Minor League Free Agents -- It's Scavenger Hunt Time

[Mass Haas]

We believe this is the complete list of Brewer farmhands who will become minor league free agents this fall. Minor league contracts normally expire the 3rd week of October. Baseball America will have available the complete list around that time frame. Last year it was a subscriber-only list at BA, but other web outlets made it available, including MiLB.com.

 

It is possible the Brewers have signed, or will sign, some of these players to 2007 contracts soon, or may have already. For instance, Mike Rivera, Jerome Gamble, Jeremy Lewis and C.J. Medlin all re-signed last September after the 2005 season had completed. Brett Evert and Alec Zumwalt signed in November and December, respectively, so you may see some names below back in 2007.

 

If a player's first affiliated pro contract was with the Brewers, Milwaukee owns that player's rights for seven pro seasons. Last year Steve Scarborough and Ryan Knox earned their free agency the hard way via having played through all seven seasons. No player who is not on the 40-man roster falls under that category this year.

 

Mostly, these are players who were released from or completed affiliated contracts with other organziations previously. The Brewers assume the accumulating yearly rights on a player acquired via trade, such as Gerrit Simpson, Travis Ezi or Julian Cordero. It all comes down to whether a player had been previously "released" from their first affiliated contract terms. Waiver claims such as Sam Narron, Chris Mabeus and Jesse Harper are still under Brewer control for accumulating years, even though they're no longer on the Brewer 40-man.

 

This list does not include players currently on the 40-man roster. Different circumstances there, and normally, 40-man roster discussions can be found on the Major League Forum. Even though reliever Alec Zumwalt is heading to the Arizona Fall League, he would need to be added to the 40-man roster or signed to a new 2007 minor league deal in order to remain with the Brewers next year.

 

Here we go, certainly chime in if you believe a name is included or omitted in error:

 

Nashville Sounds:

UT Brent Abernathy

IF Andrew Beattie

C J.C. Boscan

IF Jermaine Clark

RHP Jared Fernandez

RHP Luther Hackman

C Mark Johnson

1B Graham Koonce

RHP Justin Lehr

RHP Mike Meyers (re-signed to 2007 minor league deal)

C Chad Moeller

RP Allan Simpson

IF Zach Sorensen

RP Alec Zumwalt (re-signed to 2007 minor league deal)

 

Huntsville Stars:

OF Ron Acuna

C Carlos Lee

RHP Travis Phelps

RHP Corey Thurman (re-signed to 2007 minor league deal)

RHP Joe Valentine (re-signed to 2007 minor league deal)

 

Brevard County Manatees:

RHP Luis Pena (re-signed to 2007 minor league deal)

RHP Brandon Harmsen

IF Milko Jaramillo

LHP Jeremy Lewis (re-signed to 2007 minor league deal)

C C.J. Medlin (re-signed to 2007 minor league deal)

DH Kyle Phillips

 

West Virginia Power:

LHP Kyle Pawelczyk

 

Helena Brewers:

IF David Parker

[pogokat]

andrew beattie and graham koonce are fantastic depth and i hope they are retained...

[dadofandrew]

Why don't I know Andrew Beattie?

 

Koonce may well retire.

 

I'd like to keep Lehr, Zumwalt, and Simpson; maybe Abernathy/Sorenson as well. Mark Johnson would be a nice AAA C as well, but I believe he has said he is done.

 

Valentine is the one "for sure" guy.

[colbyjack]

Valentine and Thurman for sure. I wonder if the Brewers invited Zumwalt to the AFL as somewhat of a friendly gesture to try and get him to stick around.

 

Justin Lehr & Allan Simpson would be nice to keep around as well. All pitchers for me, as the AAA to 4A bats seem to be easy enough to come by.

[pogokat]

the guy i'd like to see the brewers sign is kevin witt...he was a monster in AAA this year, and i think he hit a homer at all 4 durham bulls games i went to...

