Brewers sign LHP Scott Schoeneweis to minor league deal + spring training invite

[battlekow]

McCalvy with the news.

 

Schoeneweis was the pitcher whose wife died of a drug overdose last year.

[Invader3K]

Surprise signing. Brewers are really loading up on the pitchers, that's for sure.

[battlekow]

Even with last year's disastrous performance included, he's still held lefties to a .210/.290/.313 line the past three years, so he could potentially be useful. He absolutely cannot be allowed to face righties, though.

[BREWERPRIDE]

This is the question I have, if Schoenweis doesnt make the club, does he go to the Minors or does he go into free agency.

 

We have all the ST Invites, but will they be in the minors or FA?

[berniebrewer4life]

I like this move, a lot. I figure this is similar to the Edmonds deal, where if he isn't on the team by the end of ST, he can sign elsewhere. Also, the fact that he kills lefties is nice, you can never have too many of those guys.

[BREWERPRIDE]

I like this move, a lot. I figure this is similar to the Edmonds deal, where if he isn't on the team by the end of ST, he can sign elsewhere. Also, the fact that he kills lefties is nice, you can never have too many of those guys.

Thats what I thought, so it brings me to my next question.

 

If he does make the roster, doesnt that mean we will have to release Villa or Narveson, or can those 2 still go to AAA?

[berniebrewer4life]

Villa still has an option(according to BF.net), Narveson doesn't, so i figure Villy will go down to nashville.

[BREWERPRIDE]

Villa still has an option(according to BF.net), Narveson doesn't, so i figure Villy will go down to nashville.

Cant we stick Narveson in AAA to begin with even if he doesnt have an option? Because I dont think he has 5 years major league service.

 

I get confused on how that works, even though he is out of options, cant we put him down in AAA before opening day?

[berniebrewer4life]

Cant we stick Narveson in AAA to begin with even if he doesnt have an option? Because I dont think he has 5 years major league service.

 

I get confused on how that works, even though he is out of options, cant we put him down in AAA before opening day?

As far as i know, he needs to have an option. But i will concede to those who know a lot more about this kind of thing than i do.

 

EDIT: Looks like the deal is worth 800k if he makes the team.

[SeriesFinale]

So now the truth can be told: Schoeneweis was acting as double-agent when he gave up that meatball to Wes Helms as a Met on September 28, 2008.

[BREWERPRIDE]

Cant we stick Narveson in AAA to begin with even if he doesnt have an option? Because I dont think he has 5 years major league service.

 

I get confused on how that works, even though he is out of options, cant we put him down in AAA before opening day?

As far as i know, he needs to have an option. But i will concede to those who know a lot more about this kind of thing than i do.

 

EDIT: Looks like the deal is worth 800k if he makes the team.

Yeah, I thought it was.... If they have 5 years Major League service, they can decline AAA and become a FA. If not they have to go to AAA, but they if they have 0 options left the next time they make the club and are DFA they can become a FA.

 

Not positive though, anyone know for sure?

[TooLiveBrew]

I believe the following is correct... if a player doesn't have 5 years of MLB service time, & he clears waivers, he's assigned to AAA (or wherever). If a player has 5 yrs. MLB service time & clears waivers, he can opt for FA or accept the assignment. I don't believe that there's any time (even in the offseason) when a player without options doesn't have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors -- unless it's on a rehab assignment.

[And That]

In order to be sent to the minor leagues without going through waivers, you need to have an option year remaining. Narveson does not. His service time doesn't matter in this case.

 

And since Narveson has already been designated for assignment off of the 40-man roster once in his career (actually more than once), if he isn't claimed on waivers, he would have the option of either accepting the assignment or becoming a free agent. When the Brewers DFA'd him last year, he accepted the assignment to AAA even though he didn't have to. He did accept the assignment, I think, because the Brewers promised him he would start. I don't know if he'd accept the AAA assignment again.

 

As a comparison, recently DFA'd Tim Dillard didn't have the option to accept the AAA assignment or become a free agent. It was his first time being DFA'd.

 

Where the 5 year thing comes in to play is if the player does have an option, but can refuse to be demoted if he has more than 5 years of MLB service time.

[endaround]

And to make it more confusing a player with options remaining but enough service time in the majors but less then 5 years (3 years I believe) must be waived but not DFA'd to be sent to the minors

[JohnBriggs12]

Scott Schoenwies, 36; Gregg Zaun, 39 on 4/14: Craig Counsell, 39: Joe Inglett, 31: John Halama, 38 on 2/22; Jim Edmonds, 39: Matt Treanor, 34 on 3/3, Doug Davis, 34; Randy Wolf, 33, Latroy Hawkins, 37; Trevor Hoffman, 42. None of these guys were under contract at the end of 09. All are now part of the 40 man or were signed to minor league deals with spring training invites.

