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Jackson Chourio To Make Brewers’ Opening Day Roster

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The Brewers will carry top outfield prospect Jackson Chourio on their Opening Day roster, reports Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He is already on the 40-man roster after signing an eight-year extension over the offseason.

Chourio, who was born in March 2004, will very likely be the youngest player in the majors. It’s nevertheless not all that surprising that he’s breaking camp after signing an $82MM extension in December. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, that’s by far the largest guarantee for a player who had yet to make his MLB debut. Chourio only has six games of Triple-A experience but turned in above-average numbers in the Double-A Southern League a season ago.

The right-handed hitter put together a .280/.336/.467 slash with 22 home runs and 43 steals over 559 plate appearances. That came against much older competition in a league where testing of the pre-tacked baseball led to increased break on pitches and proved a challenge for hitters. Chourio fared better in the second half after the league reverted to the traditional baseball, including a scorching .388/.447/.718 showing in July.

That firmly established him among the sport’s top handful of minor league talents. Chourio ranked second or third on Top 100 lists from Baseball America, FanGraphs, ESPN, The Athletic and MLB Pipeline this offseason. He’s a potential franchise center fielder with a rare combination of power and athleticism.

To the extent there’s risk with Chourio, it’s that he has shown an aggressive plate approach. He walked at a modest 7.3% clip in Double-A, although that’s hardly an overwhelming concern given his youth. Chourio kept his strikeouts to a solid 18.4% rate and showcased his physical gifts.

In 13 games this spring, he’s hitting .283/.313/.348. He has three doubles, no homers, and a 10:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. They’re not overwhelming numbers, but it has been an impressive enough performance to reaffirm to the front office that he’s ready for an aggressive major league assignment. There’d be little reason to call him up if the club weren’t confident he can hold down the everyday center field job.

The Venezuela native will be at the center of a talented outfield at American Family Field. Christian Yelich should see the bulk of his time in left field with sporadic work at designated hitter. Former first-round pick Garrett Mitchell could slide to right field, where Milwaukee could also turn to Joey Wiemer or Sal Frelick. Their stockpile of outfield talent was enough that the Brewers have considered moving Frelick to third base, although the acquisition of Joey Ortiz in the Corbin Burnes trade gives them the flexibility to keep the Boston College product on the outfield grass if they like.

With a pair of club options tacked onto the end of his eight-year guarantee, Milwaukee already controls Chourio well beyond his six-year service window. The Brewers could still benefit from the Prospect Promotion Incentive if he performs well enough to merit award consideration.

Assuming Milwaukee keeps him in the majors for a full service year, Chourio would earn the Brewers an extra draft pick at the end of the first round if he wins Rookie of the Year or finishes in the top three in MVP balloting within his first three seasons. That’s certainly not an easy task. He faces an uphill battle in a Rookie of the Year race where Yoshinobu Yamamoto stands as the favorite and a top-three MVP finish is a tough ask of even the sport’s elite players.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Devin Williams To Miss Roughly Three Months With Back Fractures

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Brewers star closer Devin Williams has been diagnosed with two stress fractures in his back, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (X link). He’ll be shut down entirely for six weeks and is expected to be out of MLB action for around three months.

It’s a massive hit to the Milwaukee bullpen two weeks before Opening Day. Williams made two appearances this spring before pausing his work as he battled back soreness. He visited a spine specialist this afternoon. That examination revealed the fractures. Fortunately, Passan indicates that Williams is expected to make a full recovery.

That the injury shouldn’t affect Williams throughout his career is a positive, but there’s no question it’s a significant loss for the first half of the upcoming season. The two-time All-Star is among the best relievers in baseball. He has turned in a sub-2.00 ERA in consecutive years, including a sparkling 1.53 mark over 58 2/3 frames last season. Williams shut down 36 games in 40 attempts in his first full campaign as a closer. He rode his patented wiffle ball changeup, the so-called Airbender, to a massive 37.7% strikeout percentage. Williams was named the National League’s Reliever of the Year for the second time in his career.

