Matt Breen

I think you're right -- assuming he keeps pitching well, Burnes will be up in our rotation by mid-June (as you say, avoid Super 2). I'm guessing the rotation is Nelson, Davies, Anderson, Woodruff and Suter to start the year. Suter is a wildcard. He'll need to do okay through September. But someone will falter in the rotation. Might be an injury or just a serious regression - but someone usually has a tough season. So Burnes is the guy they call on. I think the team will like his workhorse, attack-oriented style. If Suter isn't in the rotation to start the year (or if someone is injured), you might see someone like Wilkerson or Jungmann get the nod. Guerra is a wildcard. Just don't know what to expect from him. I guess I am skeptical. If he can rebound, all the better - but as I said, I'm skeptical.

Vinny actually wrapped up his career after the 2016 season - 14 years as a player. Minor leagues, Korea, Japan and the Majors all on his resume. Pretty cool for a non drafted free agent who hails from Racine and played at UW-La Crosse. Vinny was a scout for the Rangers this past year.

I'm pretty sure Wily is done as a Brewer. No way they pay him $4M next year. They will let him go. And he won't want to be back. He'll want a fresh opportunity - which is what is needed. No point in bringing him back in September -- instead take a look at some of the other guys who could actually be part of the future.

Harber tosses two-hit shutout; Griep sets saves record in twin bill sweep Nate Griep earned his franchise record 29th save in game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader By Carolina Mudcats Game 1 Carolina Box Score Game 2 Carolina Box Score It was a good old fashioned sweep today as Carolina took two from Myrtle Beach. In game one, the hero was Conor Harber, who threw a complete game shutout. Harber, who was drafted in the 16th round out of Oregon in 2015, doesn’t get mentioned often in these forums, but today, he was superb, allowing only two hits and two walks over seven innings. Offensively, Wendell Rjio continued his nice hitting of late, getting three hits and driving in two. In game two, the Mudcats squeaked by with a 4-3 victory behind the arm of Marcos Diplan and the bats of Weston Wilson and Trent Clark, who each had a pair of hits. Despite the two wins, Carolina has been officially eliminated from the playoff race. Game 1 Pitching Summary: Conor Harber: 7.0 IP, 2 hits, 0 ER, 2BB, 3k, win Game 2 Pitching Summary: Marco Diplan: 5.0 IP, 6 hits, 2 ER, 4BB, 5k, winn Wuilder Rodriguez: 0.2 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, hold Nate Griep: 1.1 IP, 1 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0K, save Griep’s 29th save is now a franchise record. Game 1 Hitting Summary: Wendell Rijo: 3-3, 2 RBI Game 2 Hitting Summary: Trent Clark: 2-3, BB Weston Wilson: 2-3, 2 RBI Jose Cuas: 1-3, BB Game 1 Carolina Game Log Game 2 Carolina Game Log

Nationals SS Trea Turner ® LF Howie Kendrick ® 2B Daniel Murphy (L) 1B Ryan Zimmerman ® 3B Anthony Rendon ® RF Jayson Werth ® CF Michael Taylor ® C Jose Lobaton (S) P Max Scherzer ® Brewers SS Eric Sogard (L) 1B Eric Thames (L) 3B Travis Shaw (L) 2B Neil Walker (S) C Stephen Vogt (L) CF Jonathan Villar (S) LF Hernan Perez ® RF Brett Phillips (L) P B. Woodruff ®

Stearns issued an update today. Mendez remains in critical but stable condition. That was about it. His family is with him - asked for privacy. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20537374/julio-mendez-milwaukee-brewers-remains-critical-condition

Nationals SS Trea Turner ® 3B Wilmer Difo (S) 2B Daniel Murphy (L) 1B Ryan Zimmerman ® LF Howie Kendrick ® RF Jayson Werth ® CF Michael Taylor ® C Jose Lobaton (S) P Tanner Roark ® Brewers 2B Eric Sogard (L) 1B Neil Walker (S) LF Ryan Braun ® 3B Travis Shaw (L) RF Domingo Santana ® C Stephen Vogt (L) CF Jonathan Villar (S) SS Orlando Arcia ® P Jimmy Nelson ®

18-12. Go Crew.

Cubs may not have had the prospects left to make that deal. Had they not dealt for Quintana, the chances that Verlander ended up in Chicago would have been much greater. Correct. The package Houston gave was pretty good. Chicago has some really nice prospects at the lower level - maybe not Top 100 guys, but still some good players. They would have had to package a group of those guys to equal Houston's offer (if even possible). They've really emptied their system.

