Jim Goulart

Monday 3/20:Via 97.3 the Game: Tim Allen's latest "Winter Meetings Show" - Curt Hogg of the Journal-Sentinel joins the show as well.

Extended is not the right word, but brief discussion may be --

Monday 3/20 at Mariners:Media Notes 3/20 MINOR DETAILS: Over from Minor League camp: RHP Robbie Baker (#80), RHP Lucas Erceg (#77), RHP Taylor Floyd (#95), RHP Matt Hardy (#92), LHP Justin King (#83), RHP Cam Robinson (#76), LHP Darrell Thompson (#91), INF Tyler Black (#97), INF Wes Clarke (#96), INF Isaac Collins (#94), C Jesús García (#98), OF Joe Gray Jr. (#93), OF Monte Harrison (#3), OF Hendry Mendez (#82), INF Robert Moore (#84) and OF Reece Walling (#87). Gameday / Box Score NOTE: LHP Justin King makes his first appearance in big league camp's bullpen - he was among the club's Australia Winter Ball contingent a few months back.

Fantastic perspective provided, sir, thanks! Although these three players don't fall within the "seven-year" parameters as those listed and were understandably not included in the article here, they all re-signed last fall upon reaching a similar circumstance, seven years all with the Crew: So at the end of 2023, these players would be ending Year Eight: RHP Harold Chirino RHP Lucas Erceg C Jose Sibrian (We are including RHP Caleb Boushley as having spent his full career with the Crew, considering he was picked up in Minor League Rule 5 and thus has never reached minor league free agency.)

Sunday 3/19:Latest Milwaukee Tailgate Podcast - "The time has come to preview the hitting, so Jaymes walked Paul and Ryan through the lineup position by position to analyze where they're at and where they might end up by seasons end, mixing in your questions along the way and trying to figure out what the opening day roster might look like. Then they made fun of Keith Olbermann for a bit."

Sunday 3/19 vs. Reds:Media Notes 3/19 MINOR DETAILS: Over from Minor League camp: LHP Nick Bennett (#89), RHP Harold Chirino (#95), RHP Lucas Erceg (#77), RHP Moises Gómez (#96), LHP Brandon Knarr (#93), RHP James Meeker (#97), RHP Zach Vennaro (#85), OF Jackson Chourio (#94), INF Patrick Dorrian (#92), OF Terence Doston (#90), C Jeferson Quero (#86) and OF Lamar Sparks (#91) Gameday / Box Score VIDEO: Lamar Sparks' walk-off grounder

Continuing our initial discussion above within this thread: What will be the impact if MKE, SF, SEA, HOU are not going to be allowed to field two stateside complex teams as they did in '22 (Florida for the Astros, Arizona for the others). As of this post, it does not seem MLB will be approving dual squads in 2023, but we shall see. Specific to the Brewers and MLB rules, organizations must limit the number of players in their stateside system to 180 players in-season (AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie Complex). Dominican Complex players are exempt from this count. Note: while not confirmed, it would seem likely that placing a minor league player on one of the extended injured list designations would free up a spot, similar to the 60-day injured list on the MLB level. However, the count is allowed to be 190 players during the offseason. If you add up all the players listed on the MiLB roster pages for the Brewers at those levels, it currently sits exactly at 190 (no, did not count restricted list RHP Ray Black, nor naturally, players on the team's 40-man who have already been optioned). Unlike some organizations who are in the 160-170 range, Milwaukee does push the upper limits of retention, which is fine. Get eyes on as many players as possible, unearth and develop gems within. Current as of 3/19: Nashville 32 Biloxi 28 Wisconsin 33 Carolina 37 Maryvale Gold 27 Maryvale Blue 33 As noted, the Brewers can seemingly pack their complex league rosters, and boy, have they done so. Let's compare with their chief MLB rival in St. Louis. The Cardinals currently have 46 players on their one (crowded as of now) Florida Complex League roster, compared to 60 combined on the Brewers' two Maryvale rosters. Remember, those players count towards the 180/190 stateside limits. St. Louis also takes a minimalist approach in the Dominican, one of only a few organizations fielding only one team there in 2022. Their current DSL roster is bloated for just one squad at 41 currently. Compare that to the 72 DSL Brewers currently listed on the DSL Brewers 1 and DSL Brewers 2 teams. But here's a kicker for the Brewers (and we imagine all organizations), the 29 signees announced on the international signing day back in January have yet to be placed on a DSL Brewers roster. Suddenly the DSL number goes from 72 to 101 (!). Third DSL team, anyone? Yeah, that's not happening. Nobody is rooting for player releases, it's one reason we at BrewerFanatic have always made especially sure to acknowledge the accomplishments of those who are let go, no matter how minimal or non-descript the numbers may have been. Hey, they are professional ballplayers, we here at the keyboard were not... But boy, this looks as though it's going to be a seismic release season in setting up rosters for the full-season clubs in April, and then again in setting up the complex teams in June. The fact that the Brewers have 60 players currently listed as "Maryvale" with not much room for current promotion at Carolina and Wisconsin is one issue. But if MLB does not allow for a 2nd Maryvale team to compete, the crowd at that level is exasperated even before one accounts for the mass of players potentially needed to come stateside from the Dominican League. Once the full-season teams break camp and rosters are set in April, it's going to be a wild two-month scramble of Arizona complex competition to see who maintains spots in the organization in June. The dynamic completely changes if Milwaukee is allowed to field a second team in Arizona. If not allowed, watch out.