As is the case with virtually every Milwaukee player approaching free agency, Williams found himself in trade rumors during the offseason. That speculation returned after they dealt Corbin Burnes to the Orioles, but Milwaukee didn’t find a deal to their liking. They elected to keep him at the back of the bullpen instead. Williams should eventually return to the ninth inning, but he’ll now begin the season on the 60-day injured list and will be out of action at least into the middle of June.

It’s unclear if Milwaukee skipper Pat Murphy will go with a committee approach to the ninth inning or pick a defined closer while Williams is on the shelf. If they go the latter route, any of Joel Payamps, Abner Uribe or Trevor Megill could be candidates. Payamps was somewhat quietly one of the more productive relievers in the NL last season. The secondary piece acquired in the William Contreras/Sean Murphy three-team trade, Payamps turned in a 2.55 ERA with plus strikeout, walk and ground-ball numbers across 70 1/3 innings.

Uribe has more traditional closing stuff. One of the hardest throwers in the sport, he averaged a blistering 99.4 MPH on his sinker as a rookie. Uribe turned in a 1.76 ERA behind a 53% grounder percentage and a 30.7% strikeout rate over his first 30 2/3 MLB innings. It’s eye-popping stuff, but his command could keep him out of the ninth inning. Uribe walked more than 15% of opponents last season.

Megill, acquired in a minor trade with the Twins last April, struck out nearly 36% of batters faced as a Brewer. He worked to a 3.31 ERA through 32 2/3 frames. Megill averaged 99.1 MPH on his heater, which he paired with a wipeout curveball in the mid-80s. Having that trio of power arms means Murphy should still have a good relief group with which to work, yet there’s no one who can be expected to replicate the production that Williams posts on an annual basis.

Milwaukee controls Williams via arbitration through the 2025 season. He’s making $7MM this season. Milwaukee has a $10MM option for next year but could retain him in arbitration even if they opt for a $250K buyout instead of the option value. If Williams progresses as expected, he should be back on the mound before the deadline. There’s a chance he’d be a midseason trade candidate if the Brewers unexpectedly fall out of contention in the NL Central, but the offers they receive could be complicated by other teams’ trepidation about the injury.

Brewers Notes: Turang, Frelick, Ortiz, Rea

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For a second straight season, Brice Turang will open the year at second base for the Brewers. Manager Pat Murphy confirmed the decision to name Turang as Milwaukee’s starting second baseman last night (link via David Adler of MLB.com). Murphy opined that Turang is poised to take a “quantum leap” forward in 2024 and solidify himself as an everyday player in the big leagues after an up-and-down rookie season that left him with lackluster offensive numbers.

Turang, 24, was the No. 21 overall pick in the 2018 draft and ranked among Milwaukee’s top prospects for several years before making the 2023 Opening Day roster and debuting in the majors. He posted above-average but not elite numbers in Triple-A during the 2022 season prior to that MLB debut, but his first year in the big leagues highlighted some of the limitations in his game. Turang has long been touted as a plus defender and plus runner, but he hit just .218/.285/.300 in 448 plate appearances last season. The resulting 60 wRC+ suggests that Turang was a whopping 40% worse than average at the plate.

While Turang’s 21% strikeout rate was a bit lower than the league average and his 8.5% walk rate was sound, he also put together one of the weakest batted-ball profiles in the sport. Turang ranked in just the fifth percentile of MLB hitters in terms of barrel rate, per Statcast, while his 26% hard-hit rate landed in the fourth percentile and his 85.5 mph average exit velocity placed in only the second percentile. Turang’s sprint speed was elite, but even in spite of his wheels he batted just .268 on balls in play because of that penchant for feeble contact.

Even amid questions about his offensive outlook, the glove and speed will land him another Opening Day nod at second base. That sets the Milwaukee infield everywhere but the hot corner. Rhys Hoskins has first base locked down. Willy Adames will return at shortstop. Heading into camp, it looked like the third base job could be Joey Ortiz’s to lose, but Milwaukee’s decision to experiment with top outfield prospect Sal Frelick at third base has created more of a competition.

