Brewers 40-man roster

[djoctagone]

interesting to note that non-roster invitee blake lalli, who emerged as the primary catcher during lucroy's and maldonado's absences during the world baseball classic, is starting at first base today. his .955 ops this spring is something to be excited about.

 

it is possible that the brewers would want to carry three catchers early on, and split first base duties amongst lalli, maldonado and gonzalez.

[PrinceEatMeat]

interesting to note that non-roster invitee blake lalli, who emerged as the primary catcher during lucroy's and maldonado's absences during the world baseball classic, is starting at first base today. his .955 ops this spring is something to be excited about.

 

it is possible that the brewers would want to carry three catchers early on, and split first base duties amongst lalli, maldonado and gonzalez.

 

I'd be fine with that. Lalli is out-hitting Green by far. I think he might be a better option at this point as a backup to Gonzalez. As would Maldonado. I'd be fine with a bench of Schafer, Maldonado, Lalli, Bianchi, and Davis to start the season. Green just simply isn't hitting enough to make me trust him at all as a quality bench option.

[djoctagone]

it should also be noted that lalli has had experience catching many of the pitchers whom we expect to see in 2013.

 

from what i can tell, if added to the 40-man and 25-man roster, blake lalli would have two minor league options remaining. his contract was purchased by the cubs in 2012.

 

i always feel better knowing that the brewers have 40-man catching depth. if a catcher goes down, it makes it easier to recall a player already on the 40-man.

[djoctagone]

the call for bianchi over a player on a minor league contract such as donnie murphy or bobby crosby is this: if bianchi makes the club and stays the entire year, the brewers can control him for six more years. if murphy or crosby make the club, they're free agents at the end of the season (assuming they last longer than brooks conrad did).

 

we're not privy to any opt-out clauses for murphy or crosby, but i'd imagine either player's opt-out clause wouldn't be until june or july (more seasoned veterans typically get earlier opt-out clauses). for example, if bianchi makes the club, the organization keeps its depth with murphy. if murphy makes the club, it's likely at the expense of bianchi, and bianchi is lost.

today's release of crosby was quite telling of the brewers' plans for middle infield depth. again, if murphy makes the club over a healthy bianchi, the likely cost is losing bianchi from the organization. that leaves them with very little depth within the organization in the middle infield.

 

unless bianchi lands on the disabled list, i can't see how murphy's contract gets purchased and he makes the 25-man roster.

[trwi7]

interesting to note that non-roster invitee blake lalli, who emerged as the primary catcher during lucroy's and maldonado's absences during the world baseball classic, is starting at first base today. his .955 ops this spring is something to be excited about.

 

it is possible that the brewers would want to carry three catchers early on, and split first base duties amongst lalli, maldonado and gonzalez.

 

Come on, he's a soon to be 30 year old career minor leaguer who couldn't even crack a .700 OPS in the PCL last year. There is nothing to be excited about with Blake Lalli.

[monty57]

interesting to note that non-roster invitee blake lalli, who emerged as the primary catcher during lucroy's and maldonado's absences during the world baseball classic, is starting at first base today. his .955 ops this spring is something to be excited about.

 

it is possible that the brewers would want to carry three catchers early on, and split first base duties amongst lalli, maldonado and gonzalez.

 

Come on, he's a soon to be 30 year old career minor leaguer who couldn't even crack a .700 OPS in the PCL last year. There is nothing to be excited about with Blake Lalli.

 

Roenicke believes his eyes. In the limited PAs he's seen Lalli and Green, Lalli has outperformed Green. In the thousands of PAs Roenicke hasn't seen, Green has outperformed Lalli. In the 25 ABs he saw Morris, he didn't hit well. Spring Training is usually pretty meaningless, but unfortunately this year, the Brewers have to figure out who will be their everyday 1B for 1/3 of the season. Personally, I'd look at the players' entire body of work, but I wouldn't be surprised if we go with who has the hot spring or the "veteran grittiness."

 

I think Morris and Green both make a ton of sense. Morris could get a chance to "get his feet wet" at the MLB level, knowing he'd be sent back when Hart returns, giving him experience and confidence to take over the starting role next year. Green could finally get his everyday chance to see if he can live up to the promise he's shown in the minors and see if he can raise his stock up.

