Jim Goulart

Orr meant to be in baseball, but his role in the game now unclear By Alexis Brudnicki, Canadian Baseball Network No offers for Pete yet, thinking about scouting, discusses the gains made in Canadian baseball...

As per @BrewersPD, the team has released RHP's Connor Baits and Evan Parker. Baits, 22, was drafted in the 33rd round last June out of UC-Santa Barbara. In eight appearances for Maryvale (one start), he put up some numbers that can best be appreciated by clicking his Baseball Reference link above. We may never see quite a line again. Credit to the Brewers for sticking with Baits through the winter, he must have been assigned an offseason program, but it is odd to see a release so early in camp. Good luck to Connor going forward. Parker, 23, was signed as an undrafted free agent on June 25th out of Utah's Dixie State College. His pro stint with the Crew lasted only five Maryvale relief appearances last summer. The highs and many lows, of the undrafted free agent, some times they go much further, as evidenced by Nate Orf's rise through the system in recent years. Hopefully Evan will get a chance elsewhere.

Well, that's an eye-catching thread title, if nothing else. DISCLAIMER: This in no way is an official press release from the Milwaukee Brewers, Brevard County Manatees, the Florida State League, or as you'll discern below, neither the Houston Astros nor the Washington Nationals. *** What this post is, however, is a connect-the-dots analysis that leads to one pretty clear conclusion - the Brewers' high-A team won't be the Brevard County Manatees in 2017, and it doesn't appear as though the Manatees will exist at all after this coming season. We've been chronicling the status of the Manatees' home park in Viera, FL (Melbourne), Space Coast Stadium, since June of 2013, when it was becoming evident that the Washington Nationals were seeking a new spring training facility that would have greater proximity to other Florida locales, not to mention all the fancy bells and whistles a new complex would provide. At the same time, Manatees ownership was working diligently to find a new stadium plan for its minor league team, with the search focusing on the Orlando ties of its principal owner, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Tom Winters. At one point, a deal was actually in place to team up with Rollins College on a shared Orlando stadium, but that deal disintegrated. Here at Brewerfan.net, we had become accustomed to collecting article links and news on the relationships between the parent club and its affiliates. There was a detailed thread on the status of aging Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, the Brewers' AA home since 1999. That discussion, which kicked off in earnest in September 2012, eventually had a happy ending with the Brewers securing a new AA home in Biloxi, Mississippi's beautiful MGM Park (after a 55-game road trip to begin 2015), and a player development contract relationship that currently extends through 2018. But we can all agree that before the happy ending in Biloxi there was a lot of misery in the final days in Huntsville. Milwaukee is bringing its big league club to Biloxi to close out the exhibition schedule, certainly as a way to say to Biloxi ownership, "thank you, now let's extend beyond 2018 as well, please". Also in September of 2012, we kicked off a thread that followed the city of Nashville's struggles to replace aged Greer Stadium, the Brewers' AAA home since 2005. Nashville would eventually find a way to build and open beautiful First Tennessee Park in 2015, but the Brewers were left at the altar, as the Oakland Athletics would become the new tenants as Sounds' ownership sought a partner that would do a better job of providing winning baseball. The A's AAA squad was 66-78, by the way, which was still 3.5 games better than the Brewers' team in its new locale of Colorado Springs. And believe it or not, we had to kick off another discussion this past January about a possible future relocation of the Sky Sox to San Antonio from Colorado Springs. It never seems to end for Brewers' affiliate drama (we'll link to all four of those threads at the bottom of this post). Player Development Contract relationships (PDC's) always make for fun discussion and conjecture. Several web sites exist solely to maintain detailed up-to-the-minute news on these relationships throughout all levels of baseball. It's just that the Brewers' relationships have turned out to provide more entertainment value than most. *** So let's get back to the Brevard County Manatees. Benjamin Hill of MiLB.com wrote a must-review article last week. We definitely ask you now to catch up on things by reading his work -- Batting Around: Florida ballpark news West Palm Beach ballpark will alter Grapefruit League landscape By Benjamin Hill / MiLB.com OK, there is a lot to digest there. Not the least of which is the mention about the Blue Jays' and Braves' dissatisfaction with their spring training home situations, which could eventually (pure conjecture) lead to Milwaukee partnering up with one of those clubs on a dual Florida or Arizona tandem project. But let's not digress, we have an entirely separate thread dedicated to the Brewers' search for a spring training upgrade home. The Brewers are entering their 12th year in Brevard County (wow, time flies). Prior to that, Milwaukee's High-A affiliate had always been in the California League, including a concluding four-year stretch in High Desert (2001-2004). FYI: the High-A level (Advanced A-Ball) was first established by MLB in 1990. Milwaukee was