What we learned: February 9, 2015

Brewers News and Analysis

• With James Shields signing last night, the order for the 2015 MLB Draft is set. Derek breaks down the picks that the Brewers will get, and why those positions are important.
• Back on Friday, before James Shields had signed, Derek looked at the current rumors that were surrounding the Brewers, which included a trade for Jonathan Papelbon, a signing of James Shields, and a trade of new prospect Luis Sardinas.
• Meanwhile, Derek also has a suggestion for a player that the Brewers should target: free agent starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez.
• The Brewers may be a long shot for Yoan Moncada, but that isn't stopping the rumors about their interest in the Cuban star prospect. On Friday, Noah noted that Doug Melvin has confirmed the Brewers interest in Moncada.
• During the Caribbean Series, Brewers player Elian Herrera had a walk-off hit for the Dominican Republic against Mexico, and Noah posted a video of the walk-off.
• Carlos Gomez is a pretty good guy, and a couple of recent FanShots back this up. First, Jess'HittheBall has a link about Carlos Gomez's involvement in an initiative to address high-school drop out rates and domestic violence rates. In addition to this, Noah posted an Instagram photo of himself with his Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear.
• Over on Reviewing the Brew, Kyle Lesniewski believes that the Brewers should sign Wily Peralta to a long-term extension now, and Pete Schwichtenberg notes that as the #6 pitcher on the starting pitcher depth chart, Taylor Jungmann must be ready to deliver this year.
• The Brewer Nation continued their Brewers by the (Jersey) Numbers series with #58 Wei-Chung Wang on Saturday.
• A handful of Brewers participated in the Caribbean Series, and Jeff Servi of Reviewing the Brew looks at how they performed in the series.

Around Baseball

Transactions

• The James Shields bidding war has ended. Last night, the Padres signed Shields to a four-year deal expected to be in the $72-$76 million range.
• Starting pitcher Jarrod Parker of the Athletics lost his arbitration case, and will make $850,000 in 2015. He had been seeking a salary of $1.7 million.
• Infielder Danny Valencia of the Blue Jays won his arbitration case, and will make $1.675 million in 2015. The Blue Jays had countered with $1.2 million.
• The Cubs avoided arbitration with reliever Pedro Strop and signed him to a one-year, $2.525 million contract.
• The Marlins avoided arbitration with left-handed pitcher Mike Dunn and signed him to a two-year, $5.8 million contract.
• Second baseman Neil Walker of the Pirates lost his arbitration case, and will make $8 million in 2015. He had been seeking a salary of $9 million.
• The Reds avoided arbitration with third baseman Todd Frazier and signed him to a two-year, $12 million contract. They also signed reliever Burke Badenhop to a one-year deal worth $1 million, and reliever Kevin Gregg to a minor-league contract with an invite to spring training.

Other Notes

• Rob Manfred hasn't been in office for too long, but he's already making waves with the changes he is just thinking about. Mark Townsend of Big League Stew looks at his latest idea: Super Bowl-style bidding for the All-Star Game.