 

Anyone notice a trend here or is their a senior league in the offing I wasn't aware of?

 

 

The Brewers have become the 07 and 08 Giants. We observed that Macha's not comfortable going with young players, but this is getting ridiculous. These old timers are going to taking away time from young guys who could use spring training to make an impression.

[Crew2323]

Scott Schoenwies, 36; Gregg Zaun, 39 on 4/14: Craig Counsell, 39: Joe Inglett, 31: John Halama, 38 on 2/22; Jim Edmonds, 39: Matt Treanor, 34 on 3/3, Doug Davis, 34; Randy Wolf, 33.

 

The Brewers have become the 07 and 08 Giants. We observed that Macha's not comfortable going with young players, but this is getting ridiculous. These old timers are going to taking away time from young guys who could use spring training to make an impression.

I guess when I think of the 07 and 08 Giants, I think of them signing old guys to be the core of their team (I don't know if that is an accurate assessment or not). Of the guys you listed, I don't think the Brewers are counting on any of them to be a core players, with perhaps the exception being Randy Wolf.

 

Off of the top of my head, four of the nine players you mentioned are on minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training (Schoenweiss, Halama, Edmonds & Treanor). Really no harm in that at all. If they do well, great. If they stink, no big loss. Counsell and perhaps Inglett are expected to be bench/role players, not everyday players. Doug Davis is expected to stabilize the what was the worst rotation in baseball last year, not anchor it. The only one who seems to be heavily counted on is Gregg Zaun, and he is a guy who can't possibly be worse than Jason Kendall. And who knows what Salome/LuCroy will show this spring.

 

I see what your saying JBriggs, but I don't think that the Giants situation is an apples to apples comparison. I admittedly don't follow the Giants, but like I said, it seemed to me that they were signing old guys with the idea that they would be main cogs in their lineup/pitching staff, whereas it doesn't seem to be quite that way for the Brewers.

 

EDIT: I see you added Hawkins and Hoffman to your original post. Again, I see what you're saying, but Hawkins has pitched pretty well the last couple of years, and Hoffman is still an effective closer. Neither of those two have shown to be on a major downslide in their careers that we should be that worried about their age.

[BREWERPRIDE]

Scott Schoenwies, 36; Gregg Zaun, 39 on 4/14: Craig Counsell, 39: Joe Inglett, 31: John Halama, 38 on 2/22; Jim Edmonds, 39: Matt Treanor, 34 on 3/3, Doug Davis, 34; Randy Wolf, 33.

 

The Brewers have become the 07 and 08 Giants. We observed that Macha's not comfortable going with young players, but this is getting ridiculous. These old timers are going to taking away time from young guys who could use spring training to make an impression.

I guess when I think of the 07 and 08 Giants, I think of them signing old guys to be the core of their team (I don't know if that is an accurate assessment or not). Of the guys you listed, I don't think the Brewers are counting on any of them to be a core players, with perhaps the exception being Randy Wolf.

 

Off of the top of my head, four of the nine players you mentioned are on minor league contracts with invites to Spring Training (Schoenweiss, Halama, Edmonds & Treanor). Really no harm in that at all. If they do well, great. If they stink, no big loss. Counsell and perhaps Inglett are expected to be bench/role players, not everyday players. Doug Davis is expected to stabilize the what was the worst rotation in baseball last year, not anchor it. The only one who seems to be heavily counted on is Gregg Zaun, and he is a guy who can't possibly be worse than Jason Kendall. And who knows what Salome/LuCroy will show this spring.

 

I see what your saying JBriggs, but I don't think that the Giants situation is an apples to apples comparison. I admittedly don't follow the Giants, but like I said, it seemed to me that they were signing old guys with the idea that they would be main cogs in their lineup/pitching staff, whereas it doesn't seem to be quite that way for the Brewers.

 

EDIT: I see you added Hawkins and Hoffman to your original post. Again, I see what you're saying, but Hawkins has pitched pretty well the last couple of years, and Hoffman is still an effective closer. Neither of those two have shown to be on a major downslide in their careers that we should be that worried about their age.

You are exactly right.

 

The older guys on our team are mostly just "role" players and back ups.

[JohnBriggs12]

Certainly some of these guys are core players Crew2323, and some will undoubtedly perform well. But bringing in a bunch of guys near or at the end just for looks in spring does do harm. They take away innings/AB's for young players in camp trying to make an impression.

