Jim Goulart

VIDEO via MLB.com: OF Michael Reed at the Career Development Conference

Catcher Manny Pina getting his swings in down in Venezuela

Puerto Rico Box Monday 1/11 SS Yadiel Rivera was 0-for-3 in a 3-0 loss. Rivera hit .158 in 76 regular season winter AB;s, and he's hitting .176 in an even smaller winter postseason sample. *** Dominican Box Monday 1/11 After a week off, RF Domingo Santana came back to join the fun his 12-1 Licey team is having, and he was 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored in a 5-3 win. He did commit a fielding error - when he hasn't been the DH this winter, he's had a rough go of it. Teammate RHP Ariel Pena allowed one run in two innings of work and netted a "hold" -- Toros Bottom of the 6th Pitching Change: Ariel Pena replaces Mitch Atkins. Teoscar Hernandez strikes out swinging. Eugenio Velez pops out to shortstop Ozzie Martinez. Tyler Moore strikes out swinging. Toros Bottom of the 7th Steven Moya singles on a ground ball to first baseman Juan Miranda. Deibinson Romero strikes out swinging. Irving Falu grounds out to first baseman Juan Miranda. Steven Moya to 2nd. Jhonatan Solano singles on a ground ball to right fielder Domingo Santana. Steven Moya to 3rd. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Chris Dickerson replaces Malquin Canelo. Chris Dickerson singles on a ground ball to center fielder Mel Rojas Jr. Steven Moya scores. Jhonatan Solano to 2nd. Abraham Almonte grounds out, second baseman Arismendy Alcantara to first baseman Juan Miranda.

AUDIO via WSSP 1/11: Tim Allen hosts the Hot Stove Weekly Show; Taylor Jungmann is interviewed off the top, and new bench coach Pat Murphy chats just after the 28:00 minute mark *** AUDIO via MLB.com: "Can Chris Carter hit more than 30 home runs this coming season? Brewers reporter Adam McCalvy joins MLB.com's Dave Raymond to predict Carter's offensive numbers and spotlight top pitching prospect Jorge Lopez's odds of breaking through mid-season."

Here is a (loosely) translated version of a feature article that ran in Puerto Rico today -- More life to the arm of Hiram Burgos The Puerto Rican pitcher is looking to return to the majors after recovering fully from his injured right shoulder http://rec-end.gfrcdn.net/images/tn/0/104/2000/1100/900/447/2016/01/11/201601207_ph_tusdeportes_baseball_jlcc_01.jpg Hiram Burgos has shown signs of recovery this winter with the Indians of Mayaguez. (Photo by Joseph L. Cruz Candelaria) In 2013, RHP Hiram Burgos jumped to the front pages of the country for his brilliant performance at the World Baseball Classic. From the mound, Burgos was an important piece for Puerto Rico with a 1-0 record and stingy 0.69 ERA in 13 innings. Before the international contest, Burgos was hardly recognized by sports fans of the island. His name continued to play in the major league season, when it debuted that year with the Milwaukee Brewers. Burgos could not ask for more. It was a dream year for him. But then came 2014 and the story was changing. An injury to his right shoulder changed his route. He underwent surgery in July and completed only 18 innings for the Triple-A affiliate of Milwaukee. Its upward step was affected. Burgos met four months rehabilitation and returned to the mound last year. He threw first with Mayagüez in winter ball and then in a rehabbing arrangement with Milwaukee took an easy climb in the minors, appearing in the levels of Class A, Double A and Triple A. The righty completed 149.1 innings, going 8-8. Burgos believes that now is the time to appear again in the headlines. And he looks at 2016 as the time to establish himself in the majors with the Brewers with a healthier shoulder. He signed a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp. "This year, I'm going to put it on paper. I will return to play in the majors and in the WBC 2017. I would say that I feel twice as good about how I felt in the majors and the Classic in 2013. Right now I am in the best shape of my life ", Burgos said yesterday from winter ball. This winter, Burgos took the decision to work with his physical trainer Joshua Lionel. He said he has changed the routine of exercise and eating habits to see an evolution in his physique. He said that a month ago he weighed 218 pounds and he now weighs 205 pounds. Better condition "I made changes in training and nutrition. They are things that I am adapting to my lifestyle. I'm eating better and resting more. I'm having a better work ethic that is positively affecting my life inside and outside the park. And this season with Mayagüez I have seen improvement," Burgos said. "Before after pitching, I could be suffering shoulder and back (discomfort) for three or four days. Right now, I no longer feel anything the second day. It is a big difference. I feel very healthy,"added Burgos, 28. In the regular winter season, Burgos looked dominant as a starter and reliever. He compiled a 2-0 record with an ERA of 1.76 in 15.1 innings. He also struck out 19. And in the 'round robin' Burgos shone in his first start by completing five hitless innings with six strikeouts in an 11-1 victory over Caguas. At this time, according to the pitcher, he worked on the mechanics with the experienced Mayaguez trainer Rafy Chavez. "I'm learning how to use my body to throw the ball. Rafy is a very experienced coach and has helped me a lot, "Burgos said. Seeing Burgos launch this campaign with the Indians, Chavez has no doubt that he is an MLB pitcher. "I've seen that there is more life in his arm. It has a good physical condition and the ability to throw. Also his repertoire is more complete, because it can cross its launch in both corners of the plate. You can easily put him back in the majors," said Chavez. Burgos compiled a 1-2 record and 6.44 ERA in his debut with the Brewers in 2013. He completed 29.1 innings and struck out 18. He will fight for a place The pitching of the Brewers does not look so dominant. So there are good options for that part of the Burgos pitching at the start of the season. His compatriot Jorge Lopez is also fighting for a spot. Starters Matt Garza, Jimmy Nelson, Wily Peralta and Taylor Jungmann will be back. The veteran Kyle Lohse will not return in 2016. Burgos knows his options well. "The team is in a rebuilding and for that reason, I did not think twice to sign. I only stayed two days as a free agent after the World Series. They offered me a good contract and I know there's a good chance. But we must go to the fields to put up big numbers. I am in very good spirit this year, "concluded Burgos, selected in the sixth round of 2009 amateur draft by the Brewers.

