2022 Minor League Transaction Thread

[Joseph Zarr]

2 hours ago, damuelle said:

- OF Micah Bello promoted from Low-A Carolina to High-A Wisconsin

- CF Jackson Chourio promoted from DSL Brewers2 to Low-A Carolina

Woo hoo!!!!!

AWESOME all around. Happy for Micah and Sal and Jackson. This is the jammers!

[Joseph Zarr]

2 hours ago, damuelle said:

- LHP Rex Brothers released by Nashville Sounds 

I wish you well Mr. Brothers. Unfortunately, he just couldn't figure it out this season. Ureñas takes his spot I imagine?

[Ro Mueller]

- RHP Moises Gomez retired

Just 25 years old, Gomez was signed to a minor league contract in December 2021, but did not make an official appearance at any Brewer affiliate. He'd posted solid numbers in 2018 and 2019 with Twins' affiliates, as well as the AA portion of his 2021 campaign in the Mariners' organization. We wish Mr. Gomez luck in his newest endeavors.

[Ro Mueller]

10 minutes ago, Julio Muchacho said:

I wish you well Mr. Brothers. Unfortunately, he just couldn't figure it out this season. Ureñas takes his spot I imagine?

I assume that Urena's played in the majors long enough (since 2015) to be able to refuse any assignment. AAA Nashville still has 15 active pitchers plus Alec Bettinger, Angel Perdomo and Noah Zavolas hopefully coming back soon, so I'm guessing that Nashville Manager Rick Sweet isn't looking for more arms at this point.

[Ro Mueller]

- RHP Alec Bettinger will move from AAA Nashville's Development List to its Active Roster, as he's been announced as today's starter

 

[Ro Mueller]

- IF Ashton McGee assigned to High-A Wisconsin from AA Biloxi
- IF Yeison Coca assigned to AAA Nashville from High-A Wisconsin
- 1B Ernesto Martinez placed on High-A Wisconsin's 7-day injured list
- OF Corey Ray placed on AAA Nashville’s 7-day injured list
- RHP JC Mejia recalled to MLB Brewers from AAA Nashville
- RHP Jandel Gustave optioned to AAA Nashville from MLB Brewers    

[Ro Mueller]

- RHP Brandon Ramey released by Low-A Carolina

The 21-year old Ramey, drafted by the Phillies in 2018 ($125k signing bonus) in the 30th round (Martin Luther King HS, Riverside, CA), was acquired by the Brewers in the David Phelps trade in Aug/Sep 2020.

He'd thrown very well as an 18-year old in the Gulf Coast Rookie League in 2019 (2.78 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 11.9 K/9 in 22 2/3 innings), but injuries limited his opportunities in the Brewers' system (just 5 2/3 rehab innings in Arizona last year; 9 1/3 innings this year at Low-A Carolina).

Best of luck to you Brandon!

[Ro Mueller]

OF Garrett Whitley has apparently returned to active duty at AAA Nashville after being on the injured list. He's pinch running in the 9th inning of a tight contest tonight.

[ARobsBrewCrew]

I’ve been wondering for a while about when ACL and DSL seasons will get underway but I hadn’t seen anything official.  Finally, Adam McCalvy confirmed for me that June 6 is opening day for both of the short-season leagues.  

[Joseph Zarr]

Ryne Moore literally heads North. While Stiven Cruz gets his shot at Low-A ball. Congratulations! We last saw pretty dominant pitching results from Stiven in the DSL this past summer. Will Stiven buck the typical trend of DSL pitchers? Let's hope so!

[Joseph Zarr]

Justin Bullock returns to the Biloxi pitching staff off the 7-Day IL. Welcome back and Happy Birthday Justin!

 

[ARobsBrewCrew]

2 hours ago, Julio Muchacho said:

Ryne Moore literally heads North. While Stiven Cruz gets his shot at Low-A ball. Congratulations! We last saw pretty dominant pitching results from Stiven in the DSL this past summer. Will Stiven buck the typical trend of DSL pitchers? Let's hope so!

Milwaukee organization is very high on Cruz’s potential.  I think it speaks volumes that his first stateside appearance was on a big league mound in major league spring training.  In my opinion, MLB spring innings are more of a testament to high praise for a young prospect than simply giving an at bat to a young guy every once in a while.  They typically don’t give innings out to guys that aren’t held in high regard within the organization, at bats, however, are given out to many young guys every year.

[Joseph Zarr]

33 minutes ago, ARobsBrewCrew said:

Milwaukee organization is very high on Cruz’s potential.  I think it speaks volumes that his first stateside appearance was on a big league mound in major league spring training.  In my opinion, MLB spring innings are more of a testament to high praise for a young prospect than simply giving an at bat to a young guy every once in a while.  They typically don’t give innings out to guys that aren’t held in high regard within the organization, at bats, however, are given out to many young guys every year.

It's always fun to follow these guys and these signings. I remember when we signed him to his first deal back in the summer of 2019 (?). It will be another follow in 2022.

[CheeseheadInQC]

5 hours ago, ARobsBrewCrew said:

Milwaukee organization is very high on Cruz’s potential.  I think it speaks volumes that his first stateside appearance was on a big league mound in major league spring training.  In my opinion, MLB spring innings are more of a testament to high praise for a young prospect than simply giving an at bat to a young guy every once in a while.  They typically don’t give innings out to guys that aren’t held in high regard within the organization, at bats, however, are given out to many young guys every year.

Really good to hear. That Carolina pitching staff is very young and probably going to get even younger given I'm guessing Jordan probably gets promoted before too long as well simply because there are a few Wisconsin starters banging the door down for a promotion.

[ARobsBrewCrew]

1 hour ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

Really good to hear. That Carolina pitching staff is very young and probably going to get even younger given I'm guessing Jordan probably gets promoted before too long as well simply because there are a few Wisconsin starters banging the door down for a promotion.

