Joseph Zarr

I believe it's fair to say Murphy is likely better equipped to manage this team than the 2015 Padres as an interim. Hopefully, he brings back Dave Roberts as his bench coach.😎

- The contracts of C Jeferson Quero and RHP Bradley Blalock have been selected by the Milwaukee Brewers (Rule 5 Protection)

It's actually RHP Tobias Myers. He is currently a member of the Brewers org and is also up for Rule 5. In my opinion, he is 10x more likely to be protected than Seminaris given his late season output at Biloxi and Nashville. Seminaris was just as erratically inconsistent in Arizona as he was (when healthy) in Biloxi. If we are going off performance and MLB-readiness, I'd opine Myers is likely well ahead of Blalock who is still injured the last I heard. Blalock is a classic lottery ticket who has struggled to find any prolonged success (mostly due to ongoing injury woes) tho he has had bouts of success at the A-Levels. I like McKendry for protection as I think his best days are ahead of him and he's already demonstrated consistent success in the International League - that was a sneaky mid-season deal with Durham. McKendry sees himself as a pseudo right-handed version of Gasser - he's stated this in interviews on more than one occasion. A dark horse in this pitching convo, as I see it, is RHP TJ Shook who made immense strides at Biloxi in 2023 in a variety of key roles for manager Mike Guerrero. He pitched his best ball when it mattered most and he had several starts late in the year where he was utterly dominant as the Shuckers pushed for that elusive post-season bid. His best days are ahead of him. Traditionally, the Brewers (and most of MLB) don't prioritize field players beyond the blue chip guys. As mentioned above, Quero is a no brainer. Beyond that, I don't see a single player they'll likely add to the 40-Man. But, if they did, I'd have to think they'd prioritize someone like INF Cam Devanney over any you mention here. He plays a solid SS and 3B and has held up quite well at Triple-A Nashville now for over a season despite his delayed start due to injury in 2023. Zamora had a much improved (and healthy, yay!) 2023 and he improved measurably in terms of defensive consistency. Hard to tell what the Brewers at large are thinking here. I guess we'll know soon enough. Regardless, interesting calls to make and they have the open roster spots to possibly be more liberal this off-season. Given no list of eligibles is actually given in this article, I encourage readers to visit our ongoing forum thread on this topic HERE. All Rule 5 eligible Brewers are listed (the list is extensive). This discussion has been going on since July 31st.

Is this good? Asking for a friend...

You are surprised to see Myers included if you didn't see him pitch in 2023. The visual matters and the entire journey tells the tale. He worked through many things in the meat of the season. BUT, he is a workhorse. On more than one occasion, I lamented he was leading with a flat four-seamer that topped out at 95mph. By season's end, however, he had improved his entire arsenal and most notably he was dealing a high-ride high-rising four-seamer that was touching 98mph in a relief role. He was shutdown dominant in his brief late-season call-up to Triple-A Nashville out of their bullpen. Keep in mind he is still a young 25 years old. Biloxi speaking, now, by season's end it was clear Myers and Shook had evolved into the heart of the Shuckers pitching staff and the core by which they pushed for the playoffs. Anywho, we know these lists historically lean toward pitching. Seeing Myers added to the 40-Man would be entirely unsurprising to me.

ACL Championship? ✅ AFL Championship? ✅ It's a beautiful thing and a fantastic set of seasons in Arizona. Love that Yeager got an opportunity to make his mark! Here's hoping he stays healthy and can pitch a full season.

RHP Tyson Miller has signed with the Seattle Mariners. It's been quite the MLB circuit for Miller since he was traded to the Dodgers for cash considerations in early July of 2023 - Seattle will be his fourth MLB team in less than six months. Regardless, we wish him the best of luck in 2024. Here's hoping he discovers his best form.

Scottsdale led 9-0 after the first inning. Surprise will face Peoria in the Finals tomorrow.

MLB.com Callis piece on EBJ: Full article HERE

This pleases me greatly. My thoughts on Navs and how vastly underrated he is are known...I sure hope Harold can experience some prolonged availability and success. He's been dynamite, even dominant, when healthy!

- RHP Jason Woodward was activated by the ACL Brewers - RHP Kevin Briceno was activated from the 60-Day IL by the ACL Brewers - OF Duncan Garcia was activated from the 60-Day IL by the ACL Brewers - RHP Miguel Segura was activated from the 60-Day IL by the ACL Brewers - RHP Aldrin Gonzalez was activated by the ACL Brewers - LHP Wande Torres was activated by the ACL Brewers - LHP Caden Vire was activated by the ACL Brewers - RHP Daurys Mora was activated from the 60-Day IL by the DSL Brewers 1

Surprise wins again, 8-5 over Glendale, fresh off the mini AFL All-Star break. They've improved to 18-10 - unfortunately, no Clarke and no EBJ in this one. OF Hendry Mendez was back in the line-up batting ninth and scuffling to an 0-for-4 night with 2 K. RHP Justin Yeager saw ninth inning action and scuffled himself: 1 IP, 2 BB, 1 H, 1 K, 2 R. His ERA jumps back up to 6.23. Shake off the rust, gentlemen. But, hey, Surprise is now guaranteed a spot in the Championship game this weekend. Looking forward to some Brewers tasting some of that success!

