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Brewers in the postseason, despite losing record

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Craig Counsell

The Milwaukee Brewers could have clinched a playoff spot with a win in the regular season finale at St. Louis on Sunday.  Instead, they took the tough rout, falling to the Cardinals 5-2 and then depending on help.  They got the needed help when both Philadelphia and San Francisco both lost, giving the sub-.500 Brewers (29-31) a spot in the National League playoffs.

The Phillies 5-0 setback against Tampa Bay finished ahead of the Brewers.  But the Giants were giving the San Diego Padres a run for their money and the Brewers were watching in the clubhouse after their loss, as San Diego pulled out a 5-4 win.

The Brewers are the No. 8 seed in the National League and will face the top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers (43-17) in a best-of-three series starting Wednesday night.

The Brewers are in and they’re not apologizing.

“We got ourselves a shot,” Manager Craig Counsell said.  “You’ve got to beat a really good team twice.  It’s the best team [Read more…]

Brewers coach recovering after heart attack

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Pat Murphy

Milwaukee Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy is recovering after suffering a moderate heart attack during the team’s Saturday workout at Miller Park.  Murphy was immediately transported to Froedtert Hospital, where a stent was inserted, and he is expected to make a full recovery.

Brewers President of Baseball Operations David Stearns said Murphy was on the field when he suffered the attack and went to the dugout to report what he was feeling.

Stearns said Murphy will certainly be back in the dugout at some point but couldn’t venture to guess when that would be.

Braun placed on IL

The Brewers placed Ryan Braun on the 10-day injured list with an infected right index finger, retroactive to July 30.  That means the Brewers will be looking to add a pair of players to the 30-man roster prior to Monday nights series opener against the Chicago White Sox.  The second roster move is to replace Lorenzo Cain, who opted out for the rest of the season.

Braun is hitting .231 with two RBI in four games this season.

Cain opts out for remainder of season (AUDIO)

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Lorenzo Cain (file photo)

As the Milwaukee Brewers were in the process of having their series against the St. Louis Cardinals called off, veteran outfielder Lorenzo Cain was busy discussing with his family, a decision to opt out of the remainder of the 2020 season.

Cain became the 17th player to opt out of the 60-game season.  He was not deemed an at-risk player for COVID-19, so his decision was elective which forfeiting the rest of his more than $5.9 million prorated salary.

“After careful consideration and discussion with my family, I have decided to opt out of the 2020 season,” Cain said in a statement released by the Brewers.  “With all of the uncertainty and unknowns surrounding our game at this time, I feel this is the best decision for me, my wife and our kids.

“The Brewers organization was very understanding and supportive of my decision, and I thank them for [Read more…]

Morrison blast leads Gold past Blue at Miller Park

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Logan Morrison

The Gold team is off to a 3-0 start in the Milwaukee Brewers Blue & Gold World Series at Miller Park.

The Gold earned a 4-1 victory on Thursday night, thanks to the first inning three-run home run off the bat of Logan Morrison.

Morrison is a non-roster invitee to camp and is making a strong bid to make the Brewers 30-man roster that will open the season next Friday in Chicago against the Cubs.  Currently, the Brewers 40-man roster is full and they would have to cut a player to make room.  But Morrison had a good spring and has picked up in this summer camp, where he left off.  Not to mention, he would give the Brewers another left-handed power bat.

Morrison’s blast came off of Wily Peralta, who eventually settled down, allowing no more runs in 3 2/3 innings of work.  Peralta allowed four hits in all with no walks while striking out one.

Right-hander Josh Lindblom allowed a run on four hits over five innings to earn the win for the Gold team.  Devin Williams and Justin Grimm also turned in solid relief efforts in the game. [Read more…]

Burnes makes statement in battle to make starting rotation

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Corbin Burnes

Milwaukee right-handed pitcher Corbin Burnes is trying to land a spot in the Brewers starting rotation and his performance on Wednesday night moved him in that direction.