 

Meanwhile, Gonzalez can't hit well enough to land a starting SS gig at this point, and Lalli has never hit well enough to land a starting catching gig (or even spend much time on a MLB roster). These are the two lightest hitting positions on the field, and these guys could very likely be our starting platoon at 1B. That or Lalli/Maldonado, which brings me to another point. Gonzalez hasn't played much SS this spring, and Maldonado hasn't played much catcher - both have been spending most of their time at 1B. Is anyone else worried that our backup SS and backup C may be "rusty" on defense when the season starts?

 

Edit: Here are Lalli & Green's numbers:

 

Lalli has a total of 15 MLB ABs (he'll be 30 in 2 months), so his career .321 OPS in the majors is about as meaningful as his 1.000+ OPS this spring. He has 2,233 minor league ABs, with a line of .296 AVG / .357 OBP / .416 SLG / .773 OPS.

 

Green has a paltry 140 MLB ABs, so again his .609 career OPS isn't really meaningful. He has 2,468 minor league ABs, with a line of .289 AVG / .370 OBP / .452 SLG / .822 OPS.

 

Neither one has proven anything, but if that's your choice I'd definitely give the nod to Green.

[CheezWizHed]

The only thing Lalli gives us is a backup catcher to sit on the bench (i.e. never plays) so Maldo can play 1B.

[kalle8]

erick almonte

[djoctagone]

--with mat gamel out for the season, the brewers will place him on the 60-day disabled list. this will open up a 40-man spot.

 

--miguel de los santos is out until july with a shoulder injury, but does have one minor league option remaining. if the brewers place him on the 60-day disabled list, he accrues major league service time, but he also opens up a spot on the 40-man roster.

unless the brewers attempt to outright mark rogers or jeff bianchi, i can't see how they'd clear additional roster spots (barring trades). i can't see how the brewers would want to release any other players currently on the 40-man roster.

 

thus, it's likely that the brewers will add no more than two players currently on minor league contracts, and if they add two, it's unlikely that they'd both be pitchers or both be position players.

 

those with a chance to be added to the roster:

 

rhp alfredo figaro

rhp donovan hand

inf donnie murphy

c/1b blake lalli

1b hunter morris or sean halton (chances for either seem remote, but certainly both would not be added)

 

am i missing any other minor leaguers who might be in the mix?

[pogokat]

erick almonte, brad nelson, a bunch of other guys i can't remember....lalli makes the team as the 25th man...gets 15 ab's, and is replaced by hart...

 

the team probably like their odds of being able to send Taylor Green or Jeff Bianchi down at the end of spring training more than their odds at the beginning of May

[Outlander]

the team probably like their odds of being able to send Taylor Green or Jeff Bianchi down at the end of spring training more than their odds at the beginning of May

I apologize but what do you mean by the team liking their odds of sending down Green or Bianchi? Taking them off the 40 man without being claimed?

[PrinceEatMeat]

erick almonte, brad nelson, a bunch of other guys i can't remember....lalli makes the team as the 25th man...gets 15 ab's, and is replaced by hart...

 

the team probably like their odds of being able to send Taylor Green or Jeff Bianchi down at the end of spring training more than their odds at the beginning of May

 

Green has options. So no risk with him.

[MNBrew]

...those with a chance to be added to the roster:

 

rhp alfredo figaro

rhp donovan hand

inf donnie murphy

c/1b blake lalli

1b hunter morris or sean halton (chances for either seem remote, but certainly both would not be added)

Morris has already been returned to minor league camp, so I don't see how you'd consider him any kind of possibility unless the next 2-3 options at 1B also get hurt.

 

Also, CheezWizHed, I think I've read that having Lalli on the roster (if he makes it) would be in part so that Maldonado can remain the backup C, not get 1B playing time, or so that Roenicke could use either Maldonado or Lalli to PH as situations dictate and still have a C on the bench.