Via Brewers' announcement plus Rotoworld text -- Nick Hagadone's minor league contract with the Brewers has been voided and he is now a free agent. It's unclear what prompted the move, but it could be a physical issue since Hagadone is rehabbing from surgery to repair a fractured left elbow. The owner of a career 4.72 ERA over 143 relief appearances, Hagadone is now free to sign elsewhere.

Pinto has enough time in the professional ranks that he can refuse an outright assignment and become a free agent, should he clear waivers.

Venezuela Box Sunday 1/10 Moving on to the next phase of the postseason... Hernan Perez' Aragua team won a 3-1 game to take deciding Game Seven. Perez, again batting third and playing shortstop, was 0-for-3 with a walk. He batted .323 in the series. Perez has played in 64 total winter ball games thus far. DFA-limbo'd teammate Josmil Pinto (again as the DH) was 1-for-2 with a walk and run scored, and hit .381 in the series. *** In other news out of Venezuela, folks are excited because 40-man roster RHP Junior Guerra has been given permission by Milwaukee to participate in the next playoff round; Guerra had been excellent during the regular winter season 2.86 ERA in 56.2 IP). Got to love this "translated" tweet -- The opener of the Sharks managed to overcome the rigidity of the Brewers *** Dominican Box Sunday 1/10 Catcher Rene Garcia was 1-for-5 (run, K). One stolen base against, but he guided his Licey pitchers (mostly Wandy Rodriguez) to an 8-0 win. Licey is now 11-1 in the round-robin. *** Puerto Rico Box Sunday 1/10 SS Yadiel Rivera 1-for-3 in a 2-1 ten-inning loss.