thrilled to escape the Cal League in 2005, and the organization gladly assimilated into a Florida-based environment that was heavy on rain delays and light on attendance and offensive output, while saying goodbye to the rocket-fueled winds and wacky offensive atmosphere that was High Desert. In the final seasons in High Desert (Adelanto, CA), the organization would bypass many of its top prospects (especially pitching prospects) from the High-A level, to avoid subjecting them to Cal League conditions. This led to disjointed player assignments (not to mention lots of losses for the hometown Mavericks). Even today, MLB parent clubs are not big fans of the California League. Organizations are allowed to extend Player Development Contracts in two- or four-year increments. As of today, of the ten Cal League affiliations, only San Jose (in perpetuity with the San Francisco Giants) is locked in beyond 2016. Otherwise, barring upcoming renewals, the nine other Cal League affiliations all expire after the coming season. That speaks volumes in and of itself. As Benjamin Hill noted in the linked article above, eight of the twelve Florida State League teams are owned by their parent MLB organization. Only Charlotte (Tampa Bay through 2016), Daytona (Cincinnati through 2018), and Fort Myers (Twins through 2018) join Brevard County as privately owned teams. Charlotte and Fort Myers are the spring training homes of their clubs, respectively, so we wouldn't expect Milwaukee to pick up the Rays' Port Charlotte home for the 2017 Florida State League season (Tampa seems pretty happy there). There is a third High-A league, the eight-team Carolina League, which from a baseball perspective, certainly plays more neutral than the extreme field conditions in either Florida or California. There has been quite a bit written about the possible (even likely) transfer of two Cal League affiliates to the Carolina League for the 2017 season (as you can read in this June 2015 piece via Ballpark Digest). Currently, four Carolina League teams have affiliations, that barring upcoming renewals, will expire after 2016. They would be Carolina (Zebulon, NC - Braves); Myrtle Beach, SC (Cubs); Potomac (Woodbridge, VA - Nationals); and Wilmington, Delaware (Royals). *** OK, we know we've thrown a lot of info at you so far. Now let's see if we can bullet-point the puzzle pieces here regarding the Brewers and Manatees. - The Manatees are basically in a lame-duck situation regarding their home ballpark. The U.S. Specialty Sports Association is taking over the Space Coast complex (article), and while the association's management indicates they'd be willing to work with the Manatees to keep them in Viera, it doesn't seem especially feasible. - Meanwhile, the Astros and Nationals new $144 million West Palm Beach complex opens in January 2017. - Houston is currently tied to an unappealing High-A affiliation in Lancaster, California, perhaps the most notorious of all the Cal League launching pads. - Washington's High-A Potomac team has nice proximity for them in Virginia, but that ballpark is older and has undergone several upgrades in an effort to stay relatively modern (it is still described as "barely above amateur"). - Considering the Florida State League needs to maintain an even number of teams (naturally), if Brevard is indeed forced out due to "homelessness", either Houston or Washington (particularly Houston) would jump at the chance of establishing their High-A affiliate in their shiny new spring training home. Perhaps this has already been negotiated. - There isn't a merry-go-round partner waiting in the Florida State League for Milwaukee, leaving only any potential opportunities in the eight-team or, as noted above, perhaps expanded ten-team Carolina League or (gulp), in the California League. - Manatees' management has stripped down for 2016, eliminating its media broadcast staff. It's understandable that the franchise is prepping for the 2016 campaign with all its promotions and such, but an apathetic local media has barely taken note of the team's lame duck status. The Manatees' longtime GM recently moved on (related or not). - The Florida State League would need to re-align their divisions (North / South), it would seem, but that is a relatively minor point. - One thing we don't know is how Manatees ownership would be compensated for the loss of its franchise -- messy, but that's for others to determine. - It should be noted that if Milwaukee ever did land a new spring training home in Florida, it would almost certainly require an expansion of the number of teams in the Florida State League for the Brewers to also be able to call that the home of their High-A club (continued dismantling of the Cal League?). That's a ways off, obviously. *** The Brewers have enjoyed their Brevard County tenure, it seems -- fine quality facility and proximity to its AA club. It certainly appears followers of the organization will need to prep for late night box scores from the West Coast (or hopefully a Carolina League affiliation) for 2017-2018. Ironically, if one projects out the talent flow right now, the Brewers' 2017 High-A club should be absolutely loaded, maybe a nice selling point as the affiliation dance plays out this summer. *** If you stayed with this post this far, you'll want to review the various threads we referred to earlier, particularly the Brevard County one (strongly suggested), which includes links to the Huntsville and Nashville threads. The Colorado Springs thread can be found here. Finally, here's your link to the complete current status of all PDC's across MiLB.