Bump Gentlemen, you have not disappointed.

Indeed he has. See above. Quite the exodus! 😔

Now we begin to see the unfortunate FA turn... - RHP Tyler Herb has elected free agency - RHP Max Lazar has elected free agency - RHP Luis Contreras has elected free agency - RHP Jason Alexander has elected free agency - RHP Cam Robinson has elected free agency - LHP Karlos Morales has elected free agency - LHP Fernando Abad has elected free agency - RHP Caleb Boushley has (officially) elected free agency - C Payton Henry has elected free agency We wish these players ALL the best as they navigate the Minor League free agency waters. May they find their right fit. I hope to see some of these young men back in the fold though that is probably unlikely. - INF Jheremy Vargas has been activated by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - RHP Arielbi Gonzalez was activated from the 60-Day IL by the Carolina Mudcats - RHP Rosmel Reyes was activated from the 60-Day IL by the Carolina Mudcats - RHP Fray Morelo was activated by the Carolina Mudcats - RHP Rafael Garcia was activated by the Carolina Mudcats

Mark's fault. It's all Mark's fault! (Is this how I do it? New to this but want to get on that juicy bandwagon)

- RHP Tyler Herb has been activated by the Nashville Sounds - LHP Brandon Knarr has been activated from the 60-Day IL by the Biloxi Shuckers - RHP Harold Chirino has been activated from the 60-Day IL by the Biloxi Shuckers

Well, now the fun starts. Embrace the unknown. Embrace the roller coaster. Congrats to the Cubs and Counsell. I look forward to beating them annually. I am already cringing at the new round of rancor that will be hurled @Matthew Trueblood's way. At the same time...

How cool would it be to be a coveted Free Agent? The world is your oyster. Couns gave quite a bit to the Brewers organization and it pays to remember the Brewers are his first and only managing gig. I would absolutely not begrudge him one iota if he wanted a new challenge; a new environment; etc. He knows the scope of making it work in another organization from his playing days. Exciting times for him and his family.Exciting opportunity for the Brewers regardless of how this ultimately shakes out. I want to once again throw my hat in the ring of Victor Estevez. He'll fit the mold of a retool/rebuild in real time. He has managed most of the young men in the system presently. Bi-lingual. Former player. Love his approach. My personal favorite dark horse candidate should Counsell indeed leave as is being reported.

Well this just got weird. 😂

- RHP Blake Holub has been assigned to the Biloxi Shuckers

I respectfully disagree. (in that 2024 is critical for Areinamo) In terms of utility guys, Areinamo is a stud. He just is. Heady. Incredible defensively. Always a plus in the line up. Confidence is growing at the plate. Low A results followed. He'll only just turn 20 later this month. In terms of utility guys, 2024 is a big year for a guy like Eduardo Garcia. A guy who can no longer merely live as a prospect off his lofty reputation with little offensive consistency to back that up and multiple areas of concern at the dish. He'll turn 22 in mid summer. 2024 is a huge year for his career trajectory with the Brewers. As an aside, even younger than Jadher, Barrios will only turn 20 in April of 2024. Using recency bias and 23-year -old INF Ethan Murray as the barometer here, Brewers speaking - a player who struggled to put it all together (especially offensively) at High-A Wisconsin but who really showcased his full package of potential in Biloxi - this colors the current iteration of my own experiential observation and thinking.

In all seriousness, and I say this completely peaceably, why is this hard to understand for baseball minds? - Brewers trade for two months of Canha and he clearly helps the squad. WIN - Mets pick up the vast majority of that tab. WIN - Brewers give up RHP Justin Jarvis Loss of Tenured Prospect WIN by Nature of MLB In Season Net Gain. - Brewers Gain RHP Blake Holub who will plug and play at Double-A Biloxi My point here is: Emotion leads certain fans to the tired story of "...Attanasio is so cheap and the Brewers will never win anything..." and, yet, they fail to simply recognize the forest for the trees. This is another example of a shrewd really good business deal giving the Brewers organization multiple bites of the apple. And, yes, the Brewers have salary and organizational budget restrictions. Holub may not work out. But, this process is perfectly sound and understandable.

Thankfully, Clarke's power comes in games batting clean-up. He finished with a whimper BUT we all know what we're seeing happen since the second half of Biloxi's 2023 season began. It's only continued in the AFL.