Murphy and Brewers infielder coordinator Matt Erickson have heaped praise onto Frelick for his work at third base this spring, writes Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The 23-year-old has “immediately” checked every box the team would like to see in terms of his footwork in the infield, Erickson tells Hogg, expressing further confidence that Frelick’s mechanics on more difficult on-the-move throws can improve with experience. Erickson noted that the overall package of defensive skills at third base is still not on par with others in camp, but that’s to be expected for a player who didn’t even play at the hot corner in his amateur days. Moreover, both Erickson and Murphy are amazed that Frelick has already come as far as he has.

The result could be something of a split workload for Frelick between right field and third base. The Brewers acquired the slick-fielding Ortiz alongside left-handed rotation hopeful DL Hall in the trade sending ace Corbin Burnes to Baltimore. Ortiz, like Turang, is considered a plus defensive shortstop but won’t get much opportunity at that position due to the presence of Adames. He could log considerable time at the hot corner, though Adler suggests Ortiz could also see time at second base against left-handed pitching. He’s a right-handed bat and natural option to spell Turang, who hit just .188/.278/.188 (35 wRC+) against southpaws.

A strict platoon arrangement for the group might not be the answer, however. While Ortiz can play either third or second against lefties, both Turang and the lefty-swinging Frelick (.184/.279/.289, 59 wRC+) struggled greatly in limited action against left-handed pitching. Right-handed-hitting Andruw Monasterio turned in a .291/.387/.392 slash (118 wRC+) against lefties and could spend time at third base if/when Ortiz slides over to the keystone to spell Turang against southpaws. Similarly, outfielder Joey Wiemer (.267/.298/.517, 115 wRC+ against lefties) could potentially spell Frelick against lefties.

If anything, Frelick’s burgeoning versatility and the blend of right- and left-handed-hitting infield/outfield options only gives Murphy more fuel to play matchups against opposing pitchers. Importantly, all of Turang, Ortiz, Frelick, Wiemer and Monasterio grade as above-average to plus defenders at their respective positions (at least, in the case of the outfield with regard to Frelick). There’s considerable opportunity for all five to work their way into the lineup for semi-regular playing time, if not more.

As far as the Milwaukee rotation is concerned, there’s still some fine tuning to be sorted out, but one open question became clear this week when Murphy confirmed that right-hander Colin Rea will be in his rotation (via Adler) He’ll be penciled into a starting staff that also includes Freddy Peralta and Jakob Junis. Veteran Wade Miley has been behind schedule due to shoulder troubles but progressed to facing teammates in a simulated game today, tweets Hogg. A firm timeline for his return remains unclear and dependent on how he continues to progress.

Rea, however, will be assured a starting job. That’s a notable development for a journeyman right-hander who’s bounced from the Padres, to the Marlins, to the Cubs, to the Brewers, to Japan and back to Milwaukee. The 33-year-old pitched 124 2/3 innings for the Brew Crew in 2023, logging a 4.55 ERA with strong command and solid ground-ball tendencies but a slightly below-average strikeout rate. He’s been sharp so far in spring training, firing eight innings — including four no-hit frames his last time out — with a dozen strikeouts and just two walks.

Rea inked a one-year, $4.5MM deal back on Nov. 2. He’ll earn a $3.5MM salary in 2024 and is guaranteed that plus a $1MM buyout on a $5.5MM option for the 2025 season. He can also pick up an additional $500K of incentives each season, based on innings pitched, giving him the opportunity to earn $10MM over the next two seasons in Milwaukee.

Brewers Notes: Williams, Frelick, Sanchez

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Brewers closer Devin Williams has pitched just 1 1/3 frames across two appearances this spring thanks to a sore back, which manager Pat Murphy indicated to reporters (including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) has been bothering him throughout most of the spring. After previously getting an MRI to determine the source of the issue, Murphy added that Williams is set to meet with a spine specialist in California on Wednesday to receive a second opinion and make sure that he hasn’t suffered a more serious injury. Barring a second opinion changing the club’s course, Murphy indicated that the plan for Williams is to “give him some time off” in hopes that will treat the ailment.

