2023 Minor League Transaction Thread

[Ro Mueller]

• OF Hendry Mendez placed on High-A Wisconsin's 7-day injured list
• RHP JC Mejia transferred to Development List from AAA Nashville

[Joseph Zarr]

• RHP Jake Cousins has been recalled by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Nashville Sounds
• LHP Alex Claudio had his contracted selected by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Nashville Sounds
• C Johnnys Cabrera has been activated by the Carolina Mudcats

 

[Ro Mueller]

• OF Tyler Naquin activated from AAA Nashville's 7-day injured list
• RHP Thyago Vieira assigned to AAA Nashville
• LHP Bennett Sousa placed on AAA Nashville's 7-day injured list
• LHP Jakob Brustoski transferred to Development List from Low-A Carolina

[Jim Goulart]

ACL Brewers Blue released C Darlin Lora.

ACL Brewers Gold released CF Eduarh Colina.

***

Darlin Lora was signed out of the Dominican Republic in July of 2021, and appeared in 20 games in the Dominican Complex League that summer. 

Lora was back on the island to open 2022 but made his way to the Maryvale complex in rather short order on June 16th. Lora posted a .627 OPS in 11 games in the desert but was then placed on the 60-day IL on August 6th.

Odd defensive stats - on one hand, Lora threw out 38.2% of runners, 21 of 55. On the other hand, he committed eight errors in 27 career games behind the plate.

Lora turns 20 years old in July.

***

Venezuelan native Eduarh Colina was a member of the July 2019 class, but then had his 2020 campaign wiped out. Colina turns 20 this June, so his 2021 debut in the Dominican came during his age 18 season.

Colina was very solid that summer, .278/.358/.383 (.741 OPS). But that didn't translate to Maryvale in 2022, .565 OPS with 53 K's in 115 AB's.

Like nearly all Brewers releases of these youngest farmhands, both Lora and Colina received a second season to show their wares.

Here's to fruitful futures to both.

[Jim Goulart]

04/26/23 Milwaukee Brewers recalled RHP Tyson Miller from Nashville Sounds.

04/26/23 Milwaukee Brewers optioned LHP Alex Claudio to Nashville Sounds.

[Jim Goulart]

04/27/23    Nashville placed C Alex Jackson on the 7-day injured list retroactive to 4/26
04/27/23    Nashville activated RHP J.B. Bukauskas from the 7-day injured list
04/27/23    Nashville activated RHP J.C. Mejía from the Development List
04/27/23    Biloxi activated RHP Zach Vennaro from the 7-day injured list.
04/27/23    Milwaukee sent RHP Gus Varland on a rehab assignment to Wisconsin

[Jim Goulart]

DSL Brewers 1 released RHP Royer Cabrera.

Cabrera is the rare Brewers farmhand released after just one year in the system, signed out of the Dominican Republic last June.

Cabrera's 2022 season in the DSL was his age 17 season, as he won't turn 19 until October. Among his seven games pitched (three starts after four relief appearances) was a hitless two-inning relief stint and a four-inning start in which he allowed only one unearned run.

Yet he finished with a 9.64 ERA over 14 innings, showing that he struggled in five games.

May your baseball dreams persist, Royer, and if not, life's opportunities otherwise,

[Jim Goulart]

DSL Brewers 1 released 2B Luis Watter.
DSL Brewers 1 released C Juan Rosa.
DSL Brewers 1 released LHP Jhofez Mejias.
DSL Brewers 1 released RHP Jose Pena.
DSL Brewers 2 released 3B Edgardo Reyes.
DSL Brewers 2 released RHP Reybert Reyes.
DSL Brewers 2 released OF Francisco Nina.
DSL Brewers 2 released RHP Franddy De Los Santos.

We will provide background info on these eight players a bit later on.

[Ro Mueller]

- RHP/1B Quinton Low placed on Low-A Carolina’s 7-day injured list
- 1B/C Tayden Hall placed on Low-A Carolina’s 7-day injured list
- RHP Fernando Olguin activated by Low-A Carolina from Development List

[wiguy94]

12 minutes ago, damuelle said:

- RHP/1B Quinton Low placed on Low-A Carolina’s 7-day injured list
- 1B/C Tayden Hall placed on Low-A Carolina’s 7-day injured list
- RHP Fernando Olguin activated by Low-A Carolina from Development List

Don't love seeing Low put on the injured list. Really hope it isn't a pitching injury. I thought he was scheduled to start yesterday which has me scared it is a pitching injury.

