Official Alumni Thread

[TheCrew07]

Did you mean per game? Or are you still taking shots at him?

[dadofandrew]

Heh, corrected.

 

5 guys per inning, now then we got a prospect.http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Mass Haas]

Second baseman Ralph Santana, who spent some time on the back half of the Power 50 back in '02 and '03, is moving on to the coaching phase of his career at age 27.

Link:

http://www.frontierleague.com/cgi-bin/dist/news.cgi?id=1198077643

Hardly a day goes by when one of the nine (yes, nine) current independent leagues doesn't have a blurb about a former Brewer farmhand. Can get pretty obscure at times -- remember Todd Gelatka's three games in Helena in '03? He was the Golden Baseball League's Pitcher of the Year this past season. Stuff like that. I still owe you all a summary during these winter months.

[berniebrewer4life]

Not very good. His AAA stats since 2005 are rather weak, to be polite.

 

He did not even K 5 guys per 9 innings last year. I don't know his curveball went.

Ouch, a 1.40 WHIP in AAA? Not even the royals are bad enough to start him.

[mls4]

Chad Paronto signed with Houston.

 

Link

[Mass Haas]

Just added the Marlins in the opening post, going to try and finish the National League tonight, so you'll see various updates the next couple of hours...

 

Update: Cardinals, Giants, and Nationals remain, probably Saturday...

[Mass Haas]

OK, our 2007 Alumni List is now complete (first post in thread).

 

Technically Ray King finished this season with the Brewers, but we listed him as an alumnus. This list will provide a base heading into next season, when obviously many of these players will have new homes. And of course we'll add all the former 2007 Brewers, major and minor league, who left after this season to new organizations.

 

If you know of another Brewer alum who played affiliated ball this season that we missed, no matter how obscure, let us know in this thread, thanks.

 

Next up will be a list of those former Brewers who saw action in the independent league ranks this past season, to be posted sometime in January.

[Mass Haas]

Reliever Mike Marksbury, who was signed late last season from the independent ranks, struggled in a small sample at Brevard County and then was released after the season, is rejoining Rockford (Ill.) of the Frontier League:

 

http://www.frontierleague.com/cgi-bin/dist/news.cgi?id=1199304015

[Mass Haas]

Longtime Brewer farmhand Chris Barnwell signed a minor league deal with the Marlins, which certainly seems to be a wise choice for the infielder. Barnwell also gets a spring training invite to the big league camp.

 

LHP Adam Pettyjohn, who pitched well for Huntsville and Nashville last season, gets a non-roster big league invite to camp with Cincinnati.

 

Catcher Bernie Dennis, who saw rookie ball action with the Brewers in Maryvale in 2005 and 2006, signed with Wichita of the independent American Association.

 

And as noted in an Off-Topic Forum thread, former Brewer Jaime Navarro is the new pitching coach of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the Mariners' Midwest league club in Appleton.

[Mass Haas]

Other minor league signings:

 

RHP Kane Davis with Toronto, INF Johnny Raburn with Tampa Bay, RHP Elmer Dessens and UT Jose Macias with Pittsburgh, RHP Roberto Giron with Kansas City, RHP Max St. Pierre with Detroit, LHP Chris Michalak and 1B Kevin Barker with Cincinnati, C J.C. Boscan signs with Atlanta, where he spent many years in their system, and RHP Gerry Oakes gets yet another chance, this one in the Orioles' organization.

 

27 of the 30 organizations made at least one transaction between December 15th and January 4th, according to Baseball America. The Brewers were one of the three teams who did not.

[Mass Haas]

After digging in to the project some, I've decided not to document all the 2007 alumni independent leaguers, but will track them as of the start of the 2008 independent seasons, along with any offseason signings in those ranks over the next few months.

[Mass Haas]

Catcher Robinson Cancel, whose only big league time came with the Brewers in '99, has re-signed with the Mets on another minor league deal.

 

LHP Brian Logan, who pitched in Maryvale and Helena in 2006, will get a second chance with an affiliated club as the White Sox have purchased his contract from the independent Frontier League.

 

Jackson Melian turned 27 years old today; he re-signed with the Tigers' minor league system. The Brewers' waiver claim on the outfielder back in 2002 seems like so long ago (because it was).

[Mass Haas]

RHP Matt Yeatman (Matt Kinney trade, plus a later re-acquisition by the Brewers) was released by Shreveport (LA) of the independent American Association today. His 2007 numbers can be found here -- secondary numbers down, also did not overcome weak defensive play behind him.

 

For those who follow independent league baseball a bit, here's a press release about a new venture dealing with player acquisition:

 

http://www.frontierleague.com/cgi-bin/dist/news.cgi?id=1199825327

 

Still new:

 

http://www.fivetoolprospects.com/

[hsvstarsfan]

Ben Van Iderstine has signed with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association.

[Mass Haas]

Mike DeJean, who pitched briefly for the Rockies' minor league system last season, has signed a minor league deal with Houston.

