April / May Transactions -- Latest: DFE Rob Bryson Article

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Media Notes:

 

BALFOUR ADDED TO PITCHING STAFF: Right-hander Grant Balfour joins Nashville today after opening the season with Double-A Huntsville, where he posted a 0-0 record, two saves, and a 2.38 ERA (3 ER / 11.1 IP) in eight relief appearances. The Australian missed the majority of the past two seasons while recovering from ?Tommy John? surgery on his pitching elbow. His initial Sounds appearance will mark his first game played at the Triple-A level since the 2003 campaign with Rochester (AAA-Twins). To make room for Balfour on the active roster, left-handed reliever Mitch Stetter was placed on the disabled list, retroactive to April 29.

[Mass Haas]

Following tonight's Brevard County game, catcher Carlos Corporan was promoted to Huntsville.

 

No word as of yet on a corresponding move for the Stars.

 

Corporan was pushed up in part because catcher Angel Salome has arrived from extended spring training and is now active with the Manatees.

 

Nice...

[JoeHova]

Nice, I'm very excited to see how the Brewers' 2nd best hitting prospect fares this year.

[BrewCrewInMN]

Let the Salome reign continue...by far my favorite prospect

[And That]

-Every team in the organization is in first place. Check.

 

-Yo and Braun are dominating AAA. Check.

 

-Inman is turning into the second coming of, well, Yo. Check.

 

-Angel is back. Check.

 

-Palmisano, Moss and Nelson are showing what for. Check.

 

-Parra, Jones, Harper, Narron and Perkins are all healthy. Check.

 

-Two of my favorite pitching prospects, Garrison and Hinton, are dominating. Check.

 

-No major injuries this year. Check.

 

How much more could you want?

 

It's a great year to be a Brewerfan.

[MrBoozer]

Had a great look at Carlos' grand slam from the booth tonight. That definitely was a no doubter. Good post game interview with him and Freddy Parejo as well. Carlos kind enough to provide the translation. Got get em Carlos...

[colbyjack]

A nice note on Corporan's promotion from Lake City CC's website:

 

Quote:

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Former Timberwolf catcher Carlos Corporan became one step closer to that dream Monday night as he was called up to AA-Huntsville.

 

Corporan, second in the Florida State League in batting with a .360 average, 29 hits, 11 runs, and 19 RBI's, had a career performance in a 13-6 win at Vero Beach Monday. The catcher hit the team's first grand slam of the year and went 2-for-5 with two runs and five RBI's. The game was just one of many stellar nights on the season for the 23-year-old. "Carlos' clutch hitting has been outstanding. He has provided us with at least eight go-ahead runs this year," said hitting coach Ken Berry. "His instincts in catching, throwing, hitting and base-running have been above and beyond. He will do a great job in Huntsville and his promotion is well deserved."

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[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Site Update:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1136

 

Catching and Pitching Changes for Stars

 

The Milwaukee Brewers have released catcher Max St. Pierre and promoted catcher Carlos Corporan from high class-A Brevard County in the Florida State League to Huntsville. Corporan will be uniform for the Stars Wednesday night when they open a five-game series against Chattanooga. The Brewers have also promoted left-hand pitcher Luis Villareal to triple-A Nashville and activated left-hand pitcher Jeff Housman from the disabled list.

 

St. Pierre was acquired from the Kansas City Royals on March 27 in exchange for former Stars pitcher Ben Hendrickson. The veteran backstop batted .156 with three runs batted in for the Stars in nine starts behind the plate.

 

Corporan was batting .363 for the Manatees with three home runs and 19 runs driven in over 23 starts as a catcher and designated hitter. He joined the Stars for the final week of the regular season last year and picked up three hits in nine at-bats in three starts.

 

Villareal, pitching at the double-A level for the first time in his career, went 1-1 with a 6.75 earned run average for Huntsville. He picked up the win on Opening Night in his double-A debut and suffered his loss at Montgomery on April 21.

 

Housman, recovering from shoulder surgery, has been with the Stars all season and has thrown a couple of live batting practice sessions. He went 1-4 with a 3.67 ERA in 11 starts and one appearance in relief for the Stars last year before his season ended on June 22.

