Minor League Transaction Thread -- From 2013 All-Star Break to 2014 Opening Week

[TURBO]

Vincent Catricala has told the Brewers that he intends to retire.

 

Catricala was selected from the A's in the minor league phase of December's Rule 5 Draft. The 25-year-old once posted big power numbers as a farmhand with the Mariners, but he hit just .235/.292/.328 in 109 games between Double- and Triple-A last year.

 

Source: Greg Johns on Twitter

[Mass Haas]

Via The Official Blog of the Jackson Generals' (Southern League) Director of Broadcasting Chris Harris

 

Catricala retires from baseball to pursue law enforcement

[Mass Haas]

Thank you, Twitter reminder.

 

Brewers gave Pete Orr baseball's 1st hazardous duty incentive clause because of this:

 

[Mass Haas]

The Brewers have signed 29-year-old minor league free agent catcher Lucas May (career stats).

 

May, a 6'0" right-handed bat, has played just a touch of corner infield in recent minor league seasons, but will certainly be listed as a catcher this spring. Drafted in the 8th round in 2003 out of a Missouri high school by the Dodgers as a shortstop (yes), and after seeing some outfield time as well as a young player, he has since seen time in the Royals, Diamondbacks, Mets, and most recently, Pirates, system.

 

LA traded him to Kansas City for Scott Podsednik in July 2010, and later saw his only twelve games of big league action with the Royals that season.

 

According to the Brewers Player Development Twitter feed, May won't be in big league camp for spring training, but will be invited to early minor league camp.

 

Find him on Twitter @LukedogKC.

[Mass Haas]

As per his own tweet, we learn the Brewers have signed minor league free agent LHP Kevin James, who was Tampa's 9th round pick in 2009 out of Whitefish Bay High School in Wisconsin ($625,000 signing bonus, at the time the 2nd largest for a 9th round pick in the history of the draft), so James will be re-acquainted with (he's excited) his high school teammate and 2013 Helena Brewer, Charlie Markson (who played college ball at Notre Dame).

 

James, now 23 years old as of last October, pitched in four seasons at the Rookie and/or Rookie Advanced level for the Rays (career numbers, very limited innings, only one appearance in '09 after signing late that summer).

 

From the Milwaukee Baseball Academy website --

 

Kevin James was born and raised in Whitefish Bay, Wisc. He attended Whitefish Bay High School, graduating in 2009. He was a 4-year varsity baseball player and 3-year varsity basketball player. Kevin was voted team captain his junior and senior year in baseball, as well as captain of the basketball team during his senior year. He earned All-State honors in baseball his junior and senior year, and was named Louisville Slugger Wisconsin State Player of the Year and Old Timers Baseball Association Player of the Year during his senior season.

 

Kevin committed to play baseball at Boston College, but chose to sign a professional contract after being drafted as a pitcher in the 9th round of the 2009 MLB First Year Player Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. Kevin played in the Tampa Bay Rays organization for 4 years. He will be working for Milwaukee Baseball Academy in his off-season, offering instruction for both participating hitters and pitchers.

 

James, listed at 6'4", 190, did not pitch professionally in 2013, it appears. Not quite sure why James was limited to four outings in his first full season of pro ball in 2010.

 

Follow Kevin on Twitter @KevJames17.

 

Heck, we even had a Brewerfan thread on him back in his draft year.

 

The Timber Rattlers seem like a likely starting point in 2014, perhaps Brevard County.

 

***

 

So the Brewers trade for Will Smith, then sign Kevin James. Go Hollywood, baby! Welcome, Kevin!

[craigharmann]

 

So the Brewers trade for Will Smith, then sign Kevin James. Go Hollywood, baby! Welcome, Kevin!

 

 

A Hitch remake, maybe?

[TheCrew07]

Wow, I was so pissed when the Brewers took Pokorny with James still on the board, I was following him in the Rays organization but he just kind of disappeared and I assumed it was injury related, I could never find any information on what happened or why.

 

I'll be extremely interested to read more about this young man, and I wonder where his velocity is now? Kevin was drawing comparisons to Chad James predraft in 2009 at a PG event, but Chad has been an extreme disappointment for the Marlins as well, though in his defense he was rushed some early on. However his recent problems are all of his own making.