 

it would be fun to watch the boardss light up when a AAA guy has a 1.000 ops and 20 homers in june

[DHonks]

Al, a free agent like Koonce might command $60k or more as a minor league free agent, since he's pretty much proven at 1b/dh, and provides depth. I could see the Crew keeping him around, since we don't have another 1b knocking on the door.

[LouisEly]

Thurman, Valentine, and Lehr definitely, as I believe they are people who could still contribute at the ML level. (I say that of Lehr because he has been much better as a starter than a reliever, yet he hasn't been given a chance as a starter in the bigs.) I think Thurman is a dark-horse candidate to make the club as a long reliever should Helling and Gonzales not be retained. He showed promise before injury derailed his career.

 

Fernandez (because he alone can save wear and tear on an entire pitching staff), Zumwalt, and Hackman would be luxuries to keep around also. Abernathy would be nice, but I think he was disappointed that he didn't get a shot when they traded for Bell and Graffanino, so I think he will decline any offer to come back.

[Postseason2006]

Damn, we are going to lose Carlos Lee.

[thumperden]

We're going to lose Carlos Lee again?! (tongue in cheek)

 

I agree with every guy that's been listed so far and I'd like to include Kyle Pawelczyk too. He's an intriguing guy.

 

The scary thing is that there isn't much depth in the minor league system, especially with position players, as it looks right now. On the other hand, you could make a case for none of the AAA free agents to come back.

 

I think the mods here are going to have a very busy off-season updating new players and tracking castoffs.

[DHonks]

On the other hand, you could make a case for none of the AAA free agents to come back.

 

do we have anyone capable of playing 1b in AAA? So I guess that's why I'd love to have Koonce back. I think Nelson could be leaving the organization soon

[thefutureishere2006]

its sad brad nelson might be going....he was gonna be good. as was krynzel ....

 

sign carlos lee © haha

[djoctagone]

jared fernandez and zach sorensen just declared free agency.

[OppoJack]

Novinsky is not due to be a free agent. He didn't play the season he was drafted. Instead he was signed for a contract the season after.

 

So he has 1 more to go before free agency.

[Mass Haas]

Good call, I debated placing John Novinsky on that list for exactly the reason you stated, and was waiting to see if someone called me out on it. Thanks, OppoJack!

[Mass Haas]

This is the list of players Baseball America lists as Brewer minor league free agents, now free to negotiate with all organizations for employment. Focusing on our list at AAA and AA only that is listed above, the only name which is absent is RHP Luther Hackman. It'd be a nice plus for Nashville (and the organization) if he has indeed been re-signed, based on the way the veteran was throwing after his late-season rescue from the independent ranks.

 

We should be able to confirm the latest Brewer organizational roster for you in the next few coming days.

 

C Jean Boscan

C Mark Johnson

1B Graham Koonce

2B Brent Abernathy

2B Jermaine Clark

SS Andrew Beattie

SS Milko Jaramillo

OF Ron Acuna

RHP Justin Lehr

RHP Travis Phelps

[Mass Haas]

Feel free to digest the 600+ names on the just-released Minor League Free Agent list, and identify some juicy targets for the Brew Crew:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...62709.html

 

We'll update you on all the Brewer signings as the offseason moves on.

[dadofandrew]

Enrique Cruz would be nice to get back for Nashville. Terry Adams and Bubba Crosby are 2 names that jumped out at me.

 

So, is the BA list accurate? That's sure not many compared to the predicted ones.

[Mass Haas]

If you mean compared to the predicted list above, yes. BA's list does not account for those players like Jared Fernandez and Zach Sorensen who were on 40-man rosters earlier this season and thus were eligible to declare free agency last week.

 

MiLB.com has their listing for a second year, but it does not correctly reflect (yet) the many players who have re-signed with their clubs, such as the several listed as re-signed by the Brewers at the beginning of this post. Still it's another aid:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...index.jsp?