Dominican Box Saturday 1/10 Catcher Rene Garcia was 1-for-3 in a 4-3 win that pushed his Licey team to a 10-1 record in the Dominican round-robin postseason. But that was just the start of Garcia's night -- this dude is unbelievable behind the dish, this is just a synopsis of his entire winter: Estrellas Top of the 3rd Aneury Tavarez singles on a line drive to left fielder Zoilo Almonte. With Junior Lake batting, Aneury Tavarez caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Rene Garcia to second baseman Anderson Hernandez. Estrellas Top of the 5th Gustavo Nunez reaches on a fielding error by shortstop Ozzie Martinez. Aneury Tavarez strikes out swinging. Junior Lake strikes out swinging and Gustavo Nunez caught stealing 2nd, catcher Rene Garcia to second baseman Anderson Hernandez. Are you kidding us on this throw? Estrellas Top of the 7th Audry Perez walks. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-runner Orlando Calixte replaces Audry Perez. Gustavo Nunez out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Cesar Valdez to second baseman Ozzie Martinez. Orlando Calixte to 2nd. Aneury Tavarez grounds out to first baseman Joey Terdoslavich. Orlando Calixte to 3rd. Junior Lake walks. Pitching Change: Atahualpa Severino replaces Cesar Valdez. Jordany Valdespin singles on a ground ball to second baseman Ozzie Martinez. Orlando Calixte scores. Junior Lake to 2nd. Pitching Change: Luis Vasquez replaces Atahualpa Severino. With Audy Ciriaco batting, Rene Garcia picks off Jordany Valdespin at 1st on throw to Joey Terdoslavich. That's a week off for Licey's Domingo Santana, who last played on Sunday the 3rd. His winter may be done. *** Venezuela Box Saturday 1/9 On to a deciding Game Seven on Sunday! Breaking a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the 7th, Aragua went on to a 12-6 win. On the winning side, Hernan Perez, batting 3rd and playing shortstop, was on base three times (1-for-3, two walks, two runs, one RBI). In DFA limbo, Josmil Pinto was 2-for-3 with a walk and RBI as the designated hitter. *** We can end the Orlando Arcia watch. His Caribes squad lost their series, four games to two. Arcia, as was previously strongly hinted at earlier, did not play in the series, instructed to rest for spring training by the Brewers.

Not sure, but don't think so. Sometimes you see on the transaction wire, player "loaned to" Mexican League, where a player may be Mexican-based and would prefer to play close to home. But as you'll notice across the first line at this page, the Mexican League has a formal technical association with MiLB. In terms of other official pro leagues, that's not the case, and usually the MLB team will be compensated by the foreign league in some manner (likely a relatively low sum in Rizzo's case). Despite being 22, Rizzo's been a pro for five seasons, so the Brewers only controlled two more years regardless (unless added to the 40-man in the future).

Thanks to a fan in Venezuela and Kyle from BrewCrewBall's subsequent tweet, we learn RHP Gian Rizzo was allowed to pursue an opportunity in Italy. Guessing he was influenced by 2015 big league Brewer and fellow Venezuelan LHP Cesar Jimenez, who is making a similar move. That certainly helps explain the release...

Puerto Rico Box Friday 1/8 SS Yadiel Rivera was 0-for-2 with a sacrifice bunt in a 4-1 win.

Marcus at Miller Park Prospects does the honors for us on the write-up. Purely from a statistical standpoint, Rizzo's departure is puzzling, as noted in the post above. In addition to the stats already cited, he has 247 K vs. only 40 (!) walks in 258.1 career IP. Yes, we were gushing after those 2011 and 2012 DSL seasons. In other words, he "was" one of the three teenagers just acquired from the Mariners in the Adam Lind detail, at least by the numbers. I was on the Gregory Munoz train heading into 2015, LH bat entering his age 21 year. That struggling '15 Timber Rattlers squad sure has seen their share of releases this offseason, which you realize when reviewing these summary posts.

Earlier today - Brewers announced his minor league deal with a spring training big league camp invite LHP Pat Misch - Career stats Great reads here... Baseball America -- Pat Misch’s Long Journey To Lamigo Ends Perfectly Ex-MLB LHP Pat Misch throws no-hitter in Game 7 of Taiwan Series - Fun video as well Dubious distinction At 34, Misch becomes the oldest player currently in the organization.

Updated to show that Rob Wooten signed with the Braves, congrats to him. His thank you to the Milwaukee community.

The Brewers Player Development Twitter Feed today re-listed all the releases from the unfortunate "two days before Christmas" purge (which was detailed here), but included three additional names: Timber Rattlers RHP Gian Rizzo, who we also followed in Venezuela this winter INF Gregory Munoz, who was with the Timber Rattlers through July 29th before a return to Maryvale C Kevin Martinez, who opened 2015 with Helena but was assigned to Maryvale on July 19th *** We'll write up something more detailed on each of the three players this evening.

