Jim Goulart

From Santo Domingo to Milwaukee

Guessing the Brewers would like to announce their coaching staff news in one fell swoop (for instance, will another hitting coach be brought on board after Connor Dawson's departure to the Royals), but word of this internal promotion came out just over a week ago and now we have confirmation from Juan Sandoval himself. Back on December 4th, we highlighted Mike Rodriguez' report - be sure to also read the Baseball Reference biography linked here and within: *** Sandoval confirmed the news in a Dominican interview Thursday, translated from the tweet below: The pitching coach of the Gigantes del Cibao (of the Dominican Winter League), Juan Sandoval, expressed his satisfaction at having been named assistant pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers in Major League Baseball, a promotion he described as a significant step in his career and an achievement he shares with his family and his organization. Sandoval explained that the appointment came after an internal interview process with Milwaukee, and that he received the news directly from manager Pat Murphy. He noted that the opportunity represents the result of years of work, preparation, and adaptation to the new demands of modern baseball. During his meeting with the press, he highlighted that his experience in the Dominican League has been key to his development as a coach, assuring that the competitive structure and daily demands of the league serve as a true steppingstone to the Major League level. He indicated that his return to the Gigantes del Cibao this year holds special value, as the franchise was the first to open its doors to him in his transition from the field to the coaching staff in 2022. Congratulations, Juan!

2026 Dynasty Baseball Prospects: Daily Write-Up Series - Eric Bitonti

The Brewers released RHP Johan Zapata, who had made 29 relief appearances in the Dominican Summer League the past two seasons. The Dominican native just turned 20 years old a month ago but will not reach stateside ball with the organization after struggling to a career 8.02 ERA and 1.734 WHIP.

Dude raked in 32 games for Nashville in ‘21. A what-could-have-been career but for the injuries. Good article here.

Tuesday 12/9: Via David Gasper's "Brewers Daily" YouTube page: "Winter Meetings Day 1 Wrap Up" *** Wednesday 12/10: VIDEO via MLB Network: "Pat Murphy reflects on the Brewers' 2025 season, discusses Brandon Woodruff accepting his qualifying offer to return to the team and more" Via WTMJ's Midday News (download link): Adam McCalvy from the Winter Meetings in Orlando Via WTMJ's Afternoon News (download link): "Dale Kooyenga from the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce joins the program to discuss a stadium development study" Via "The Bill Michaels Show" (Hour Two): Chuck Freimund (go to the 30:30 minute mark) Via David Gasper's "Brewers Daily" YouTube page: "Winter Meetings Day 2 Wrap Up" Locked on Brewers with Chuck Freimund - "Other MLB Teams Hunt Brewers’ Best—Why Can’t they Add Elite Offense Now?" Via the "View from Bernie's Chalet" Podcast: "Jason & Hyatt chat Crew being named Baseball America Organization of The Year, Turang named to Team USA for WBC, Rule 5 Draft results, Megill & Peralta trade rumors, BP prospect list, Cooper Pratt trade thoughts, listener questions, card corner & HOF talk."

Confirming what we saw hinted at earlier, RHP Stiven Cruz, who has pitched well over ten Venezuelan League innings (2.70 ERA), gets the start for his club this Sunday.

Monasterio returned on Thursday - playing second base, singling twice in five at-bats.

Combining that game and Tuesday's: After missing a few days with the flu virus (as did some of his Dominican League teammates), 40-man roster OF Steward Berroa returned the last two days (played RF in each) and was 3-for-6 including a double, sacrifice fly, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 BB, SB (his 12th in 14 tries). His recent efforts netted him his team's "Player of the Week" award.

Nice for the Rookie Complex Hitting Coach, 2024-2025 (and still with the organization)

As also posted in our Rule 5 thread - Incoming: Milwaukee Brewers purchased contract of RHP Cole Phillips in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase. Outgoing: New York Yankees purchased contract of RHP Hansel Rincon in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase. Toronto Blue Jays purchased contract of LF Hedbert Perez in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase. Minnesota Twins purchased contract of RF Garrett Spain in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase. Boston Red Sox purchased contract of LHP Caden Vire in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase. Cincinnati Reds purchased contract of 1B Zavier Warren in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase. Cincinnati Reds purchased contract of LHP Nate Peterson in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase.

Final tally - Incoming: Milwaukee Brewers purchased contract of RHP Cole Phillips in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase. Outgoing: New York Yankees purchased contract of RHP Hansel Rincon in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase. Toronto Blue Jays purchased contract of LF Hedbert Perez in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase. Minnesota Twins purchased contract of RF Garrett Spain in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase. Boston Red Sox purchased contract of LHP Caden Vire in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase. Cincinnati Reds purchased contract of 1B Zavier Warren in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase. Cincinnati Reds purchased contract of LHP Nate Peterson in the Rule 5 Draft, AAA Phase.

