2022 Minor League Transaction Thread

[Jim Goulart]

Brewers Player Development has indicated additional releases. A couple had been profiled during the first ten weeks of this year in my (sadly, sorry) abandoned "Birthday Thread". But it's a detailed spot to learn about their Brewer careers.

As always, wishing the best in future baseball or other endeavors to:

LHP Brandan Murphy

OF Jesus Lujano

 

[Ro Mueller]

- Signed RHP Tyler Herb and assigned him to AA Biloxi Shuckers

A 29-year old Pennsylvanian, Tyler spent most of last season in AA with the Mariners, where he put up a 4.16 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 9.1 K/9 in 84.1 innings. This was a re-set year for him, as he’d previously spent most of 2018 and 2019 in AAA with the Giants and Orioles.

Originally a 29^th round pick of Seattle in 2014, Tyler worked as a starting pitcher and rose the ranks to AA by 2016/2017, at which point he was traded to the Giants for cash, with the Giants then adding him to the MLB 40-man roster in late 2017. Despite the selection, he has yet to make his MLB debut, as he was unable to make the adjustment to AAA (5.35 ERA in 2018, 7.16 ERA in 2019). He was outrighted in late 2018, then traded to the Orioles for Mike Yastrzemski in early 2019.

Here's a video that Tyler himself posted 8 days ago (thanks Mass Haas!):

https://twitter.com/TylerHerb/status/1506667735245279233

https://twitter.com/BrewersPD/status/1508952667648790533

[Jim Goulart]

The Brewers have released 24-year-old Andre Nnebe, who spent all of 2021 with low-A Carolina, as per the Mudcats' transactions page.

Outside of game highlights and reports, we last featured Nnebe's own video journal in February, where it was pointed out that the tight-end size (6'6", 230 lb.) corner outfielder had struggled with strikeouts while primarily in a part-time role on a club laden with talent in the grass.

Here's hoping another organization, affiliated or not, calls on Nnebe, and best wishes on a future career path regardless.

 

[Ro Mueller]

- RHP J.T. Hintzen promoted from AA Biloxi to AAA Nashville
- RHP Matt Hardy promoted from AA Biloxi to AAA Nashville
- RHP Luis Perdomo, RHP Moises Gomez, LHP Rex Brothers, C Brian Navarreto, 1B Jon Singleton, 1B Tyler White, CF Garrett Whitley assigned to AAA Nashville
- IF/OF Pablo Reyes, RHP JC Mejia, RHP Miguel Sanchez optioned to AAA Nashville

[Ro Mueller]

- Promoted OF Joey Wiemer from High-A Wisconsin to AA Biloxi
- Promoted SS Freddy Zamora from High-A Wisconsin to AA Biloxi
- Promoted 2B Felix Valerio from High-A Wisconsin to AA Biloxi
- Promoted 1B/3B Ashton McGee from High-A Wisconsin to AA Biloxi
- Promoted C Nick Kahle from High-A Wisconsin to AA Biloxi
- Promoted LHP Nick Bennett from High-A Wisconsin to AA Biloxi (2nd time)
- Promoted RHP Victor Castaneda from High-A Wisconsin to AA Biloxi (ignoring late Sep 2021 leap to AAA)
- Promoted RHP Abner Uribe from Low-A Carolina to AA Biloxi
- Promoted LHP Scott Sunitsch from High-A (Carolina in 2019) to AA Biloxi
- Promoted RHP Harold Chirino from High-A Wisconsin to AA Biloxi
- Promoted RHP Nash Walters from High-A Wisconsin to AA Biloxi

- Promoted 2B Tyler Black from Low-A Carolina to High-A Wisconsin
- Promoted C Darrien Miller from Low-A Carolina to High-A Wisconsin
- Promoted IF Ethan Murray from Low-A Carolina to High-A Wisconsin
- Promoted 1B Ernesto Martinez from Low-A Carolina to High-A Wisconsin
- Promoted C/1B Wes Clarke from Low-A Carolina to High-A Wisconsin
- Promoted OF/IF Noah Campbell from Low-A Carolina to High-A Wisconsin
- Promoted OF Tristan Peters from Rookie Arizona to High-A Wisconsin
- Assigned LHP Russell Smith to High-A Wisconsin
- Promoted RHP Max Lazar from Low-A (Wisconsin in 2019) to High-A Wisconsin
- Promoted RHP James Meeker from Low-A Carolina to High-A Wisconsin
- Promoted RHP Tyler Gillies from Low-A (Wisconsin in 2019) to High-A Wisconsin
- Promoted RHP Robbie Baker from Low-A Carolina to High-A Wisconsin
- Promoted RHP Miguel Guerrero from Low-A Carolina to High-A Wisconsin
- Promoted RHP Zach Mort from Low-A Carolina to High-A Wisconsin (2nd time)

