Joseph Zarr

Just a 'fwiw' heads up: We won't be recording the Mudcats episode until the week after Thanksgiving - for obvious reasons. Tho, I am near certain the Mudcats will be the talk of each and every one of your Thanksgiving dinners. I apologize we won't be able to augment your collective POV's.

Welcome back into the Brewers fold Mr. Pannone!

Yeah. I personally don't like much of anything in his entire FT process. I wish he would quicken up the process and not get so mechanical. I mean, of Giannis hits FT at a 70% clip in his current form? I don't even know.

Cargo is every bit below 6' at 5'10". He has range on the outfield grass and he occasionally makes a surprising play out there but, if we're being honest, he is pretty much ''just a guy' defensively. The arm is also pretty sub-par as a whole - ie it won't be saving runs at home plate. From RF, however, it is capable of grabbing men tagging for 2B. IF he had that coveted defensive upside, I think the Brewers find a way to keep him in the fold. He is nowhere, and I mean nowhere, near the defender Lara is who you cite above. Lara has elite elite range and coverage and he is more than capable of throwing men out at all bases from CF. He got rave reviews in the AFL. Cargo's bread and butter at the dish is his swing decisions and his ability to get on base. He has adjusted at every level and excelled with prolonged exposure. He has never had the power stroke - it just isn't his game. BUT, he certainly knows how to get on base and he has a meaningful bat despite what 100 some debut AB's at Triple-A might say. He was the runner up 'Rookie of the Year' last off-season in the same Winter League he is playing in now. He's a very talented baseball player. BUT, I think the Brewers know they are quite adept at finding and signing Minor League free agents - whether through straight FA or ML Rule 5. Perkins and Isaac Collins are recent examples of this and I find both players offer more depth in their games. Was it an easy decision to let Cargo walk? No. Is it an understandable decision? Yes. I hope he crushes it with Atlanta. It's a great great fit and you love to see former Brewers go to successful orgs. There may have been a lot of competition for his services, and rightfully so, but a NG'd Major League 40-Man spot is not exactly a "...I've made it!" moment. Plenty more work to do. Let's see if he's up for the challenge.

Yeah, he has shot the 3rd most mid-range jumpers in the League. He's hitting those at a 48% clip. You add that suddenly very real threat and his hesi-Euro step attack to the basket no longer strictly relies on getting the ball in transition. It's just an unbelievable single off-season development. Early? Yes. BUT, it's a very real thing. It's so odd, on the other hand, to see how the tight high release on that form has not translated at all to the charity stripe.

Man, that must have been a literal trip for you! I still have no idea who you managed seven days a week. Unreal output.

It looks like in addition to the Rays we see at least one player from the Reds, Braves, Athletics, Pirates, Phillies (who sent 8 players), Twins, Royals, Astros, White Sox, Cubs, Tigers, and Angels were sent across the pond. So, 13 MLB clubs are represented over yonder.

I mean, despite the 57% FT woes, Giannis is once again raising the bar. He essentially does this every season. AND, well, it's absolutely bananas. Historic Shaq/Wilt-like season in 2023/2024? Meh. Let's raise the bar. For a player who does this year-in and year-out, I will just never take it for granted. He may have entirely fallen to the back drop of the national discourse, but it never ceases to amaze me how unbelievably dominant he is. Let us never ever take his game and his presence on the Bucks for granted.

Tokyo has not been all that kind to LHP Darrell Thompson. For his second outing in a row in Team USA's 2nd game of group play, Thompson was incapable of keeping the ledger clean: That's a tough blow in a key spot. Full article HERE. USA did manage to win the game in the 9th off a Taylor Ward dead center HR. They are 1-1 in group play. Thompson will look to get back on track in the games ahead.

Thanks for all the updates, Daniel. VERY very much appreciated.

For your future reference, it's over in the 'Alumni' thread HERE I know how you feel, tho. It's very weird in the early early days to call these men 'Alumni'. It feels like just yesterday I watched Cargo move from Biloxi to that Nashville grass. They grow up so fast!🥹

Posted by @markedman5 HERE:

Incredible news for Cargo. So pumped for him! That's a great landing spot. He gets his proverbial foot in the door baby. Let's GO!

Clearly Manfred sees it as 'costs'. We saw the Fanatics uniforms last season. Maddening to have such a myopic POV steering these pro sports ships. Can't any of these billionaires think holistically? Good grief. 😅

Anyone else notice INF Jesus Made literally front and center with Cooper Pratt at the Wilson store. That is a dynamic duo right der!

