2015-2016 Minor League Offseason Transaction Thread

[ctmyers]

And Connor Baits was not released. If there's hope for Connor Baits, there's hope for us all. 23:1 BB:K ratio be damned.

 

And you were right about Curtis. Surprised by that one and JB Kole.

 

So far, rounds 3, 7, 8, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 31, 33, 35 of the 2014 draft are no longer in the system. Altogether, including the players who did not sign, 14 of a possible 41 players are still with the Brewers organization...

[Jenkins5]

Ratterree & Karkenny are surprising a little bit. Karkenny kind of really opens it for Sharky and Denson in A+ and Denson & Perry in A.... Not sure where Denson will end up, last year I thought he was going to go up to A+ to start year and was wrong then he struggled most of this year. Karkenny pretty much play 1B every day which pushed Denson to OF a lot

 

Kole was a higher pick but with them loading up on young arms, older pitchers who weren't flashing much make themselves very expandable.

[CheeseheadInQC]

 

And you were right about Curtis. Surprised by that one and JB Kole.

 

So far, rounds 3, 7, 8, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 31, 33, 35 of the 2014 draft are no longer in the system. Altogether, including the players who did not sign, 14 of a possible 41 players are still with the Brewers organization...

 

Kole's not really surprising. If you're a healthy college draft pick who can't get out of short-season ball after a year and a half, the writing is on the wall.

 

None of them are that surprising by themselves, but I'm a little surprised Curtis, Cooper and Lieser all got cut now. I would have thought at least one would have made it through to spring training as a break glass in case of injury guy at BC. I wonder if that either means they are likely to push a couple of the college guys from last year's draft to BC or if it is bad news for some of last year's BC pitchers (welcome back to high-A Gainey, Seidenberger, Earls and Archer).

 

And yah, the college picks from that draft (minus Sneed and Leal, and to some extent Woodruff) were pretty underwhelming last year. Even someone like Demuth, the fact that he didn't hit high-A after being a high-round senior sign has to be a bit disappointing.

[Mass Haas]

During the evening and overnight, we'll give each of these players their proper due by at minimum noting worthwhile achievements during their Brewers tenure:

 

McCalvy tweet -- Minor League releases

 

Perhaps some found out earlier, but two days before Christmas?

 

All player name links lead to their respective page at MiLB.com --

 

RHP Tanner Poppe, who had been on the Temporary Inactive List, retired (discussed below in this alphabetical list). The Brewers also formally announced the retirements of OF Michael Ratterree, detailed here on October 10th, and corner IF/OF Steven Karkenny, detailed here on October 22nd.

 

***

 

As for the releases, remember these guys had to excel at every prior level (every age, at high school, college for those who took that route, etc.) just to reach the heights they did. They're all pretty darn good at baseball.

 

RHP Bubba Blau, 23, was drafted in the 24th round in 2014 out of Dixie State (Utah). Previously we mentioned here that his actual first name must be Bubba because MiLB.com lists it as such, but actually it's Maurice. A career highlight was on August 18th of this past summer when he closed out Helena's 13-7 road win over Ogden in front of local friends and family. Blau squeezed 14 solid 2015 relief appearances within three rugged ones, and his first two stints this summer (game log) unfortunately made salvaging overall good numbers for this past season tough. Here's a July 9th audio interview via the Helena site.

 

***

 

Big-armed RHP Zach Cooper was signed by the Brewers this past June as a minor league free agent. Back at that time, we provided a detailed post on Cooper, so it's worthwhile to re-visit that now. Cooper missed a month from mid-July to mid-August with elbow soreness, and at age 26 this January, not even a stellar 1.00 WHIP in his 20 Timber Rattler appearances could save him a spot at Brevard or above for 2016.

 

***

 

Another Timber Rattler, soon-to-be 24-year-old Luke Curtis, was drafted out of Pitt (where he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2011), in the 18th round in 2014. He was bumped to Wisconsin after only five Helena appearances in his rookie year. This past summer, in 40 relief appearances, Curtis was 8-2 with a 3.06 ERA for a Timber Rattlers team that finished 50-89. His 34-to-26 K-to-BB ratio in 53 innings likely did not catch the eye of the new management analytics staffers, however.

