djoctagone

jacob nottingham is expected to hit in tomorrow's intrasquad game. no return to catching yet.

peralta is one of three pitchers scheduled to throw in a 7-inning game today.

brandon woodruff was held back to recover from some back stiffness. and we've come to expect a delayed spring training debut from josh hader. while i don't doubt that freddy peralta is getting b game action, it's frustrating as a fan not being able to evaluate his work in cactus league action.

i know that spring training is lacking split squad games, and i know that not all games have lasted nine innings . . . but i find it a little odd that freddy peralta has had only one appearance in a cactus league game, back on 1 march.

in case you haven't been keeping track, these are 8 of the 15 "early camp" players who have yet to appear in a major league cactus game. presumably, if healthy, these remaining "early camp" players have been seeing action in b games on one of the backfields. rhp luke barker lhp antoine kelly rhp max lazar rhp reese olson of micah bello 3b lucas erceg c/of cooper hummel of hedbert perez

while pablo reyes does have minor league options if added to the 40-man, there's value in having non-roster major-league ready talent at the alternate training site in the event of a covid outbreak. remember, if a covid outbreak occurs, teams don't have to worry about 40-man roster status at all for any of the replacements. pablo reyes fits the bill if an outbreak happens.

also unknown by this writer for 2021: as the brewers are likely to open camp with more than one player on the injured list, how are minor league rehab appearances defined? it had been 20 days for position players, and 30 days for pitchers--but that was within the framework of championship minor league play. we now know that there won't be any official minor league games until may, at the earliest.

craig counsell says that lorenzo cain is making slow progress. he has not resumed hitting.

jace peterson is in today's starting lineup.

reported that bradley, jr. has a mutual option for a third year on his contract.

blaine hardy made his first appearance of the spring today in a b game vs. the angels.

only two strikeouts in 13 plate appearances. that's a significant improvement.

jackie bradley, jr. deal is official. unclear if he still has a minor league option remaining, but he has enough service time to refuse any optional assignment. tim lopes has been placed on the 60-day injured list as the corresponding move. the 40-man roster is at capacity.

tim lopes is being placed on the 60-day injured list with an oblique injury.

cain is expected to play catch today.

i had noticed that jace peterson has appeared in only one spring training game thus far. the reason why? a thumb issue that's expected to keep him sidelined until at least tuesday.

you can check the options status of every 2021 brewer on the 40-man roster here.

zach green is on a minor league deal, which means he is contractually obligated to open the season for the brewers in the minor leagues, unless he negotiated an opt-out clause that we're not aware of. if he is added to the 40-man roster, green can be optioned, as he has two remaining. you can check the options status of every 2021 brewer signed to a major league contract here.

some opt-outs, like travis shaw's, can be negotiated. we don't have knowledge of any other negotiated opt-out clauses. other opt-out clauses can be required for nris, provided the player has at least six years of service time and finished the previous season a major league roster or a major league injured list. the brewers have only two such players: brad boxberger and jordan zimmermann. each must be told they're making the club before opening day, or be paid a $100,000 retention bonus in order to assign them to the alternate training site.

although he's injured right now and may open the season on the major league injured list, jacob nottingham has experience at first base in both the majors and minors.

only if they clear waivers and accept the minor league assignment. from there, it's a little muddy. as mentioned above, if the outrighted player is assigned to the alternate training site, he's fair game to be included on the five-man taxi squad for road trips, regardless of his 40-man roster status. but bear in mind that unless a 40-man spot is opened up, that non-roster taxi squad player can't be added to the major league roster. a covid outbreak allows for a non-roster player to be added, because the special covid-19 injured list removes the player from the 40-man, just like placement on the 60-day injured list. the brewers did carry non-roster shelby miller on their first taxi squad of 2020, but then he later opted out for the season. i don't recall if the 40-man was full at that point or not. the brewers were secretive about their taxi squad makeup, and i don't believe that another non-roster player was on the taxi squad until zack brown and possibly keon broxton. but, if the outrighted player isn't assigned to the alternate training site in april, that's where it gets muddy. yes, a second wave of spring training is set to open in april, but that's for players expected to fill the biloxi (28 players), wisconsin (30) and carolina (30) rosters. that's at least 88 guys in maryvale. and some of them will likely be guys who are currently in maryvale who don't make the big league roster or the ats roster. in the first wave of spring training, they're capped at 75 players. we don't know yet what the cap will be for the second wave of spring training.

they optioned ji-man choi after opening day because they had a replacement that wasn't on their 40-man roster in outside acquisition dan jennings. a player sent out on optional assignment during spring training must spend the requisite 10 days in the minor leagues, with the clock starting on opening day, not when he was optioned in spring training. thus, the only way the brewers could activate players the first nine days of the season (excluding injury list placement) would be they were either acquired from outside of the organization, or if they were on a minor league contract at the time. but, if you're on the brewers' 40-man roster and optioned before opening day, you can't be recalled until the 10th day of the season. non-roster invitees with more than six years service time who finished the previous season on a club's major league roster or major league injured list must be paid a $100,000 retention bonus if they aren't on the opening day roster. not sure if there's a way around that, if the brewers, for example, told jordan zimmermann that they planned to open with mark mathias on the roster, but then option him within a day or two, and purchase zimmermann's contract. zimmermann would be entitled to that $100,000 retention bonus, i would imagine.

jacob nottingham had batting practice yesterday and hopes to start catching some machine-thrown pitches next week.

25% fan capacity approved at american family field. but tailgating not allowed.

i don't see how the brewers keep both derek fisher and billy mckinney--neither of whom have options--and neither have ever played in a big league game for the brewers. their lack of minor league options absolutely isn't going to change. the allowance of the designated hitter, although unlikely, still could happen.