[ARobsBrewCrew]

4 hours ago, wiguy94 said:

Don't love seeing Low put on the injured list. Really hope it isn't a pitching injury. I thought he was scheduled to start yesterday which has me scared it is a pitching injury.

Unfortunately, it is a throwing arm issue for Low, a forearm issue to be exact.  Better than elbow or shoulder for sure, but there is no official diagnosis or timetable for his return at this point.

[wiguy94]

15 minutes ago, ARobsBrewCrew said:

Unfortunately, it is a throwing arm issue for Low, a forearm issue to be exact.  Better than elbow or shoulder for sure, but there is no official diagnosis or timetable for his return at this point.

That's a bummer to hear. Forearm issues can foreshadow elbow issues down the road. Thank you so much for all of your posts! 

[ARobsBrewCrew]

In more positive news, RHP Ryne Moore (rehab from TJ surgery) will return to the mound next week.  Still a little ways from game action, but getting closer!

[Ro Mueller]

• LHP Jakob Brustoski activated by Low-A Carolina from Development List
• LHP Bennett Sousa activated by AAA Nashville from 7-day injured list
• OF Tyler Naquin placed on AAA Nashville's 7-day injured list

[Jim Goulart]

Back on April 4th, the Brewers signed 18-year-old Venezuelan RHP Carlos Maurera. 

Listed at 6'0", 180, Maurera's been assigned to DSL Brewers 1.

Considering it was recently noted the Brewers have pretty much exhausted their international bonus pool, this was likely a $10,000 signing, which does not count against the pool.

[Joseph Zarr]

• RHP Trevor Megill (via Twins trade - PTBN) was assigned to the Nashville Sounds

[ARobsBrewCrew]

For those that may be interested, Luis Lara will be joining the Mudcats this week.  Lara and Luis Castillo (hopefully making his season debut in the next couple weeks as well) could be two spark plugs in the lineup.

[Jim Goulart]

All 13 players previously noted in this thread:

Five of the players had their brief careers documented in earlier posts here. If you missed them, click on the respective link:

RHP Royer Cabrera

C Darlin Lora and CF Eduarh Colina

RHP Pedro Rivas

RHP Mario Perez
 

---

Now for the eight others:

UT Jose Pena, out of the Dominican Republic, turned 18 in February. He is listed as a RHP in the tweet above, but in his lone season in the DSL last summer, he served in a position player utility role. Pena proved to be overmatched at the plate, striking out 62 times in 101 AB's. He reached 19 times via BB / HBP but a .139 batting average with three doubles makes him the rare signee not being given a second year in the system. Pena signed for $230,000, the 7th largest bonus in the 2022 class.

RHP Reybert Reyes, signed out of Venezuela, turned 20 years old this past January. In January of 2022, the Brewers assigned 20 players a $10,000 signing bonus. However, if you look at the linked 2022 class list above, you'll find Reyes at the very end signing for $5,000. Odd, as signings at $10,000 do not count against the bonus pool.  The tall (6'3") Reyes made 11 relief appearances in his lone DSL season, fanned 11, walked 11, plunked another eight batters, and finished with a 9.49 ERA in the smallish 12.1 inning sample.

RHP Franddy De Los Santos was signed last March, a couple of weeks after his 18th birthday. The Dominican native would have been a short-dollar signing at that point. De Los Santos' WHIP was 3.00 after his 11 relief appearances with a 13.91 ERA and 23 BB's, 4 HBP's in just 11 innings. Sometimes the numbers don't allow for a second year return, though like the other names here, De Los Santos would have had a chance to demonstrate some advancement in camp early in 2023. He is the only "Franddy" in the history of pro baseball.

LHP Jhofez Mejias, the only "Jhofez" in pro baseball's annals, turned 19 last October. Signed out of Venezuela, his inclusion on this list is a bit of a surprise, especially as a one-year-and-done player. The sheer number of recent signings and the apparent lack of a second Maryvale team in 2023 is forcing this blitz of releases amid a numbers crunch. The $10,000 signing started three of the 13 games he appeared in, posting a reasonable 4.08 ERA and 1.57 WHIP, fanning 34 in 28.2 innings. The overall lack of southpaws in the Dominican Summer League rosters adds to the surprise impact of this release.

