Joseph Zarr

I know a lot of you are not going to love this trade. I completely understand it. From many vantage points. It's a fresh start for Urias in an organization he has an opportunity to play in and re-discover his former stuff. It's a good change of scenery for a player who clearly (my interpretation - body language and overall effort) wasn't into being optioned to Nashville. I would opine the Brewers are very comfortable (despite the majority here) with their overall depth in the infield at large. They've gotten production from unlikely places but talented places (again, despite skepticisms) and they still have depth beyond Urias - at Triple-A and at Double-A. My two cents. Curious to see what is coming back. Mark my words, however, Urias wasn't in the call-up schedule. This seemed quite clear despite what people on our beloved website were sharing. This settles that.

On paper, I love this trade. McKendry is 3rd in K's in the International League. Who is 1st? LHP Robert Gasser. Do the math. He dominanced the Sounds in mid-May. It was depressing to watch as a Sounds fan.😅 Lots to work with here. This speaks to the Rays dire catching situation (?), imho. Alex Jackson has had a fantastic season and I'll miss his mega-bombs but the Brewers got the value here. At least a four-pitch mix - might have 5 (?). He is another pitcher with the ability to fine-tune an already good change-up into a deadly pitch. Get him in the Lab. LOVE this. The Brewers have so many good catchers. Move up Quero. Promote Sibrian. Do some other shuffling...or something...something. Now, Navarreto and Henry can lead that Triple-A group. Sounds will be just fine. Best of luck to Jackson. An underrated player.

Well, that's interesting. McKendry really impressed versus the Sounds in Mid-May of the first half - 6 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 8 K. That outing helped him win International League Pitcher of the Week honors. On the season, for Durham, he's been pretty dang good. Favorable strikeout profile with 95 K in 96 1/3 IP. The Sounds will now have two of the top three strikeout leaders in the International League. I'll miss those Alex Jackson mega-blasts into the parking garages behind <insert Triple-A ballpark here>.

I feel you. I feel that way about all the men in the Brewers Minor Leagues. 😅 It's always a bitter pill to swallow regardless of the inevitability year-in and year-out.

All things considered, and I love Strzelecki's story, this is an absolutely fair price to pay for the Brewers organization. It's a worthwhile gamble for an area of need. The D-Backs see a 28-year-old who has experienced some success at the MLB level and has years of team control. It's a good trade/gamble for both teams. I hope Pete nails it in Arizona - a very likable young man.

Honestly, I'm just thrilled it isn't LHP Daniel Norris. My low bar has been honored.

It is very fair to question whether Cousin's days as a 'hard throwing' reliever are behind him given his arm injuries the past couple years. His velo was routinely down 3mph on average in nearly every outing with Nashville in 2023. It was really sad to watch, honestly. A shell of his best former self.

Well that is about as fair a compensation package we could have hoped for. Sigh of relief. Man, it's so odd to see Cousins and Strez scuffle like they've scuffled and now both gone from the organization. I thank (Com)Pete for his service as a Brewer and hope he rediscovers that shutdown form we saw during last year's second half.

Is Wilson done for the year? OR, is he dealing with short-term? I guess, this states: we don't know?

I'm scared. Hug me. I don't want to know the compensation. Please make it go away.😅

And, well, my opinion on that is: if that's the way things shake out so be it. This is the landscape all organizations have to play in. The Brewers have to win differently. And they've been very good at doing so. BUT, this is not what has happened or is happening today. I'm going to enjoy my Minor League slate and the rest of this season and hope the Brewers catch lightning in a bottle.

The Packers have had their coaching staffs and personnel departments pillaged for years. It's an inevitability in the small world of relationships-based professional sports. Develop, evolve, adapt etc. or perish. Nothing is certain. Sports moves in cycles and eras. Hopefully, the Brewers are set up for future success regardless of what happens with Stearns and the Mets.

Good for him, if true. That's his childhood dream job. He deserves that opportunity and then some. I have absolutely zero qualms with how Stearns' tenure ended and how the hand-off to Arnold has progressed. It seems like a rare 'Win, Win' scenario to me.

