What we learned: January 19, 2015

The Brewers may be on the verge of trading Yovani Gallardo.

After months of waiting for the Brewers to do something, we finally have some big news to talk about. Yesterday, rumors began coming out that the Brewers are planning to trade Yovani Gallardo to the Rangers. The rumors didn't get much farther than that, as the deal was not confirmed by either side, and no indication of what the Brewers would get back in return came out. Currently, we are in limbo as we wait to hear what will happen with this deal.

It hasn't stopped speculation from coming out about the Brewers plans for 2015, though. One rumor that came out is that this deal could make the Brewers contenders for Max Scherzer or James Shields (Scherzer has signed with the Nationals as of this morning). Depending on what the return for Gallardo is, this could also mean that Jimmy Nelson will begin 2015 in the Brewers rotation. However, it could completely shake up what we had thought were the plans for the Brewers. Until the deal is completed, we don't know what to expect and just have to wait it out.

Brewers News and Analysis

• On Friday, the Brewers announced that they have signed Gerardo Parra to a one-year deal worth $6.2375 million. With this deal in place, all of the Brewers arbitration-eligible players now have contracts for 2015.
• Our Brew Crew Blasts series continued with the fourth longest home run of 2014, a two-run home run at Coors Field by Aramis Ramirez.
• On Saturday, Justin Schultz of The First Out At Third posted his pitcher projections for the 2015 Milwaukee Brewers.
• Is there a science to drafting, or is it all luck? Michael Trzinski of Reviewing the Brew analyzes this question about the draft, whether they is some skill to it or if it is all luck.
• Also on Reviewing the Brew, Kyle Lesniewski has some warnings for the Brewers. He warns them to be careful about Francisco Rodriguez, and that Hunter Morris should not be in the plans for the team.
• The Brewer Nation blog began their annual series of "Brewers by the (Jersey) Numbers" over the weekend. They started with Taylor Jungmann at #78 and David Goforth at #77.'
• Mike Rosenbaum of Bleacher Report has his list of the top 10 Brewers prospects for 2015. (Fair warning, the article is in a slideshow format.)
• Adam McCalvy has the full list of players, coaches, and alumni who will be at Sunday's "On Deck" event. He also has the details on how the autograph process will work for the event.
• Registration for the Brewers mini-marathon and 10k is now open, and Cait Covers the Bases has the details on this year's event.

Around Baseball

• With the deadline for exchanging arbitration salary figures hitting on Friday, many players agreed to arbitration deals in advance of the deadline. MLB Trade Rumors has a roundup of all of the players who agreed to avoid arbitration with new contracts.
• While a flurry of new contracts came in prior to the arbitration deadline, MLB Trade Rumors also notes that 54 players exchanged numbers at the deadline and are heading for arbitration hearings.
• The Nationals made the big signing of the offseason, signing Max Scherzer to a seven-year deal. MLB Daily Dish has the news of the deal, and Ken Rosenthal reports that the deal is worth $210 million, with half of that deferred.
• The Giants have agreed to a one-year, $4.7 million deal with Norichika Aoki. The deal includes an option for 2016 and incentives that can push the deal up to $12.5 million.
• This morning, the Cubs and Astros made a trade. The Cubs acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler from the Astros, and the Astros receive infielder Luis Valbuena and RHP Dan Straily from the Cubs.
• The Phillies claimed outfielder Jordan Danks off of waivers from the White Sox.
• The renovations of Wrigley Field are behind schedule, and now the Cubs confirm that the outfield bleachers will not be ready by Opening Day. It's expected that they will be ready by the end of May.
• The Hardball Times is in the middle of a ten-part series about advice for what the new commissioner should do during his tenure. Over the weekend, Jeff Zimmerman argued that MLB needs to add two more expansion teams, and Jack Moore argued that minor league wages need to be increased.