 

Note: no word yet on a corresponding AAA roster move. - Mass

[Mass Haas]

Nashville Media Notes:

 

DILLON PLACED ON D.L.; VILLAREAL TO JOIN SOUNDS FRIDAY: Outfielder Joe Dillon has been placed on the disabled list. The veteran strained his left hamstring while legging out a first-inning double on Saturday at Omaha and has not appeared since being lifted for a pinch-runner in that contest. Left-handed reliever Luis Villareal will join the Sounds from Double-A Huntsville tomorrow to fill Dillon?s roster spot. The 27-year-old southpaw posted a 1-1 record and 6.75 ERA (8 ER / 10.2 IP) in eight relief outings for the Stars to open the season. Villareal, a six-year veteran who spent the past three seasons in the independent leagues after opening his career in the Red Sox organization, has never appeared at the Triple-A level during his professional career.

 

Also, LHP Mitch Stetter's injury is left shoulder tendinitis.

[Mass Haas]

Baseball America reports that the Brewers signed outfielder Jose Rangel.

 

He's an 18-year-old from Venezuela.

 

When the Arizona Brewer season begins, MiLB.com will post his vitals, and we'll then build our Brewerfan Player Index Page for him.

 

It's great to see the Brewers still active in Venezuela and the Dominican, being able to lure kids here with the promise to play in America right away, instead of toiling in latin summer leagues for 2-3 years. We remember the early Brewerfan days, when we'd follow entire DSL and VSL teams and try to make sense of the stats.

 

Granted, the Brewers haven't really seen that breakout latin signee emerge, although several dot the current Power 50 -- time will tell.

 

By the way, Christian Guerrero, now 27, has finally made it to AAA in the Nationals chain, no thanks to his stats. The entire refurbished "Alumni Thread", with stat links, will be up within the next 2-3 weeks.

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Site:

Link for Adam Heether photo, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1140

 

Stars Roster Shuffle Continues

 

The Milwaukee Brewers have released infielder Jeff Eure and activated third baseman Adam Heether from the disabled list. Heether will be in the starting lineup for the Stars in their game Saturday afternoon against Chattanooga.

 

Eure hit .181 in 72 at-bats for Huntsville this season and knocked in seven runs. He started 14 games at third base, twice at first base and once in left field. The 26-year-old, an 18th round selection by the Brewers in 2001, led the Stars with 54 runs batted in last season. He played all nine positions and earned the save in the Stars 1-0 win in the final regular season game last year at Birmingham.

 

Heether was placed on the disabled list April 24 with an oblique muscle strain. He is batting .132 with three runs driven in over 38 at-bats. The 25-year-old hit .213 with one home run and 18 RBI in 70 games for Huntsville last season before being sent to high class-A Brevard County in the Florida State League, where he finished the campaign.

 

Year seven in the sytem for Jeff Eure, and his career OPS of .700 just wasn't enough for a corner infielder. He can hold his head high -- we chronicalled his efforts at Ogden, Beloit, High Desert, Brevard County, and Huntsville, and Jeff played the role of organizational soldier well, and we hope that those in the ranks like Jeff wear that title proudly. Soldiers are to be respected, and we wish Jeff the best.

[tnweill]

Not sure if this had been posted anywhere else yet...per JS Online

 

Role reversal

 

Class AA Huntsville catcher Max St. Pierre, who was released a few days back after batting .156 in nine games, has been re-signed and sent to extended spring training to see if he can make it as a pitcher.

 

"He threw 93 (mph) the other day and that was without using his lower body," assistant general manager Gord Ash said. "We're going to see what happens when he actually learns how to pitch. It's a long shot, but why not give it a try?"

[DHonks]

isn't St. Pierre like 24 or 25 still, too? Lots of time, and low mileage on the arm.

[Mass Haas]

St. Pierre turned 27 in April.

[dadofandrew]

He already hits like a pitcher.