Recognizing this type of move and re-brand always ruffles feathers somewhere, frankly, at this point in time - as someone obviously not invested in that specific geographical region - I am just grateful they didn't become 'The Whirligigs'. That felt like a very challenging ask to pull off for a sports team. 'Warbirds' is very Wilson-appropriate and it certainly feels like the community's input was taken quite seriously. I do hope they have some form of an homage to the Mudcats Logo and the Mudcats brand and its diehards find some form of solace throughout this upcoming season. Hopefully, none of this impacts the players or the baseball 'product' on the field. And, hopefully, the proper respects and commemorating and remembering of the Mudcats storyline as a whole is done proper. That's about all I can say about any of this. I'm sure this was an emotional day for many.

I'm certainly not going to do this for each and every player (as they'll be discussed HERE when the officially become Brewers Alumni) in our ongoing Transaction Thread. But I simply wanted to share my overwhelmingly positive opinions of the raw tools RHP Harold Chirino possesses - and, the reality he simply needs to continue fine-tuning and honing his arsenal as control and zone accuracy is an ongoing body of work - were validated quite quickly. Mr. Chirino signed a new Minor League contract with the San Diego Padres org less than two week's from his official MiLB transaction wire FA announcement. The young man is just incredibly talented. I'll be rooting for him to earn a call-up as he matures and evolves. Go get it, Harold!

Every time I see a list like this I am reminded of the incredibly difficult decisions GM's and the greater circle of personnel decision-makers have to make. Those are all quality MLB players there who have all had their moments of brilliance. The small market game of roster juggling and composition from one season to the next is such a deep tangled mess!😅

How does an umpire not reward that glorious curveball at 3:36 with a strike call? 😅 They'd already used a challenge and failed in his first inning of work. Classic catcher pause "Ummmm. ..you sure about that Blue?!" You can see what I saw in several of Childers' outings in the AFL and why I consider and considered him the biggest takeaway storyline in the Brewers AFL: His vastly improved heater has completely revolutionized his chances for success. His off-speed is playing off it so well after this AFL stint. His surprising ascendancy into 2025 is one of the unheralded storylines in the entire system. He has put his first steps onto the path toward a high leverage MLB reliever. If you juxtapose this realization with what we saw when he first came aboard as an undrafted FA in 2023 (being fair, I should add he was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the 30th Rd back in 2019)? It is nothing short of remarkable. All the credit to him and the stable of coaches and PD people in the Brewers' ranks.

RHP Harold Chirino, unsurprisingly, has signed a Minor League FA contract with the San Diego Padres. He does indeed become an alumni in his first month outside the Brewers organization in official capacity. Spencer and I just touched on Chirino's game, and his likely re-upping with an MLB organization in rapid fashion, in our recent episode One Minor League season recap. All the best to Mr. Chirino as he looks to continue honing his immense pitching tools in hopes of a call-up down the line.

RHP Hobie Harris, who pitched in the Minnesota Twins org last season after a cup of coffee (or two) with the Nationals in 2023, has signed with the New York Metropolitans. For those who don't quite remember, Harris pitched for the Brewers and that immensely deep and successful 2022 Nashville Sounds squad.

Brewers cult classic, and Wisconsin's very own, RHP Caleb Boushley has signed a Minor League contract with the Texas Rangers. Best of luck, Caleb! He will be assigned to the Rangers' Triple-A Round Rock affiliate.

FUN! Seigler, if any of you recall, is one of those rare rare baseball players who not only is ambidextrous but he'll showcase it in the same game! Back in 2023, when he was still primarily catching, he caught with his left and threw with his right. Then, later in the game, when he was switched to LF, he caught with his right and threw with his left - and the ball definitely found him. When he first came out scouts loved he threw equally impactfully in the 80's from each side. Last season, his first as solely a 2B (after starting 13 contests there in 2023 in a split role between catching dutes), he fielded to a 97 FP% and his offensive numbers were bolstered by a very very good K:BB ratio (77:64) 12 long balls and 24 two-baggers. He has played a small bit of corner OF. I'll be curious to see what the Brewers have in store - I'm pretty sure the original move away from the backstop was ongoing injury-related.

OF Jahmai Jones has signed on with the Detroit Tigers organization for the 2025 season. Brewers fans may remember his shining moment as a call-up: In other news, LHP Darrell Thompson came aboard for Team USA vs Japan in game one of Super Group play.