 

***

 

Four-year pro catcher Paul Eshleman, 25, was drafted by the Crew in the 23rd round in 2012, out of Cal State - San Bernadino, where he had transferred after three years at the University of Oregon. It's tough to shake the "backup catcher / taxi squad guy" once attached. For one shining week, Eshleman was indeed, a star, receiving Florida State League Player of the Week honors this past April, and you can listen to his walk-off home run here, along with his next day reaction.

 

***

 

21-year-old Dominican Summer League OF Ariel Estades' release may be a statement about the Brewers' tolerance of indiscretions in the future. That's a fine line to walk, because the organization should hold highly-regarded talents to the same standards as more fringe farmhands. Estatdes was suspended 72 games for steroid use in July. Here's what we posted last March when the Brewers gave him a second chance at affiliated life --

 

We know the Brewers scout pretty heavily in Puerto Rico, as noted by the number of draft picks used on that island's players during the Melvin era.

 

Milwaukee has signed a soon-to-be 21-year-old CF who the Royals drafted in the 17th round in 2012, but released this past season (on July 1st, only four games played in 2014).

 

Ariel Estades is a LH bat, listed at only 5'11", 150 on his most recent MiLB.com player page.

 

***

 

Recently-turned 23-year-old RHP Jose Flores was one of several non-drafted free agent pitchers inked by Milwaukee this summer. Here was the story put forth by Flores' proud college at the time of the signing. Flores, like several of the other NDFA's, started out really well, allowing only two runs in his first ten professional innings. Three of his last five Maryvale outings weren't quite so successful, skewing the numbers some. With all these guys, we hope they pursue at minimum, independent league avenues to keep the dreams alive (see LHP Craig Breslow, post-Brewers, and RHP Brandon Kintzler, pre-Brewers).

 

***

 

Speaking of non-drafted free agent signees, infielder Steven Halcomb, a three-year Brewer (Maryvale, Wisconsin, then Brevard County), has his Gonzaga civil engineering degree to fall back on (thank you, Brewers Media Guide). Here's a Timber Rattler highlight and Manatee interview, both linked here.

 

Nathan Orf is proving the undrafted senior guy infield "leadership" signee can make a real go of it.

 

***

 

Soon to be 23 years old, RHP J.B. Kole was the Brewers 8th round pick out of Villanova in 2014 ($159,000 signing, bonus information is always made available for picks in the top ten rounds), as that draft class, at least from a college perspective, takes another hit (11th round RHP Brandon Woodruff looks to be the cream of that college draft crop, keeping in mind 3rd round RHP Cy Sneed netted Jonathan Villar in trade). Kole (listed at a classic 6'4", 210) failed to advance past rookie ball, and won't be invited back for a 3rd look. Perhaps his relatively high draft status gets him another chance elsewhere.

 

***

 

RHP Scott Lieser, 25, was interviewed four times during his 2014 stay with Brevard County, archived here. Signed as an undrafted player for Maryvale in 2013, Lieser made a big jump in placement and spent all of 2014 at Brevard County. Six poor (but perhaps statistically unlucky in a small sample) Manatee relief outings to begin 2015 found him assigned down to Wisconsin for the balance of this past season. Lieser had altered a very high leg kick so that it wasn't quite as pronounced as when he had first signed. He was followed closely with radio appearances in his Minnesota hometown that we had linked here, so they will be disappointed, but Lieser did well for an undrafted player.

 

***

 

24-year-old LHP Tyler Linehan (9th round 2013, Fresno State, $125,000 signing) opened his 2nd pro season in 2014 with an expected stint in Wisconsin, but was shuttled back to Helena for the balance of that summer. Linehan then spent all of 2015 with the Timber Rattlers in that difficult middle relief role -- not part of a tandem, not a stand-alone starter, not a closer. We've seen in the past that it's tough to shine and progress when handed that role, but it was the nature of the assignment philosophy under Reid Nichols at the A-ball level. Linehan's peripherals didn't help his cause, unfortunately.