[djoctagone]

Morris has already been returned to minor league camp, so I don't see how you'd consider him any kind of possibility unless the next 2-3 options at 1B also get hurt.

i've acknowledged morris' demotion from major league camp in this thread. the brewers could still decide to purchase his contract by opening day, but if they were still considering doing so, you'd expect that he'd still be in major league camp. it should be noted that sean halton is still in major league camp. like i said, remote chance for either player, and yes, it would likely arise only if more injuries occurred.

[Mass Haas]

Since you mentioned Sean Halton, BOOM!

 

Good for him yesterday, guess he'll be getting a lot of DH at bats with Morris' presence in Nashville.

[yoshii8]

I realize there are a bunch of guys like Duffy, Almonte, Nelson and so on, but then there are cases like Mcgehee and Brady Clark. I'm not a huge fan of Lalli making the team out of spring, but I don't think of it as too big of a deal, especially w/ Hart hopefully coming back shortly.

[djoctagone]

as expected, the brewers place mat gamel on the 60-day disabled list. this puts the 40-man at 39 players. the spot's available for a player in camp, a waiver claim or a trade.

[Mass Haas]

Not that it matters now, but the crazy world of "minor league options" strikes again.

 

Yesterday the Padres optioned RHP Fautino De Los Santos (Kottaras trade, subsequently claimed by the Padres, and also named in the Miami PED controversy).

 

Now, it had been widely reported, even at the time of the Kottaras trade, that 2012 was De Los Santos' last option year.

 

And that seemed very accurate, as Baseball Prospectus shows (bottom of linked page), De Los Santos was added to the A's 40-man roster in November 2009. He spent time in the minor leagues (optioned) in 2010, 2011, and 2012 while maintaining his 40-man roster status (Baseball Cube stats).

 

He never missed a full or near-full season, so he would not have been a candidate to petition for a 4th option year.

 

I've contacted the Padres' MLB.com guy to see if we can learn more, mainly just out of curiosity.

 

The wonderful Matt Eddy of Baseball America sheds some light on the 4th option issue.

 

Looks like De Los Santos (Baseball Reference) would not have been charged with service years for 2006 (DSL) or 2009 (mostly injured).

[CheezWizHed]

Also, CheezWizHed, I think I've read that having Lalli on the roster (if he makes it) would be in part so that Maldonado can remain the backup C, not get 1B playing time, or so that Roenicke could use either Maldonado or Lalli to PH as situations dictate and still have a C on the bench.

 

Yes, I read that also. But that doesn't mean it makes much sense. Maldo is our next best 1B option, IMO. I'm not positive how he is defensively, but he has a better stick than our other options at 1B right now.

[djoctagone]

--miguel de los santos is out until july with a shoulder injury, but does have one minor league option remaining. if the brewers place him on the 60-day disabled list, he accrues major league service time, but he also opens up a spot on the 40-man roster.

the brewers may have to do this to open up a second 40-man roster spot if both jeff bianchi and taylor green open the season on the 15-day disabled list--especially if alex gonzalez is pegged as the starting first baseman.

 

within the organization, donnie murphy and blake lalli appear to be the most able to play the positions that jeff bianchi and taylor green would play--essentially everything on the infield. both would have to be added to the 40-man roster.

[djoctagone]

josh stinson has been optioned to nashville. it's his final option year, meaning he can sent back and forth this season, but come next season, he'd have to be exposed to waivers to be sent down. dayton buller also returned to minor league camp. 34 players remain in big league camp.

[PrinceEatMeat]

‏@Todd_Rosiak

Michael Olmsted optioned to Nashville. #Brewers

[djoctagone]

if the reports of kyle lohse signing are true, he takes the final open spot on the 40-man roster. this move might make mark rogers more expendable, opening up a 40-man spot.

[MVP2110]

so if our bench options all need to be placed on the 40 man isnt that 3 spots we now have to open up for Lalli, Murphy, & Davis

[djoctagone]

so if our bench options all need to be placed on the 40 man isnt that 3 spots we now have to open up for Lalli, Murphy, & Davis

khris davis is on the 40-man roster. lalli and murphy are not.

 

the brewers need to ask if it's worth risking losing another player currently on the 40-man just to get lalli or murphy (or even figaro or hand, for that matter). i don't see any players worth the risk of losing . . . except maybe mark rogers or caleb gindl.