Completely agree with everything you said. Obviously, there are a few pitchers working their way back from injuries that I will be excited to watch (Zavolas, Henderson, etc), however, there are a handful of guys “ready to step in right now” at Carolina whenever an opportunity presents itself.  One of these guys was Stiven Cruz, others include Domingo Mejia, Alexander Vallecillo, Patricio Aquino, Leoni De La Cruz, and Michael Perdomo.  All of them fit right into the youth movement at Carolina, outside of perhaps De La Cruz but still exciting nonetheless.

[Ro Mueller]

- OF Abraham Almonte returned to AAA Nashville's active roster from the 7-day injured list

[Jim Goulart]

The Brewers have released two RHP's from their Dominican rosters, as per their respective MiLB Player pages linked below.

Rafael Camacho, a 19-year-old Venezuelan native, signed in October 2018. A 7.61 ERA in his debut 2019 DSL season, then a lost 2020. But in 2021, he posted a strong 45 innings over 16 games, three of them starts -- 2.20 ERA, 1.04 WHIP. So this qualifies as a surprise, thought for sure to be pegged as a stateside debut in 2022.

Having just turned 20 years old this past week, Cuban native Jonathan Cruz signed in December of 2019. He made 17 DSL relief appearances in 2021, and placed 31 runners on base via walk or HBP in 24.2 innings.

 

[Jim Goulart]

 

[jay87shot]

Any thoughts on how long it will be until some of our higher performing prospects get a promotion, I know the organization like to get around 200 ab's or around 100 innings but I would make the case Joey Wiemer, Tyler Black, and Cam Robinson are ready for a promotion. Small, Turang (could get a look if Adames goes to DL), and Jackson Reetz are blocked and maybe Fleix Valerio, Victor Castenada, and Antione Kelly (possibly even Frelick) are due for a promotion in a month or or 2 if they continue strong play.

[Ro Mueller]

- RHP Fernando Olguin promoted to Low-A Carolina from ACL Brewers Gold

A 21-year old from Mexico, Olguin signed with the Brewers in 2018, debuting in 2019. He's principally been a multi-inning guy (2019 in DSL; 2021 in Arizona): combined 74 1/3 innings over 26 games; 3.27 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 10.0 K/9. He also recently threw 12 innings in the Mexican Winter League: 1.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 8.3 K/9.

https://mailchi.mp/15011bf89311/game-recap-1542121

[Ro Mueller]

- RHP Cristian Sierra released by High-A Wisconsin

A 24-year old from the Dominican Republic, Sierra signed in July 2017, but did not debut until 2019 in High-Rookie Ball (Rocky Mountain Vibes), where he put up a relatively encouraging line: 4.87 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 9.5 K/9 in 44 1/3 innings. In 2021, he again put up reasonable numbers despite jumping to High-A ball in Wisconsin: 4.30 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 10.1 K/9 in 60 2/3 innings.

However, assigned back to High-A Wisconsin in 2022, he's gotten off to a rough start over his first 6 appearances (7.56 ERA, 2.40 WHIP, 8.6 K/9 in 8 1/3 innings), so Cristian is unfortunately being let loose at this time. We wish him success in his next venture, whether inside or outside of baseball. Good luck Cristian!   

[Joseph Zarr]

5 hours ago, jay87shot said:

Any thoughts on how long it will be until some of our higher performing prospects get a promotion, I know the organization like to get around 200 ab's or around 100 innings but I would make the case Joey Wiemer, Tyler Black, and Cam Robinson are ready for a promotion. Small, Turang (could get a look if Adames goes to DL), and Jackson Reetz are blocked and maybe Fleix Valerio, Victor Castenada, and Antione Kelly (possibly even Frelick) are due for a promotion in a month or or 2 if they continue strong play.

We shall see is really all we can say at this point. We've already seen several promotions at the lower levels - Frelick, who you mention, was just promoted to Biloxi's Double-A affiliate a mere 2-3 weeks ago. Nashville is so loaded with veteran talent it's hard to see promotions there as they are truly set-up to be the AAAA club for the Big Club - David Stearns talked about that in his most recent sit-down with Jeff Hem during the Jacksonville series (Listen to the Two-Part interview: Here and Here). They are already stacked with veterans - many of whom already have Big League experience - who can fill an injury or COVID void at the drop of the hat. Stearns, in those same interviews, alludes to what the organization already knows: Brice Turang is an MLB player today. BUT, they have a really good SS already playing every day. The depth problem is a good problem to have. Outside of some possible ongoing pitching promotions from say the ACL to Low-A Carolina before their season kicks off here in Maryvale on June 6th, and some fringe demotions (see Ashton McGee heading back down to High-A Wisconsin, for example),  we might just see things stay put for the time being at the Triple-A level while the reshuffling and promotions happen amongst the Low-A to Double-A teams. It's a fun time to be a Minor League fan of the Brewers!

And, of course, this being said: Andy Otero was recently promoted to Nashville's pitching staff (which was great to see as Andy works extremely hard and is just a solid hurler) and one would have to ask: When is Tyler Herb getting the call - he's been literally lights out since named a Starter a month or so ago. 

 

[CheeseheadInQC]

Other than a couple of relievers (once the first two transactions today were announced, I kept waiting for one saying Vassalotti was heading to Wisconsin), and maybe one starter sequence, I think barring injuries the promotions come closer to midseason. The top candidates left seem to either be blocked (Reetz, all the second basemen) or have something to work on (strikeouts with Wiemer, controlling the running game with Miller).

[Ro Mueller]

- RHP TJ Shook promoted from High-A Wisconsin to AA Biloxi

Woo hoo!  Well-earned Mr. Shook!!

[markedman5]