 

Here's his scouting report from the draft:

There's no doubt that lefthander Kevin James is Wisconsin's best prospect, but it's unclear whether he'll get drafted high enough to bypass a Boston College scholarship. He's a projectable 6-foot-4, 187-pounder who drew attention by consistently hitting 90-91 mph while pitching against suspended Illinois high school lefty Ian Krol in a Wisconsin scout league in the spring. James' curveball and command still need a lot of work, and scouts can't figure out why he doesn't dominate weak high school competition. James went 0-8 as a junior, and while he won his first start as a senior, he still issued six walks in five innings.

 

Just for comparison's sake, here's Chad's scouting report from the same draft when he was the 18th overall selection:

James spent the offseason on a stringent conditioning program, and his hard work will pay off when he gets selected in the first round in June. After pitching in the high 80s and showing a mediocre curveball last year, he has gotten noticeably stronger. The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder now routinely sits at 90-92 mph and touches 95 with his fastball. While his curveball needs more consistency, it's close to a plus pitch at times. He continues to have success with a changeup that ranks as one of the best among this draft's high schoolers. James has some minor delivery issues, but he's so athletic that he should be able to make those tweaks with ease. His brother Justin was a fifth-round pick out of Missouri by the Blue Jays in 2003. Chad has committed to Oklahoma State, but his stock continues to rise, making it unlikely he'll make it to college.

[jerichoholicninja]

Gilbert Lara has the loose, handsy, fluid swing that scouts are looking for with the plus bat speed and raw power to project as a future All-Star. He hit a number of balls out to left field at the heavily scouted MLB showcase and hit a triple and homerun in the game portion of the event. The chatter among scouts is the Dominican third baseman has an agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers for a $3.2 million bonus.

 

http://sbb.scout.com/2/1373523.html

 

Move this elsewhere if there is a better place for it.

[Mass Haas]

Gilbert Lara has the loose, handsy, fluid swing that scouts are looking for with the plus bat speed and raw power to project as a future All-Star. He hit a number of balls out to left field at the heavily scouted MLB showcase and hit a triple and homerun in the game portion of the event. The chatter among scouts is the Dominican third baseman has an agreement with the Milwaukee Brewers for a $3.2 million bonus.

 

http://sbb.scout.com/2/1373523.html

 

Move this elsewhere if there is a better place for it.

 

Interesting note, but until official in July, there's a thread in the Draft and International Talent Forum.

[TheCrew07]

Brewers Find A Dutch Treat

 

Subscriber article by TH.

“I had seen him over there and worked out with him. I had never seen him play though,” Greene said. “He was working with our young catchers and he put on a show throwing, with a great release.”

 

Brewers special assistant Dan O’Brien and farm director Reid Nichols were so impressed with Milan they asked Greene to broach the subject of signing with the club.

 

“We made an offer and he went home and sat on it, and then decided to sign with us,” Greene said. “It’s a small world, literally.”

[Mass Haas]

I'm surprised LaCrosse's R.J. Seidel still is unemployed. He'll be just 26 for all of the 2014 season, and showed enough at his first taste of AAA in 2013 to make other clubs interested, one would think.

 

The Brewers re-signed Seidel after all, and Seidel is pleased about that.

 

From late August:

 

A look at potential minor league free agent R.J. Seidel via Wisconsin Sports Tap

 

Update 3/13 --

 

Chris Cotillo tweets that the Brewers have released Seidel.

[Mass Haas]

Originally Posted July 2nd, 2013 --

 

Brewers Sign Panamanian Catcher Johel Atencio

Panamanian catcher Johel Atencio has signed with the Brewers for $130,000.

 

Atencio, 16, is 5-foot-10, 185 pounds and some scouts think his righthanded bat is his best tool. He trained with Emilio Sempris.

 

 

 

March 13th update --

 

The young man, who turned 17 last September, expected to debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2014, tweeted out an instagram photo of himself in a hard right wrist cast with commentary he was in Phoenix with a wrist fracture.

[TooLiveBrew]

The young man, who turned 17 last September, expected to debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2014, tweeted out an instagram photo of himself in a hard right wrist cast with commentary he was in Phoenix with a wrist fracture.

Looks like Johel got a slap on the wrist -- hopefully the left one -- for sharing that. The link is now dead.

[Mass Haas]

Ha - figured that might not be up for long, maybe a friend or fellow player suggested taking it down. The Brewers? Really -- I mean, did the young man violate his own HIPPA privacy?