 

***

 

LHP Trevor Lubking only made seven appearances for the Crew, all in a rookie rehab mode at Maryvale this past July and August. We had detailed the former Rays' farmhand's background and signing in this post. Lubking had been prepared to play with a Frontier Independent League team when Milwaukee acquired him. He had let us know via Twitter that he was "rehabbing a stress reaction in his left elbow (pre cursor to a stress fracture)."

 

***

 

23-year-old corner OF Mitch Meyer (24 this February) was yet another college pick member of the 2014 draft class (7th round). He only received a $10,000 bonus as a senior signing out of Kansas State, as MLB teams will now squeeze those minimum bonus signings into the latter stages of the top 10 rounds in order to allow for higher bonuses at the top, circumventing MLB limits. Meyer struggled in 75 games with Wisconsin in 2015 (he did miss a month with an undisclosed injury), but did manage to have a few highlight moments in his two-year pro stint. It's too bad Meyer couldn't have been more productive, he could have had a key spot with Brevard County in 2016. We've mentioned elsewhere on the forum that the upcoming Manatee squad could have immense trouble scoring runs, even well below the usual Florida State League frustration level.

 

***

 

RHP Tanner Poppe, 25 (31st round, 2013, out of the University of Kansas), last pitched on April 29th. It seems his placement on the Temporary Inactive List was his retirement, which must have become official with paperwork filing at this time. Poppe reached AA in only his second season of pro ball, and although he was re-assigned to AA for this past season, that hardly seemed an issue. Here's earlier career archived audio with Poppe. Given his solid career numbers, this was probably a player the Brewers wished was still active. Best of luck to Poppe going forward.

 

***

 

RHP Caleb Smith, 22, signed out of the 15th round from the (here we go again) 2014 college draft class (Rice University). He actually was one of three Caleb Smith's (all the same spelling) active in MiLB in 2015. Control and lack of strikeouts kept Smith in Maryvale for both of his pro seasons. Back on his draft day it was noted --

 

15th round: Caleb Smith, Rice (2014) 8.16 ERA, 14 IP, 15 BB, 20 K (three schools in three years - Auburn, CC, Rice)

 

Surely Smith warranted a "projection" selection, it just didn't pan out. Kudos to him for the work he put in during two blistering Maryvale summers.

[Mass Haas]

The Brewers Player Development Twitter Feed today re-listed all the releases from the unfortunate "two days before Christmas" purge (which was detailed here), but included three additional names:

 

Timber Rattlers RHP Gian Rizzo, who we also followed in Venezuela this winter

 

INF Gregory Munoz, who was with the Timber Rattlers through July 29th before a return to Maryvale

 

C Kevin Martinez, who opened 2015 with Helena but was assigned to Maryvale on July 19th

 

***

 

We'll write up something more detailed on each of the three players this evening.

[Outlander]

Kind of surprised regarding Rizzo. I remember when Disciples of Uecker did an article on the rule 5 draft they mentioned him as a guy the Brewers might add to the 40 man.

[Crash2303]

Rizzo? you got to be kidding me? he's been someone I've rooted for since he put up incredible numbers in the DSL when he was 17. there must be more to this story. how does someone who put up a 3.09 ERA / 1.12 WHIP as at 21 year old in A ball last year get released? in addition, out of all of our full season affiliates, Brevard County will seem to have the least pitcher crunch. was he injured? did they not like the projectability of his stuff. were there behavioral issues? personal issues?

[Mass Haas]

Earlier today - Brewers announced his minor league deal with a spring training big league camp invite

 

LHP Pat Misch - Career stats

 

Great reads here...

