Spring training updates

[CheezWizHed]

18 hours ago, endaround said:

The Brewers are notorious for lying in their player listings.  I think they had the most players shrink when MLB came by to do checks on player heights before robot ump test.

So your saying that Sal's listing of 6'2" isn't legit?  Spaghetti and Meatballs will make you grow taller!

[nate82]

3 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

So your saying that Sal's listing of 6'2" isn't legit?  Spaghetti and Meatballs will make you grow taller!

This is incorrect we all know Italians grow by eating mushrooms it is a scientific fact proven by the great plumbers Mario and Luigi!

[bigred]

On 2/16/2025 at 5:50 PM, wiguy94 said:

He probably did gain 25 pounds in the offseason with a good chunk of that weight being water weight and fat. There's literally a 0% chance he gained 25 pounds of muscle in 4 months. Even if you were up to the gills in every performance enhancer you can think of you wouldn't be able to gain 25 pounds of muscle in 4 months.

Serious question. I'm curious. How does anyone know for certain that PED's can't help a person gain that much muscle over a few months? Especially if they hit the weight room big-time, at the same time? All of our bodies are different, and react differently to enhancers, medications, etc. 

[Brian]

We got lucky, High grade lat strain for Frankie Montas, Mets announced.  Will be shut down 6-8 weeks, then need a full spring training. 

[markedman5]

Black at 3rd?

https://www.mlb.com/news/mark-attanasio-discusses-bob-uecker-legacy-2025-expectations

[wallus]

5 minutes ago, markedman5 said:

Black at 3rd?

https://www.mlb.com/news/mark-attanasio-discusses-bob-uecker-legacy-2025-expectations

I would be very surprised if Tyler Black plays any innings at 3rd in the regular season.

[wiguy94]

25 minutes ago, markedman5 said:

Black at 3rd?

https://www.mlb.com/news/mark-attanasio-discusses-bob-uecker-legacy-2025-expectations

I'm all for giving it a try. If the org is actually viewing him as a potential 3B option I'd feel a bit better about their inactivity in the FA/trade IF market.

[edfunderburk]

49 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

 

1 hour ago, markedman5 said:

Black at 3rd?

https://www.mlb.com/news/mark-attanasio-discusses-bob-uecker-legacy-2025-expectations

I saw Black play 3B when he was at AA Biloxi two years ago & he looked fantastic. He had decent range & a strong arm. He made all the plays that came to the hot corner. I left town impressed & excited that he may be able to help the Brewers at 3B in the future. 

Unlike many on this board, I am not as familiar with all the analytics & data that suggests he is not capable of playing there. As a lifelong baseball fan using my eyes only - Black was a man among boys that weekend. The only other player who stood out to me was Jefferson Quero. Both he & Black were exceptional. 

I would be thrilled if Black somehow won the job or at least was part of a 3B rotation. Hopefully, he can play adequate defense & hit well enough to get regular playing time in 2025. 

[tmwiese55]

I get that they might have decided already he can't do it, they see more than any of us.       But that is the obviously glaring whole we have. One would think he knew that all offseason and put in work at it to try and make the roster. There's also really not much harm in having him focus on it for the next four or so weeks and see how it goes.  Could be a real boost if he can be passable there and starts to live up to promising hit tool.   Basically just saying all hands on deck to fill that spot.    Still will be surprised with how high they value D if he can pull it off considering they had him quit it

[markedman5]

26 minutes ago, edfunderburk said:

I saw Black play 3B when he was at AA Biloxi two years ago & he looked fantastic. He had decent range & a strong arm. He made all the plays that came to the hot corner. I left town impressed & excited that he may be able to help the Brewers at 3B in the future. 

Unlike many on this board, I am not as familiar with all the analytics & data that suggests he is not capable of playing there. As a lifelong baseball fan using my eyes only - Black was a man among boys that weekend. The only other player who stood out to me was Jefferson Quero. Both he & Black were exceptional. 

I would be thrilled if Black somehow won the job or at least was part of a 3B rotation. Hopefully, he can play adequate defense & hit well enough to get regular playing time in 2025. 

