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Brewers acquire left-handed reliever from the Rangers

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The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired left-handed pitcher Alex Claudio from the Texas Rangers in exchange for Competitive Round A pick in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft.

Claudio, who turns 27 on January 31, is 13-6 with a 3.20 ERA and 12 saves in 208 career games (2 starts) over five Major League seasons, all with Texas.  He went 4-2 with a 4.48 ERA and 1 save in a team-leading 66 games (1 start) in 2018.  Claudio led the Rangers in appearances for the second straight season.

Claudio posted a 1.80 ERA over his last 11 appearances in 2018 (10 ip, 2 er) as opponents hit just .206 during that stretch.

Brewers sign Nelson

The Brewers avoided arbitration with right-handed pitcher Jimmy Nelson, signing him to a $3.7 million deal for next season.

Nelson missed all of last season while rehabbing from right shoulder surgery.  He’s expected to go to training camp this spring as a full participant.  He’ll be battling with a big group of starting pitchers for spots in the rotation.  That group includes Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson, Zach Davis, Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Junior Guerra and Adrian Houser.

It’s possible the Brewers will take it slow with Nelson, but barring any setbacks, he is expected to pitch in Milwaukee this coming season.

Brewers meet with catcher at winter meetings

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The Milwaukee Brewers have both of their catchers back for the upcoming season, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reported the Brewers met Monday with free-agent Wilson Ramos at the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas.

The 31-year-old Ramos was named to the American League all-star team before being traded from Tampa Bay to Philadelphia.  He hit .306 with 15 home runs and 70 RBI in 382 at bats.  He’s considered a better offensive catcher than Manny Pina and Erik Kratz.

Ramos also reportedly met with the New York Mets.

The Brewers don’t have as much flexibility in their budget, but GM David Stearns said principal owner Mark Attanasio is open to expand the payroll if the right opportunity comes along.

Brewers elect not to bring Schoop back

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Milwaukee Brewers GM David Stearns told reporters on Friday that the trade that brought Jonathan Schoop to Milwaukee for the final months of last season was a “bad deal”.

The Brewers weren’t willing to take a shot at arbitration with Schoop and didn’t offer him a deal for 2019.  It makes Schoop a free agent.

The Brewers also declined to make offers by the Friday deadline to left-handed relievers Dan Jennings and Xavier Cedeno.  They tendered contracts to all of their remaining arbitration-eligible players, including infielders Hernan Perez and Tyler Saladino.

Schoop played 46 games with the Brewers, but struggled.  He hit just four home runs and drove in 21 runs while striking out 41 times in 124 at-bats.  He earned $8.5 million last season and was projected to get around $10 million in his final year of arbitration.

The Brewers currently have 36 players on their 40-man roster, giving them some flexibility in free agency.

Brewers named Baseball America’s organization of the year

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Baseball America has named the Milwaukee Brewers its 2018 Organization of the Year.

“We honored the Brewers as our Organization of the Year not just because they had a very successful big league season,” said Executive Editor of BA J.J. Cooper.  “We try to ensure that our flagship award digs deeper than that.  The Brewers’ run to the National League Championship Series was built by successful player development, scouting and analytics departments.  We’ve been impressed with Milwaukee’s ability to develop and graduate prospects to the Major Leagues, as well as the Brewers’ ability to use their farm system to improve the Major League club, most notably with last year’s Christian Yelich trade.”

The award is selected by the staff of Baseball America.  The honor recognizes not only the success at the Major League level, but also the organization’s amateur, professional and international scouting, farm system and player development efforts. [Read more…]

Brewers finalize coaching staff

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The Milwaukee Brewers filled out their coaching staff on Monday, naming Andy Haines as the teams new hitting coach, Chris Hook as their new pitching coach and former pitcher Steve Karsay as the teams new bullpen coach.

Haines had been the assistant hitting coach of the Chicago Cubs and will replace Darnell Coles, who signed on as the new hitting coach of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Prior to working for the Cubs, Haines spent eight years with the Miami Marlins, spending time as a hitting coach and manager at the Class A and AAA levels.

Hook spent 11 years in the Brewers organization and replaces Derek Johnson, who surprised the Brewers after the 2018 season by leaving for the same position with the Cincinnati Reds. [Read more…]

Yelich Captures NL MVP Award

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Christian Yelich

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich captured the National League Most Valuable Player Award in runaway fashion on Thursday.  Yelich helped the Brewers return to the playoffs for the first time in seven years and received 29 first-place votes and 415 points from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez was next with 250 points.  Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado finished third with 203 points.