FYI on recent Brewer waiver losses -- LHP Mike Strong optioned to AAA by the Twins (his 2nd option), OF Daniel Fields optioned to AAA by the White Sox (his final option).

AUDIO via the Bill Michaels Show Tue. 3/15: Tim Allen *** AUDIO via the Bill Michaels Show Tue. 3/15: Adam McCalvy *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM: Ryan Braun *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Tue. 3/15: Tim Allen discusses the Ryan Braun interview in a very worthwhile listen on the "Big Show" Considering the Braun interview was less than three minutes long, it certainly still managed to warrant follow-up discussion (a decade without a plan, Lucroy "could" be a leader, etc.)

We'll have to keep an eye on Yhonathan Barrios' shoulder injury, he may be a 60-day DL candidate, which would free up a roster spot.

Brewers' Transactions Page -- 3/14/16 Milwaukee Brewers optioned Michael Reed to Colorado Springs Sky Sox. 3/14/16 Milwaukee Brewers optioned Damien Magnifico to Colorado Springs Sky Sox. 3/14/16 Milwaukee Brewers optioned Jacob Barnes to Colorado Springs Sky Sox. 3/14/16 Milwaukee Brewers optioned Jorge Lopez to Colorado Springs Sky Sox. 3/14/16 Milwaukee Brewers optioned Adrian Houser to Biloxi Shuckers. 3/14/16 Milwaukee Brewers optioned Orlando Arcia to Colorado Springs Sky Sox. Although the Brewers didn't announce it as part of their press release, this is where the optioned players on Monday landed roster-wise. This rarely changes, but potentially could, between now and Opening Day on the minor league side. So Adrian Houser is slated to open at AA, the others at AAA. No real surprises there. By the way, this was the first option for each of these players, they can be bounced back and forth in 2017 and 2018 as necessary as well. "The Brewers reassigned No. 2 prospect Brett Phillips, No. 4 Josh Hader and No. 10 Jacob Nottingham, as well as catcher Rene Garcia, to Minor League camp." For players like these (pre-option years), the Brewers won't announce a specific roster assignment.

AUDIO via the Mike Heller Show Mon. 3/14: Adam Rygg (@BrewerNation) joins the show (go to the 19:45 minute mark) *** AUDIO via WTMJ Mon. 3/14: Brian Anderson *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Tue. 3/15: More with Brian Anderson (college hoops talk only, but hey, it's BA) *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Mon. 3/14: Adam McCalvy joins the morning show *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Mon. 3/14: Tim Allen joins the morning show *** AUDIO via the Bill Michaels Show Mon. 3/14: WSSP's Tim Allen *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Mon. 3/14: Spring Training Live -- "Tim Allen and Radio Joe Zenzola are live one last time from Maryvale. Hear from manager Craig Counsell and some comments from Brewers' OF Ryan Braun" *** AUDIO via MLB.com: "Jacob Nottingham has superman strength. MLB.com's Matt Waymire caught up with Brewers reporter Adam McCalvy to find out whose car window he smashed during BP, why Taylor Jungmann can add depth to the starting rotation and spotlight the resiliency of Jorge Lopez and his son"

VIDEOS: Latest entries via the Brewers site *** AUDIO via WTMJ: "Matt Snyder of CBS Sports joined Justin Garcia on Wisconsin Sports Weekend to talk about Goose Gossage's comments, the Brewers outlook, and the biggest piece they need to fill this season."

