Minor League Transactions - 2014-2015 Offseason

[Mass Haas]

Kicking off this thread and have closed the lengthy 2014 Regular Season Minor League Transactions thread.

 

Nothing new to report today, but the upcoming updates here will tie in closely with our Brewer Minor League Free Agents After the 2014 Season thread and our 2014 Rule 5 Protection & the 40-Man Roster thread.

[Mass Haas]

From Adam McCalvy, likely informed by agent Josh - click to see replies as well.

 

Tweet -- Hearing hard-throwing RHP Manny Barreda will be back in #Brewers system next year. Could have been an MiLB free agent.

 

Tweet -- Barreda just turned 26 and had a 1.99 ERA at Double-A after #Brewers picked him up. Maybe a closer candidate for Triple-A in '15?

 

Confirmed by Josh Kusnick today, reported by Baseball America over the weekend.

[Outlander]

Can Barreda still be selected in the rule 5 draft? I assume nobody would or else Barreda would have just signed with that team but just curious.

[Mass Haas]

Technically, yes Barreda is eligible for Rule 5, absolutely.

 

Also technically, Barreda wasn't going to be a free agent until after the World Series, and was Brewers property this fall before he re-signed. Any team interested in offering Barreda a 40-man roster spot this fall (and thus avoiding the Rule 5 regulations) wouldn't have had a chance to talk to him or his agent, it seems.

 

One wonders if any other organization would send a "wink-wink" message somehow to Josh (agent) letting him know they were interested in offering a 40-man roster spot after the World Series. Josh could have then put off the Brewers or asked them to match the 40-man deal later.

 

Sounds like a potential tampering situation if something like that would happen, so more likely Josh and Manny had to assess the market, weigh the financial offer from Milwaukee, and how comfortable Manny was during his couple of months with the Brewers.

 

It does pose an interesting question, when you have a likely "in demand" minor league free agent-to-be, why not wait to see what's out there when you're so close to minor league free agency. Of course, if you're more of a fringy free agent (think Joey Paciorek last year), that extension offered by your current club can look very nice indeed.

[agent39]

It's pretty simple. What reason would Manny have had to leave the ball club? What opportunity could possibly have been better money aside? Nobody is offering a guy with no experience above AA a 40 man spot and if there is a club for some reason that likes him enough for that they can clearly rule 5 him still. Brewers can still add him to the roster if they fear losing him. And it absolutely would be tampering talking to other ball clubs about players that are not free agents. Waiting til free agency is NOT always smart. Ask a former LHP brewer farm hand, whom I no longer work for. He had what I thought was a great offer to return to Milwaukee, I advised him to accept it he decided to test the market and ended up in indy ball before going to AA with another ball club at age 30 for about 20 percent of what his original offer was. And that is why players sign early. I have had 3 players reup with the clubs they're with thus far and a couple reject offers. Every situation is unique and in this specific case there was no way I was going to advise Manny leave the organization that gave him a chance to revive his career. Well not yet anyway lol

[agent39]

And fwiw he easily could go rule 5 depending on how he does in Mexico. Look at Joakim Soria. Signed with the padres out of mexico as a minor league fa, wasn't protected, dominated in mexico, selected rule 5 like two months later and the rest is history

[Outlander]

Thanks Haas and agent39. It is very interesting to get an agent's view on why a players resigns with a club. Hopefully Barreda is the next Jeffress and can help the Brewers bullpen the second half of the year.

[brewmann04]

Hard throwers ground ball pitchers nice.

[agent39]

Barreda is very good. I have no idea what nyy was doing it reqlly was a huge shock. He was a ufa for 15 minutes

[jjgott]

@AdamMcCalvy 20 seconds ago

#Brewers say they have claimed 3B Luis Jimenez off waivers from the @Angels. The 40-man roster now stands at 39.

[Mass Haas]

Taylor Green, who turned 28 this past Sunday, is set to return for a 10th season in the Brewers system, as per hints dropped to us and Adam McCalvy via his agent Josh Kusnick.

