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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.

Brewers fall to Cardinals, must deal with struggling Burnes

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Craig Counsell

Corbin Burnes allowed two more home runs and made it through just 3 2/3 innings on Wednesday as the Milwaukee Brewers fell to the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 in their series finale at Miller Park.

Burnes has now surrendered 11 home runs in his four starts and is now 0-2 with an ERA that has climbed to 10.70.

Marcell Ozuna and Matt Carpenter clubbed home runs off of Burnes on Wednesday.  The Cardinals as a team, banged out 15 hits in all, nine off of Burnes.

Last season, Burnes was a star in the Brewers bullpen, going 7-0 with a 2.61 ERA in 30 appearances.  As a starter this season, Burnes has had nothing but struggles.

The Brewers right-hander has struggled to locate his fastball, leaving the ball out over the plate far too often.  Ten of the 11 home runs that he has allowed, have come on fastballs. [Read more…]

Brewers’ Nelson suffers arm fatigue

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Jimmy Nelson

Milwaukee Brewers right-handed pitcher Jimmy Nelson has been shut down for a few days after experiencing what is being termed “arm fatigue” by team officials.

Nelson is trying to make his way back from a shoulder injury that saw him miss the entire 2018 season while recovering from surgery.

GM David Stearns told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he’s not concerned right now.  They’re skipping a bullpen session and will wait until Nelson feels he’s ready to throw again.

“He didn’t play catch over the weekend,” manager Craig Counsell said.  “There was just a little discomfort, and so we just went slow.  It’s a very minor setback, and he’ll be back out tomorrow playing catch and moving forward again.

“I think he is close to pitching in a game, but it’s not going to be this week.  He’s going to have to face hitters first, so he’s got some steps to go.  Look, we’re being conservative.  That’s first.  There’s no red flags beyond that.  It was really just three days we’ve slowed him down.

“It’s just part of the bumps in the road in this thing that we need to get through.” [Read more…]

Stearns, Schlesinger land promotions from Brewers

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David Stearns

The Milwaukee Brewers recent success on and off the field has landed two key front office figures promotions.

David Stearns helped lead the Brewers to within one win of the World Series, was promoted from General Manager to President of Baseball Operations and General Manager.  Stearns first joined the Brewers in 2015.

Schlesinger just announced a new 15-year ballpark naming rights deal on Tuesday, was promoted from Chief Operating Officer to President of Business Operations.  He will be entering his 17th year with the team.

Both Stearns and Schlesinger were both given raises and contract extensions in their new positions.

The promotion of Stearns made perfect sense in a number of areas for the Brewers.  A number of teams had shown interest in hiring Stearns.  His new promotion will keep other teams from trying to steal him away from Milwaukee.

Brewers announce coaching changes

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Darnell Coles

Milwaukee Brewers general manager David Stearns announced that hitting coach Darnell Coles has resigned as the teams hitting coach and bullpen coach Lee Tunnell didn’t have his contract renewed.

The Brewers also announced that head athletic trainer Dan Wright will not return.

Assistant hitting coach Jason Lane will be considered for Coles replacement but was told that he is free to pursue other opportunities.

The 56-year-old Coles was in his fourth season as the Brewers’ hitting coach.

The Brewers finished seventh in the National League with 754 runs scored.  They were second in home runs with 218 and third in total bases with 2,352.  But the team struggled with runners in scoring position, ranking 11th (.246).

Coles told the Brewers he was ready for a new challenge.

 

Gonzalez will start series opener

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The Milwaukee Brewers will send left-hander Gio Gonzalez to the mound in game one of the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Miller Park.

Since being acquired from Washington on August 31, Gonzalez went 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA in five starts for the Brewers.

“We like the matchup against their lineup,” said manager Craig Counsell.  “It’s no secret that we’re going to use our pitching a little differently than the traditionalists would like.  And so far, the first matchup that we liked was Gio on the mound.

Gonzalez didn’t face the Dodgers this season. [Read more…]

Davies suffers setback

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Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Zach Davies was scheduled to pitch for Class A Wisconsin on a rehab assignment on Friday.  Instead, Davies will skip that start and undergo an MRI to try to figure out what is causing his ongoing back stiffness.

Davies first went on the disabled list on May 30 with a shoulder issue.  During his rehab process, he began experiencing lower back tightness, which has been a concern since then.

Davies won 17 games for the Brewers a year ago but has made only eight starts this year, posting a 2-5 record and a 5.23 ERA.

After losing Brent Suter with a UCL injury, it leaves Brewers general manager David Stearns potentially pursuing a starter before the MLB trade deadline at the end of the month.

 

Thames could miss two months with thumb injury

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Eric Thames

The Milwaukee Brewers received more bad news on the injury front on Wednesday.  An MRI showed first baseman Eric Thames suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb.  It’s an injury that could keep him out for two months.

Thames was placed on the 10-day disabled list.  The Brewers recalled right-hander Brandon Woodruff from Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Thames is scheduled to undergo further testing today to determine if surgery on the thumb is necessary.  General Manager David Stearns said surgery isn’t a definite, but it is likely.

Washington’s Bryce harper missed two months in 2014 with the same injury.  In 2017, Mike Trout suffered the same injury but missed just six weeks time.

Thames suffered the injury Tuesday night while trying to dive for a ground ball in the eighth inning.  He jammed his glove hand into the ground while making the play, suffering the injury.

Thames is hitting .250, leading the team with seven home runs.  In his absence, Jesus Aguilar will serve as the primary first baseman with Ryan Braun likely making some occasional starts there.

It’s possible the Brewers could give first baseman Ji-Man Choi a chance.  Choi is playing at AAA Colorado Springs.