I agree. Very solid return considering that Houston is taking on around $60M in salary. But I think it's a good move for Houston (even if it is costly). They can use the quality arm in their rotation. And their window for winning is now - so Verlander fits right in with that window. He'll be nice arm for three potential playoff races for them.

Houston gets Verlander for prospects Daz Cameron, Franklin Perez, and Jake Rogers. Perez was ranked #46 on the MLB Pipeline Top 100 (he's only 19 and has reached AA already), while Cameron - the son of Mike Cameron - is a very talented (but young and raw) player. He is probably more of a fringy Top 100 guy at this point - but he the tools are there. Rogers - a catcher - was ranked #11 on Houston's Top 30 list - so he's not a bad prospect. Detroit will pay around $10M of Verlander's salary. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/08/astros-to-acquire-justin-verlander.html Verlander reportedly was hoping that he would get traded to the Cubs.

Whalen walks it off as Mudcats finish sweep of Winston-Salem The victory lifted the Mudcats to a perfect 13-0 finish at home versus the Dash in 2017 By Carolina Mudcats Carolina Box Score The bottom of the order swung the big bats for Carolina on Thursday. Weston Wilson, Wendell Rijo and Caleb Whalen - the 7 through 9 hitters - collected six hits and two HRs between them - providing just enough punch for the Mudcats to claim a 4-3 victory. Whalen would knock in Wilson in the bottom of the 9th to win the game. On the mound, Zack Brown had a solid game, giving up just one run. Eric Hanhold struck out the side in the 9th to get the win. Carolina is 69-65 for the season, but only 33-33 in the second half. They cling to a outside chance at winning their division, but would need lots to go right to make it to the postseason. Pitching Summary: Zack Brown: 6.0 IP, 8 hits, 2 ER, 0BB, 4k Brad Kuntz: 2.0 IP, 2 hits, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2k Eric Handhold: 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3K, win Hitting Summary: Weston Wilson: 2-3, 2B, HR Wendell Rijo: 2-4, HR Caleb Whalen: 2-3, BB Carolina Game Log Carolina takes advantage of a Winston-Salem error to win it in the 9th. Carolina Bottom of the 9th Weston Wilson doubles (10) on a line drive to left fielder Jameson Fisher. Wendell Rijo reaches on a fielding error by pitcher Louie Lechich. Weston Wilson to 3rd. Caleb Whalen singles on a ground ball to center fielder Jeff Gelalich. Weston Wilson scores. Wendell Rijo to 2nd.

Wilkerson wins 11th game as Shuckers take opener over BayBears Jake Gatewood and Troy Stokes Jr. hit home runs in the win By Biloxi Shuckers Aaron Wilkerson matched Tyler Wagner with his 11th win, tied for second for the Shuckers in single-season wins. (Hunter Reed) Biloxi Box Score Troy Stokes, Jr., and Jake Gatewood hit HRs on Thursday, while Aaron Wilkerson was highly effective on the mound (just two runs allowed in six innings of work). The result was a 5-2 victory for the Shuckers. Despite the win, the Shuckers - who are 68-65 for the year - were officially eliminated from the playoff race. Pitching Summary: Aaron Wilkerson: 6.0 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 1BB, 6k, win Taylor Williams: 2.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2k, hold Jorge Lopez: 1.0 IP, 1 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0K, save Hitting Summary: Jacob Nottingham: 2-4 Troy Stokes, Jr.: 1-4, HR Jake Gatewood: 1-4, HR Johnny Davis: 1-3, BB, SB Biloxi Game Log Biloxi scored three in the 2nd inning, including an HR from Troy Stokes, Jr. It would be all the Shuckers would need Biloxi Top of the 2nd Jake Gatewood lines out to shortstop Matt McCann. Dustin DeMuth doubles (20) on a fly ball to left fielder Brennon Lund. Troy Stokes Jr. homers (5) on a fly ball to left field. Dustin DeMuth scores. Jacob Nottingham singles on a line drive to left fielder Brennon Lund. Javier Betancourt grounds into a force out, shortstop Matt McCann to second baseman Tim Arakawa. Jacob Nottingham out at 2nd. Javier Betancourt to 1st. Johnny Davis walks. Javier Betancourt to 2nd. Angel Ortega singles on a line drive to center fielder Bo Way. Javier Betancourt scores. Johnny Davis to 2nd. With Blake Allemand batting, Johnny Davis steals (46) 3rd base. Angel Ortega steals (12) 2nd base. Blake Allemand flies out to center fielder Bo Way.