"Would you believe" Get Smart's Agent 99, Barbara Feldon, is 83 years young today

AUDIO via ESPN Milwaukee 540 Fri. 3/11: Tom Haudricourt *** AUDIO via the Bill Michaels Show: Tim Allen in Maryvale *** More via 105.7 FM: Tim Allen checks in from Maryvale with the morning show GM David Stearns RHP Matt Garza Third base coach Ed Sedar Adam McCalvy joins the afternoon's "Big Show" RHP Taylor Jungmann RHP Michael Blazek Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Manager Matt Erickson RHP Jacob Barnes RHP Chase Anderson Bullpen Coach Marcus Hanel First Base Coach and 2015 Biloxi Shuckers Manager Carlos Subero RHP Blaine Boyer - Don't dismiss, good interview... *** Friday's video clips from the Brewers' site

The lone interview not previously linked is LHP Will Smith at the 31:50 minute mark

Thursday's archives: Your daily reminder of the media clips available at Brewers.com *** Another reminder that most of the Journal-Sentinel's Peanuts and Cracker Jack reports are in video form *** All below via WSSP 105.7 FM: Tim Allen joins the morning show from Maryvale (Brewers talk begins at the 04:10 minute mark) C Jonathan Lucroy RHP Jimmy Nelson RHP Zach Davies RHP Tyler Thornburg C Jacob Nottingham Hitting Coach Darnell Coles RHP Jeremy Jeffress 1B Chris Carter Tim Allen joins the afternoon's "Big Show" Brewers' top OF prospect, Brett Phillips, "took the microphone from Tim Allen and radio gold ensued" Spring Training Live Hour 1 -- Craig Counsell's morning media briefing off the top and IF Aaron Hill at the 32:00 minute mark *** Via the Bill Michaels Show: WSSP's Tim Allen *** AUDIO via WTMJ Fri. 3/11: Eric Young, Jr. *** Robin Yount calls in to the Rich Eisen Show

Orimoloye aware of expectations he carries Brewers prospect raked in Arizona League, set for first full pro season By Tyler Maun / MiLB.com http://www.milb.com/assets/images/6/8/8/166991688/cuts/19310562174_eac0e44a68_o_jehyy8oa_i9p2n1we.jpg

Wednesday's archives -- AUDIO via WTMJ Wed. 3/9: RHP Corey Knebel *** More from WSSP 105.7 FM's Tim Allen: OF Brett Phillips LHP Josh Hader 2B Scooter Gennett OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis RHP Damien Magnifico *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Wed. 3/9: Tim Allen joins the morning show from Maryvale *** AUDIO via ESPN Wed. 3/9: Jonathan Lucroy talks with Buster Olney *** AUDIO via WWSP 105.7 FM's Afternoon "Big Show": RHP Taylor Jungmann from earlier this week *** AUDIO via the Bill Michaels Show Wed. 3/9: WSSP's Tim Allen *** AUDIO via the Bill Michaels Show Wed. 3/9: ESPN's Pedro Gomez *** AUDIO via WWSP 105.7 FM's Afternoon "Big Show" Wed. 3/9: Tim Allen *** More from WSSP 105.7 FM's Tim Allen: IF Yadiel Rivera RHP Taylor Jungmann RHP Michael Blazek LHP Chris Capuano *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM: "Spring Training Live": -- Craig Counsell's morning briefing comes at the 13:20 minute mark; also includes OF Keon Broxton at the 25:50 minute mark and UT Eric Young, Jr. at 34:00 *** Another reminder that most of the Journal-Sentinel's Peanuts and Cracker Jack reports are in video form, another new entry posted Wed. 3/9 *** VIDEO via Brewers' site: Three new clips posted Wednesday

Anderson also gets a "bump" for March Madnessand will broadcast games through the Elite Eight.

Lots going on in Florida stadium-wise, but the best Benjamin Hill of MiLB.com can say about the future of the Manatees is it's "unclear". I've been in touch with Hill (and the Baseball America guys, and the Florida Today staff) on this topic, Hill's very good, but it's frustrating the status of the franchise after 2016 is a complete black hole of info right now.

Well, this is an interesting tweet, don't know the gentleman's background: Can confirm that the Milwaukee Brewers have broken off talks with Phoenix and are looking exclusively at Florida ST sites.

