What we learned: January 21, 2015

Brewers News and Analysis

• Following the Gallardo trade, Derek Harvey has updated payroll projections for the Brewers in 2015.
• Derek also posted profiles for two of the newest players in the Brewers organization: infielder Luis Sardinas and RHP Corey Knebel.
• Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker has a review of the organization following the Yovani Gallardo trade.
• Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar fondly recalls what he considers Yovani Gallardo's "best" game as a Brewer: His 1-0 win over the Pirates in April of 2009.
• By itself, the trade of Yovani Gallardo is very unusual. Mike Bauman of MLB.com wonders why a contending team would trade a solid starter for prospects if their goal is to win now.
• The Brewers have released the schedule for this weekend's Brewers On Deck event. Tom Singer of MLB.com has the details on the event this Sunday.
• Jeff Todd of MLB Trade Rumors mentions in his pitching notes that while the Brewers & Nationals seemed like ideal trade partners, there is no discussion of a trade between the two teams, and the plan is for Jimmy Nelson to start the season in the rotation.
• With Jimmy Nelson likely in the rotation to start 2015, a lot will be riding on him for the Brewers to compete in 2015. Kyle Lesniewski of Reviewing the Brew talks about why we should buy into Jimmy Nelson.
• The Brewer Nation continued their preseason countdown of Brewers by jersey numbers with #76 Mike Strong.
• Jonathan Lucroy was present at the State of the Union address last night, and Quinn Roberts of MLB.com has some quotes from Senator Ron Johnson, as well as a picture of Lucroy prior to the address.

Around Baseball

Transactions

• The Astros signed outfielder Colby Rasmus to a one-year, $8 million deal.
• The Tigers signed former Brewer utility player Josh Prince to a minor-league deal.
• The Rangers acquired RHP Gonzalez Germen from the Yankees for cash.
• The Red Sox signed pitcher Dana Eveland to a minor-league deal.

Other Notes

• Jayson Stark of ESPN notes that, in their pursuit to shorten the length of a MLB game, a proposal is being considered by Major League Baseball to require pitchers to complete their warmup pitches 30 seconds before the end of a commercial break, and for batters to be in the batter's box 20 seconds before the end of a commercial break.
• In the seventh part of their series giving advice to the new MLB commissioner, Grant Brisbee of The Hardball Times recommends that the commissioner eliminate draft pick compensation for signing free agents.
• With the Wrigley Field renovations ongoing, it was only a matter of time before this happened. The owners of two nearby rooftop businesses are suing the Cubs for a breach of their revenue-sharing contract. The plans call for the installation of new video scoreboards, which could impact the ability of fans to see from the nearby rooftops.