mark at which they ended the ’24 season.

Diamond is back up to eight MLB teams for which it’ll carry in-market broadcasts: the Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Marlins, Rays, Royals and Tigers. The Guardians, Reds and Twins are turning broadcasts over to MLB. They’re following in the footsteps of the Diamondbacks, Padres and Rockies — each of whom was broadcast by MLB this past season. Diamond has also dropped its deal with the Rangers. The Texas organization is not expected to return to Diamond or to sign on with MLB. Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote this month that the Rangers were exploring ways to negotiate individual deals with various cable providers rather than contracting with an RSN.

Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Kyle Hart

By | at

The Astros, Brewers, Orioles, Twins, and Yankees are among the teams that have shown interest in free agent southpaw Kyle Hart, according to The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Katie Woo.  Earlier this month, FanSided’s Robert Murray indicated that a whopping 18 teams had at least checked in on Hart’s services as he looks to return to North American baseball after a tremendous year with the NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization.

Hart posted a 2.69 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate, and six percent walk rate over 157 innings and 26 starts with the Dinos, winning the Dong-won Choi Award (the KBO League’s answer to the Cy Young Award).  Hart’s best pitch is his slider, but according to Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen, Hart used that slider less as a primary offering and more as a chase pitch to put batters away.  Longenhagen isn’t sure how Hart’s arsenal of this plus slider but only a 90mph fastball and an okay changeup will translate back in the big leagues, and thus Hart is projected as a fifth or sixth starter even if Fangraphs ranked him 48th on their list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents.

A somewhat limited repertoire might be less of an issue if Hart is working out of the bullpen, of course, and Sammon and Woo note that some interested MLB teams have considered Hart as a multi-inning reliever.  Whether working as a starter, long reliever, or perhaps both in a swingman role, there’s plenty of upside if the 32-year-old Hart can carry over even some of his KBO success back to the big leagues.

It isn’t known if Hart is specifically looking for a starting opportunity in the majors or if he’s willing to take on any role, though the five teams cited as suitors would seem to slot him as a reliever or swingman, in lieu of future injuries or trades to the incumbent rotation.  The Twins and Yankees are particularly thin on left-handed bullpen options, which could make Hart particularly appealing to those clubs.

Hart’s previous Major League experience consists of just four appearances and 11 innings with the Red Sox in 2020, when he was hit hard for a 15.55 ERA over his few cups of coffee in the Show.  A 19th-round pick for Boston in the 2016 draft, Hart pitched pretty well in his first taste of Triple-A ball in 2019, but has since struggled at the top minor league level, with an overall 4.36 ERA to show for 334 2/3 career Triple-A frames.  Hart spent his entire career with the Red Sox before pitching with the Mariners’ and Phillies’ Triple-A affiliates in 2023, and then jumping to the Dinos.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top