 

Baseball America -- Pat Misch’s Long Journey To Lamigo Ends Perfectly

 

Ex-MLB LHP Pat Misch throws no-hitter in Game 7 of Taiwan Series - Fun video as well

 

Dubious distinction

 

At 34, Misch becomes the oldest player currently in the organization.

[Mass Haas]

The Brewers Player Development Twitter Feed today re-listed all the releases from the unfortunate "two days before Christmas" purge (which was detailed here), but included three additional names:

 

Timber Rattlers RHP Gian Rizzo, who we also followed in Venezuela this winter

 

INF Gregory Munoz, who was with the Timber Rattlers through July 29th before a return to Maryvale

 

C Kevin Martinez, who opened 2015 with Helena but was assigned to Maryvale on July 19th

 

***

 

We'll write up something more detailed on each of the three players this evening.

 

Marcus at Miller Park Prospects does the honors for us on the write-up.

 

Purely from a statistical standpoint, Rizzo's departure is puzzling, as noted in the post above. In addition to the stats already cited, he has 247 K vs. only 40 (!) walks in 258.1 career IP. Yes, we were gushing after those 2011 and 2012 DSL seasons. In other words, he "was" one of the three teenagers just acquired from the Mariners in the Adam Lind detail, at least by the numbers.

 

I was on the Gregory Munoz train heading into 2015, LH bat entering his age 21 year.

 

That struggling '15 Timber Rattlers squad sure has seen their share of releases this offseason, which you realize when reviewing these summary posts.

[Mass Haas]

Purely from a statistical standpoint, Rizzo's departure is puzzling, as noted in the post above. In addition to the stats already cited, he has 247 K vs. only 40 (!) walks in 258.1 career IP. Yes, we were gushing after those 2011 and 2012 DSL seasons.

 

Thanks to a fan in Venezuela and Kyle from BrewCrewBall's subsequent tweet, we learn RHP Gian Rizzo was allowed to pursue an opportunity in Italy.

 

Guessing he was influenced by 2015 big league Brewer and fellow Venezuelan LHP Cesar Jimenez, who is making a similar move.

 

That certainly helps explain the release...

[Outlander]

Mass do you happen to know if it would have been possible for the Brewers to allow him to play in Italy but still keep his rights if he ever decided to return to MLB?

[Mass Haas]

Mass do you happen to know if it would have been possible for the Brewers to allow him to play in Italy but still keep his rights if he ever decided to return to MLB?

 

Not sure, but don't think so.

 

Sometimes you see on the transaction wire, player "loaned to" Mexican League, where a player may be Mexican-based and would prefer to play close to home.

 

But as you'll notice across the first line at this page, the Mexican League has a formal technical association with MiLB.

 

In terms of other official pro leagues, that's not the case, and usually the MLB team will be compensated by the foreign league in some manner (likely a relatively low sum in Rizzo's case).

 

Despite being 22, Rizzo's been a pro for five seasons, so the Brewers only controlled two more years regardless (unless added to the 40-man in the future).

[JohnBriggs12]

Earlier today - Brewers announced his minor league deal with a spring training big league camp invite

 

LHP Pat Misch - Career stats

 

Great reads here...

 

Baseball America -- Pat Misch’s Long Journey To Lamigo Ends Perfectly

 

Ex-MLB LHP Pat Misch throws no-hitter in Game 7 of Taiwan Series - Fun video as well

 

Dubious distinction

 

At 34, Misch becomes the oldest player currently in the organization.

 

Misch put up respectable AAA numbers last year. He's from just down the road a bit in Northbrook, IL. You never know. He's a lefty and Brewer's aren't exactly overloaded with them.

[ZBTMP]

Left-handed pitchers Cesar Jimenez and Chris Capuano have been signed to minor-league contracts with invitations to Major League camp.

[jerichoholicninja]

Left-handed pitchers Cesar Jimenez and Chris Capuano have been signed to minor-league contracts with invitations to Major League camp.

 

Let the Cappy to the rotation threads begin!