Minor league diehards will hopefully find value in the latest posted draft-related article: Promotions Within and Expansion of Brewers Scouting Staff

Image courtesy of © Denny Medley-Imagn Images - Taylor Green The Brewers have updated their front office roster across all departments. We will detail many of the changes in baseball operations and player development for you this week, but for now, we'll focus on updates within the scouting staff. Anything in bold refers to a change in title or role. Former Brewers big-leaguer Taylor Green is now the top-name listed in the International Scouting section of the roster; otherwise, the International list of employees remains the same. Green's prior title was "Special Assistant - Scouting and International Player Development". His new title is "Director - International Scouting and Player Personnel". On the domestic scouting side of things, Corey Rodriguez is now listed as "Special Assistant - Scouting", joining holdovers Bryan Gale and Mike Berger in that role. Rodriguez had previously been listed as "Supervisor - Scout Teams/West Coast Special Assignment Scout". Former #1 overall draft pick Bryan Bullington (Pirates, 2002) remains as National/Regional Scout. The "Special Assistant - Scouting" title may seem innocuous, but given that the four names just mentioned are listed atop the scouting section, as seen in this linked screenshot, it lends credence to their importance. Doug Reynolds' title shifts from "National/Regional Scout" to "National Crosschecker". Regional Supervisor Mike Serbalik is now "National Supervisor". Congratulations are also due to four area scouts who have been promoted to the role of "Regional Coordinator": James Fisher, Taylor Frederick, Steve DiTrolio, and Shawn Whalen. Two area scouts are no longer listed with the organization. Longtime scout Steve Smith had patrolled Georgia and South Carolina for some time. Incidentally, one of Smith's recent signees, non-drafted RH reliever Will Childers, was listed today by MLB Pipeline as one to watch in Wednesday's Rule 5 draft. The other Area Scout to depart is Adam Hayes, who covered the Arizona territory. Hayes' most recent farmhand of note was RHP Tyler Woessner, who, unfortunately, was released this past June. However, in this day and age when MLB organizations are trimming traditional scouting staffs, it's solid news that the Brewers are holding steady in their personnel count. Backfilling the spots for those who graduated to Regional Coordinator are Dexter Swims, Andrew Snyder, and Chaz Crawford. Congratulations to the new "Area Scouts"! Swims and Snyder in particular were listed as "Development Scouts" previously. In fact, back in November 2024, we linked you to a feature story and video interview with Swims. Speaking of "Development Scouts", Jamie Hurtado joins the organization in that role. He joins the existing Development Scout, Donovan Simon. Folks have asked what the best way to learn a player's signing scout is. It would be great if the Brewers made their Digital Media Guide a bit more online-friendly, and of course, we sorely miss the printed version. Here's the link to the 2025 Media Guide from March. Once you arrive, click the down-pointing arrow at the top of the screen. This gives you the choice to print, download, or choose thumbnails. You may not want to choose a massive print on your home printer, it's 402 pages long! However, the pages for minor league diehards to focus on are the player bios, and that's pages 216 (Christopher Acosta) through 262 (Johan Zapata). Those pages will show the signing scout for each bio (players who were on the 40-man roster at the time are listed in an earlier section of the media guide, and, obviously, players from the July 2025 draft are not included). It would be nice if the area covered by each scout was also listed. That was the case a few years back, but that has become protected information in recent years. Quite often, a Google or LinkedIn search can provide clues, but it's quite the chore. As noted, look forward to learning about updates within other areas of the organization from us in the coming days. View full article

Sunday 12/7: Latest Milwaukee Tailgate Podcast - "Ryan was back with Paul and Jaymes to preview baseball's winter meetings, talk about payroll, extensions, the Brewers chances to win the NL in 2026 and doing a little turn on the catwalk. Yeah, the catwalk." *** Monday 12/8: VIDEO via MLB Network's "MLB Tonight": "2025 Executive of the Year Matt Arnold talks about the 2025 season and what's to come in 2026" Via David Gasper's "Brewers Daily" YouTube page: "We are in Orlando at the Winter Meetings!" Locked on Brewers with Chuck Freimund - "Brewers Capture Organization of the Year as Trade Rumors Explode"

Great catch, Ro. Despite our highlighting Cruz' then-upcoming participation as early as November 1st, we lost track of his appearances. His full stats are linked above. No easy-to-find video available from Venezuela, but the hair is rockin'.

Friday 12/5: Via WTMJ's Morning News (download link): "The Brewers are having their huge clubhouse sale this weekend! All of the old school items including game worn jerseys, hats, and even a turnstile? Brewers Senior Vice President of Communications Tyler Barnes joins the program to detail the annual clubhouse sale, and those new powder blue uniforms." Via David Gasper's "Brewers Daily" YouTube page: "Matt Arnold Speaks on Peralta Rumors" Locked on Brewers with Chuck Freimund - "Are Brewers Fans Ready for Massive Winter Moves — Which Stars Won’t Be Traded?"