Saturday 3/18 at Padres:Media Notes 3/18 MINOR DETAILS: Over from Minor League camp: LHP Luis Amaya (#81), RHP Bo Bowman (#96), RHP Luis Contreras (#82), RHP Joey Matulovich (#98), RHP James Meeker (#97), RHP Thyago Vieira (#49), INF Jadher Areinamo (#90), INF Isaac Collins (#94), INF Cam Devanney (#89), C Brent Diaz (#95), OF Eduarqui Fernandez (#85), OF Hendry Mendez (#92) and OF Je’Von Ward (#91). Gameday / Box Score NOTES: OF Eduarqui Fernandez is batting 1.000 after reaching on a ground ball to short in his first big league camp at-bat. Although he did not play, INF Jadher Areinamo was in the big league dugout for the first time here.

Friday 3/17: Reviewing the Brew's" Cold Brew Podcast: "Co-hosts David Gasper and Matt Carroll are back as Brewers spring training continues. There's just two weeks left until Opening Day. David has a new puppy and she makes her podcast debut as David and Matt discuss Luke Voit's roster status, the future of Keston Hiura in Milwaukee, Brewers in the World Baseball Classic, trading Victor Castaneda to the Rays, and more." *** Reminder that our Minor League Forum includes this recently-posted interview:2022 14th round RHP Aidan Maldonado

Full audio links below beyond the brief video clip. The 2022 14th round pick makes his professional debut with his first appearance in 2023. Via Curt Hogg of the Journal-Sentinel earlier this month (posted on 3/7): A scout observing noted that Aidan Maldonado was the pitcher who stood out the most. A 14th-round selection in last year’s draft, the righty out of the University of Minnesota throws gas. His upper-90s fastball generates high spin rates and, along with some deception created from an over-the-top arm slot, gives him some of the best pure stuff in the system. The problem Maldonado often runs into was on display; he has difficulty throwing strikes consistently. Maldonado walked 5.7 batters per nine innings during his college career and likely has a reliever profile because of it. The fastball and a slider that showed good sweeping movement, though, are both legitimate enough offerings to give Maldonado back-end reliever upside. And when that potential is present, it’s worth giving a player time to try and figure out the speed bump in his way.

Friday 3/17 at Rangers:Media Notes 3/17 (in green!) MINOR DETAILS: Over from Minor League camp: RHP Robbie Baker (#96), RHP Bo Bowman (#95), RHP Lucas Erceg (#77), RHP Taylor Floyd (#93), LHP Robert Gasser (#85), RHP Janson Junk (#66), RHP Cam Robinson (#76), RHP Justin Yegear (#89), OF Jackson Chourio (#94), INF Patrick Dorrian (#92), INF Eduardo García (#90), C Jesús García (#91), C Tayden Hall (#81), OF Tristen Lutz (#84) and INF Ethan Murray (#82). Gameday / Box Score NOTE: This was 21-year-old catcher Tayden Hall's first day in big league camp. The 2022 9th round pick out of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota walked in a pinch-hit appearance. He's the son of longtime big-league catcher Toby Hall.

