Roster finalizations: Boggs accepts assignment to AAA Nashville; Almonte, Reed formally added to 40-man

[battlekow]

Andrew Gruman broke the news. Shortstop will be...interesting.

Side note: I realized yesterday that Almonte is still eligible for the Power 50. Guess we'll have to crowbar him in there somewhere.

[thablingster]

Haudricourt just tweeted Luis Cruz cleared waivers and was assigned to Nashville (also McCalvy, who didn't spell Brewers as Rewers). Seems like Almonte will be the last bench guy. They need at least one right handed bat. Acquiring Morgan probably sealed Cruz's fate since they had been playing Cruz in the outfield this spring to test his versatility.

[monty57]

I'm glad he cleared waivers. He's not that good, but my real worry was that if another team claimed him, we really wouldn't have much depth if Betancourt gets hurt or lives down to most Brewerfan.net members' expectations. Plus, he's probably better than Counsell at this point, but there was no way they were going to cut Counsell to keep Cruz.

 

While I don't have huge expectations for Almonte, I'm happy for him, and I'll certainly be rooting for him, as he'll have a big role as our sole RH bat off the bench. Plus, it would be a great story if he came out of nowhere and played a meaningful role in helping the Brewers to the playoffs.

[The Truth]

Glad to see that Cruz is still in our system. I'm cautiously optimistic about Almonte.

 

Looks like Counsell will be getting a fairly siginificant amount of playing time as the only backup at SS, 2B, and 3B. Or are they thinking Almonte can play at 3B sometimes?

[PrinceEatMeat]

The part that scares me is that Counsell is the only backup 2B, SS, and 3B now. Rickie will probably end up playing 160 games, so that's no an issue, but there will be some starts that need to be covered at SS and 3B. Hopefully, Casey stays healthy for the most part. Counsell won't be able to handle a ton of starts. This really hurts in terms of double switches, and being able to use Counsell as a pinch-hitter. Once Counsell is used, we have no backup 2B, SS, or 3B. Almonte will be of no use to us in the field.

[TooLiveBrew]

Yeah, me too PEM. We now have two guys that can only play 1B & pretend to play corner OF in Kotsay & Almonte? That's not a good use of two roster spots. This team really has a long way to go if it wants to contend seriously this season. The good news is that the star players are the guys we already have, the bad news is that the team still needs a lot more help at SS, CF, & the bench. There is zero power off the bench, and that concerns me quite a bit.

[monty57]

While I don't think he plays great defense, Almonte has been played all over the field this spring. I'd guess he'd be the "emergency backup" if Counsell had already been used and an IF injury occurred. With so many LH hitters on the bench, I don't see Counsell being needed much as a pinch hitter, and I don't see a non-injury situation where two of Weeks, Betancourt, McGehee and Fielder would get pinch hit for.

 

Barring injury, Fielder, Weeks, McGehee, Braun and Hart should play almost everyday, and Betancourt will play most days, with Counsell getting some starts at SS. If Weeks, McGehee or Fielder gets hurt, someone like Gamel, Cruz, Maysonet or Farris would be brought up, so really the concern is over the minor day-to-day injuries. If they start to add up, then we may need to bring someone up from AAA, as I don't see Counsell's body holding up to regular starts.

 

Overall, I think we have a pretty solid starting lineup (insert Yuni comments here) and our bench ought to be good enough. I'd rather have someone other than Kotsay, but Melvin has a history of finding seemingly-over-the-hill OFs who have surprising seasons, so I'll give him a pass. Morgan should be a pretty good reserve OF. Reed will be in AAA when Hart's back. As I said previously, I will cheer strongly for Almonte. If he hits like he did this spring, he'll help the Brewers a lot this season. If not, we'll need to find another RH bat on the bench. Cruz is never going to earn a living as a strong RH bat off the bench, so he'll only be back up if an IF gets hurt.

[PrinceEatMeat]

We definitely could use some power of the bench, that's for sure. If we are gonna keep two guys who only play 1B and a weak corner outfield, then why didn't we bring in Branyan? At least he can come in and hit a homer.

[monty57]

I'd much rather have Branyan than Kotsay, but we still need a RH bat if Almonte isn't up to the task.

[danzig6767]

I'd much rather have Branyan than Kotsay, but we still need a RH bat if Almonte isn't up to the task.

If Melvin wasn't so obsessed with crusty washed up vets, he could have dumped/never signed Kotsay and then we'd have Boggs and Almonte to bat RH.

[tyguy20204]

Everyone keep in mind that the final few bench spots can be and most definitely will be fluid. It's not like they're written in stone. If, down the road, the Brewers need someone beyond Counsell to back up the middle-infield, they'll simply recall Cruz.

[And That]

Justin James was optioned to AAA, per McCalvy.

 

Probably came down to him and Kintzler for the 8th bullpen, unless they go with McClendon.

 

Heard good stuff about James' stuff in spring training. Should be an option later in the year.