- Promoted C Jeferson Quero from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted OF Hendry Mendez from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted IF Jheremy Vargas from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted 1B Jesus Chirinos from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted IF Alberis Ferrer from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted OF Oswel Leones from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted C/IF Luis Silva from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted OF Arbert Cipion from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina (2nd time)
- Promoted RHP Miguel Segura from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted RHP Edwin Jimenez from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted RHP Ryne Moore from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted LHP Pablo Garabitos from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted RHP Brannon Jordan from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted RHP Trevor Tietz from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted RHP Israel Puello from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted RHP Brandon Ramey from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina
- Promoted LHP Karlos Morales from Rookie Arizona to Low-A Carolina

[ClosetBrewerFan]

Wow.  Seems like the Brewers have been much more aggressive in their assignments in years past.  I wonder if that has to do with the the lost 2020 season in an effort to "catch up".

[Robocaller]

sorry to see Howell go for a replacement-player catcher. Looking at the rankings members made, everyone had him between 13 and 24 (except one outlier who put him at #2 in the system).
So, we probably didn't lose much, but I'd suggest we should always have a AAAA catcher in the system who can step in for a while.

 

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

9 minutes ago, Robocaller said:

sorry to see Howell go for a replacement-player catcher. Looking at the rankings members made, everyone had him between 13 and 24 (except one outlier who put him at #2 in the system).
So, we probably didn't lose much, but I'd suggest we should always have a AAAA catcher in the system who can step in for a while.

 

They did in Sullivan. But he bats from the same side as Narvaez, and the Brewers have always liked having a LH/RH hitting catching platoon. Caratini is a switch hitter, so that makes him even more flexible. 

[ARobsBrewCrew]

3 hours ago, Robocaller said:

sorry to see Howell go for a replacement-player catcher. Looking at the rankings members made, everyone had him between 13 and 24 (except one outlier who put him at #2 in the system).
So, we probably didn't lose much, but I'd suggest we should always have a AAAA catcher in the system who can step in for a while.

 

As Ron Robinsons Beard pointed out, they had a “AAAA” catcher in Brett Sullivan.  They also have two more in Brian Navarreto and Jakson Reetz.  Top prospect Mario Feliciano is also right on the edge.  All of this not even to mention Jason Lopez who is MIA at the moment.  Victor Caratini obviously represents a huge step up from all of these “AAAA” catching options, all of which are either not ready yet or haven’t proved enough to get an extended look, pretty much the definition of AAAA-type players.  Alex Jackson on the other hand…. ?

[Jim Goulart]

As per their MiLB Player Pages, on April 1st the Brewers released the following three players from their Dominican Complex. None had made it stateside.

Now 20 years old, Venezuelan 1B/OF Deivid Alvis was a member of the 2019 July 2nd international class. That class remains the one group for which we have very limited signing bonus information. With 2020 lost, Alvis debuted in the Dominican Summer League in 2021, and in 26 games, struggled to a .155/.241/.282 line. Alvis managed to drive in a surprisingly high 16 runs in his 83 plate appearances, hitting one HR, and was HBP more often (five) than he walked (four).

Another RH-hitting corner OF/1B, also signed in July of 2019, 19-year-old Enmanuel Feliz followed a similar path as Alvis, and the Dominican native had an even smaller sample size of work in 2021. Feliz appeared in 16 games (one as a pitcher for an inning) and sat at .154/.283/.179 (only 39 AB's).

Finally, 20-year-old Venezuelan LHP Albert Caldera was the "veteran" of this group, signing in March of 2019, thus he appeared briefly in the DSL that summer and again in 2021. All but one of his 14 appearances in that span was in relief. Overall, the 6'1" Caldera walked 26, hit another four batters, and threw nine wild pitches in 19 innings. Apparently, things were not looking up in early 2022 camp on the island. Too bad, as we've pointed out in the past the dearth of LH international arms signed by the Brewers, although that was addressed to some extent within their large international class of January 2022 (five southpaws).

[DR28]

What is the Development List? I see a bunch of dudes on Sounds roster have that status.

[CheeseheadInQC]

52 minutes ago, DR28 said:

What is the Development List? I see a bunch of dudes on Sounds roster have that status.