Williams, 29, has established himself among the game’s most elite closers in recent years. Though the right-hander made his debut late in the 2019 season, he retained rookie eligibility into the 2020 season, which saw him dominant to an superlative 0.33 ERA with a 0.86 FIP in 27 innings of work, a strong enough performance to earn him the NL Rookie of the Year award during the shortened season. Since then, he’s settled in as one of the most reliably dominant relief arms in the game, having compiled a microscopic 1.75 ERA and 2.26 FIP in 200 1/3 innings over the past four years while striking out a whopping 40.5% of batters faced.

He enjoyed a characteristically excellent season in 2023, posting a 1.53 ERA in 61 appearances while collecting a career-best 36 saves and striking out opponents at a 37.7% clip. That dominance led to some trade speculation this winter as the club parted ways with both manager Craig Counsell and ace right-hander Corbin Burnes, though no deal ever came together regarding Williams and it’s unclear if the Brewers even shopped their relief ace. The right-hander remains under team control in Milwaukee through the end of the 2025 season, so it’s possible the club could look to part ways with Williams at some point in the future, but for the time being the right-hander appears poised to return to his role as Brewers closer come Opening Day if he’s healthy enough to take the field.

More from Brewers camp…

  • Murphy also spoke to reporters, including Hogg, about the prospect of young outfielder Sal Frelick moving to the infield this season. The manager indicated that he feels that Frelick’s work at third base hasn’t been “emphasized” enough and that he could be “one of the best stories in baseball.” Frelick’s potential move to the infield had been reported last month, when The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal indicated that Frelick had begun work at both second and third base. Frelick has since appeared in five games at the hot corner this spring, the same number as he’s appeared in his native right field. Should Frelick’s experiment at third base carry into the regular season on even a part-time basis, it would go a long way to sorting out at-bats in the club’s crowded outfield mix, which includes the likes of Christian Yelich, Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell and Joey Wiemer in addition to Frelick.
  • Catcher Gary Sanchez has been slowed this spring by a right hand issue ever since signing with the Brewers on a big league deal last month, though as noted by MLB.com the 31-year-old backstop made it into game action ahead of schedule by appearing as the club’s DH in yesterday’s game. Sanchez was previously expected to start getting into game action on March 14, putting nearly a week ahead of schedule. That’s a good sign for Sanchez’s ability to get up to speed in time to avoid a stint on the injured list to open the season, though the club has Eric Haase also in camp and on the 40-man roster as a potential alternative backup to primary catcher William Contreras should Sanchez require more time to prepare for the coming campaign. Sanchez lingered on the free agent market through the early months of the 2023 campaign but performed well upon joining the Padres in late May, slashing .218/.292/.500 with 19 home runs in just 260 trips to the plate across his 72 games with the club.

MLBTR Podcast: The Giants Sign Chapman, Zack Wheeler’s Extension, And Snell And Montgomery Remain

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • The Giants sign Matt Chapman (2:50)
  • Why do the Giants and other clubs keep giving players these opt-out deals? (6:45)
  • What is the logic with Chapman and Cody Bellinger settling for these short-term deals? (10:20)
  • What’s next for the Giants? Will they trade J.D. Davis? Go after Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery? (13:50)
  • Why didn’t the Yankees or Mariners go after Chapman? (17:00)
  • Phillies sign Zack Wheeler to extension (18:30)
  • Should players focus more on guarantees or average annual values? (20:15)
  • Did Shohei Ohtani not push things forward enough for players? (22:15)
  • Was Wheeler not concerned about maximizing his guarantee? (25:10)
  • What does the future look like for the Phillies? (26:35)
  • What’s up with Snell and Montgomery now? Could the Orioles swoop in? (29:35)
  • Does the Lucas Giolito news spur the Red Sox to jump on Snell or Montgomery? (31:20)
  • What about other dark horses for Snell or Montgomery? (34:15)
  • The case for the Brewers being a dark horse (35:55)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Is the late signing by the Boras clients a result of just how the market played out or the strategy of holding out? How does Boras spin this? (39:15)
  • Are we seeing the end of the Scott Boras era? Especially with players more to their mid-30s. I’m not sure how you could objectively look at how the offseason has gone for his clients and think it was a win for them. (44:45)

Check out our past episodes!