[colbyjack]

Jim Powell mentioned during the broadcast today that Laynce Nix was expected to join the Huntsville Stars in a couple of days to begin his rehab assignment. I haven't checked the big-league or in-game thread from today to see if this was already mentioned, but I figured it deserved mention here.

[homer]

Quote:

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Class AA Huntsville catcher Max St. Pierre, who was released a few days back after batting .156 in nine games, has been re-signed and sent to extended spring training to see if he can make it as a pitcher.

---

 

There are lots of MLB pitchers that started out as catchers in the minor leagues. Troy Percival comes to mind.

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville Site:

Link, text follows --

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1143

 

Stars Get Temporary Addition to Outfield

 

The Milwaukee Brewers have announced that outfielder Laynce Nix will join the Stars Monday to begin a rehabilitation assignment. Nix is expected to remain in Huntsville throughout the five-game series with Mobile that begins Monday night at Joe Davis Stadium.

 

Nix is recovering from a right oblique muscle strain and has been sidelined by the injury for the first five weeks of the season. He was acquired by the Brewers last season as part of the six-player trade that sent Carlos Lee from Milwaukee to Texas. Nix collected only three hits in 32 at-bats for the Rangers before the deal and wound up picking up eight hits, including a home run, and driving in six runs over 35 at-bats with the Brewers.

 

The Rangers selected Nix in the fourth round of the 2000 draft and he has spent parts of each of the last four seasons in the big leagues. He has a career batting average of .241 with 29 home runs and 118 RBI in 250 games.

[Mass Haas]

Link to Huntsville Site, text follows:

 

www.huntsvillestars.com/n...ewsId=1144

 

Jones Sidelined Again

 

The Milwaukee Brewers have placed right-hand pitcher Mike Jones on the disabled list and have sent left-hand pitcher Lindsay Gulin from triple-A Nashville to Huntsville. Gulin is expected to be in uniform Wednesday and take Jones? spot in the starting rotation and pitch against Mobile on Friday morning in the last of a five-game series.

 

Jones left Sunday?s start in the fourth inning with two outs after the first pitch of an at-bat to Tonys Gutierrez and will be sidelined by a right elbow strain. The 24-year-old Jones is 2-2 with a 5.08 earned run average in six starts. He has missed time during the 2003, 2004 and 2006 seasons because of injury and did not pitch at all in 2005 after undergoing shoulder surgery.

 

Gulin has made three appearances with Nashville this season, one as a starter and two in relief. He has worked 6 1/3 innings, giving up four earned runs on nine hits, while walking three and striking out four. Gulin has no record and a 5.68 earned run average. The Brewers signed the 30-year-old in January after he had spent last season pitching in the independent Northern League in Lincoln, Nebraska.

[Mass Haas]

The seemingly endless one-week roster juggling with minor injuries in West Virginia continues.

 

First baseman John Alonso has been activated from the D.L., and OF/C Anderson Delarosa has been placed on the D.L. with an undisclosed injury.

 

Hopefully Delarosa be back in seven days, as have most of the other Power players on their respective stints this spring.

[TheCrew07]

I hate to be skeptical, but "Right Elbow Strain" is much different that a "Forearm Strain" and sounds much more like "Tommy John Surgery" than anything else. I'm trying to remember the last time an elbow strain was just an elbow strain. I'll hope for the best, but "elbow strain" scares the crap out of me.

[MadisonBrewerBlue]

another sucky setback for a former number 1 pick of the brewers

[don1481]

Quote:

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another sucky setback for a former number 1 pick of the brewers

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Speaking of former number 1s, and I know this has been asked elsewhere but... any word on Rogers? Did he throw on the 7th as planned?

[Mass Haas]

Speaking of former number 1s, and I know this has been asked elsewhere but... any word on Rogers? Did he throw on the 7th as planned?

 

Unless the Brewers release that information themselves (won't happen), or his hometown newspaper in Maine does a follow-up feature story (probably won't for a while), we won't know. Just plan on seeing him next season, with the possibility he may get to throw in fall instructionals in Maryvale (which we also won't hear about).

[bje3]

Check out the designated hitter for the Wichita Wranglers in tonights games