I don’t know the technical definition, but it seems like a slightly more honest way of dealing with roster overages than the old standbys of phantom IL placements and paper demotions to rookie league teams.

[Ro Mueller]

- OF/IF Noah Campbell promoted from High-A Wisconsin to AA Biloxi, providing much-needed depth after the recent Howell and Cantrelle trades

- LHP Jakob Brustoski assigned to Low-A Carolina, which ARobsBrewCrew had mentioned in another thread. This will be Brustoski’s official organizational debut

[djoctagone]

1 hour ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

I don’t know the technical definition, but it (Development List) seems like a slightly more honest way of dealing with roster overages than the old standbys of phantom IL placements and paper demotions to rookie league teams.

outlined here.

[Jim Goulart]

25-year-old LHP Scott Sunitsch placed on the 10-day injured list at Biloxi.

Sunitsch apparently still working his way back from 2021 hip surgery, though it's possible this placement is unrelated.

[LouisEly]

On 3/22/2022 at 5:36 PM, ARobsBrewCrew said:

The Brewers have released RHP Braden Webb. It has also come to light that Webb pitched the entirety of last season with a torn ACL and meniscus.

To think that at the time of the draft he was higher on the Brewers board than Corbin Burnes.

[Robocaller]

On 4/6/2022 at 8:34 PM, ARobsBrewCrew said:

As Ron Robinsons Beard pointed out, they had a “AAAA” catcher in Brett Sullivan.  They also have two more in Brian Navarreto and Jakson Reetz.  Top prospect Mario Feliciano is also right on the edge.  All of this not even to mention Jason Lopez who is MIA at the moment.  Victor Caratini obviously represents a huge step up from all of these “AAAA” catching options, all of which are either not ready yet or haven’t proved enough to get an extended look, pretty much the definition of AAAA-type players.  Alex Jackson on the other hand…. ?

I guess there's no definition of AAAA, but for me, there needs to be two things: 1) multiple years at AAA, and 2) at least intermittent time in the majors when they actually played.

[folly412]

Any word on Zavolas?  Noticed he was removed from Biloxi's roster on the website.  No transaction activity, and player page doesn't indicate any change.  Nashville's post-game notes from yestrerday say Boushley is starting tomorrow but website lists TBD - chance they're going with Zavolas?

[Joseph Zarr]

22 hours ago, folly412 said:

Any word on Zavolas?  Noticed he was removed from Biloxi's roster on the website.  No transaction activity, and player page doesn't indicate any change.  Nashville's post-game notes from yestrerday say Boushley is starting tomorrow but website lists TBD - chance they're going with Zavolas?

Boushley is the Starter. I'll look into Zavolas and see what I can find. 

[Ro Mueller]

- LHP Angel Perdomo placed on AAA Nashville's 7-day injured list
- RHP Caden Lemons placed on Low-A Carolina's 60-day injured list
- LHP Jackson Gillis placed on Low-A Carolina's 60-day injured list
- RHP Moises Gomez assigned to ACL Brewers Blue from AAA Nashville in what appears to be some sort of paper move

 

[Jim Goulart]

10 hours ago, damuelle said:

- LHP Angel Perdomo placed on AAA Nashville's 7-day injured list
- RHP Caden Lemons placed on Low-A Carolina's 60-day injured list
- LHP Jackson Gillis placed on Low-A Carolina's 60-day injured list
- RHP Moises Gomez assigned to ACL Brewers Blue from AAA Nashville in what appears to be some sort of paper move

 

Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2021 for both Lemons and Gillis. 

[Jastro]

 

[Ro Mueller]

18 minutes ago, Jastro said:

 

Jeez, I figured something might be up after he hadn't played since Friday. Good luck Jamie!!

[Joseph Zarr]

3 hours ago, damuelle said:

Jeez, I figured something might be up after he hadn't played since Friday. Good luck Jamie!!

Whoa. This is mildly surprising given the consistency we've seen from Jamie. He's had nice growth in the past year and I absolutely wish him the best. But as was seen with the trade of Hayden Cantrelle from Biloxi to Pensacola: the Brewers organization is trading from depth. We have a redundancy of solid utility INF prospects at multiple levels. What we lack, as has been common in recent seasons, is meaningful 3B depth.

[ARobsBrewCrew]

RHP Noah Zavolas has just arrived in Arizona where he will spend some time before heading to an affiliate.  I will update when I hear back on the specifics whether it is an injury or something else.