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In what I would call a bit of a surprise move, the Brewers have decided to keep Elian Herrera on the big league club and outright Jeff Bianchi. This move was made necessary after they decided not to put Yovani Gallardo, who will miss his Sunday start, on the disabled list and call up Jimmy Nelson.
I say it's a bit of a surprise because Elian Herrera has an option, while Jeff Bianchi doesn't. In his post game interview Ron Roenicke revealed that they had put Bianchi on waivers last Wednesday and that he has cleared them. That means it's now Bianchi's choice whether he chooses to remain in the Brewers system by accepting assignment to Nashville, or to declare free agency. Since he's hitting 145/172/145 (-20 wRC+) and no one claimed him I'm going to go out on a limb and predict he will accept his assignment to Nashville.
There is an interesting side effect of outrighting Bianchi. There is now an open spot on the 40-man roster. There's been talk recently of the Brewers possibly signing Kendrys Morales. There's also been talk of trading for a guy like Adam LaRoche or Seth Smith. With the bullpen constructed the way it is, the Brewers might also want to put a guy like Donovan Hand back on the 40-man. Who knows what the Brewers will end up doing, but at the very least they have the option to make some kind of move without having to worry about a corresponding move to make room.
