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(Note: This was written before the Francisco Rodriguez news, so that will be included in tomorrow's edition.)
Brewers News & Notes
- Jimmy Nelson led the rotation in 2015, and is positioning himself to be one of the Brewers front-end starters for the next several years. Yesterday, Kyle looked at what it would take to sign the starter to an extension.
- Derek has a profile of free-agent candidate Rich Hill, who is no longer a free agent after the Athletics signed him yesterday.
- Who was the best pitcher of 2015 in all of baseball? You can vote on that now, as Derek has a poll up asking who you think the best pitcher in the last season was.
- Scooter Gennett needs to improve his defense if he wants to hold onto his job long-term. Ryan Romano of BP Milwaukee takes an in-depth look at Gennett's defensive stats and if he can improve in the future.
- In addition to Gennett's defense, the team defense overall needs to get better for the Brewers to return to contention. Seth Victor of BP Milwaukee looks at the problems that the Brewers have with run prevention.
- The fastball is a key component of almost every starting pitcher's arsenal, and using it appropriately is important to success. However, Nicholas Zettel of Dusciples of Uecker analyzed the numbers and noted that the Brewers starters were not very efficient with it.
Minor League Update
- Travis takes a look at the Brewers current minor-league depth at first base in his Micro Brewers series.
- The Brewers signed reliever Jim Miller to a minor-league contract. They also re-signed infielder Hernan Perez to a minor-league contract.
Around Baseball
- The Manager of the Year winners were announced yesterday. Joe Maddon of the Cubs won the award in the National League, and Jeff Banister of the Rangers won the award in the American League.
- The Angels signed infielder Cliff Pennington to a two-year, $3.75 million deal.
- The Athletics signed LHP Rich Hill to a 1-year, $6 million deal.
- The Giants signed shortstop Brandon Crawford to a six-year, $75 million deal. They also signed outfielder Kyle Blanks to a minor-league deal.
- Red Sox first baseman David Ortiz has decided to retire following the 2016 season.