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Brewers to have new ballpark name in 2021

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Miller Park

The home of the Milwaukee Brewers, Miller Park, gets a new name starting in 2021.

Miller Park becomes American Family Field starting January 1, 2021.

The name change is part of a long-term sponsorship agreement between American Family and the Brewers, announced one year ago.  The agreement includes American Family having naming rights for the ballpark beginning in 2021 and continuing for 15 years.

The ballpark logo and other branding elements will be announced later this year.

As part of the sponsorship agreement, American Family also acquired naming rights to the Brewers spring training complex in Maryvale, Arizona.  That complex, which completed an extensive renovation last year, is named American Family Fields of Phoenix.

Brewers, Hader to swap salary figures today

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Josh Hader File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

The Milwaukee Brewers and their ace closer Josh Hader are scheduled to swap salary figures today.  Hader is in his first year of arbitration as a “Super 2” player (ranking among the top 22% of players with between two and three years of service time).

Hader hit the cutoff date at 2 years, 115 days, which gives him four years of arbitration instead of the customary three.

In 151 games in the majors, Hader is accumulated a 11-9 record, 2.42 ERA, 49 saves and a 0.845 WHIP.  He’s won the National League’s Reliever of the Year award the last two seasons.

Hader is expected to make between $4 million and $5 million in his first year of arbitration.  The figure [Read more…]

Thames signs one-year deal with Nationals

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Some thought that Eric Thames would eventually find his way back to Milwaukee, but the slugging first baseman instead, signed a one-year deal worth a reported $3-million with the defending World Series Champion Washington Nationals.

According to the Athletic, Thames will earn $3-million this season with a mutual option for 2021 worth $4-million and a $1-million buyout.

The Brewers added free agent first baseman Justin Smoak, making Thames somewhat expendable.

In three seasons with the Brewers, Thames hit .241 with 72 home runs and 161 RBI in 383 games.  He’s expected to share time in Washington with returning veteran Howie Kendricks.

Brewers sign outfielder Avisail Garcia to free agent deal

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The Milwaukee Brewers  have signed free agent outfielder Avisail Garcia to a two-year contract with a club option for 2022.

The 28-year-old Garcia hit .282 with a career high 20 home runs and 72 RBI in 125 games with the Tampa Bay Rays this past season.  Garcia made 122 starts overall, 89 in right field, 23 games as a DH and 10 games in center field.  He hit .294 (42-for-143) with runners in scoring position.

“Avisail provides an impactful right-handed hitting force in our lineup,” said President of Baseball Operations and General Manager David Stearns.  “Adding him to our current group of outfielders strengthens what was already one of the strongest outfields in baseball.”

Garcia owns a career batting average of .273 with 96 home runs and 374 RBI in 763 games with Detroit (2012-13), Chicago-AL (2013-18) and Tampa Bay (2019).  His best season came with the White Sox in 2017 as he hit a career-high .330 with 18 home runs and a career-high 80 RBI in 136 games.  He was named to his only All-Star Game that season.

The native of Anaco, Venezuela was originally signed by Detroit as a non-drafted free agent on July 6, 2007.  He was a member of the 2012 American League-champion Tigers during his rookie season.

 

Brewers sign Anderson to free agent deal

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The Milwaukee Brewers signed left-handed free agent pitcher Brett Anderson to a one-year deal on Friday.

Anderson becomes the second starting free agent addition this offseason after adding Josh Lindblom to the roster after a stay in the Korean Baseball Organization.

Anderson went 13-9 with a 3.89 ERA in 31 starts for the Oakland A’s last season.

The Brewers now have a starting rotation of Brandon Woodruff, Adrian Houser, Eric Lauer, Anderson and Lindblom, barring any further moves during the offseason.

Brewers add pitcher from Korean League

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The Milwaukee Brewers added right-handed pitcher Josh Lindblom from the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) on Wednesday.

The two sides agreed to a three-year deal, guaranteeing $9.125 million to the 32-year-old Lindblom.  He pitched the last five seasons in the KBO.

Lindblom was used primarily as a reliever in the Major Leagues, but he switched to a starter in Korea.  Lindblom went 20-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 30 starts last season.  Londblom was named the most valuable player in the league for his performance.

Overall, Lindblom was 35-7 with a 2.68 ERA in 56 starts in the KBO.

The Brewers are looking for starting pitching help after losing Jordan Lyles and Gio Gonzalez to free agency and the trades of Zach Davies and Chase Anderson.

Lindblom was a second-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Purdue in 2008 and spent time in the majors with the Dodgers, Phillies, Rangers, A’s and Pirates.

 

Brewers re-sign Claudio to 1-year deal

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After non-tendering reliever Alex Claudio last week instead of going to arbitration, the Brewers signed the left-hander to a one-year deal worth a reported $1.75 million.