  • How Cody Bellinger’s Deal Affects The Other Free Agents And Why The Offseason Played Out Like This – listen here
  • Finding Fits For The “Boras Four,” Which Teams Could Still Spend? And Rob Manfred In His Last Term – listen here
  • Jorge Soler, Veteran Catcher Signings and the Padres’ Payroll Crunch – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Josh Donaldson Announces Retirement

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Third baseman Josh Donaldson announced his retirement today on The Mayor’s Office (YouTube link). Back in November, he expressed an openness to playing one more year under the right circumstances, but it now seems the Bringer of Rain has decided it’s time to hang up his spikes.

Donaldson, now 38, took a winding path to the major leagues and was a late bloomer, but he nonetheless reached incredible heights as a big leaguer once everything aligned.

While playing third base at Auburn University, he began to learn how to catch. The Cubs then selected him as a catcher with the 48th overall pick in the 2007 draft. In July of 2008, he was traded to the Athletics, one of four players going to Oakland in exchange for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin.

As he climbed the minor league ladder with his new club, his bat was considered ahead of his glove, an understandable situation given that he was relatively new to catching. He made his major league debut in 2010 but hit just .156/.206/.281 in his first 34 plate appearances.

He was stuck in the minors in 2011 and then spent 2012 being shuttled between the majors and the minors, gradually spending more time at third base over that stretch. His breakout season finally came in 2013, when Donaldson was 27 years old. Now done with catching for good, he got into 158 games for the A’s that year as their everyday third baseman. He hit 24 home runs and drew a walk in 11.4% of his plate appearances, only striking out at a 16.5% rate. His .301/.384/.499 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 147 and he got strong grades for his defense at the hot corner, leading to a tally of 7.3 wins above replacement from FanGraphs and 7.2 from Baseball Reference. He finished fourth in American League MVP voting.

Donaldson followed that up with a similarly excellent season in 2014 and the A’s made the postseason for a third straight year, but made a quick playoff exit all three times. The club decided to undergo a huge roster overhaul that winter, a frequent occurrence for the club and its persistent financial concerns. Going into 2015, the club traded away guys like Brandon Moss, Jeff Samardzija and also flipped Donaldson to the Blue Jays for a four-player package.

His first season in Toronto would eventually prove to be the best of his career. He launched 41 home runs and slashed .297/.371/.568 for a wRC+ of 154. The Jays won the A.L. East that year and Donaldson launched another three home runs in that year’s playoffs as the Jays advanced as far as the ALCS. He was graded as worth 8.7 fWAR and was voted as that year’s A.L. MVP, just ahead of Mike Trout.

He would go onto to have another excellent season for the Jays in 2016, hitting 37 home runs that year as they advanced to the ALCS yet again. He scored the winning run in the ALDS by dashing home from second on a fielder’s choice to secure an extra-inning victory over the Rangers.

But in 2017, injuries started to crop up, which would go on to be a key issue in the rest of his career. He was still excellent that season, slashing .270/.385/.559 while hitting 33 home runs, but was limited to 113 contests due to a calf strain. He and the Jays agreed to a $23MM salary for 2018, his final year of arbitration control. Since the Jays had fallen to fourth place the year prior, there were some trade rumors around Donaldson that winter but he ultimately stayed put.

He spent much of that year on the injured list due to shoulder and calf issues. With the Jays out of contention at the August waiver deadline, he was flipped to Cleveland for Julian Merryweather. Donaldson only played 16 games for Cleveland after that deal as he continued battling his injuries.