[jaybird2001wi]

Former Brewers P Jayson Durocher was hired as a territory scout for the Tampa Bay Rays. He will be in charge of scouting the states of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and El Paso area. - January 10, 2008

As stated in the Major League thread P Hideo Nomo signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals. - January 4, 2008

 

Oakland Athletics acquired P Dana Eveland as part of the trade sending pitcher Dan Haren to Arizona. The Diamondbacks also received Connor Robertson from the Oakland Athletics for pitchers Brett Anderson, Eveland and Greg Smith, outfielders Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez and infielder Chris Carter. - December 14, 2007

Lefty Glendon Rusch continues to cling to his baseball career as he signed a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres. - December 14, 2007

 

Infielder Keith Ginter signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox. - December 13, 2007

 

Tampa Bay signed two former Brewer pitchers, Grant Balfour (traded to TB for Seth McClung last season) and Gary Glover to one-year contracts. - December 13, 2007

Former Beloit Snapper and West Virginia Power pitching coach Rich Sauveur was named pitching coach of Triple A Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox) - December 7, 2007

 

Luis Lopez, former Brewer, is the new Red Sox' hitting coach for Class A Lowell. - December 7, 2007

 

Philadelphia Phillies sign former farmhand Matt Childers to a minor league deal - December 7, 2007

 

[Mass Haas]

From a Baseball America Winter League Update:

 

Lefthander Dana Eveland moved on to his third organization in the last three years when he was included in the package that sent Dan Haren from the Athletics to the Diamondbacks. Eveland is coming off a great season in Mexico during which he went 4-2, 2.51 with 69 strikeouts in 61 innings for Mexicali. But scouts still have questions about Eveland's impact in the big leagues. "He's always carved guys up in the minor leagues-not just succeeded, but dominated-and struggled when he's been called up," said a scout from a National League club. "He gets a lot of swing-and-miss with the slider in the minors and he had it in Mexico, but to me, it's starting to sound like a broken record." In 41 career appearances in the big leagues for Milwaukee and Arizona, Eveland is 2-4, 7.55 in 64 innings.

 

In the Venezuelan Winter League, Caribes went 39-24 to finish in first place in the regular season but got off to a 2-5 start in the postseason round-robin, despite hitting 11 home runs in those first seven games. Catcher Eliezer Alfonzo (San Francisco Giants), who led the league with 15 home runs in the regular season, had hit three more in the round-robin.

[Mass Haas]

Rotoworld comments on Chad Fox (minor league Cub deal)

 

Victor Santos gets a minor league contract with a spring training invite with San Francisco

 

Jeff "I don't want to be remembered as the guy who got stuck in the bathroom" Liefer, back after hitting .256/.321/.552 in 281 at-bats in Japan over the last two years (Rotoworld), will be in camp with the White Sox, with whom he spent the first seven seasons of his pro career.

 

Jamey Wright to spring training with Texas.

[Mass Haas]

Baseball America:

 

OF David Krynzel -- Still Diamondback property, reinstated from their inactive list

 

RHP Matt Ginter -- Cleveland minor league deal

 

LHP Valerio de los Santos -- Colorado minor league deal

 

De los Santos may go down as one of the more forgettable No. 1 prospects in BA history. He scaled the top of the Brewers' list in 1998, made the big league rotation the next year and proceeded to go 9-12, 4.54 for his big league career with 197-116 K-BB in 248 innings over parts of eight seasons. He spent most of the past two years with Monterrey of the Mexican League, so at age 35 de los Santos may not have much left to give. -- Matt Eddy, BA

[Mass Haas]

1B Grant Richardson will be playing in his native northwest for the Sioux Falls (North Dakota) Canaries of the American Association this coming season (he'll be a teammate of former Brewer farmhands C Tim Marks and OF Ben Van Iderstine.)

 

Just how did the promising first baseman miss all of 2006 after successful 2004-2005 seasons?

 

At the age of 24, Richardson already knows how fleeting opportunities are in this game. In fact, one area of the field is a constant reminder. Back in 2006, between first and second, it all ended on one play.

"I was trying to be a hero in a worthless spring training game," he said. "All my stuff was already shipped off to Florida (Brevard County). I just dove for a ball between first and second base. Kind of a weird deal, the shoulder popped out of place; 1-2 weeks turned into 2-4 weeks, which turned into surgery and a year down the drain."

 

Richardson played independent ball in Texas in 2007, posting an .869 OPS in 92 games with Coastal Bend.

 

About his Brewer release:

 

"It's one of those things where they say, Thanks" and you say, "Thanks,'" Richardson said. "Really, there's a feeling in your gut you want to get back out there and prove they made a mistake by letting you go."

 

By the way, Richardson was a 2007 teammate of former Brewer farmhand Will Lewis, who had his own legion of fans as well during his time in the Milwaukee chain.

[Mass Haas]

The Rockford (Ill.) RiverHawks of the independent Frontier League have picked up a former high-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers.

 

The RiverHawks have announced that they have acquired veteran pitcher Robbie Wooley from the Sioux City (Iowa) Explorers of the independent American Association in exchange for future considerations.

 

Wooley, a 22-year-old right-hander, was selected by the Brewers in the sixth round of the 2003 draft. He spent the following four seasons in the Milwaukee chain and topped out at West Virginia of the Class A South Atlantic League.

 

Wooley will be returning to the Frontier League. He spent the first two months of the 2007 season with the Southern Illinois Miners. He was 4-2 with a 3.51 earned-run average in 10 starts. After a July trade to the Explorers for a player to be named later, Wooley was 3-1 with a 6.92 ERA in nine appearances.

 

Wooley is 20-21 with a 4.56 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 2-to-1 in his professional career.

[Mass Haas]

In 2003, the Brewers signed a 25-year-old minor league free agent third baseman named Wilton Veras, who had seen big league time with the Red Sox during his stint in their chain. At AAA Indianapolis that year, Veras posted one of the truly hideous seasons in recent Brewer affiliate memory, with a .543 OPS in 129 games. He has toiled in independent ball ever since that season, and today was traded from New Jersey to Pensacola within the American Association.

[Mass Haas]

Veteran reliever Dan Kolb to Boston (Pawtucket) on a minor league deal.

[mls4]

JD Closser signed a MLCWSTI with the Cubs. (minor league contract with spring training invite)

[Mass Haas]

Reliever Ruddy Lugo (Devon White trade back in the day) was designated for assignment by the A's and claimed on waivers by the Mets.

 

Junior Spivey re-signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox.