Camp Transactions - 29 Releases Reported This Past Week

[sbrylski]

He is best-known in Nashville Sounds annuls as the hitter whose shattered bat impaled the arm of pitcher Rick Helling on May 27, 2005 at Greer Stadium.

 

Interesting.

 

He looks like a very good signing to me.

[thumperden]

Bring on the organizational soldiers Mr. Melvin! Kuzmic and his versatility will be very handy at Nashville next season. I suppose Braun will still start down there at 3B and Rivera and Closser are the C's, so where does he play? I'll guess he'll play 1B more than the other two positions, plus a corner OF spot now and then. I love options.

[clancyphile]

A switch-hitting version of Vinny Rottino.

[Mass Haas]

The Brewers have signed former Blue Jay farmhand, corner OF Ron Davenport, as a minor league free agent.

 

A 22nd round high school draft pick of the Blue Jays in 2000, Davenport just wrapped up seven years in the Toronto system, yet just turned 25 years old. He has nearly 500 AA at-bats under his belt. He opened 2006 with AA New Hampshire, but started 0-for-27, despite hitting the ball hard at times, according to a published report, accounting for his poor AA numbers this past season.

 

Davenport will likely open in Huntsville.

 

We'll have Davenport's Brewerfan Player Index Page built by Monday evening. For now, career numbers:

 

www.thebaseballcube.com/p...port.shtml

 

This gentleman provides further background, with 2004 a highlight:

 

www.gerrymcdonald.ca/davenport.html

[Mass Haas]

Latest, thanks to the Nashville site:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2174

 

LHP Benito Baez - Baez, who will turn 30 in May, pitched for the Road Warriors in the independent Atlantic League in 2006, posting a 3-1 record and 1.27 ERA (4 ER / 28.1 IP) with 28 strikeouts and a .186 batting average against in his 27 relief appearances for the club. The southpaw missed most of the previous four seasons following a series of arm injuries that included Tommy John ligament replacement surgery in 2003. He missed the entire 2005 season and pitched in only 20 combined games from 2002-2004 as a member of the Marlins and Reds organizations. Baez, who had a cup of coffee with Florida during the 2001 season, last pitched at the Triple-A level in 2001, when he logged a 7-1 record and 3.03 ERA in 49 relief outings for Calgary (AAA-Marlins).

 

Baez is the second member of the Atlantic League's "all-road" team to be signed by the Brewers this offseason (1B Mike Huggins). In professional ball since 1994 (age 17), Baez also pitched at Huntsville while spending his first seven pro years in the Oakland organization.

 

Career numbers from the Baseball Cube -- we'll have a Brewerfan Player Index Page in place soon enough:

 

www.thebaseballcube.com/p...Baez.shtml

 

Seems like a decent loogy for Nashville to start the season, and who knows for later in 2007...

[Mass Haas]

More from Nashville:

 

LHP Adam Pettyjohn - The journeyman southpaw, who turns 30 in June, split the 2006 season between San Antonio (AA-Mariners), Long Beach in the independent Golden League, and Sacramento (AAA-A's), finishing with a combined 6-7 record, two saves, and a 3.62 ERA (51ER / 126.2 IP) in 30 games (14 starts). Pettyjohn, who appeared in the majors with Detroit in 2001, spent 2005 with Long Beach after splitting the 2004 campaign between Fresno and Sacramento in the PCL. The left-hander owns a 48-47 career record and 4.15 ERA in 169 career minor-league contests (136 starts).

 

Baseball Cube Career Statistics:

 

www.thebaseballcube.com/p...john.shtml

 

We'll look for more Pettyjohn nuggets this evening, as a longtime pro, various stories undoubtedly are available...

[And That]

Pettyjohn is a a soft-tosser with a decent curveball. At one point he was a pretty highly regarded prospect in the Tigers' system, but shoulder problems derailed a lot of his early promise.

 

Shoulder problems? Where have I heard that before?

[Team Canada]

Shoulder problems? Where have I heard that before?

 

 

We just can't get enough of 'em.

[brewmann04]

team just loves pitchers with History of Arm troubles.

[Mass Haas]

Baseball America:

 

Brewers

Signed SS Ozzie Chavez

Placed RHP Stuart Sutherland on restricted list

 

Restricted List:

A player who fails to report or fails to sign a contract with the Club to which the player is reserved may be placed on the Restricted List. There is no minimum number of days the player must remain on the Restricted List before the player can be reinstated to the Active List. A player on the Restricted List does not count against a Club's Active List limits or its Reserve List limits.

 

Sutherland (34th round, soon-to-be 23) struggled as did so many of the Helena arms in 2006. Odd timing for this transaction.

 

Ozzie Chavez has six, not seven, years in the system, so one wonders what the circumstances were that had the Brewers needing to "sign" him again. Ordinarily that would have come up next year.

[Mass Haas]

Latest update coutesy of the Sounds' site:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2174

 

OF Tydus Meadows - The 29-year-old Meadows, who played collegiately at nearby Vanderbilt University in the mid-1990s, joins his fifth different pro organization with the Brewers in 2007. He has spent the majority of the last four seasons at the Double-A level, winning a Southern League championship at Jacksonville in 2005, and received his first taste of Class AAA last year, when he batted .278 (5-for-18) in a brief nine-game stint for Las Vegas (AAA-Dodgers) in the PCL. He spent the bulk of the 2006 campaign at Jacksonville, where he was a two-time Southern League Batter-of-the-Week and batted .299 (69-for-231) with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs in 72 contests for the Suns. The nine-year veteran was initially drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1998 and has since played in the Royals, Rangers, and Dodgers chains, compiling a .293 career average in 916 minor-league contests.

 

Career numbers from the Baseball Cube:

 

www.thebaseballcube.com/p...dows.shtml

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_434518.jpg

 

Augusta Chronicle (excerpted)

June 18, 2005

 

AT 27 (now 29), Tydus Meadows is too old to be considered a prospect, but that doesn't mean his dream is any different than Broxton's.

 

"I guess a lot of it has to do with being in the right place at the right time, and hopefully this will be the situation for me," Meadows said before a home game against the Mississippi Braves. "Ultimately, of course, my only goal is to make it to the big leagues.

 

"I'm not in this to be a career minor leaguer or anything. As long as I see that opportunity is still possible for me, I'm going to play."

 

Meadows said he got a lot of different offers after last season, but the Dodgers seemed like the best fit, and their invitation to major league spring training didn't hurt. Meadows went 5-for-12 with three runs scored, a double, a home run and four RBI in Grapefruit League play. The home run was especially sweet because it came against the Atlanta Braves and was broadcast on ESPN2, meaning his family got to watch.

 

About nine days later, though, Meadows pulled his groin muscle and was sent down to minor league camp.

 

"I pretty much wanted to go and play in front of the big-league manager and all of those coaches up there and hopefully impress somebody and open up an opportunity for me down the road," he said. "That was my main goal, and I think, for the most part, I accomplished that."

 

Terry Collins, the Dodgers' director of player development, said the Dodgers like Meadows' work ethic and his offensive capabilities - through Friday he was batting .293 with 18 doubles, 10 home runs and a team-high 48 RBI. He earned Southern League Player of the Week honors in the middle of May after batting .591 with two homers, six doubles and nine RBI.

 

"He's always been a go-getter," said Tydus Meadows Sr., who qualified his praise by saying he is his son's biggest fan. "He was always determined."

 

Former Evans coach Terry Holder remembers Meadows being at football than baseball, but that didn't mean he wasn't good on the diamond.

 

"He certainly had a lot of outstanding physical talent, and he put it to good use for us," said Holder, whom Meadows helped win two state titles.

 

Meadows also put his 6-foot-2, 200-pound high school frame to use for the Vanderbilt football and baseball teams instead of signing with the Mets out of high school. It's a decision Meadows called the only decision for him.

 

"I wanted to go to school and I needed those years just to mature," he said. "I wanted to have that experience."

 

He left Vanderbilt before graduating, but he was working toward degrees in human organizational development and finance and planning for a career in a Wall Street setting if baseball didn't work out. Those plans have been modified, now that he's seen friends go into that field.

 

"Their quality of life was not very good," he said. "And that's coming out of their mouths."