He finally reached free agency that winter, but with a limited amount of momentum. Thanks to his late-bloomer trajectory, he was going into his age-33 season and coming off an injury-marred campaign. Alex Anthopoulos, who acquired Donaldson when he was making decisions for the Blue Jays, had become the general manager in Atlanta prior to the 2018 campaign. He gave Donaldson a one-year “prove-it” deal worth $23MM.

Josh DonaldsonDonaldson bounced back tremendously with Atlanta, getting into 155 games, walking in 15.2% of his plate appearances and hitting .259/.379/.521 for a 131 wRC+. He then rejected a qualifying offer from Atlanta and then signed a four-year, $92MM deal with the Twins. Issues with his right calf cropped up again in 2020, as he only played 28 games during that shortened season, but was able to get into 135 contests the year after and launch 26 home runs in the process.

With two years still left on that deal, the Twins flipped him to the Yankees alongside Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt, with Gio Urshela and Gary Sánchez going the other way. Donaldson was healthy enough to get into 132 games in 2022 but his production tailed off. He only hit 15 homers and struck out at a 27.1% clip, leading to a line of .222/.308/.374. He spent much of 2023 on the injured list and was released at the end of August, joining the Brewers for the stretch run before returning to free agency this winter.

It wasn’t a storybook ending but Donaldson nonetheless managed to weave together quite a career. Despite not truly breaking out until the age of 27, he still managed to get into 1,384 games and rack up 1,310 hits. That latter figure includes 287 doubles, 12 triples and 279 home runs. He had matching tallies of 816 runs scored and runs batted in, stealing 40 bases in the process. He received an MVP award, three All-Star selections and two Silver Sluggers. His fiery personality which drove him to succeed also rankled some people around the game, as he often quarrelled with umpires, coaches and fellow players, but that combination of his talent and prickly character will likely lead him to being one of the more memorable players of his era. We at MLBTR salute him on his many accomplishments and wish him the best in whatever comes next.

Murphy: Wade Miley “50-50” To Be Ready For Opening Day

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TODAY: Murphy told Rosiak and other reporters today that Miley is dealing with soreness in his throwing shoulder. While there was no update yet on a timeline, Murphy indicated the injury might not be too serious, as Miley “played catch, played through it. Hasn’t had any problem since. We just want to go slow because of his history.”

YESTERDAY: Brewers left-hander Wade Miley may not be ready for Opening Day, manager Pat Murphy tells Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Murphy said it’s a “50-50” shot that Miley is ready for the opener but declined to provide any details. “We’ll let you know more in about 10 days,” he said.

It’s a vaguely ominous update that comes out of nowhere, as there hasn’t been any previous reporting to suggest that anything was up with Miley. He hasn’t yet appeared in a Spring Training contest, but that’s true of a lot of pitchers at this relatively early stage of the spring.

Meaningful conclusions can’t be drawn without more information but the rotation depth in Milwaukee is weaker than it has been in a long time, so any kind of uncertainty will be concerning. Brewers fans have been able to enjoy a staff fronted by co-aces Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff for the past few years, but that won’t be the case in 2024. Burnes has been traded to the Orioles while Woodruff will be out for much of the year recovering from shoulder surgery.

On paper, the rotation now projects to be fronted by Freddy Peralta, followed by some combination of Miley, Jakob Junis, Colin Rea, DL Hall, Joe Ross, Aaron Ashby and Janson Junk, with plenty of uncertainty in that group. Junis has done some solid work of late but mostly in a swing role, having not topped 112 innings since 2019. Rea had a decent season in Milwaukee last year but that was his first meaningful big league action since 2016. Hall is not too far removed from being a notable prospect but there are concerns about his control and workload. Ross didn’t pitch in the big leagues in the past two years due to Tommy John surgery, the second of his career. Ashby missed all of last year after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder. Junk has just 32 big league innings and a 4.42 ERA in his Triple-A work.