I have not seen him play 3rd….my doubts on his defense come mainly from the fact that the Brewers played him everywhere but 3rd base last season……even though it was known that Adames would likely be gone in 2025.

So they told us by their actions that they didn’t think he could play there……..so needless to say these comments from MA caught my eye.

Maybe it means nothing but it will be interesting to see what happens in the spring.

[Matt]

2 hours ago, markedman5 said:

I have not seen him play 3rd….my doubts on his defense come mainly from the fact that the Brewers played him everywhere but 3rd base last season……even though it was known that Adames would likely be gone in 2025.

So they told us by their actions that they didn’t think he could play there……..so needless to say these comments from MA caught my eye.

Maybe it means nothing but it will be interesting to see what happens in the spring.

Eh, he played 79 innings at 3rd last season. It's not nothing.

[markedman5]

37 minutes ago, Matt said:

Eh, he played 79 innings at 3rd last season. It's not nothing.

I stand corrected……he played 79 innings at 3rd out of about 750 total .

Not nothing but most were early in the season I believe.

[brewerfan82]

34 minutes ago, markedman5 said:

I stand corrected……he played 79 innings at 3rd out of about 750 total .

Not nothing but most were early in the season I believe.

To be fair he played 831.2 innings at 3B just the year prior. I also had the impression they were kind of writing him off there, but I think it's also quite possible they just/additionally thought his bat was ready and 1B was going to be a more direct route to the big leagues for him last year with Ortiz/Adames/Turang/Monasterio taking up the middle/left side of the infield.

[bensheeps]

If Black is an option at 3rd (I'm not sure if I believe it or not), go the next step.  Is Ernesto Martinez Jr. a realistic option for the backup 1st base spot?

For those that have seen him in person, how's his defense at 1st?  I know he can do the splits on his stretches to prove his athleticism, but how does his overall defense grade out?  Is he good enough to be a late-game defensive replacement for Hoskins?

[brewmann04]

Let’s see where black start Not great news on Hall that why you always look to add starting pitching. With the possibility of Woody missing time that two guys who could be in the rotation. Ashby is a key could he handle the starters role or best used out of the pen where he strived 

[brewmann04]

Let’s see it Murphy tries black there 

[markedman5]

32 minutes ago, brewerfan82 said:

To be fair he played 831.2 innings at 3B just the year prior. I also had the impression they were kind of writing him off there, but I think it's also quite possible they just/additionally thought his bat was ready and 1B was going to be a more direct route to the big leagues for him last year with Ortiz/Adames/Turang/Monasterio taking up the middle/left side of the infield.

I guess we will see…….im interested to find out.

[Playing Catch]

I wonder if MA was merely referring to roster spots, rather than specific positions. I recognize that he says, "...maybe 3rd, but we want to give Tyler Black a shot, and Ollie Dunn, and Ortiz can slide over..." but in the larger context of the prompt of roster additions, it's possible that he's basically saying that there's no room to add a 3rd baseman, because their roster spots are filled with other infielders. I'm guessing he's relaying what he's heard from the front office. Not necessarily verbatim.

Or, perhaps the Brewers didn't play him at 3rd because they were comfortable with him there, and wanted to expand his repertoire. I guess time will tell.

[wiguy94]

Looks like the Tyler Black to 3B thing was not so accurate.

 

[markedman5]

 

[markedman5]

 

[Matt]

2 hours ago, markedman5 said:

 

This is the only alignment that makes sense. 

[wallus]

Durbin better be the real deal to move two young defenders off their best positions...

[Thurston Fluff]

15 minutes ago, wallus said:

Durbin better be the real deal to move two young defenders off their best positions...

Both came up as shortstops but were blocked by Adames. It's hardly a stretch to think the best position for both is shortstop. In either event only one of the two would be moved.

[wallus]

1 hour ago, Thurston Fluff said:

Both came up as shortstops but were blocked by Adames. It's hardly a stretch to think the best position for both is shortstop. In either event only one of the two would be moved.

Best position for Turang is 2nd and Ortiz it's SS