Elise actually worked for me when she was in high school. They are both really good people. Scott's career K/BB ratio is pretty impressive (6.21). He only has 14 BB in 99 IP. He definitely projects to be a middle reliever at best in the majors but is definitely someone I'm keeping my eye on. Unfortunately, Lieser was among the Christmas cuts. I don't remember him signing on with an indy league team, at least as of yet.

Tuesday's archives: AUDIO via the Rattler Radio Blog -- "In the latest edition of the Rattler Radio Podcast, Kyle Lobner and Chris Mehring talk early results for the Brewers and how some former Timber Rattlers are contributing to the Cactus Crew in Maryvale." *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Tue. 3/8: Tim Allen joins the Morning Crew from Maryvale *** AUDIO via CBS Pittsburgh: Catch up on how Jason Rogers is doing in Pirates' camp *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Tue. 3/8: Eric Young, Jr. interviewed by Tim Allen (go to the 15:00 minute mark) *** AUDIO via the Bill Michaels Show Tue. 3/8: Adam McCalvy *** AUDIO via the Bill Michaels Show Tue. 3/8: Tim Allen (Brewers talk begins at the 4:15 minute mark) *** AUDIO via WTMJ Tue. 3/8: ESPN's Pedro Gomez *** AUDIO via WTMJ Tue. 3/8: Jonathan Lucroy *** AUDIO via 105.7 FM's "Big Show" Tue. 3/8: Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline talks prospects *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM's Tim Allen: 1B Andy Wilkins IF Garin Cecchini Out-of-options LHP Sean Nolin Rule 5 RHP Zack Jones Non-roster camp invite OF Alex Presley Rule 5 2B Colin Walsh Non-roster camp invite RHP Hiram Burgos IF Jonathan Villar RHP Jorge Lopez -- Kudos Jorge, you've come so far with your English! RHP Tyler Cravy Former Brewers RHP Steve Woodard, who has been helping out on the podcast game broadcasts Tuesday night's "Spring Training Live" show -- Craig Counsell's morning briefing comes at the 13:20 minute mark; also includes RHP Corey Knebel at the 25:50 minute mark and RHP David Goforth at 34:00 *** AUDIO via Brewers.com: "Which Minor League player has a shot of making the team? Brewers reporter Adam McCalvy joins MLB.com's Matt Waymire to spotlight Orlando Arcia and a potential bench role, why Will Smith and Jeremy Jeffress have a strong bromance and what Ryan Braun thinks of the Brew Crew's rebuild in 2016." *** AUDIO via Brewers.com: Pitcher Taylor Jungmann, assistant general manager Matt Arnold and new broadcaster Lane Grindle star in a jam packed episode of Brewers On Tap *** Your daily reminder of the media clips available at Brewers.com *** Another reminder that most of the Journal-Sentinel's Peanuts and Cracker Jack reports are in video form

AUDIO via the Rattler Radio Blog -- "In the latest edition of the Rattler Radio Podcast, Kyle Lobner and Chris Mehring talk early results for the Brewers and how some former Timber Rattlers are contributing to the Cactus Crew in Maryvale."

Via BrewCrewBall (and scout Chris Kusiolek) -- Scouting Report on RHP Cody Ponce

No official word on the injury, but it wasn't Tommy John (don't even know if it's arm-related), but we do know Luna should be good to go for the start of the Maryvale Rookie League season in June.

AUDIO via WTMJ Mon. 3/7: Brett Phillips *** VIDEO via MLB Network's High Heat: Brian Anderson *** VIDEO via the Brewers' site: Lane Grindle, now in Maryvale *** VIDEOS, Brewers' site: Reminder about all the recently posted clips *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Mon. 3/7: Adam McCalvy on the morning show *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Mon. 3/7: Tim Allen on the morning show *** AUDIO via the Bill Michaels Show: More with Tim Allen *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Mon. 3/7: Shane Peterson *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Mon. 3/7: Jimmy Nelson *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Mon. 3/7: Spring Training Live Hour 1 *** AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM Mon. 3/7: Spring Training Live Hour 2 (actually shortened to 18 minutes) *** From within those two hours, direct links to Will Middlebrooks and Domingo Santana