Amid all of that uncertainty, Miley was going to be one of the more reliable options, despite his own history. Now 37 years old, he hasn’t topped 170 innings since 2015. Only twice since 2017 has he thrown more than last year’s 120 1/3 innings. He missed time last year due to a left lat strain and left elbow discomfort but still made 23 starts, though elbow and shoulder issues limited him to just 37 frames the year prior.

While there’s no clarity on what’s currently holding back Miley or how serious it is, his personal injury history and the lack of established rotation options is undoubtedly a situation worth monitoring for the Brewers. Despite the losses of Burnes and Woodruff, the club still aims to contend this year, having spent money on players like Junis, Rhys Hoskins and Gary Sánchez to help them defend their division title.

If the club eventually decides it needs further additions, there are still options available in free agency at this late stage of the winter. It would be a shock to see the low-spending Brewers pursue a marquee name like Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery but a run at someone like Michael Lorenzen, Jake Odorizzi or old friend Eric Lauer isn’t out of the question. RosterResource lists this year’s club payroll at $109MM. Per Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the club had an Opening Day payroll of $119MM last year and $132MM the year prior.

There could perhaps be some powder dry there for another move, even though we’re now in the month of March. Another alternative could be for the club to turn to its prospect depth. Robert Gasser and Jacob Misiorowski are two of the club’s most notable prospects, though neither is on the 40-man roster and Misiorowski has made just five starts above High-A.

Brewers Sign Kevin Herget To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers recently signed right-hander Kevin Herget to a minor league contract. He’s in big league camp and made his spring debut yesterday, tossing a scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts against Texas.

Herget became a minor league free agent at the start of last offseason. The 32-year-old had logged a career-high MLB workload with the Reds a season ago. He pitched in 14 games and tossed 24 1/3 innings of mostly low-leverage relief. He allowed 5.18 earned runs per nine with a well below-average 12.4% strikeout rate. Herget missed more bats at the Triple-A level, where he fanned 22.7% of opponents in 47 1/3 frames. His 5.13 ERA in the minors wasn’t far off his big league work, largely on account of an elevated home runs rate (1.52 HR/9).

A former 39th-round pick, Herget has spent a decade in professional baseball between five organizations. He first reached the majors two seasons back, making three appearances for the Rays. Herget has logged 31 1/3 innings of 5.74 ERA ball at the highest level. He owns a 4.25 mark over parts of six seasons at Triple-A.

Herget brings plenty of upper minors experience to Milwaukee camp. He’s likely to start the year as a long relief depth option at Triple-A Nashville. He still has a pair of minor league options remaining, so the Brewers could freely move him between the majors and Nashville if they add him to the 40-man roster at any point.

Yankees Claim Jahmai Jones, Designate Jordan Groshans

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The Yankees announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed infielder/outfielder Jahmai Jones off waivers from the Brewers, who’d recently designated him for assignment. Fellow infielder Jordan Groshans has been designated for assignment in order to clear space on the 40-man roster.

A second-round pick by the Angels back in 2015, Jones is a former top-100 prospect who’s struggled in a trio of brief looks at the MLB level between Anaheim, Baltimore and Milwaukee. He’s taken just 90 turns at the plate in the big leagues and produced a .179/.233/.226 line with a dismal 36.7% strikeout rate.

The 26-year-old Jones is a more accomplished minor league hitter, however — as evidenced by a career .251/.377/.436 slash. He’s posted a far more manageable 21.9% strikeout rate at that level while also walking in a huge 15.4% of his 857 plate appearances. Jones has connected on 25 homers, swiped 25 bags and added 42 doubles and seven triples during his time in Triple-A. He’s a right-handed hitter who, in addition to more than 3400 career innings at second base, has logged nearly 1700 innings in center and more than 500 in left field.