The odds of the Rockies playing mediocre (or worse) are probably better than the Cubs playing mediocre (or worse). So I'd say the Wild Card is our best bet at this point. In the end, however, we still have to win games. If we play .500ish, that won't cut it. We have to play well down the stretch. If that happens we are in the thick of things (for both division and WC).

McDowell and Rijo hit back-to-back homers in 5-3 Carolina victory The Mudcats improved to 12-0 at home versus the Dash this season with the victory By Carolina Mudcats Carolina Box Score Carolina hitters scored five times in the first four innings - enough for the Mudcats to cruise to a 5-3 win over the Winston-Salem Dash. Wendell Rijo and Max McDowell hit back-to-back HRs in the 4th inning. On the mound, Kodi Medeiros was ‘meh’ again, giving up too many baserunners - including three walks and eight hits. Still, he earned his 7th win of the year. Nate Griep struck out the side to earn his 28th save. Carolina is 68-65 for the season. Pitching Summary: Kodi Medeiros: 5.1 IP, 8 hits, 3 ER, 3BB, 4K, win Parker Berberet: 1.2 IP, 1 hits, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4K, hold Eric Handhold: 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0K, hold Nate Griep: 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 0BB, 3K, save As noted above, Griep got his 28th save of the year. His ERA is 2.54, and batters have a .194 average against him. He leads the Carolina League in saves, 11 more than the next closest reliever. Relievers don’t get a lot of love in the prospect rankings but Griep, an 8th round pick in 2015 draft from Kansas State, has been outstanding for the past two years (he had 23 saves and a 2.05 ERA at Wisconsin last season). Hitting Summary: Monte Harrison: 2-3, BB Lucas Erceg: 1-3, 2B, BB, 2 RBI Cooper Hummel: 2-4 Wendell Rijo: 2-4, 2B, HR Max McDowell: 1-4, HR Carolina Game Log Back-to-back HRs in the 4th sealed the deal for Carolina. Carolina Bottom of the 4th Weston Wilson grounds out, second baseman Toby Thomas to first baseman Matt Rose. Max McDowell homers (3) on a fly ball to left center field. Wendell Rijo homers (2) on a fly ball to left center field. Pitching Change: Ryan Riga replaces Jimmy Lambert. Trent Clark grounds out, pitcher Ryan Riga to first baseman Matt Rose. Corey Ray singles on a bunt ground ball to second baseman Toby Thomas. Monte Harrison strikes out swinging.

I'm starting to get a good feeling about Harrison as well. He's got his injury issues behind him - just seems to be getting better and better.

An outfield of Brinson, Broxton and Phillips would be - defensively, pretty awesome. Not saying we do that (trading Braun would be pretty difficult, after all), but defensively, it would be kind of awesome.

I will say no, he doesn't make it. I'm betting the Cardinals take him before us. If he does make, then yes, we take him. He's having a better season than everyone in our bullpen other than Knebel and perhaps Hader.

keeping in mind tomorrow's deadline to set postseason roster eligibility, you're cutting garza, which opens up one spot on the 40-man roster. who takes his place? again, if the player isn't on the 40-man roster or 60-day disabled list by tomorrow night's deadline, he can still help the brewers in september, but would not be eligible for any postseason games. this thread is devoted to how you'd shape the 40-man roster (and possibly the 60-day disabled list) by tomorrow's 11:00 pm central deadline. That's right - if Garza is released, it opens a 40-man roster spot. If one of the catchers was place on the 60-day DL, and Garza was dumped, I'd probably go with one pitcher and one position player. Probably Burnes and Wren (maybe Dubon, but I see more IF depth than OF depth on the club right now).

I absolutely agree it should be considered. If he isn't claimed then what happens? He is a free agent. We are responsible for the rest of his salary (although if someone signs him, they are responsible for the pro-rated league minimum - so probably around a 100k. If no one claims him, it shows you he had minimal value. If they can't get him free now, no one is going to trade for him in the off season.

