What we learned: December 1, 2014

Cram Session

From BCB

• On Tuesday of last week, Ariel Pena was outrighted to Triple-A Colorado Springs. After this move, the 40-man roster currently stands at 39.
• Also on Tuesday, Derek provided a link to a FanGraphs interview with Reid Nichols, the Brewers Director of Player Development.
• Following his cryotherapy procedure, Ryan Braun says that his thumb feels 100% now. Noah looks at what this means for Braun and the Brewers.
• On Thanksgiving, Noah put together a post of what he's thankful for with the Brewers.
• Over in the FanPosts, GoldenFrank has the BCB Users quiz.
• If you weren't keeping up with our MVBrewers series over the holiday weekend, we have profiles for Lyle Overbay, Tom Gorzelanny, Logan Schafer, and Tyler Thornburg up now.

Other Notes

• It's been a crazy year for Hank the Ballpark Pup. On Friday, Adam McCalvy looked back at Hank's year and how things have changed for the former stray dog.
• Following his trip to Japan, Cait Covers the Bases had the opportunity to catch up with Rob Wooten and get his perspective on the trip.
• The Brewers announced the three artists for their postgame concert series last Tuesday: Joe Nichols, O.A.R., and The Goo Goo Dolls. The Brew Beat blog has more details on the events.
• Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker continued his offseason series on building & rebuilding by looking at roster depth. He also looks back at a memorable moment from the 2014 season between Carlos Gomez and Clayton Kershaw.
• When facing Khris Davis, there's one pitch that he can't handle. Justin Schultz of The First Out At Third breaks down the difficulty Khris Davis has facing the changeup.
• Tim Dillard began a series on his blog about winter baseball. The first part talks about arriving at a Venezuelan winter league and some of the challenges faced there.

NL Central Update

• MLB.com has a look back at what each NL Central team has done so far this offseason.
• MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Pirates acquired Sean Rodriguez from the Rays this morning in exchange for a PTBNL and cash. To make room for this move, they designated first baseman Gaby Sanchez for assignment.
• Cold & snowy weather, as well as other unexpected problems, has delayed construction at Wrigley Field. It is possible that the new outfield bleachers will not be ready for the start of the 2015 season.

Around Baseball

• The big trade of the weekend happened between the Athletics and the Blue Jays. The Athletics sent Josh Donaldson to the Blue Jays for four players, headlined by former Brewer prospect Brett Lawrie.
• The Diamondbacks were the winner in the chase for Cuban outfielder Yasmany Tomas, who will sign a six-year, $68.5 million deal with the team.
• MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Mariners are expected to sign Nelson Cruz to a four-year deal.
• Mike Oz of Big League Stew has twenty baseball things he's thankful for this year, including some about the Brewers (both good and bad).