Whether Jones sticks on the big league roster in New York is a fair question. He’s out of minor league options, meaning he can’t be sent to Triple-A Scranton without first passing through waivers. The Yanks could carry Jones on the bench in place of Oswald Peraza or Oswaldo Cabrera, opting to get either (likely Peraza) everyday playing time in the minors with a regular role not currently available on the big league roster. Alternatively, the Yankees might simply hope to turn around and pass Jones through waivers themselves, which would allow them to keep him on the Scranton roster as a depth piece who no longer commands a 40-man roster spot.

That same fate could await the 24-year-old Groshans. Like Jones, he’s a former top-100 prospect whose stock has dimmed in recent years. Groshans has just 65 MLB plate appearances and a .262/.308/.312 slash to show for it. His .253/.350/.322 output in 940 Triple-A plate appearances isn’t much better. He’s primarily played on the left side of the infield, splitting time in near even fashion between shortstop and third base, but Groshans does have more limited experience at second base (76 innings) and first base (396 innings) as well.

Groshans does have a minor league option year remaining, which could make him appealing to another club via waiver claim or minor trade. The Yankees will have a week to find a trade partner or complete the process of passing him through waivers. If he goes unclaimed, Groshans could be assigned outright to Triple-A and retained as a non-roster depth option. He lacks the major league service time and prior outright assignment to reject an outright from New York.

NL Central Notes: India, Ashby, Santana, Pirates

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Plantar fasciitis sidelined Jonathan India last summer, and the injury is still impacting the Reds infielder’s availability as Spring Training begins.  Manager David Bell told the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Charlie Goldsmith and other reporters that India isn’t slated to appear in a game until March 7 or 8, as India’s plantar fasciitis tore during the offseason and is still causing him some discomfort.  On the plus side, the tear means that India won’t need to undergo surgery on his foot, and Bell said that India is still able to take part in baseball activity as he builds up to being game-ready.

Health is just one of many uncertainties hanging over India as he begins his fourth Major League season.  Already the subject of frequent trade rumors due to Cincinnati’s plethora of up-and-coming infield talent, India looks to be moving into a utility role if he remains with the Reds, as he could be playing all over the infield, at DH, and perhaps in left field.

Other items from around the NL Central…

  • Aaron Ashby is eager to be back after missing virtually all of the 2023 season due to arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder.  Describing the procedure to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ashby said “I essentially had some calcified muscle on my rotator cuff, and they went in there and clipped it right off.  Once I got out of surgery the doctor was like, ’This was best-case scenario for you.’  It’s a minimal surgery in terms of what they did, but a shoulder surgery is a shoulder surgery, and it’s tricky at times.”  The southpaw’s only game action in 2023 was seven innings of minor-league rehab work in September, but he has been making good progress in Spring Training and is hoping to win a spot in the Brewers rotation, though Rosiak notes that bullpen work could help ease Ashby back into regular activity.
  • Carlos Santana had interest in returning to the Pirates as a free agent this winter, with Santana telling Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he expressed this to the team when he was traded to the Brewers prior to last summer’s trade deadline.  The Bucs still had some interest during the offseason even after signing Rowdy Tellez to ostensibly fill the void at first base, but Santana didn’t know why an agreement wasn’t reached.  “My agent has a very good relationship with the team, but he didn’t tell me anything.  I wanted to come back, but there was nothing going on,” the first baseman said.  Santana instead joined the Twins on a one-year, $5.25MM deal, and the Pirates will head into 2024 with Tellez and Connor Joe as the first base platoon and Andrew McCutchen returning as the primary DH.
  • This could be something of a tough read for Pirates fans, but The Athletic’s Stephen J. Nesbitt and Ken Rosenthal details some of the missteps that have slowed the team’s rebuild, such as a lack of success in international signings and some instances of a disconnect between traditional baseball teachings and the more modern approach of GM Ben Cherington.  However, the largest issue is naturally the team’s lack of spending under owner Bob Nutting, as there is less margin for error for Cherington’s front office when operating within a tight budget.  Nesbitt and Rosenthal’s piece was published a day before the Pirates announced a five-year, $77MM extension with Mitch Keller, which is one instance of how the Bucs have been slightly more willing to spend in order to lock up young cornerstone players.
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