Clearly this will be a combo of either Rottino or Dillard, depending on the road trip, and not a three-man booth:

Wednesday 3/15:Via WTMJ: Dom Cotroneo hosts the latest "Brewers Weekly" - Vinny Rottino is a guest

Thursday 3/16 vs. Angels:Media Notes 3/16 MINOR DETAILS: Over from Minor League camp: LHP Clayton Andrews (#92), RHP Robbie Baker (#99), RHP Lucas Erceg (#77), RHP Taylor Floyd (#83), RHP Moises Gómez (#98), RHP Kent Hasler (#93), RHP Ryan Middendorf (#85), INF Luke Adams (#86), INF Tyler Black (#97), INF Eric Brown Jr. (#91), OF Noah Campbell (#80), OF Jackson Chourio (#94), INF Isaac Collins (#65), C Brent Diaz (#95), OF Eduarqui Fernandez (#89), OF Monte Harrison (#3), INF Felix Valerio (#62) and INF Zavier Warren (#0). Note: Less than a year ago Luke Adams was playing for his high school team in Illinois. On Thursday he pinch-ran in the 7th inning of a big-league spring training game and was on deck as the 3-2 loss ended. Gameday / Box Score

Link to the RHP Javy Guerra trade acquisition thread in the Major League Forum Discussion there on the trade of RHP Victor Castaneda to the Rays as the PTBNL. Continue discussion there if you wish.

Wednesday 3/15:Via the Brewers Unfiltered Podcast: "A brand-new season is upon us. In S2E1 of Brewers Unfiltered, Sophia Minnaert, Adam McCalvy and Tim Dillard discuss a wide variety of topics – what is the vibe in the clubhouse? Who’s in the best shape of their lives? Which prospects will make an impression? Which rule changes will have an impact?"

Other notes as well (Wes Clarke, Joe Gray Jr.)

Wednesday 3/15 at Diamondbacks:Media Notes 3/15 MINOR DETAILS: Over from Minor League camp: LHP Luis Amaya (#81), LHP Nick Bennett (#99), RHP Harold Chirino (#86), LHP Alex Claudio (#58), RHP Luis Contreras (#82), RHP Alexander Cornielle (#87), RHP Lucas Erceg (#77), RHP Moises Gómez (#98), RHP Justin Jarvis (#61), RHP James Meeker (#97), RHP J.C. Mejía (#36), RHP Zach Vennaro (#85), INF Tyler Black (#68), OF Jackson Chourio (#94), INF Wes Clarke (#96), INF Cam Devanney (#89), INF Patrick Dorrian (#93), C Nick Kahle (#95), OF Tristen Lutz (#84), OF Hendry Mendez (#83), INF Ethan Murray (#91), OF Lamar Sparks (#80) and OF Je’Von Ward (#90). Note: This is Alexander Cornielle's first inclusion. Gameday / Box Score

Tuesday 3/14: Video via the Miller Park Minute podcast: WTMJ's Greg Matzek (go to the 21:35 minute mark) Via WSCO's "The Show with Leo and Balky: Jack Stern from "BrewCrewBall" (go to the 03:40 minute mark) ***

Briefly on reliever Zach Vennaro’s offseason workouts:

Monday 3/13:Via 97.3's Mike Heller Show: Craig Counsell for a lengthier chat than most Via 97.3 the Game: Tim Allen's latest "Winter Meetings Show" Via the "Foul Territory" Podcast: "#FTLive is coming off so much WBC weekend action and bringing in a very unfiltered and NSFW Brewers first baseman Rowdy Tellez that you need to hear to believe. He joins us nice and early after a late night celebration after his Team Mexico club easily handled Team USA. Brewers starter Freddy Peralta also brings the laughs with his new nickname announcement and provides insight on the impact of his current contract to his life and family. Rep 1 COO Chris Koras (Peralta's agent) swings by as our first agent guest of the year with info on the big Devers signing this past offseason." NOTES: Foul Territory streams live on YouTube but does not archive full episodes there, so audio only for the above. The 31:10 minute/second mark for Freddy, and the 01:30:10 hour/minute/second mark for Rowdy. *** Tuesday 3/14: Via the Journal Sentinel Podcast: "Brewers reporter Curt Hogg and host JR Radcliffe look at the roster spots still up for grabs as the Brewers get nearer to the start of the 2023 season. Curt gives injury updates on Garrett Mitchell and Tyrone Taylor, relays his experience watching a raucous USA-Mexico tilt in the World Baseball Classic (featuring multiple Brewers) and discusses Corbin Burnes' frustrations with one particular nuance of the new pitch clock rules. Which minor leaguers besides Jackson Chourio have caught Curt's attention (and they talk about Chourio plenty, too)?"

Monday 3/13 at Reds:Media Notes 3/13 MINOR DETAILS: Over from Minor League camp: OF Jackson Chourio (#94), C Jesús García (#91), OF Monte Harrison (#3), OF Hendry Mendez (#83), OF Lamar Sparks (#80), RHP Bo Bowman (#95), RHP Victor Castaneda (##), RHP Luis Contreras (#96), RHP Lucas Erceg (#77), RHP Tyler Herb (#87), RHP Justin Yeager (#89), INF Zavier Warren (#93). Gameday / Box Score Single and walk for Hendry Mendez...