[JohnBriggs12]

Everyone keep in mind that the final few bench spots can be and most definitely will be fluid. It's not like they're written in stone. If, down the road, the Brewers need someone beyond Counsell to back up the middle-infield, they'll simply recall Cruz.

Technically, they can't recall Cruz because he's no longer on the 40 man roster. They'll have to purchase his contract and have space on the roster. Don't forget Edwin Maysonet. He may be ahead of Cruz too. But he's not on the roster either.

 

On the other hand Eric Farris is on the 40 man so he can be recalled without affecting the 40 man, and he did play a handful of innings at SS this spring.

 

Jeremy Reed had the most interesting day. He makes the team but since Morgan was acquired, he'll probably only last until Corey Hart returns.

 

[And That]

More from McCalvy - Mike McClendon was "sent down" - which probably means optioned to AAA.

[And That]

And from Andrew Gruman (this may have been touched on earlier, sorry, I'm catching up after a day out with the family) about Brandon Boggs:

 

They never officially announced anything but that [boggs] didn't make the team. He packed up and left. No word on waivers yet.

[JohnBriggs12]

And from Andrew Gruman (this may have been touched on earlier, sorry, I'm catching up after a day out with the family) about Brandon Boggs:

 

They never officially announced anything but that [boggs] didn't make the team. He packed up and left. No word on waivers yet.

Doesn't sound like a guy who will accept an assignment. The last few days of spring are always fluid and interesting for guys at the bottom of the roster. But it's a long season and plenty of guys come and go.

 

[And That]

Boggs was indeed placed on waivers to clear a 40-man spot - we'll find out pretty soon whether or not he accepted the assignment.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I don't see why Boggs wouldn't accept an assignment. If no one claims him, he obviously has no chance to be on a major league roster. He might as well stay here and be the first option if someone goes down.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Anyways, to sum up the roster here. Nieves is gone when Lucroy is back. Reed is gone when Hart is back. Kintzler is gone when Hawkins is back. Stetter or Braddock goes when Parra is back. And Mitre is likely gone when Greinke comes back, except that someone will inevitably be hurt or be struggling at that point, so you never know. The first 4 will be activated within the first week or two of the season.

[Ennder]

Makes sense, keep the mostly useless guys like Reed and Kotsay who don't need to play full time and send down the guys you could actually start if you had to in order to keep them sharp with full time play.

[Mass Haas]

In the Gord Ash interview linked in our audio thread, Ash indicated that it was his late idea to bring Erick Almonte to major league camp, and that Almonte was close this winter to being considered for coach / scout status than player status.

 

Great story, expect national types to pass along the tale of the former Derek Jeter substitute who was last in a big league uniform in 2003.

[Point Beer Is Best]

Anyways, to sum up the roster here. Nieves is gone when Lucroy is back. Reed is gone when Hart is back. Kintzler is gone when Hawkins is back. Stetter or Braddock goes when Parra is back. And Mitre is likely gone when Greinke comes back, except that someone will inevitably be hurt or be struggling at that point, so you never know. The first 4 will be activated within the first week or two of the season.

Is Mitre for sure going to be the fill in for Greinke? I hadn't heard anything official, but if the team decides to go with Estrada, I'm assuming they would swap him out with Kintzler for the April 6th start.

[Mass Haas]

If the bullpen is rested, they may go with Mitre and a bullpen game mainly because Jonathan Lucroy won't be ready yet for the 6th. So there would be no easy way to sneak Estrada on to the 40-man roster by dropping a catcher (unless Corey Hart is ready that day).

[PrinceEatMeat]

Anyways, to sum up the roster here. Nieves is gone when Lucroy is back. Reed is gone when Hart is back. Kintzler is gone when Hawkins is back. Stetter or Braddock goes when Parra is back. And Mitre is likely gone when Greinke comes back, except that someone will inevitably be hurt or be struggling at that point, so you never know. The first 4 will be activated within the first week or two of the season.

Is Mitre for sure going to be the fill in for Greinke? I hadn't heard anything official, but if the team decides to go with Estrada, I'm assuming they would swap him out with Kintzler for the April 6th start.

Doesn't really matter. I was just saying that it's him that's filling that roster spot at this point.

[MNBrew]

1. Counsell played very solid SS and respectably at 3B & 2B, both last year & the couple years prior. I've seen a lot of remarks stating that if Cruz didn't make the team, we'd in essence have basically no backup middle IF. Counsell's a solid PH option, but it's hardly like he was only re-signed for his bat. He's still surprisingly solid in all facets of his game. Sure, at age 41, those skills will go at some point not too far down the road. But they haven't yet, so I think it's a bit crazy to look at the situation as if they already have.

 

2. Almonte's not only a backup 1B but also a respectable backup 3B. I don't get some of the talk going on in this thread & elsewhere that both he & Kotsay can really only backup 1B & the corner OF spots. . . . . Note that I'm not suggesting Almonte's even a Craig Counsell at 3B, only that he can play there at least reasonably competently at least in spurts and possibly longer.