Claudio was projected to earn $2.2 million in arbitration, which means the Brewers saved around $450,000 by going the non-tender rout and then bringing him back for more of a club friendly deal.

Claudio was used mostly against lefties last season, appearing in 83 games but pitching just 62 innings.  He allowed 57 hits and 24 walks while striking out 44, finishing 2-2 with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.306 WHIP.

This coming season, a rule change goes into affect forcing relievers to face a minimum of three hitters if an inning is still in progress.  That would force Claudio to face right handed hitters as well.

The Brewers also claimed utility infielder Ronny Rodriguez off waivers from the Detroit Tigers.  He hit .221 in 84 games with 14 home runs and 43 RBI.

The moves leave the Brewers with 34 players on their 40-man roster as the Winter Baseball Meetings continue in San Diego.

Broxton returns to Brewers

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Milwaukee Brewers Hernan Perez, Keon Broxton and Domingo Santana celebrate a 7-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on May 1, 2017. Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

The Milwaukee Brewers added to their outfield depth by signing Keon Broxton to a minor league deal with an invitation to major-league spring training.

Broxton played three seasons for the Brewers before being traded to the New York Mets in January 2019.  In 269 games with the Brewers, Broxton batted .222 with 33 homers, 79 RBI and 49 stolen bases.

Broxton played in 34 games with the Mets last season before trading him to the Baltimore Orioles.  He was waived in late July and signed and signed by the Seattle Mariners.

Broxton had 228 plate appearances for the three teams combined, hitting just .167 with six homers, 16 RBI and 104 strikeouts.

Guerra signs with Diamondbacks

Veteran right-handed pitcher Junior Guerra, who was non-tendered by the Brewers, agreed to a one-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks worth $2.55 million with a club option for 2021.

Guerra went 9-5 with a 3.55 ERA in a career-high 72 appearances for the Brewers last season.  Overall, Guerra went 25-21 with a 3.78 ERA in 144 appearances with the Brewers, including 60 starts.

Simmons elected to Baseball Hall of Fame

Former Milwaukee Brewers catcher Ted Simmons was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame on Sunday.  He joins former union leader Marvin Miller.

Simmons was an eight-time all-star during a 21-year career.  He hit .285 with 248 homers and 1,389 RBI for St. Louis, Milwaukee and Atlanta.

 

Badger women’s volleyball hosts NCAA Regional

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Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield

The fourth-seeded Wisconsin Badger women’s volleyball team swept Illinois State and UCLA over the weekend, advancing to the NCAA’s Sweet 16 for the 17th time in program history.

For the fourth time in program history, the Badgers will host NCAA Regional action in the UW Field House.  The Badgers (24-6) will face off against No. 13 Texas A & M (23-7) on Friday at 1 p.m. (Live on ESPNU).  Fifth-seeded Nebraska (26-4) takes on No. 12 Hawaii (25-3) in the other regional semifinal at 3:30 p.m. on Friday (ESPN3).

Semifinal winners play on Saturday at 5 p.m. live on ESPNU for the right to advance to the NCAA National Championship on Dec. 19 and Dec. 21 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

The Badgers are 9-7 in the Sweet 16, including a 4-2 mark under head coach Kelly Sheffield.  UW swept San Diego in the Champaign (Illinois) Regional in 2018.

The Badgers have hosted regional action three other times, in 2006, 2000 and 1997, winning Sweet 16 matches all three years.

Brewers deal for starting catcher

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After losing free agent Yasmani Grandal to the Chicago White Sox, the Milwaukee Brewers made a deal today to acquire his potential replacement.

The Brewers sent minor league pitching prospect Adam Hill and a Competitive Round B draft pick to the Seattle Mariners for left-handed hitting Omar Narvaez.

Hill was acquired from the Mets last year in the Keon Broxton trade.  He went 7-9 with a 3.92 ERA in 26 games at Class A Wisconsin.  The Competitive Round B selection comes after the second round in 2020 that the Brewers were assigned this week.  That pick is currently the 70th overall selection in the draft.

The 27-year-old Narvaez played in 132 games with Seattle last season, hitting .278 with 22 home runs and 55 RBI.  He had a .353 on-base percentage, a .813 OPS and a .516 slugging percentage.

Narvaez is considered to be an offensive catcher and hit .289 against right-handed pitching last season.  Against lefties, he his just .227.  Narvaez hit 20 of his 22 home runs against right-handers.  Those numbers would suggest a potential platoon at catcher with right-handed hitting Manny Pina under contract for next season.

Defensively, Narvaez threw out just 18% of runners attempting to steal.

Narvaez still has three more years of contractual control and is projected to make about $2.9 million in salary arbitration this offseason.