 

FYI - Baseball America officially confirmed this Monday AM 11/3.

[Mass Haas]

2015 will be Tim Dillard's 13th year in the Brewers organization. Outside of brief indy league forays in recent seasons, he's been nothing but a Brewer. Welcome back (again), Tim.

 

***

 

Two Brewers have retired, as per the Brewers via Tom Haudricourt.

 

Fond du Lac's and UW-Milwaukee RHP Chad Pierce has notified the Brewers of his retirement. Must have been tough for the soon-to-be 27-year-old to be told he was repeating High-A at Brevard last season. Pierce did well to carve out four pro seasons considering he was a 38th round pick (2011). Good luck in your baseball afterlife, Chad.

 

22-year-old Helena RHP Wesley Cox, an undrafted 2014 signee out of Texas-Arlington, says goodbye to baseball after one season. For those who follow all the minor league Brewers on Twitter via this handy list, you know Cox got married in October, congrats to him on that and good luck going forward.

[DHonks]

I always felt bad for Dillard. Didn't he break his hand barehanding a comebacker, and lost velocity? Before the injury he was throwing a heavy 96 mph sinker. After he was barely touching 90 and converted to a side-armer

[Mass Haas]

As per Spanish reporter @WilmerReina, Tim Dillard's Brewers minor league contract includes an invite to big league spring training.

[Mass Haas]

As per 2012 J.G. Taylor Spink Hall of Fame honoree Bob Elliott, the Brewers have re-signed infielder Pete Orr to a 2015 minor league contract with an invite to big league spring training.

 

Orr, who will be 36 years old next June, appeared in 113 games for Nashville this past season, posting a fine .301/.329/.423 line (.752 OPS).

 

The LH bat split his time as follows in 2014 - 74 games at 2B, 21 at 3B, 6 at SS, and 5 in the OF.

 

Next year will mark his 16th in pro ball, you can see his combined minor/major league career stats here.

 

It was a slow tweeting year for the wonderful account @PeteOrrFacts. Check that out, as we can only hope for a more active return there.

[Mass Haas]

The Pete Orr signing means the Brewers have re-signed five of their own would-be minor league free agents (list), with two (Tim Dillard and Orr) receiving big league spring camp invites thus far.

[Mass Haas]

Add OF Jeremy Hermida to the re-signed list, he also gets a big league camp invite.

[Mass Haas]

Not sure if Josh Prince or the Brewers initiated his departure, but Josh says thanks in these back-to-back tweets.

[Mass Haas]

Baseball America noted the Brewers released IF Liu Rodriguez, the "player/coach" for Maryvale this past year.

 

It's been confirmed to be a paper move to drop the "player" part - the 38-year-old did not see action on the field in 2014.

 

Rodriguez will continue as a coach in the Brewers organization.

[Mass Haas]

Brewers announce nine releases -- we will post information on their careers here shortly.

 

"Recent Brewer releases: Deeter, Hillis, Hinojosa, Hopkins, Prince, Sermo, Vucinich, Walla, WilliamsE. We wish them all the best."

[Mass Haas]

The Brewers released the following players today (all links on names lead to career stats):

 

23-year-old RH reliever Ryan Deeter was Milwaukee's 2013 32nd round pick out of UCLA. At Helena in 2014, Deeter made 17 appearances, walking 16 and fanning 21 in 22 innings. Deeter was an award-winning mathematics and economics student, so we trust he'll do very well in his post-Brewers career.

 

Recently-turned 24-year-old RH reliever Andy Hillis, drafted in the 11th round in 2013, one of three pitchers the Brewers grabbed from Lee University in Tennessee that June (joining LHP Clint Terry, and RHP Alex Moore, Moore has since retired). Hillis posted somewhat monstrous numbers in Helena in 2013 (one ER in 17 appearances), and then we never did find out why he was assigned to Maryvale for this past season, where he struggled terribly. It must have been injury-related, although we never got formal word at all. Hillis was interviewed shortly after draft day (text at the @BrewerNation blog), and here's Helena audio interview from August 2013.

