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Some things to read while getting your last minute cookies made.
As baseball offices close down for the holidays the weekend's biggest news was a couple of minor signings, as the Brewers inked reliever Jim Hoey and infielder Blake Davis to minor league deals without invitations to major league spring training. Hoey and Davis each appeared in the majors in 2011 as a member of the Twins and Orioles, respectively.
Hoey and Davis are long shots to be Brewers in 2013, but Tom Gorzelanny almost certainly will be. He told Tom Haudricourt he's glad to be pitching for the Brewers instead of against them next season. Brewer batters posted a combined .281/.358/.481 line against him in his 16 career appearances against Milwaukee.
Here's a name I haven't heard mentioned often across baseball this winter: Nick Michalski of The Brewers Bar wonders if former Astros and White Sox closer Brett Myers could be an option for the Brewers.
If the first hundred or so options on the Brewers' offseason wish list are all gone, it's good to know that the last name on the list is still available. Livan Hernandez plans to pitch again in 2013.
In the minors:
- Martin Maldonado had two more hits as Mayaguez beat Caguas 3-1 in Puerto Rico yesterday. You can read about that and more in today's Winter League Recap.
- The Dominican Winter League regular season has wrapped up and Jean Segura picked up a bit of hardware, winning the league's batting title with a .324 mark.
Given the Brewers' quiet offseason, this certainly isn't as bad as it could be: David Schoenfield of ESPN has the Brewers 16th in his latest power rankings.
If you weren't around over the weekend you might have missed our look at a massive Rickie Weeks home run, the longest hit by a Brewer in 2012. The Brew Crew Blasts Series continues later today with a bonus entry.
Around baseball:
Blue Jays: Claimed infielder/outfielder Russ Canzler off waivers from the Indians.
Diamondbacks: Signed outfielder Cody Ross to a three-year, $26 million deal.
Indians: Signed 1B/OF Nick Swisher to a four-year, $56 million deal with a vesting option for 2017 and signed pitcher Scott Kazmir to a minor league deal.
Mariners: Signed outfielder Raul Ibanez to a one-year, $2.75 million deal and signed pitcher Jeremy Bonderman to a minor league deal.
Padres: Signed infielder Cody Ransom to a minor league deal.
Pirates: Signed pitcher Francisco Liriano to a two-year, $14 million deal.
Rangers: Claimed pitcher Jeff Beliveau off waivers from the Cubs.
Twins: Signed pitcher Rich Harden to a minor league deal.
Meanwhile, another potentially big move in the NL Central appears to be imminent: Multiple outlets are reporting that the Red Sox and Pirates are close to a six player deal that would send closer Joel Hanrahan to Boston.
Today in former Brewers:
- Jose Veras will close for the Astros in 2013.
- Jack Moore of FanGraphs wonders if Carlos Villanueva can be an effective major league starter.
- Amazin' Avenue has a look at Chris Capuano as a potential option for the Mets.
- Greg Brock is the subject of one of Baseball Card Vandals' latest efforts.
- Jeff Pearlman has the story of the time he received a phone call from Robin Yount.
And in baseball economics:
- The Biz of Baseball estimates that major league teams redistributed around $400 million in revenue sharing in 2012. That's roughly $27 million each for each of baseball's 15 lowest revenue clubs.
- The A's have signed a new five-year lease for the O.co Coliseum in Oakland.
Everyone loves a remake of a classic: Jimmy Fallon and friends performed a reworked version of "Who's On First?" the other night. It's very funny, but I still think Joe Posnanski's "Who is at the Winter Meetings?" was better.
Finally, our condolences go out this morning to the family and friends of former Red Ryan Freel, who died over the weekend of an apparent suicide. Freel was 36.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need more rest.
Drink up.