Yovani Gallardo is out, two new players are in (probably): Updated roster and payroll projections

I always suspected trading Yovani Gallardo was a possibility. Even so, I never really thought they'd do it. Show's what I know! Seriously though, this is a major development for many reasons. But the goal of this article is simply to update the roster and payroll projection.

By now you're well aware that the Brewers received reliever Corey Knebel and infielder Luis Sardinas (as well as Marcos Diplan but he's going to pitch in rookie ball so we'll ignore him). Each of those players has options remaining so it's possible they begin 2015 in AAA. They both also have limited MLB experience so it might even be prudent.

That being said, I think it's probably likely they make the team out of spring training. I think Knebel is the safer bet because the bullpen is a lot weaker right now than the bench is.

The Brewers have Hector Gomez who will also compete for a spot on the bench. He plays the same positions as Luis Sardinas, but is out of minor league options. If he doesn't make the roster the Brewers will have to expose him to waivers and risk him electing free agency instead of accepting an assignment to AAA. They might be okay with that though considering they also have Yadiel Rivera and Orlando Arcia waiting in AAA and AA respectively.

I also updated the bench a bit. I switched out Elian Herrera for Shane Peterson. I did this because with Sardinas and Jimenez, the Brewers have the left side of their infield pretty well covered which lessens the value of Herrera's positional versatility. Enter Shane Peterson.

Since Herrera isn't really needed for the infield he becomes more of a 5th OF than a true super utility player. Peterson is a much better outfielder. In addition, he has the advantage of being able to cover first base which could be very important. Peterson also offers much more offensive potential than Herrera. The Brewers are going to add at least 1 more reliever and I wouldn't be surprised to see Herrera DFA'd to make room when it's time.

After such a long period of doing nothing this trade is quite the shock to the system. It's certainly not the end of the off-season moves for Doug Melvin either. The Brewers are sending $4 million in cash to the Rangers as part of the deal so they've only cut $9 million from the payroll.

That's not insignificant though as it could allow them to sign 2 reasonably solid relievers. One of them almost certainly has to be a long reliever/spot starter since their rotation depth has taken a couple of serious hits. They definitely have the money to accomplish that now since I believe they had at least $5-7 left to spend when Gallardo's full salary was still on the books.

Contract details courtesy of Cot's Contracts