The Milwaukee Brewers 21-34 record, including a 6-22 month of May, has finally brought about some moves with yet to be determined results.
The Brewers called up second baseman Scooter Gennett from Triple-A Nashville and acquired third baseman Juan Francisco from Atlanta.
To make room for Gennett and Francisco, the Brewers released infielder Alex Gonzalez who was hitting just .177 in 41 games this season. They also sent right-handed pitcher Mike Fiers to Nashville.
Gennett was hitting .297 at Nashville in 50 games with a homer, 13 RBI’S and 8 stolen bases. Gennett’s promotion likely means considerable more bench time for Rickie Weeks.
The Brewers open a series against the Oakland A’s at Miller Park tonight. Oakland’s starter is left hander Tommy Milone and Gennett is a left-handed hitter, so he may wait a day before moving into the starting lineup.
The Brewers acquired Francisco for minor league pitcher Thomas Keeling. The 25-year old Francisco is a career .254 hitter with 19 home runs and 77 RBI’S in 209 games with Cincinnati and Atlanta. He was hitting .241 with 5 homers and 16 RBI’S in 35 games this season.
Francisco has played only 3rd base in the majors, but has played 1st base in the minors. The Brewers plan to give him some time at first until Corey Hart is ready to return.
Fiers demotion comes after he allowed 7 runs in just 1 2/3 innings in Sunday’s 7-5 loss to the Phillies. He fell to 1-4 with a 7.25 ERA in 11 appearances, including three starts.
The Brewers won’t call up a pitching prospect from the minors for the time being. Instead, they plan to use Alfredo Figaro in Fiers spot in the rotation.