[Mass Haas]

Big-armed RHP Zach Cooper was signed by the Brewers this past June as a minor league free agent. Back at that time, we provided a detailed post on Cooper, so it's worthwhile to re-visit that now. Cooper missed a month from mid-July to mid-August with elbow soreness, and at age 26 this January, not even a stellar 1.00 WHIP in his 20 Timber Rattler appearances could save him a spot at Brevard or above for 2016.

 

Cooper is the first of the December 23rd releases to find a new home, re-signing with a previously familiar independent Frontier League team.

[Mass Haas]

The last time we posted about Brewers Latin American signings this offseason was back on December 2nd. Please review that post now for a refresher on the four signings we learned about up to that point if you think you missed it then.

 

Once again, we have little more than a name to go on, but apparently the Brewers have signed Dominican catcher Luis Avalo to a contract (Twitter).

 

Guessing that Avalo is the young man with the catching gear on in this photo, but that's not a guarantee.

 

The signing occurred early enough, we believe, that there should be some tidbits in the upcoming media guide. He'll be a name to look for when the Dominican Summer League begins play.

 

And with any luck, we'll look back on this post when Avalo is your 2021 Opening Day starter behind the plate, after a blistering minor league career.

[Mass Haas]

As per Matt Eddy and Baseball America's Minor League Free Agent Tracker, the Brewers have signed 24-year-old switch-hitting super utility player (including catcher) Fidel Pena, who just completed a seven-year run with the Diamondbacks, the organization that signed him as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic.

 

Via his Baseball Reference page, you'll see that Pena plays all over the field. He topped out in the high-A Cal League with Arizona, and almost certainly will slide in to a manager's dream utility role perhaps at Biloxi, but probably more likely with Brevard County to begin 2016.

 

Notice that on his Twitter page, he calls himself "C/INF/OF" -- yes, 67 career games behind the plate.

 

Here's a collection of six video clips dating back to 2013 on Pena.

 

Welcome Fidel, good luck with the Crew.

[Mass Haas]

The last time we posted about Brewers Latin American signings this offseason was back on December 2nd. Please review that post now for a refresher on the four signings we learned about up to that point if you think you missed it then.

 

Once again, we have little more than a name to go on, but apparently the Brewers have signed Dominican catcher Luis Avalo to a contract (Twitter).

 

Guessing that Avalo is the young man with the catching gear on in this photo, but that's not a guarantee.

 

The signing occurred early enough, we believe, that there should be some tidbits in the upcoming media guide. He'll be a name to look for when the Dominican Summer League begins play.

 

And with any luck, we'll look back on this post when Avalo is your 2021 Opening Day starter behind the plate, after a blistering minor league career.

 

We now learn that Avalo was an $80,000 signing.

[Mass Haas]

As per Matt Eddy and Baseball America's Minor League Free Agent Tracker, the Brewers have signed 24-year-old switch-hitting super utility player (including catcher) Fidel Pena, who just completed a seven-year run with the Diamondbacks, the organization that signed him as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic.

 

Via his Baseball Reference page, you'll see that Pena plays all over the field. He topped out in the high-A Cal League with Arizona, and almost certainly will slide in to a manager's dream utility role perhaps at Biloxi, but probably more likely with Brevard County to begin 2016.

 

Notice that on his Twitter page, he calls himself "C/INF/OF" -- yes, 67 career games behind the plate.

 

Here's a collection of six video clips dating back to 2013 on Pena.

 

Welcome Fidel, good luck with the Crew.

 

Tidbit from Marcus at Miller Park Prospects--

 

Fidel is the son of Brewers Dominican Summer League coach Jose Pena

[Mass Haas]

From the December 23rd release list --

 

LHP Trevor Lubking only made seven appearances for the Crew, all in a rookie rehab mode at Maryvale this past July and August. We had detailed the former Rays' farmhand's background and signing in this post. Lubking had been prepared to play with a Frontier Independent League team when Milwaukee acquired him. He had let us know via Twitter that he was "rehabbing a stress reaction in his left elbow (pre cursor to a stress fracture)."