 

For instance, do you want John Halama or Scott Schoenwies taking innings this spring away from Zach Braddock, Narveson or even Capuano who's 31 himself? Do you want Matt Treanor taking AB's from Lucroy and Salome? Or Jim Edmonds taking AB's from Lorenzo Cain, Logan Schafer, Trent Oeltjen or Iribarren? Frankly I don't.

[BREWERPRIDE]

Certainly some of these guys are core players Crew2323, and some will undoubtedly perform well. But bringing in a bunch of guys near or at the end just for looks in spring does do harm. They take away innings/AB's for young players in camp trying to make an impression.

 

For instance, do you want John Halama or Scott Schoenwies taking innings this spring away from Zach Braddock, Narveson or even Capuano who's 31 himself? Do you want Matt Treanor taking AB's from Lucroy and Salome? Or Jim Edmonds taking AB's from Lorenzo Cain, Logan Schafer, Trent Oeltjen or Iribarren? Frankly I don't.

According to Tom H, Doug said he is setting up "B" games, so all 32 invites, and 10 non roster invites get a chance to play.

 

Also, does someone like Lofgren get put in AAA Nashville if he doesnt make the opening day? I guess, I just want alot of arms in AAA, I want whoever doesnt make opening day to be in Nashville, so we have alot of arms. Who wouldnt go to Nashville? I know Shoenweis wont if he doesnt make it, and maybe Halama, etc.

[Crew2323]

Of course I don't want to see those guys take away opportunities from the younger guys. But I will just assume (and perhaps doing so shows my naivety) that management is smart enough to know which guys have the highest potential and smart enough to allow them to show it. And I will just assume that unless the guys on minor league ST invites are lighting it up, they won't take opportunities away from the younger guys with higher upside. Again, I may be showing my naivety; but the way the Trot Nixon situation was handled last year is what leads me to make the assumptions that I do.

[And That]

Lofgren would have to be offered back to the Indians if he doesn't make the major league squad out of spring training. If we wanted to keep Lofgren and send him to AAA, we'd probably have to trade someone (maybe someone along the lines of Dan Merklinger or Casey Baron) to the Indians to do it.

[Funketown]

Scott Schoenwies, 36; Gregg Zaun, 39 on 4/14: Craig Counsell, 39: Joe Inglett, 31: John Halama, 38 on 2/22; Jim Edmonds, 39: Matt Treanor, 34 on 3/3, Doug Davis, 34; Randy Wolf, 33, Latroy Hawkins, 37; Trevor Hoffman, 42. None of these guys were under contract at the end of 09. All are now part of the 40 man or were signed to minor league deals with spring training invites.

 

Anyone notice a trend here or is their a senior league in the offing I wasn't aware of?

 

 

The Brewers have become the 07 and 08 Giants. We observed that Macha's not comfortable going with young players, but this is getting ridiculous. These old timers are going to taking away time from young guys who could use spring training to make an impression.

Huh?

 

With the exception of Gamel/McGehee, who exactly are these guys taking playing time away from? Lucroy needs another 3-4 months minimum in the minors. Schoenweiss, Halama, Inglett, and Treanor are extreme longshots to make the 25-man roster. If Parra's in the rotation, the only guy you could really argue is losing time because of Wolf and Davis is Narveson. While I think the Brewers overpaid for Hoffman and Hawkins, who are they really blocking? Axford? I'd rather see them delay the service time of Braddock and Wooten than bring them up now.

 

The core of this team is still Fielder, Braun, and Gallardo. You're not going to see Josh Halama starting opening day. These are extremely low cost signings (what do you think they even have to give these minor league ST invite guys anyways?), and I don't see the harm.

 

Back to Schoenweiss, I guess I don't see the point. Stetter already tears lefties apart, and is much better against righties.

[Ennder]

There is no compelling reason to think Lofgren is a viable major league player so I'd imagine they offer him back to the Indians and stick him in AAA if the Indians don't want him back. I'm not too worried about guys like Iribarren losing ABs in spring training because he is unlikely to ever be a major league starter in the first place. There are usually more than enough AB and IP to around in spring training, especially on a team with so few roster spots with multiple options.

[Crew2323]

According to TH, Schoenweiss is insurance in case something happens to Stetter.

 

 

I just spoke on the telephone with Brewers GM Doug Melvin and he

said the primary motivation in bringing veteran lefty Scott Schoeneweis

to camp is to provide insurance should anything happen to Mitch Stetter.

"You always protect yourself against injuries," said Melvin.

"Schoeneweis has been tough against left-handed hitters over his

career."

 

[Invader3K]

Haudricourt also notes the Brewers are going to schedule a bunch of "B games" during ST to make sure everyone has a chance. He also insinuates Macha wanted to have another situation lefty "just in case."