Yelich won his first NL batting title with a .326 average.  he set career highs with 36 homers and 110 RBIs.

Yelich fell just short of becoming the National League’s first Triple Crown winner since Joe Medwick in 1937.  He finished two home runs shy of Arenado and one RBI behind Baez.  He hit .367 with 25 homers and 67 RBIs in the second half.

Counsell missed out on NL Manager of the Year

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Craig Counsell – Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell led the Brewers to their first playoff berth since 2011, winning the National League Central crown.  But Counsell fell short in the voting for National League Manager of the Year, as the Baseball Writers gave the honor to Atlanta’s Brian Snitker.

Snitker picked up 17 of 30 first-place votes to 11 for Counsell.  Counsell is the fourth Brewers manager to finish runner-up, joining Tom Trebelhorn, Phil Garner and Ron Roenicke.  No Brewer manager has ever captured the honor.

Snitker helped take the Braves from 72 wins a year ago, to 90 wins this past season.

Counsell’s Brewers won eight straight games to finish out the regular season, overtaking the Chicago Cubs for the Central Division title. [Read more…]

Yelich And Counsell Are MLB Award Finalists

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Christian Yelich

Finalists for Major League Baseball’s postseason awards are out and Milwaukee‘s Christian Yelich and Craig Counsell are among them.

Yelich headlines the National League MVP class after leading the league in hitting with a .326 average.  He clubbed 36 home runs and drove in 110 runs.  He got red-hot in the second half of the season.  In the final 65 games, Yelich hit .367 with 25 home runs and 67 RBI.

If he wins, Yelich would become the Brewers’ fifth-ever MVP.  Ryan Braun last won it in 2011 while Rollie Fingers captured the award in 1981 and Robin Yount did it twice, in 1982 and 1989.

Colorado’s Nolan Arenado and Chicago’s Javier Baez are the other two finalists for the award.

Counsell is one of three finalists for the National League Manager of the Year award.  He led the Brewers to a franchise best 102 victories this season.  The 96 regular season wins tied for the most in franchise history.  The Brewers have never had a manager of the year.

Counsell is joined by Colorado’s Bud Black and Atlanta’s Brian Snitker with the winners to be announced next week.

Rookie of the Year award winners will be announced on Monday, managers on Tuesday, Cy Young winners on Wednesday and MVP’s next Thursday.

 

Moustakas and Soria to become free agents

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Mike Moustakas – File Photo

Third baseman Mike Moustakas and reliever Joakim Soria both declined mutual options with the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday and will become free agents.

Moustakas declined a $15 million option and Soria declined a $10 million option.

The moves leave the Brewers with 36 players on their 40-man roster.  The Brewers will also have to make decisions on relievers Jeremy Jeffress and Jordan Lyles.

Moustakas hit .256 in 54 games with the Brewers, clubbing eight home runs and driving in 33 runs.  But he hit just .138 in the National League Championship series against the Dodgers.  He finished the season with an overall .251 average, 28 home runs and 95 RBI.

The 34-year-old Soria didn’t allow a run in three NLDS games, but coughed up four runs to the Dodgers in only two innings in four NLCS appearances.

Miley among three Brewers to file for free agency

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Milwaukee Brewers pitchers Wade Miley and Gio Gonzalez, as well as outfielder Curtis Granderson all decided on free agency.

Miley went 5-2 with a 2.57 earned run average in 16 regular-season starts for the Brewers.  He signed a minor league contract  going into spring training but turned out to be one of the teams most consistent pitchers down the stretch and into the playoffs.  In the postseason, Miley had a 1.23 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP in four starts, pitching 14 2/3 innings.

Gonzalez came to the Brewers in a late season trade with the Washington Nationals, going 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA in five September starts.

Granderson hit .220 with two home runs and three RBI in 19 games and .143 with one RBI in the postseason.

Taylor added to 40-man roster

The Brewers added outfielder Tyrone Taylor to the 40-man roster.  The 2012 second-round draft pick hit .278 with 20  home runs and 80 runs batted in over 119 games.

Brewers sign infielder to minor league deal

The Brewers also signed infielder Jake Hager to a minor league contract which includes an invitation to major league camp.

The 26-year-old Hager hit a combined .284 with 11 homers and 51 RBI in 97 games split between Class AA Biloxi and Class AAA Colorado Springs.