Pat Harrington Jr., the Super on 'One Day at a Time,' Dies at 86 Great early career, too -- Wikipedia

Puerto Rico Box Thursday 1/7 RHP Hiram Burgos spun a beauty as his team romped 11-1, facing just one over the minimum -- five no-hit innings (one BB, 6 K). Behold: Caguas Bottom of the 1st Henry Ramos flies out to center fielder Blake Tekotte. Jesus Feliciano strikes out swinging. Rey Navarro grounds out to first baseman Kennys Vargas. Caguas Bottom of the 2nd Bryce Brentz flies out to right fielder Dylan Cozens. Johnny Monell walks. Rusney Castillo called out on strikes. Jeff Dominguez strikes out swinging. Caguas Bottom of the 3rd David Vidal pops out to shortstop Elmer Reyes. Benji Gonzalez grounds out, second baseman Jesmuel Valentin to first baseman Kennys Vargas. Henry Ramos grounds out, shortstop Elmer Reyes to first baseman Kennys Vargas. Caguas Bottom of the 4th Jesus Feliciano called out on strikes. Rey Navarro grounds out to first baseman Kennys Vargas. Bryce Brentz strikes out swinging. Caguas Bottom of the 5th Johnny Monell grounds out to first baseman Kennys Vargas. Rusney Castillo called out on strikes. Jeff Dominguez flies out to center fielder Blake Tekotte. *** Venezuela Box Thursday 1/7 After a 7-1 loss, the team of Hernan Perez and DFA-limbo'd Josmil Pinto trails in a best-of-seven series, three games to two. Here, Perez, playing shortstop, was 1-for-4, while Pinto was 0-for-3.

This was the breakdown of RHP Ariel Pena's Wednesday start, discussed in the prior post -- Estrellas Bottom of the 1st Jordany Valdespin singles on a ground ball to center fielder Leonys Martin. Aneury Tavarez flies out to left fielder Zoilo Almonte. Wilin Rosario grounds into a double play, shortstop Ozzie Martinez to second baseman Anderson Hernandez to first baseman Joey Terdoslavich. Jordany Valdespin out at 2nd. Estrellas Bottom of the 2nd Sean Burroughs flies out to center fielder Leonys Martin. Junior Lake flies out to center fielder Leonys Martin. Michael Martinez flies out to left fielder Zoilo Almonte. Estrellas Bottom of the 3rd Hanser Alberto grounds out, third baseman Diory Hernandez to first baseman Joey Terdoslavich. Gustavo Nunez flies out to left fielder Zoilo Almonte. Audry Perez strikes out swinging. Estrellas Bottom of the 4th Jordany Valdespin grounds out, second baseman Anderson Hernandez to first baseman Joey Terdoslavich. Aneury Tavarez grounds out, shortstop Ozzie Martinez to first baseman Joey Terdoslavich. Wilin Rosario singles on a ground ball to shortstop Ozzie Martinez. With Sean Burroughs batting, Wilin Rosario caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Rene Garcia to shortstop Ozzie Martinez. Estrellas Bottom of the 5th Sean Burroughs grounds out to first baseman Joey Terdoslavich. Junior Lake walks. With Michael Martinez batting, Junior Lake steals (2) 2nd base. With Michael Martinez batting, wild pitch by Ariel Pena, Junior Lake to 3rd. Michael Martinez doubles (1) on a line drive to right fielder Juan Carlos Perez. Junior Lake scores. Pitching Change: Mario Santiago replaces Ariel Pena. Hanser Alberto lines out to shortstop Ozzie Martinez. Gustavo Nunez strikes out swinging.

AUDIO 1/7: Thank you to Justin Garcia of WTMJ -- we asked him to post the full Brewers Weekly show, and he's done just that (as usual with all the archives, commercial-free). If you prefer individual segments, here you go: Chris Carter Jeff Levering Jonah Keri

Adam McCalvy discusses the Carter signing here. Includes plenty of Carter video... *** From 1/5 (pre-Carter signing): Via MLB.com "The Brewers' gaps haven't been filled quite yet. MLB.com's Dave Raymond and Brewers reporter Adam McCalvy sort through holes in Milwaukee's roster and the odds of Garin Cecchini making the Opening Day roster."

McCalvy discusses the Carter signing here.

Nice little story via EY Jr.

Pena's team would go on to win, 4-2. Garcia finished 0-for-4 (two K's), one stolen base against. *** Venezuela Box Wednesday 1/6 Hernan Perez, playing shortstop and batting 2nd, finished 3-for-6 (home run shy of the cycle, three RBI) in his club's 5-4 11-inning win. Josmil Pinto, as the DH, didn't seem phased by his designation for assignment, 3-for-5 (one run, two K's). Perez' double plated the go-ahead run -- And here's your daily Hernan Perez triple --

1/6/16 AUDIO via WSSP 105.7 FM the Fan - Hot Stove Weekly Show with Derek Johnson, the Brewers new pitching coach, and Andrew Wagner of the Sports Exchange