Burnes retired all 12 batters he faced, striking out seven, to lead Team Gold to a 3-0 victory over Team Blue in the Brewers Blue & Gold World Series at Miller Park.

Burnes hit 98 mph with his fastball, retiring Christian Yelich twice (strikeout & ground out).

Omar Narvaez clubbed a two-run homer in the second inning off of Brett Anderson.  Anderson’s night was done after two innings due to a blister on his pitching hand.

Orlando Arcia drove in the third run for the Gold Team with a run scoring single in the fourth.

Team Gold now leads the series 2-0 with game three at Miller Park on Thursday night. [Read more…]

Brewers sign four of their five draft picks

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Photo from Zavier Warren’s Twitter page @ZavierWarren

The Milwaukee Brewers signed four of their five 2020 draft picks to contracts on Monday.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Brewers signed second-round draft pick, shortstop Freddy Zamora (Miami-Florida) to a deal worth $1.15 million.  They signed third-rounder, catcher Zavier Warren (Central Michigan) to a deal worth $575,000.  Outfielder Joey Wiemer (Cincinnati) was the Brewers fourth round pick and got $150,000 to sign.  Fifth-round pick, shortstop Hayden Cantrelle (Louisiana-Lafayette) received $300,000 to sign.

All four draft picks signed for less than their slot recommendations, leaving the Brewers more money to sign their top pick, outfielder Garrett Mitchell (20th overall pick).

Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns said last week he was confident the team would sign all five it its draft picks.  The deadline to sign draft picks to contracts is August 1.

Brewers set to return for extended spring training, prepare for season (AUDIO)

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Milwaukee Brewers players will begin arriving at Miller Park in the coming days with intake testing for COVID-19 beginning Wednesday.  Players will then undergo the usual physical exams prior to taking the field for the first full-squad workouts on July 4.

“It’s exciting for all of us to be able to talk about a season,” said Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns on Friday.  “We know it’s going to be an unusual season and a different looking season.  But it’s going to be a baseball season nonetheless.  That’s something that is meaningful to all of us.

“We have a lot of work left to do.  There are going to be many changes we’ll face going forward to get through this season.  But this is a positive start.”

Stearns told reporters in a Zoom webinar that their biggest challenge will be to keep the players safe and healthy. [Read more…]

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 will have to deal without Yelich the rest of the way

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Christian Yelich File Photo

Milwaukee Brewers standout Christian Yelich will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his right kneecap in Tuesday’s 4-3 win over the Marlins in Miami.

Yelich is scheduled to return to Milwaukee on Wednesday for additional tests.  At this point, it’s not yet known if he’ll need surgery.  Yelich suffered the injury when he fouled a pitch off of his knee in the first inning.

“First and foremost, we feel awful for Christian,” said Brewers general manager David Stearns.  “This is a guy who’s carried us in a number of ways over the last two years.  He could’ve been two and a half weeks away from a repeat Most Valuable Player award.  So that’s where our thoughts are first.

“From a team perspective, we’ve got a lot of guys in that clubhouse who will hurt tonight.  This is a gut punch for a night.  And then we need to recover and play really strong baseball.  We’ve been through this before as an organization.  Two years ago, almost to the day, we lost Jimmy Nelson to a similarly freak injury, and we competed at a very high level for the remainder of the season.  And I expect our team to compete at a similarly high level going forward.” [Read more…]

Brewers to be without Woodruff for up to six weeks

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The Milwaukee Brewers All-Star right-handed pitcher Brandon Woodruff was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain.  Woodruff’s stay on the injured list will be considerably longer.

Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Woodruff is expected to miss about six weeks.  The Brewers recalled RHP Burch Smith from Triple-A San Antonio to fill the open roster spot.

Woodruff had turned into the Brewers top pitcher this season, posting an 11-3 record with a 3.75 ERA.

Now, we’ll see if president of baseball operations David Stearns will place a top priority on acquiring a starter before the July 31st trade deadline, or try to add to the bullpen.  The Brewers do get some off days in August, which will allow the Brewers to go to a four-man rotation for a while.