What we learned: December 16, 2014

Cram Session

• The Brewers are, apparently, still interested in Red Sox first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig. However, it seems unlikely the team would be willing to give up as much as another who may view Craig as a viable full-time starter. That said, any deal would offer Boston some salary relief and the Brewers could be waiting on the edges in case nobody else steps up. The Marlins had been rumored to have interest, but signed Mike Morse to a deal.
• Of course, the biggest actual news around the team involves soon-to-be-former MLB commissioner Bud Selig. The Brewers will be honoring their former owner with a 'Bud Selig Experience' being built for next year. It will be a multi-media presentation, will be open year-round, and nobody will care beyond the snark when it was first announced.
• ESPN is going to feature Jonathan Lucroy in a segment this week regarding his spending time with a cancer-stricken four-year-old.
• Rob Neyer looks at the future of the NL Central and, surprise surprise, doesn't see the Brewers as viable long-term contenders. People said that about Milwaukee four years ago, too.
• The Brewers did make one signing yesterday, bringing in outfielder Ben Guez for minor league depth. Milwaukee is running low on outfielders in the upper levels of the minors (more on that later) so more deals along these lines should be expected.
• Not that the organization's farm system is devoid of talent at outfield, of course. They just haven't reached Double-A or Triple-A yet. They certainly have some top prospects at the position, including Tyrone Taylor, who was featured in a profile by Bernie Pleskoff at MLB.com.

NL Central Update

• The Cubs made a pair of moves yesterday, sending shortstop Marco Hernandez to the Red Sox to complete the Felix Doubront trade and signing reliever Jason Motte to a one-year deal.
• The Cubs are also rumored to have interest in free agent outfielder Colby Rasmus.
• The Cardinals aren't pursuing Max Scherzer, which, neat.

Around Baseball

• The Padres signed Brandon Morrow to a reasonable one-year deal. Though he's had a lot of injury woes, he potentially would have looked nice in the Brewers bullpen.
• As mentioned above, the Marlins signed Mike Morse to a two-year contract. That could take them out of the running for Allen Craig.
  
• The Royals signed Alex Rios for $11 million and the Dodgers picked up Brett Anderson for $10 million. Hefty deals for chancy players.
• The Yankees signed Chase Headley for four years. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ALEX RODRIGUEZ???