Ro Mueller

Thank you for this write-up. Someone said that art/beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What appears like a crammed MLB outfield to us may look like a menu chock-full of service time manipulation options for Matt Arnold, e.g. if Super-2 manipulation is the goal: Keep Mitchell in AAA in ~116 days Keep Wiemer in AAA for ~74 days Keep Perkins in AAA for ~37 days In that manner, Yelich, Taylor and Frelick would remain on the MLB roster all season, while Mitchell, Wiemer and Perkins yo-yo between MLB and AAA. Of course, I may be misunderstanding something fundamentally important in the service time rules, so feel free to correct me if I'm materially wrong.

Surprise fell behind 8-2 by the 4th inning, ultimately losing 9-5 to Peoria. Box score. The team gave up 12 walks, but Brewers' LHP Justin King and Justin Yeager didn't issue any. In all, the Brewers' reps performed well: 2B Eric Brown Jr. - 2-for-4 LHP Justin King - 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 Ks (worked around a catcher interference) RHP Justin Yeager - 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 1 K Surprise remains in first place by a half-game, but the standings are quite jumbled, with all 6 teams within 4 games of each other. From what I'm seeing, the team has 8 scheduled games remaining, plus an AL vs. NL All-Star game squeezed into the middle of it.

CF Carlos D. Rodriguez also had a nice evening in Venezuela, going 2-for-3 with 2 walks and a stolen base, in Magallanes 7-6 walk-off victory over Lara. He singled with one out in the bottom of the 9th inning to move the eventual winning run to second base. Back to Jackson Chourio - his last hit was vital, coming while trailing 6-3 with one on and nobody out in the bottom of the 9th inning. Zulia went on to score 4 runs in that frame, walking off a 7-6 win over Aragua on a shortstop error. Here's video of Chourio scoring from second base to make it 6-5.

Jackson Chourio is making his debut of this Winter League season, starting in center field and batting 2nd for Zulia in Venezuela. Box score. He walked and scored on a double in the 1st inning.

Future left fielder!? Dude's fast! :) But yeah, I guess he's a 3B/1B for the time being. After seeing each of Mitchell, Turang and Wiemer added relatively aggressively to the MLB roster (for the Brewers at least), I suppose we should expect Black to join the MLB squad in April or May 2024. Hmmm - I just realized that we likely need to do some serious roster manipulation on Garrett Mitchell - like two months in AAA? Oh my.

I noted two players in action in Venezuela on Thursday: OF Carlos D. Rodriguez - 2-for-5, double - in Magallanes 7-6 loss to Caracas 1B Jesus Chirinos - 0-for-2 in Zulia's 2-1 extra inning victory over Aragua

Wednesday's results: RHP Christian Mejias - 2.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K - earned the Win in Aragua's 5-3 victory over Lara SS Eduardo Garcia - 0-for-4 in Lara's loss 1B Jesus Chirinos - 1-for-4 with a run scored in Zulia's 5-4 win over Margarita RHP Kaleb Bowman - 0.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H with a blown save in La Guaira's 10-9 loss to Caracas CF Carlos D. Rodriguez - 0-for-5 in Magallanes 7-3 win over Anzoategui LHP Jesus Broca - 3.1 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 Ks in Guasave's 4-3 win over Mexicali

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Time to practice espanol and read about globe-trotting RHP Kaleb Bowman: https://www.lvbp.com/12796_desde-australia-hasta-europa-y-ahora-venezuela-bowman-es-el-trotamundos-de-tiburones

I only noted two players in action on Tuesday: - RHP Kaleb Bowman grabbed a Win by throwing the 8th inning for La Guaira, who defeated Caracas 3-2. - 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K. - OF Carlos D. Rodriguez went 0-for-3 with 2 walks and a run scored in Magallanes 9-4 victory over Anzoategui

No news that I’ve seen, but perhaps they:

1B Tayden Hall is ready for an unforgettable winter of Australian summer baseball:

23-year old LHP Pablo Garabitos appears healthy and ready to return to the Dairy State:

Thank you for this. Reading on another site, option decisions need to be made within 5 days of the conclusion of the World Series. So at least we should get some early clarity on Miley's status for 2024. Unlike many offseasons, which for the Brewers start incredibly slow, see a key trade, then remain incredibly slow until we cherry pick a few free agents when the temperature outside reaches single digits, this year's offseason may start with some serious bangs in November - decisions on Miley and Canha. Counsell's own big decision and possible immediate replacement. Attempts to perhaps quickly re-sign some combination of Santana, Donaldson, Caratini, Rea, Teheran, Ruf...

A reminder of how young OF Hendry Mendez is (19, almost 20) and how hard he's trying to make his mark:

- OF Carlos D. Rodriguez starred again on Sunday, though Magallanes blew a 5-3 lead to lose 8-5 to Margarita. Is this his breakout? - 2-for-3, double, 2 walks, RBI. - RHP Edwin Jimenez started and did his part for Tiburones, though they fell 6-3 to Leones. - 4 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K. - 2B Jadher Areinamo got his first at-bats for Tiburones, going 1-for-3. - RHP Christian Mejias threw the 6th inning of Aragua’s 4-3 win over Anzoategui - 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K. - DH Jesus Chirinos - 0-for-3 in Zulia’s 8-4 defeat to Lara. - INF Eduardo Garcia pinch ran for Lara, scoring the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th inning.

6’7” LHP Brian Fitzpatrick joins the Brisbane Bandits for their 9-week season beginning November 17:

As to Carolina Mudcats' Manager Victor Estevez, who's managing Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Republic, they're off to a 2-1 start. He's got three players who saw time in MLB this year: INF Junior Caminero, OF Franmil Reyes, RHP Jimmy Cordero.