 

Meadows is now thinking about law school, but not until he determines the major leagues are no longer an option.

 

"There are a lot of other things I want to accomplish in my life, but right now I'm a baseball player and I'm just trying to make the most of it," he said.

 

Collins points to catcher Mike Rose and outfielder Mike Edwards as examples of players who the Dodgers signed as minor league free agents in the off- season and who are currently with the major league team. Both are a year older than Meadows and had four games or fewer of major league experience before this year.

 

"All you have to do," Collins said, "is convince one guy that you're good enough to play in the big leagues."

[brettac1]

He has some pretty decent numbers. He's the kind of guy that could help Nashville a lot, to win a AAA championship. With his numbers, it's odd that he has been stuck in AA so long, and with KC of all teams.

[Mass Haas]

It's always a fun story when the Brewers dip into the independent league ranks, and even more so when they identify a younger player and give him his first affiliated contract.

 

Middle infielders were not productive at Helena last season, and you couldn't really project a West Virginia Power shortstop for Opening Day. Toby's projections placed 2006 2nd rounder Brent Brewer at West Virginia, but that unnecessary push can now be scaled back, with Brewer now likely to play in extended spring and then Helena.

 

On the surface, this seems to be an astute signing, nice for the organization and particularly Power fans for 2007:

 

www.americanassociationba...1168032604

 

MOJICA PURCHASED BY BREW CREW

Blacksnakes Infielder Garnished Rookie Player of the Year Honors in 2006

 

DURHAM, NC ? The American Association of Independent Professional Baseball announced today that the Milwaukee Brewers have purchased the contract of St. Joe Blacksnakes INF Jimmy Mojica. Since the end of the 2006 season, Mojica is the eighth league player to be sold to a major league organization.

 

The 22-year-old Mojica hit .299 with 88 hits, 32 RBI, and five triples in 87 games for the Blacksnakes. The ten field managers and media members from throughout the league rewarded Mojica?s efforts by selecting him as the 2006 American Association Rookie Player of the Year.

 

The Leavenworth, KS resident came to St. Joe after playing collegiate baseball at Kansas City Community College. In 2005, he was named 1st Team All-Conference in the Jayhawk Community College Conference hitting .395 with eight home runs, 58 RBI, 70 runs scored and 21 doubles.

 

2006 Statistics:

 

www.americanassociationba...stjoe.html

 

Baseball America:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...62661.html

 

Jimmy Mojica, ss, St. Joseph's (American Association). Age: 22. Ht.: 5-11. Wt.: 175.

 

The American Association rookie of the year was an independent league rarity: a shortstop who stood out as much with his glove as at the plate. Shortstop and catcher are the two toughest positions for indy teams to fill, but Mojica, who signed with St. Joe's after starring at Kansas City Community College, showed solid range with the arm to make the play from the hole. He was clearly one of indy ball's most athletic shortstops. Mojica also showed good speed, a knack for stealing bases and a quick, line-drive bat.

 

Welcome to the Brewers organization, Jimmy...

 

http://www.stjoeblacksnakes.com/images/Mojica,%20Jimmy.JPG

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Wow, that move actually excites me.

 

Mojica appears one you can actually root for rather than just watch.

[Mass Haas]

Ozzie Chavez has six, not seven, years in the system, so one wonders what the circumstances were that had the Brewers needing to "sign" him again. Ordinarily that would have come up next year.

 

A reader astutely pointed out to me that Ozzie Chavez spent the 2000 season with the Brewers' DSL team as a 16/17 year old. Thus, he does have seven years in the Brewers' system already, so at age 23, the Brewers signed him to a new one-year deal. We'll add that 2000 season to his Brewerfan Index page later today (it is included in the Brewers' press guide).

 

Placed RHP Stuart Sutherland on restricted list

 

Sutherland's inclusion on the restricted list, as we've seen in the past with others, indicates the player has "retired" without submitting the official paperwork indicating as such. The Brewers' thus maintain his rights.

[Mass Haas]

The Brewers have released three current farmhands:

 

2004 11th round infielder Lenny LeClercq spurned Indiana University for a $100,000 signing bonus, plus an additional $72,000 set aside for future college education. He's endured three full sets of extended spring training and full-season summers in the Arizona Rookie League, never advancing even to Helena.