[TooLiveBrew]

Ha - figured that might not be up for long, maybe a friend or fellow player suggested taking it down. The Brewers? Really -- I mean, did the young man violate his own HIPPA privacy?

I was thinking it might've been his agent advising him to take it down.

[Mass Haas]

(Now updated in subsequent post here)

 

Via Justin Millar (you can read his Twitter profile here to read where the young man contributes), this tweet:

 

The #Brewers have traded IF Hector Gomez to the #Angels

 

That link contains my mini-conversation with Justin, which includes our text when we discussed the Brewers' waiver claim of Gomez from the Rockies back in July of 2012 in some detail.

 

No word yet on what the Brewers get in return.

 

Despite a horrid 2013 at Huntsville, Gomez (career stats) netted a big league camp invite this spring and impressed, including Angels brass, apparently.

 

Gomez just turned 26 last week, should he ever be able to get back to the big leagues, the Dominican native with two big league games under his belt, has no minor league options remaining. With Yadiel Rivera likely to man shortstop in Huntsville, and a variety of vets likely to share duties in Nashville, the move makes sense regardless of return.

[Mass Haas]

The Brewers now list the Hector Gomez trade as official on their own transactions page, for a PTBNL.

[Mass Haas]

Sunday's tentative rosters, with a Matt Garza note he'll be pitching at AAA on Monday to keep him "in turn"

 

Notice that Hector Gomez is playing for Nashville.

 

And now this --

 

#Angels say there is "zero truth" to report yesterday that they had acquired IF Hector Gomez from #Brewers.

 

***

 

Speculation is fun, but we never said it was definitive here until it was posted on the Brewers' transactions page (which is updated via the MLB.com feed).

[Mass Haas]

As per Matt Eddy of Baseball America, Brewers released 2009 10th round C Tyler "Big Country" Roberts (career stats), drafted out of a Georgia high school, never quite jumped above Low-A Wisconsin.

 

We wish Tyler well, still only 23.

[Mass Haas]

In earlier posts (including this one, please review) we had mentioned the previously announced eight Brewers signings from last summer's international signing period, several of which could be considered fairly high profile.

 

The Brewers have announced four additional signings within their DSL roster page:

 

Juan Diaz (09/24/1992), 21 years old), a 6'0", 185 lb. RHP from the Dominican Republic

 

Carlos Luna (09/25/1996, 17 years old), a 6'1", 175 lb. RHP out of Panama

 

Ken Paredes (01/11/1997, 17 years old), a 6'3", 185 lb. RHP from the Dominican Republic

 

Dilson Fernandez (05/09/1994, 19 years old, 20 in May), a 5'11", 185 lb. catcher from the Dominican Republic

 

So for now, the final tally for Dominican Summer League rookies to debut in 2014 will be four RHP's, two catchers, four infielders, and two outfielders.

[Mass Haas]

Pitcher R.J. Seidel of LaCrosse discusses the difficult decision to ask for his release -- the short article also provides soem insight into the roster games the Brewers (and others) must play in order to maintain a depth of talent.

[JohnBriggs12]

Pitcher R.J. Seidel of LaCrosse discusses the difficult decision to ask for his release -- the short article also provides soem insight into the roster games the Brewers (and others) must play in order to maintain a depth of talent.

 

Maybe he should consider the indy league route?

[Mass Haas]

Just like we did in the fall when there was a batch of players released, we'll post something during the overnight tonight that properly recognizes the following players who were let go today by the Brewers:

 

RHP Jono Armold

C Brent Dean

1B Adam Giacalone

1B/3B Jalen Harris

2B Renaldo Jenkins

RHP Santo Manzanillo

OF Ben McMahan

RHP Eduard Reyes

C Tyler Roberts (previously noted)

RHP R.J. Seidel (previously noted)

LHP Taylor Wall

1B/DH Jesse Weiss

LHP Alan Williams

 

Best wishes to all these guys, it's a tough business.

[dacbrewers]

Sorry to see Alan Williams on that list...Thought he had a good chance being a lefty. Career numbers didn't look all that bad. Good luck to him.

[TheCrew07]

I'm shocked to see Jenkins and Harris on this list but I would guess that means players like Neuhaus and Castillo are pushing those guys out, which should be a good thing from our perspective.