- RHP Christian Mejias is also on the roster of Tigres de Aragua in Venezuela And one of the Brewers' coaches - MLB catching guru Nestor Corredor has stepped in at the last minute to manage Aguilas del Zulia, winning the opening day game 5-3.

Our Saguaros reps went a combined 1-for-8 in their 5-2 defeat to Peoria, but each reached base twice: - DH Clarke - single, walk - SS Brown Jr. - walk, HBP (caught stealing after HBP) - LF Mendez - 2 walks RHP Justin Yeager navigated a tricky spot, entering in the 7th inning with a runner on 2B and nobody out. Ground out, K, K - job well done. Box score.

4 of the 6 current Brewers played on opening day in Venezuela: - CF Carlos D. Rodriguez led off and went 3-4 with a walk, but Magallanes fell 5-3 to 1B Jesus Chirinos’ (1-for-4) Zulia squad - Kaleb Bowman started with a K but then walked 2 and allowed a single in the 9th inning of La Guaira’s 4-3 extra inning win over Aragua, He’ll owe teammate Carlos Suniaga a beer for coming in to induce a GIDP - zero earned runs. INF Jadher Areinamo pinch ran in the 9th inning for La Guaira, but didn’t play in the field. It was actually a thrilling win for La Guaira, down 3-1 with nobody on, 2 outs and a 1-2 count in the bottom of the 9th inning. That 1-2 count turned into a walk and Angel Aguilar smacked a 2-run homer to tie it. Old friend RHP Arnaldo Hernandez got the win in the 10th, not allowing the Manfred man to score. They won on a walk off sacrifice fly.

I count 6 current Brewers and 3 very recent Brewers on winter league rosters in Venezuela: - RHP Edwin Jimenez, INF Jadher Areinamo, RHP Kaleb “Bo” Bowman - Tiburones de la Guaira - INF Eduardo Garcia, C Jose Sibrian (exited) - Cardenales de Lara - OF Carlos D. Rodriguez - Navegantes del Magallanes - 1B Jesus Chirinos - Aguilas del Zulia - LHP Luis Amaya (exited) - Caribes de Anzoategui - C Jason Lopez (exited) - Bravos de Margarita

Those five releases include three rather sad ones for the players and the organization, as it’s always tough to see promising starting pitchers derailed by injuries. I could be wrong, but I don’t recall any of the following five players receiving anything material as a signing bonus when they joined the organization: 23-year old RHP Jhoan Cruz joined the Brewers in May 2018 out of the Dominican Republic, impressing with a 0.96 WHIP in 33.1 innings (3.51 ERA, 7.6 K/9) in the DSL that year. As a 19-year old for Brewers Blue in Arizona the following season, he posted a challenging 6.97 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and 8.7 K/9 in 41.1 IP while starting 5 of 10 games. After the 2020 Covid wipeout, Cruz made 15 starts and 5 relief appearances for Low-A Carolina in 2021: 6.42 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 8.7 K/9 in 81.1 IP, but that’s the last time he pitched in an official game, as he missed 2022 and 2023 with injuries. We hope that Jhoan is back to full strength and wish him well in 2024 and beyond, whether in baseball or elsewhere. 22-year old RHP Domingo Mejia was signed in May 2021 out of the Dominican Republic, dominating 11 starts in the DSL that year: 1.98 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 12.1 K/9 in 50 innings. He was then the Opening Day starter for ACL Brewers Gold in 2022, but lasted only four games (7.88 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 7.9 K/9 in 16 innings) before an injury erased the next 18 months of his baseball career. We pray that he’s already fully recovered and able to seize any opportunity that comes available to him, in baseball or otherwise. 21-year old RHP Jared Albir was signed in January 2021 out of Nicaragua, starting 12 games in the DSL in 2021 (4.50 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 6.3 K/9 in 46 innings). He then started 7 of his 9 games for ACL Brewers Blue in 2022, understandably struggling a bit as he was only 19 years old: 6.81 ERA, 1.82 WHIP, 9.8 K/9 in 35.2 IP (.419 BABIP against). His last game was on August 11, 2022, which means he was likely shut down with 12 days left in that season. Unfortunately, Albir then missed the entire 2023 year with injury. We hope he’s made a full recovery and wish him success in whichever adventure he takes on next. 22-year old INF/RHP Alberis Ferrer joined the Brewers in June 2017 from the Dominican Republic, debuting in 2018. Over four active seasons (Covid year excluded), Ferrer was a solid infielder, making 57 starts at SS, 71 at 3B and 8 at 2B. At the plate, Ferrer posted OPS’s of .689 and .720 in the DSL in 2018 and 2019 (combined 306 PAs), then appeared to break through with a .308 AVG / .379 OBP / .573 SLG in Arizona in 2021, though in just 132 PAs (.400 BABIP). The year 2022 was a rough one at Low-A Carolina: .188 AVG / .277 OBP / .336 SLG in 170 PAs. Ferrer was then converted to a pitcher for the 2023 season but never officially appeared in that capacity. We hope that Alberis finds success wherever his journey takes him. 20-year old RHP Samuel Dario signed with the Brewers in March 2021 from the D.R., moving directly to Arizona as an 18-year old. He made 10 starts and 2 relief appearances in 2021, though it was tough going: 7.15 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, 8.7 K/9 in 34 IP. The year 2022 was slightly better, with 22 relief appearances yielding a 5.40 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and 9.9 K/9 in 31.2 IP. Still in Arizona to start 2023, an injury in his third game (June 14) essentially wiped out his season, though he did make one more brief appearance on July 14, throwing just 2.2 innings this year. We hope that Samuel is fully healed and ready to tackle his next opportunity.