 

Lenny LeClercq Career Statistics:

 

www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=709

 

His signing in June of 2004 was announced in this post:

 

p092.ezboard.com/fbrewers...mp;stop=29

 

An example of Draft Day synopsis not panning out, LeClercq didn't handle shortstop defensively his first year, and subsequently spent most of his time at third or first base in 2005 and 2006.

 

Extremely athletic SS prospect that has solid tools across the board. His speed probably highlights his toolset, as he also runs track, reaching the state finals in the 100 meter dash. He has a strong arm, quick feet, and positions himself well on defense. He has been extremely productive at the plate with good power potential.

 

***

Also released was catcher Garry Savas, who hit 3-for-38 in extremely limited playing time after being signed out of Oklahoma City University near the end of 2005. He was hurt by the fact that Helena carried six would-be catchers for the better part of 2006.

 

Garry Savas Career Statistics:

 

www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=862

 

***

Finally, RHP Josh Louis was also let go. Louis was a 42nd round pick in 2004, who signed as a draft-and-follow, pitching at Helena in 2005 and West Virginia in 2006. He had a couple of outings with West Virginia last season that were clutch, but apparently didn't show the Brewers staff enough to move beyond 2006.

 

Josh Louis Career Statistics:

 

www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=823

[dadofandrew]

Lenny would seem to be an very toolsy type, with speed on top...you can't steal 1B, I guess.

[Mass Haas]

Visit the top-notch Sounds' site for details on the signing of Nashville native RHP R.A. Dickey:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2191

 

In this case, with a conversion to knuckleballing recently, career stats don't reflect a lot, but here they are:

 

www.thebaseballcube.com/p...ckey.shtml

[pogokat]

eh...

 

dickey is depth, but he's been horrible in the majors a few times...and while the knuckle thing is recent, he's in his 30's...

 

i like the guy, and he replaces fernandez exactly, but not too exciting..

[dadofandrew]

Dickey isn't that bad without the knuckleball, serviceable at least, so this is a fine addition.

[lynchmobster]

Best of all, he was born without an ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm....

 

msn.foxsports.com/mlb/pla...atsId=6708

Perhaps because of the lack of a ligament, Dickey has never had a great fastball, but he does approach 90 MPH. His best pitch, though, is a splitter called "The Thing." At times he falls in love with it and uses it too much. When he mixes the two pitches, he's good for a turn through the lineup. A groundball pitcher, he will help himself with his fielding. He's unafraid to risk injury to make a play.

 

He got screwed when drafted by the Rangers because of it:

www.athomeplate.com/dickey.shtml

[mothershipconnection]

So help me Jebus, if Dickey throws one pitch in a Brewers uniform I will track Doug Melvin down and give him the most unreal wedgie the world has ever seem

[giffted1]

Quote:

---

So help me Jebus, if Dickey throws one pitch in a Brewers uniform I will track Doug Melvin down and give him the most unreal wedgie the world has ever seem

---

 

Lets just hope the curse against the Brewers pitching staff is lifted this year. If Dickey finds his way on to the Brewers roster, he appears to be the gritty veteran type that Ned would entrust with a small lead late in the game.

[thefutureishere2006]

giffted 1 , absolutely right. Dickey is a gamer.. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Mass Haas]

Link from Sounds' site:

 

www.nashvillesounds.com/n...ewsId=2174

 

1B/OF Andy Abad - The 34-year-old left-handed slugger -- who previously played for the Sounds in 2004 (.292, 12 HR, 49 RBIs in 99G) -- has posted some impressive numbers in Triple-A ball over the past nine seasons, batting over .290 in eight of those campaigns and averaging 14 home runs and 67 RBIs per year over that span. Abad spent the bulk of the 2006 season with Louisville (AAA-Reds), where he hit .267 with nine HR & 32 RBIs in 82 games. He opened the year with Cincinnati but went hitless in three at-bats. Abad carries a .288 average in 1,397 minor-league games during his 14-year pro career.

 

Career Statistics:

 

www.thebaseballcube.com/p...Abad.shtml