C Juan Rosa is a Dominican native who will turn 20 later this month of May. Talk about a short leash. Rosa only signed last August 5th and got to appear in just five DSL games, going 1-for-10 with five K's and no walks. He was behind the plate for four innings total, otherwise was a designated hitter. Congrats on that lone base knock, young man.

INF Edgardo Reyes signed for $97,500 in January 2022, the 8th highest bonus of the class. The Venezuelan native posted a .145/.286/.158 line (one extra-base hit, a double, in 76 AB's). He saw action in the field in 25 of his 28 games, all the infield spots except shortstop.

INF Luis Watter turned 20 years old this past January. The Dominican native was part of the July 2019 signing class but then had to delay his pro debut until 2021 due to the pandemic. Over the past two summers, Watter posted a .649 OPS and was successful in 21 of 23 stolen base attempts. Watter only slugged .300, but one of his ten XBH's in 230 pro AB's was a home run. Watter had signed for $35,000. He was listed at 5'8", but that was at the time of his contract signing as a 16-year-old.

OF Francisco Nina was a $10,000 signing from that January 2022 class. Listed at a lanky 6'5", 175, Nina homered once (four doubles), but otherwise slapped his way to a .212/.301/.271 line (.572 OPS) during his age 17 season. Nina fanned 38 times in 118 AB's with 12 walks, we've seen others with similar lines net a second-chance year, but as mentioned above, that wasn't the case in this round of cuts.

As always, we wish all the best and hope that if they wish, they find future baseball opportunities.




 

[Joseph Zarr]

• OF Blake Perkins has been optioned to the Nashville Sounds by the Milwaukee Brewers

[Jim Goulart]

04/29/23    Biloxi Shuckers placed CF Lamar Sparks on the 7-day injured list.
04/30/23    Nashville Sounds placed CF Skye Bolt on the 7-day injured list.

Via Adam McCalvy - Skye Bolt injured his left quad and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks.

[Jim Goulart]

As per Manager Rick Sweet, Sounds OF Tyler Naquin will be out "several weeks" with a leg injury.

[Ro Mueller]

- OF Luis Lara promoted to Low-A Carolina from ACL Brewers (actually promoted from DSL, since he’s skipping the ACL level)
- RHP Will Rudy promoted to Low-A Carolina from ACL Brewers (2022 5th round pick is ready to make organizational debut)
- RHP Edwin Jimenez promoted to High-A Wisconsin from Low-A Carolina
- OF Eduarqui Fernandez promoted to High-A Wisconsin from Low-A Carolina
- OF Joe Gray Jr. promoted to AA Biloxi from High-A Wisconsin
- RHP Ryan Middendorf promoted to AAA Nashville from AA Biloxi
- INF/OF Isaac Collins promoted to AAA Nashville from AA Biloxi
- C Jason Lopez activated by AA Biloxi from Development List
- RHP Cam Robinson assigned to AA Biloxi from AAA Nashville
- RHP Robert Stock transferred to Development List from AAA Nashville
- C Brent Diaz transferred to Development List from AAA Nashville
- RHP Gus Varland rehab transferred to AAA Nashville from High-A Wisconsin
- RHP Joey Matulovich released by High-A Wisconsin
- LHP Anfernny Reyes transferred to Extended Spring Training from DSL
- C Edgardo Ordonez transferred to Extended Spring Training from DSL
- RHP Cristofher Carrasco transferred to Extended Spring Training from DSL
-  RHP Darling Solano transferred to Extended Spring Training from DSL

[edfunderburk]

20 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

• OF Blake Perkins has been optioned to the Nashville Sounds by the Milwaukee Brewers

Does this indicate that Tyrone Taylor will join the Brewers in Colorado?

[wiguy94]

1 minute ago, edfunderburk said:

Does this indicate that Tyrone Taylor will join the Brewers in Colorado?

Toro played in AAA and Tyrone didn't. Probably put the odds at 99% that Taylor is getting reinstated from the IL.

[sveumrules]

Excited to see what Edgardo Ordonez can do stateside. Over the last two seasons, as a 17-18 year old in the DSL, playing mostly catcher (273 innings) and some first base (118 innings) he has hit 293/413/424 (136 wRC+) over 223 PAs with a 14.3 BB% and 21.1 K%.