 

OF Dionis Hinojosa turned 24 in August. He spent five seasons in the Brewers system, the first two in the Dominican. Hinojosa had a surprise 14-game stint in Brevard County in 2013, but otherwise never advanced beyond rookie ball, still further than many of the DSL kids make it.

 

Utility infielder Greg Hopkins will be 26 this month, so his career path had taken a hit in 2014 with diminished playing time and a demotion to Brevard County from Huntsville this past July. Hopkins had a nice run for a 24th round pick (2010); we know he's proud of his St. John's University roots. He finishes five seasons with a .245/.296/.354 line (.650 OPS).

 

Infielder (later on outfielder) Jose Sermo, 23, is a Puerto Rico native who was drafted in the 35th round (2012) out of Bethany College in Kansas. Like Greg Hopkins, Sermo served mainly in a backup role to a very talented 2014 Manatee starting lineup. However, he did produce one of the most exciting moments of the '14 Link Report season, captured on video by the Brevard staff here.

 

Infielder (occasional outfielder) Shea Vucinich, 26 years old this December, is another who saw playing time in a backup role recently, at Huntsville the last two seasons where he posted consecutive OPS numbers right around .600. Vucinich was not included on the Huntsville postseason roster as players like Tyrone Taylor and Orlando Arcia got to take part. Vucinich will likely live on in infamy as our last featured Brewerfan home page article, posted back in June of 2010. Since that point in 2010, we've tried to remind folks that Brewerfan essentially exists just as a forum (a kick-butt forum, but only a forum).

 

OF turned LHP Max Walla, 23, is the first player on this list that can be listed as a draft disappointment, 2nd rounder in 2009 as a power-hitting lefty bat out of a New Mexico high school. It's too bad that a 2014 shift to Maryvale to re-invent himself on the mound didn't pan out, especially since the young man had a positive attitude about the opportunity on social media. Walla never advanced past Wisconsin, and his .342 SLG percentage in 689 plate appearances as a Timber Rattler wasn't what the Brewers had hoped for, certainly. Sidenote - Walla was the compensation pick for C.C. Sabathia, when Mark Teixeira's compensation status screwed the Brewers out of a certain Angels outfielder by a single draft pick, in a truly history-changing circumstance.

 

Still just 19 years old, OF Eric Williams was the 23rd round 2013 pick, out of a Texas high school. He had OBP's of .333 and .338 in his two seasons at Maryvale and Helena, respectively. He was successful on just 14 of 23 SB attempts, and at 5'10", 190, had nine XBH's in 262 career AB's. Should he not pursue indy ball opportunities, it's likely Williams has money for college coming his way from the organization.

 

Clearly, the most recognizable name on today's release list was eight-game 2013 big leaguer Josh Prince. Spending 2014 down at the AA level, Prince (3rd round, 2009) finishes his pro career (minus his brief big league stay) with a .249/.338/.341 line (.709 OPS), and 209 steals (67 CS). To be honest, there haven't been a lot of breakout players from the '09 3rd and 4th rounds, so it's hard to fault the Walla and Prince picks that year.

 

As always, we wish all these young men well in future endeavors, on and off the field.

[Mass Haas]

FYI - We have been informed that Tim Dillard's minor league contract signing did not include a major league spring camp invite, as we previously mentioned.

[MTBrew]

Always a sad day, especially having seen these young men come through Helena.

I understand Hinojosa was old for this level. However he has been one of the few latin players here with a real handle on all facets of the game. I think he could be a terrific coach and hope the organization sees that as well.

I am a little surprised with the Williams release, he being only 19. Very good outfielder with a strong accurate arm. Perhaps the power just wasn't there, still another year couldn't have cost much.

Hillis is really a mystery, he was lights out while in Helena.

[TURBO]

Disappointed to see Walla and Hopkins go... Really enjoyed watching them play in Appleton, and they were great to fans with autographs and such...

[patrickgpe]

brewers have traded Zach Quintana to the braves for OF Kyle Wren