@damuelle:Is that the throwback Brewer Fanatic graphic back to our early days of the 'Takeover' in early 2022?!? I feel the nostalgia wafting through my screen door. <Sniffles> Back when OF Tristan Peters was making a name for himself on a nightly basis at Wisconsin(before he started hitting pesky game-winning hits for Montgomery vs the Shuckers) and RHP Stiven Cruz was promoted to Low-A ball after his rapid promotion from the DSL. Oh the sweet roller-coaster of a Minor League Brewers baseball season.

One contract to name them All One contract to sign them One contract to bring them All And in the dugout bind them... Or something like that... Don't sleep on C Jose Sibrian. Do not sleep on that young man. 39.29% CS rate. 0.866 OPS. At age 24, he's starting to really really make his mark at the backstop. A true joy to watch in Carolina. I do not take his consistency and ability to guide that young pitching staff (calls his own game) for granted as a nightly watcher.

Thirded... I took both your recommendations on this. Fantastic show.

I personally find this trade quite impractical and highly unlikely to happen - for both teams for multiple reasons. BUT, for anyone who follows the broader MLB landscape one thing should be agreed upon here: Kim is a fantastic baseball player. Likely the MVP of the Padres season - what he has done since they made him their lead-off is remarkable. I still think he's a player most fans don't appreciate because the Padres lineup is stacked with big personalities and big names.

Very easily the best week of Affiliated ball in 2023. A 19-5 overall mark is fantastic. The Sounds splitting @ Norfolk is also extremely impressive given the ongoing player shuffles in the dugout and in the pitching stables. I will look back fondly on this week in the off-season.

Jarvis has struggled quite significantly since his promotion to Triple-A. I certainly wouldn't consider him 'nearly ready'. The majority of his stellar work this season came in the Southern League with a tacked ball. It's hard to tell what's next for him but 3 GS, 11 2/3 IP, 17 H, 14 ER, 2 HR, 12 BB, 11 K as a Sounds starter is not what I'd remotely consider ready for a random call to the MLB level. If anything, he may be ready for a re-assignment to Biloxi to test an untacked ball in a League he is more comfortable in.

-The ACL Brewers have released INF Jose Caballero and C Jason Ollarve We wish both of these young men future success in their baseball and life endeavors. More to follow on both these young men's careers with the Brewers.

It is clearly a new everyday position but he's improved as the year progressed (he did play a handful of games at the hot corner at High-A Wisconsin in 2022 if I'm not mistaken). He definitely has the arm for it. At present, however, the thing that has plagued him at both 2B and 3B is he is just a little bit stiff. I don't know how to describe it as anything other than that. He has made some surprising plays, from time to time, as well - a charging barehanded play in the past several weeks comes to mind. Whereas, earlier in the season, I was like: "Oh boy, this is a big project." I've seen enough progress at the hot corner to understand why they keep giving him shots there. Well, until they shifted him to 1B this past week - which, as Daniel point out in a recent GT, might be an audition for an interested ball club (I sure hope not, his work at the plate is so advanced - the Brewers could absolutely use his bat in the lineup every single day). Anywho, this is a long winded way of saying: He's made progress. BUT, is it enough? I don't know. He has a season FPCT of 0.921. This isn't very good. He only has 11 errors in 592 2/3 innings - which is quite palatable all things considered. But the range and the ability to make those range plays - plays MLB caliber 3B need to make is very much in question. The question remains: Are they trying him out at 1B now because, organizationally, they understand they have a major lack of depth there and Black's bat plays anywhere? OR, is it for some other reason? Time will tell.

I'm not crying. You're crying.

Matches the eye test as well. He just isn't making anywhere near the consistent hard contact he was pre-injury. Hopefully, he can find that form. The Sounds, in the very least, need it for a Playoffs push.

Man, I love Brandon Woodruff. I hope he retires a Brewer. Such a pleasantly easy guy in the Media room(s). Relatable. Friendly. Thoughtful. He should come out my way and hunt some elk with me 😂. I feel we'd have a real fun time!