 

MiLB.com lists Ozzie Chavez, which we believe is incorrect (still a year away), and they can't spell Milwaukee http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/embarassed.gif

[Cyanogen5]

I wouldn't mind taking a flier on Mike Gallo and Carlos Hernandez. Neither had good years last year, but both are left handed and have had success in the past.

[pogokat]

does tim redding still have any of his potential left???

 

I'm willing to go for a couple of the guys with serious MLB relief experience, like VDLS, and others, as the brewers have some success with guys like that...

 

I'm dissapointed that Graham Koonce wasn't resigned..

 

supposedly, the DRays might let Kevin Witt go, and he would be a good one for 1b...

 

then again, maybe Brad Nelson is a 1b again next year..Should be interesting..

 

and yeah, definitely get enrique cruz back...

[colbyjack]

I have to look at the llist more closely, but JR House stands out. Between two levels last year (AA & AAA) he hit .345/.392/.521 in 493 ABs. Both leagues were hitters friendly (Texas, PCL), but this is a guy that has proved to hit before, and also a minor league free agent target of the Brewers a year ago. I don't think he was ever much defensively as a catcher, and his shoulder has always been a problem, but who really cares, this guy can hit.

 

He'll be 27 next month, and could be given every opportunity to win a big-league job out of spring training along with Rivera and Closser.

[jschris]

You beat me by a couple of minutes, Colby. I think J R House should be a target for the Brewers again this year. I thought they were in the running last year, but could have been just speculation here. The guy can hit. I don't know a lot about his defense, though.

 

What do we know about Dewon Brazelton? I recall he was a fairly big prospect at one point. Something is rattling around in my brain that he had some issues with coaches/management at some point.

 

I also second the nominations of Bubba Crosby and VDLS.

 

Joel Hanrahan, one of the board's favorites in the potential Sexson trade, is out there, too.

[colbyjack]

You're not speculating, the Brewers were confirmed to be interested in House a year ago. Mass provided a few links last offseason that pointed out that it came down to the Brewers and Astros a year ago.

 

After further review, here are just a couple of other names that stood out to me:

 

Matt Riley, LHP: I think he missed all of last year, but he's a former highly regarded prospect with a power FB and hammer CB. He might be worth taking a flier on if he's expected to be healthy anytime soon.

 

Stephen Smitherman, OF: Posted a .498 SLG in the Southern League last year. I believe he had a cup of coffee with the Reds a few years ago.

 

Danny Borrell, LHP: Former top prospect in the Yankees organization, a hard-throwing lefty that had 70 K last year in 81.1 IP.

 

Josh Phelps, 1B: Put up big numbers for the Blue Jays a few years ago. Hit .308/.370/.532 at AAA Toledo in the International League.

 

Wes Wilkerson, RHP: Posted a 4.46 ERA and a 1.94 GO/FO ratio in the PCL. His power arm and heavy sinker drew some rave reviews in the AFL a few years ago, I believe from DHonks in particular.

[JohnBriggs12]

I'd consider Mike Restovich.

 

He's coming off his best year ever (by far) at AAA where he posted a .933 OPS. He'll turn 28 in January and could be finally ready to live up to the promise he showed early in his minor league career when he put up some awesome numbers in the Twins system.

 

If the Brewers decide not to tender Mench, and don't get another OF, they would need a RH platoon partner for either Gross or Jenkins. Restovich is worth looking at for that role.

 

I also noticed Al Reyes on that list. Now I know he spent all of 06 rehabbing though he did get in 3 IP. But he'd be worth looking at in spring if he's healthy enough.

[clancyphile]

Jared Sandberg jumps out as a nice utility option.

 

Bringing back Durrington as AAA depth would be a good idea, too.

 

Chris Aguila would be interesting as AAA OF depth - and as a little trivia. (Remember Rickie Weeks' behind-the-back flip against the Marlins in 2005? He was the batter). That .866 OPS would be nice.

 

C/3B Eric Munson would be a good pick for catcher - might be a left-handed Mike Rivera. He had some decent numbers in 2003 and 2004.