Image courtesy of © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Discussing the art of the MLB vs. MiLB phases of protection, here's some background via the ultimate Rule 5 guru, JJ Cooper of Baseball America, and we thank him for these insights: "Any Rule 5-eligible player who is not on a 40-man MLB roster is available to be picked in the MLB phase of the Rule 5 draft, while all players not on the 38-player Triple-A rosters are available to be picked in the MiLB Rule 5 draft. So, when it comes to the MLB Rule 5 draft, players on the 38-player Triple-A rosters are really the only players who get picked. If a player is available for the MiLB Rule 5 draft, it just makes too much sense to wait and pick them in a draft where there are no onerous roster restrictions. Similarly, MLB clubs move players who are not Rule 5-eligible off of Triple-A rosters in paper transactions once the offseason commences. It makes no sense for the Twins to leave Walker Jenkins (who finished the year in Triple-A) on the St. Paul roster when that spot can be used to protect another player from the MiLB Rule 5 draft. So, Jenkins has been transferred to the Double-A Wichita roster for procedural reasons. There may be some MiLB free agents whose signings have not yet been made public who are Rule 5-eligible but are not included on projected team lists." So, these modified AAA rosters are not something that's ever made public by MLB teams or MiLB affiliate pages. The Brewers actual AAA roster for Rule 5 purposes is invisible to us. For Milwaukee, this AAA roster nuance currently affects only one player on Nashville's AAA roster as of its MiLB.com link - LHP Tate Kuehner finished the 2025 season with the Nashville Sounds but is not yet Rule 5 eligible with only three professional seasons under his belt. The Brewers could place as many as 38 players on the "invisible" AAA roster to keep them from being picked in the minor league phase of Rule 5. In theory, that would only expose two players to the minor league phase. However, it's likely Milwaukee will protect less than 38, perhaps quite a few less. The first reason for doing so is to allow space for Milwaukee to take players from other organizations in the minor league phase, as the Brewers have often done (Isaac Collins, anyone?). If the team maxed out the 38-player list from the start and didn't lose any player in the MLB phase, there would be no room at all to grab a player like OF Garrett Spain, who the Brewers claimed from Toronto last year at this time, and who remains in the organization. The second reason a player might be exposed to the minor league phase is in "as a favor" fashion. Going back to 2012, then-General Manager Doug Melvin indicated that infielder Eric Farris had been exposed (and subsequently selected by Seattle) as a professional courtesy in order to provide a better chance at a future career for the player. It's quite possible that of the many players the organization has lost in the minor league phase in the ensuing years, some were left unprotected with similar thinking, though it's rare for a GM to indicate such openly. The names below are listed by the most recent level in which they saw action. An asterisk next to a player's name indicates that this is their first year of Rule 5 eligibility. While all these players were certainly reviewed by the Crew's decision-makers when addition to the big-league 40-man roster was considered earlier this fall, only RHP Coleman Crow, on the cusp of minor league free agency, was formally added. Crow was on a list like the one you see here last year at this time, but his injury status had teams wary and (thankfully) he was not plucked by another organization last December. There had been speculation that RHP Blake Holub and LHP Brian Fitzpatrick might join Crow on the 40-man this fall. As such, they may be potential targets on Wednesday. The minor league phase can always lead to unexpected names appearing, both coming and going. Here's to a productive Winter Meetings for the Brewers, including Wednesday's Rule 5 Draft which concludes the week's events in Orlando. P.S. The buzz around 40-man roster status and Rule 5 protection and exposure for Crew prospects is going to be over the top insane next year based on the volume and quality of prospects "coming due". There will be plenty of dialogue to rapture us throughout next year's minor league season in preparation for December 2026. AAA Nashville: RHP JB Bukauskas RHP Will Childers* LHP Brian Fitzpatrick* RHP Blake Holub INF Eddys Leonard INF Ethan Murray LHP Thomas Pannone LHP Nate Peterson* RHP Garrett Stallings INF Freddy Zamora AA Biloxi: INF Eric Brown, Jr.* INF/OF Eduardo Garcia RHP Stiven Cruz RHP Nick Merkel* C Darrien Miller OF Hedbert Perez C Ramon Rodriguez LHP Russell Smith OF Garrett Spain UTIL Jheremy Vargas INF Zavier Warren C Matt Wood* High-A Wisconsin: RHP Patricio Aquino* OF Luis Castillo* C Blayberg Diaz C David Garcia INF Daniel Guilarte* 1B/OF Tayden Hall* RHP Edwin Jimenez C Andrick Nava OF/INF Kay-Lan Nicasia RHP Yerlin Rodriguez RHP Will Rudy* RHP Cameron Wagoner* A-Ball Carolina: RHP Quinton Low* C Edgardo Ordonez* LHP Anfernny Reyes* LHP Caden Vire* Rookie Maryvale: C Eric Martinez* OF Demetrio Nadal* RHP Hansel Rincon* View full article