Reports indicate Verlander isn't going anywhere. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/08/tigers-do-not-expect-to-trade-justin-verlander-by-end-of-august.html

Let’s see. Here we go: Waive Garza. Rotation is Nelson, Davies, Anderson, Woodruff and Suter (making a rehab start Aug. 30, so he should be ready soon). Call up Aaron Brooks, Junior Guerra, Taylor Jungmann, Jorge Lopez, Wei-Chung Wang, Tyler Webb, Taylor Williams and Brandon Woodruff. Woodruff goes in to the rotation, Jungmann gets the start if Suter isn’t ready or someone else gets hurt. The rest of the guys provide depth during the stretch run. It’s late in the season - guys are getting tired. The fresh arms will be welcome, and allows us to play with a really deep bullpen as needed. Personally, I hate having a ton of relievers - it just causes a game to drag on - but hey, I’ll take advantage of it if it’s there. It also gives the club a look at some guys who should be in the mix for the bullpen next year. Call up Rivera (defensive/pinch runner specialist) and Phillips (provides a left handed bat with some pop, and some good defense). I don’t know the situation with Bandy or Susac. If both look like they are going to be out for the rest of the year, I’d trade for a veteran catcher or call up Tyler Heineman from AAA as insurance. I’m sure we could find a decent glove first type catcher at fringe major leaguer who we could get for the stretch run for peanuts. If just one of those guys looks like he’s going to miss the season, I’d move him to the 60-day DL and add someone to the 40 man roster - and call him up. Candidates include Freddy Peralta and Corbin Burnes (either would be an interesting arm in the pen), Kyle Wren (pinch hitter, pinch runner guy) or Mauricio Dubon (although he kind of duplicates Rivera’s role). Basically, use as many assets as we have available to us. Relievers, defensive substitution, pinch hitters, pinch runners - you name it, use them. I'm not sure cutting ties with Garza is the right move, but at this point, I guess I'd rather take a risk with someone else than live with his performance. He looks decent on some days, but more than not, he doesn't seem like he's worth it. I think I'd rather roll the dice with Suter or someone like that.

One thing the club could do is put Garza on irrevocable waivers. Just let him go. The team that claims him, gets him. Why do this? Save roughly $2M - that's what Garza is owed for the rest of 2017. Would anyone want Garza? Perhaps. They'd be on the hook for the $2M this year - and then have the option of keeping him for $5M in 2018. Someone looking for a back of the rotation guy might want him. Stress might. I mean, if we don't want him, would anyone else? He might just go unclaimed as someone would rather spend the money on someone else. But even guys like Garza seem to get paid decently in FA. Obviously, waiving Garza would mean turning over his spot the last month to Jungmann or Guerra or Suter (assuming Woodruff gets a spot). But to be honest, that might be better. If Suter is back, I'd trust him over Garza. And Jungmann has been decent at AAA. Maybe give him a chance to step up. Also, waiving Garza opens up a roster spot. Just an idea.

He's played 80 games at 1B this year, 30 at 3B. I would call that 'some'.

Yamamoto dominates Dash in 2-0 Carolina victory Erceg hit a two-run homer and Yamamoto pitched through 7.0 scoreless in Tuesday's opener By Gregory Young / Carolina Mudcats Carolina Box Score Jordan Yamamoto had a stellar outing on Tuesday, throwing seven shutout innings and leading the Mudcats to a 2-0 victory. Wuilder Rodriguez and Nate Griep were outstanding as well, each throwing a shutout inning. The Mudcat pitcher heroics were needed as Carolina managed only two hits on the day. Luckily, one of those hits was a 2-run HR from Lucas Erceg, who has hit .308 in August to bump up his average to .257 for the year (to go with 15 HRs and a league leading 79 RBI). Pitching Summary: Jordan Yamamoto: 7.0 IP, 3 hits, 0 ER, 1BB, 7K, win Wuilder Rodriguez: 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2K, hold Nate Griep: 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 ER, 0BB, 0K, save Hitting Summary: Lucas Erceg: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI Weston Wilson: 1-3, 2B Carolina Game Log All the scoring Carolina needed came in the 4th, courtesy of Erceg’s 2-run HR. Carolina Bottom of the 4th Monte Harrison strikes out swinging. Wild pitch by pitcher Dane Dunning. Monte Harrison to 1st. Lucas Erceg homers (15) on a fly ball to right field. Monte Harrison scores. Cooper Hummel hit by pitch. Luis Aviles reaches on a fielding error by shortstop Sam Dexter. Cooper Hummel to 2nd. Weston Wilson pops out to second baseman Bryant Flete on the infield fly rule. Max McDowell grounds into a double play, third baseman Brady Conlan to second baseman Bryant Flete to first baseman Brandon Dulin. Luis Aviles out at 2nd.