Some things to read while making more jello.
We're starting to hit the point where things have been quiet for so long that the lack of news is newsworthy. There are only 13 arbitration-eligible players left in all of baseball, but the Brewers still have two of them: Rickie Weeks and Shaun Marcum. The Orioles are the only other team with two cases remaining.
Regardless of how his contract situation plays out, Marcum projects to be a member of one of the best Brewer pitching staffs in recent memory. Brewers Daily crunched the numbers and ranked the Brewers' rotation as the fourth best in baseball, behind the Phillies, Cardinals and Giants.
As I write this, the spring training countdown clock just went under eight days. It's time to start talking about players reporting early: John Axford is heading down to Maryvale on Saturday.
I probably wouldn't bring this up if it wasn't a slow news day, but I do think it's something worth considering briefly: The Rangers have a relatively ugly situation on their hands with infielder Michael Young, who's not interested in becoming a full time DH, says he was misled by the team and has requested a trade. He has eight teams to which he'd accept a trade and the Brewers aren't one of them, but he told Jayson Stark he'd consider others on a "case-to-case basis."
Clearly, the Brewers would be a long shot to add Young, but I think it might be worth thinking about. Young hasn't played shortstop since 2008, but only one of his last three seasons at the position was really all that bad:
| Season | UZR/150 |
| 2006 | 0.4 |
| 2007 | -10.3 |
| 2008 | -4.2 |
And obviously, Young would be a significant upgrade over the Brewers' other options offensively. He's a career .300/.347/.448 hitter, and has posted an OPS of .770 or better in seven of the last eight seasons, while also appearing in 150 or more games in seven of eight.
No matter who ends up acquiring Young, the Rangers will likely pay a fair portion of his salary: He's due $48 million over the next three years.
As I mentioned above, this isn't a deal that's likely to get done. But even if he's terrible defensively Young would present a significant upgrade over Yuniesky Betancourt, and whoever acquires him will be buying low.
In the minors:
- Ever wanted to work in the minor leagues? Can you live on ~$800/month? If you answered "yes" to both of those questions, then you might be a candidate to be a Minor League Video Intern for the Brewers. It sounds like a pretty cool job, aside from the pay.
- BrewerProspects.com has profiles of Dan Merklinger and D'Vontrey Richardson.
- Baseball America has a post on Mark Rogers, but it's subscriber-only.
Around baseball:
Diamondbacks: Signed catcher Robby Hammock to a minor league deal.
Dodgers: Signed infielder Aaron Miles to a minor league deal.
Orioles: Signed pitcher David Riske to a minor league deal.
It's been a while since we've had a good opportunity to make fun of the NBA. Well, that's not actually true. But it's been a while since I've taken a good opportunity to make fun of the NBA. Jack Moore of NotGraphs takes a look at a brief Twitter spat between MLB and the league many of us avoid.
On this day in 1978, the Brewers re-acquired outfielder Gorman Thomas from the Rangers. Thomas had been a Brewer from 1973-76 before being traded away, and rejoined the team for the 1978-83 seasons before being traded away again. He would later return to finish his career as a Brewer in 1986.
With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:
- Nashville Sound Chase Wright, who turns 28.
- 1986 and 1990 Brewer Edgar Diaz, who turns 47.
Also, yesterday I missed the birthday of 1957-60 Milwaukee Brave Juan Pizarro, who turned 74.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm putting my elbows back on the table.
Drink up.