 

Lubking has found work with the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the independent American Association.

 

***

 

From our post on August 14th --

 

Via @BrewersPD:

 

Timber Rattler moves - LHP David Carver released

 

LHP David Carver, 23, was the Brewers' 35th round pick in 2014 out of Lamar University. After getting a 2015 mid-season bump from Helena to Wisconsin, he posted a WHIP over 2.00 in five Timber Rattler appearances (four starts). Good luck to @carvingemup (awesome Twitter handle) in the future.

 

Carver was signed today by the Joliet (IL) Slammers of the independent Frontier League

[Mass Haas]

The last time we posted about Brewers Latin American signings this offseason was back on December 2nd. Please review that post now for a refresher on the four signings we learned about up to that point if you think you missed it then.

 

Once again, we have little more than a name to go on, but apparently the Brewers have signed Dominican catcher Luis Avalo to a contract (Twitter).

 

Guessing that Avalo is the young man with the catching gear on in this photo, but that's not a guarantee.

 

The signing occurred early enough, we believe, that there should be some tidbits in the upcoming media guide. He'll be a name to look for when the Dominican Summer League begins play.

 

And with any luck, we'll look back on this post when Avalo is your 2021 Opening Day starter behind the plate, after a blistering minor league career.

 

We now learn that Avalo was an $80,000 signing.

 

OK Brewers, keep stocking 2016's Dominican Summer League team.

 

We're now up to six signings we know about, the latest a 6'2" LH-hitting Dominican outfielder with the awesome name of "Yorki Franco", as per the January 12th transactions on the Brewers' site.

 

This tweet provides a sweet picture --

 

 

As noted for all six of the signings thus far, we'll know just a tad more come media guide time, and then will follow their exploits when the DSL Summer season begins (looks like May 28th, perhaps June 4th).

[Mass Haas]

Here is the post from exactly one year ago when the Brewers signed former Pirates farmhand Beau Wallace --

 

Via Matt Eddy of Baseball America --

 

Signed: C Beau Wallace (released by Pirates, June 2) -- 22 years old, RH bat

 

A Pirates 12th-round pick in 2013, Beau Wallace made it to short-season Jamestown that year as a light-hitting, error-prone third baseman. Pittsburgh released him out of extended spring training in 2014, and the Brewers are now apparently giving the Hinds (Miss.) CC product a look at catcher.

 

MiLB Player Page

 

Baseball Reference Page

 

Via PiratesProspects.com - 2013 Page

 

VIDEO INTERVIEW upon 2013 signing

 

The Brewers did something similar with a catcher conversion project in Connor Narron, son of Jerry, last season.

 

Milwaukee released Wallace this week, as per the Arizona League transactions page.

 

Wallace spent all of 2015 with Maryvale (.724 OPS in 30 games), and while he split his time between catcher, third base, and outfield, by the season's second half he was primarily a third baseman.

 

Wallace turned 23 last July, so he pretty much needed to be in Wisconsin with the Rattlers this spring, and apparently the Brewers didn't see that happening.

 

Good luck to Beau on and off the field going forward.

[brewmann04]

Brewers sign reliever ahead of spring training: http://www.foxsports.com/wisconsin/story/milwaukee-brewers-sign-reliever-blaine-boyer-invite-him-to-spring-training-021216 …

[Mass Haas]

Here is the post where we link to information regarding the previous six Brewer Latin American signings this fall and winter, most very likely all to report to the Dominican Summer League team for play this June to begin their pro careers.

 

The Brewers announce two more signings -- unlike some of the prior signings in the link above where we may have gleaned a photo or an agency announcement, there doesn't appear to be anything on the interwebs related to these two players. We'll learn only as their statistics are built up this summer.

 

RHP Johan Dominguez, 6' 4"/190, recently turned 20 (1/18/1996); Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

 

RHP Daniel Acosta, 6' 1"/185, soon to turn 19 (2/27/1997); Bonao, Dominican Republic