What we learned: April 2, 2015

Yesterday’s Results

Cubs 11, Brewers 7

In his final tuneup of the spring, Kyle Lohse didn't look his best. He allowed three home runs in his four innings of work, leading to seven runs on eight hits total. The Brewers bats were quiet over the first four innings, but came alive in the fifth and collected a total of 16 hits on the day. Logan Schafer contributed with three of those hits, and Elian Herrera had an RBI-double.

Brewers News and Analysis

• With extra depth at first base in the minor-league system, the Brewers did something to alleviate that today by trading Hunter Morris to the Pirates for a PTBNL. Derek has the details on the trade.
• As part of the Opening Day festivities at Miller Park this year, Bud Selig will throw out the first pitch for the Brewers.
• Speaking of Opening Day, the Brewers have the festivities planned for the first game of the season. Cait Covers the Bases has the details on the pregame ceremonies.
• One of the most undervalued players in all of baseball continues to be Jonathan Lucroy. As part of their season preview, Robert Sanchez of ESPN The Magazine has a profile of the Brewers catcher.
• As Hector Gomez battles for a spot on the team, he's getting a better chance thanks to a tutor of his. Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com notes that Hector Gomez worked with Robinson Cano during the offseason.
• After a few years of turmoil at the first base position, the Brewers brought in Adam Lind to help stabilize the position. Adam McCalvy reports that Lind will also be looked upon this season to help give the Brewers more chances to score.
• Nobody on the Brewers had a worse year in 2014 than Jean Segura. Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel notes that Segura is looking forward to a better year in 2015.
• Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs released their power rankings for relief pitchers, and the Brewers bullpen came in at #27, with a total bullpen fWAR of 1.0.
• In their initial power rankings for the 2015 season, Yahoo has the Brewers at #23.
• As part of April Fools' Day, Reviewing the Brew reported that the Brewers had acquired Theo Epstein.

NL Central Update

Yesterday’s Scores

• Cardinals 5, Mets 4
• Diamondbacks 3, Reds 0
• Pirates 3, Orioles 3

Today’s Games

• Mets @ Cardinals - 11:05 am
• Pirates @ Yankees (SS) - 12:05 pm
• Indians @ Reds - 2:05 pm
• Cubs have the day off.

Around Baseball

Roster News

• The Blue Jays signed LHP Felix Doubront to a minor-league deal. He had been released the Cubs over the weekend.
• Marlins catcher Christian Vazquez will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2015 season.
• The Royals re-signed Rafael Furcal to a minor-league deal. Furcal had been released the day before to avoid being paid the $100K retention bonus that he would have been due.
• The Yankees acquired infielder Gergorio Petit from the Astros for either a PTBNL or cash.

Other Notes

• Dave Cameron of FanGraphs previewed the NL Central, predicting a fourth-place finish for the Brewers and noting that they don't have the depth to compete.
• Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com previewed the upcoming season for the NL Central by looking at five factors that could decide the fate of each team this season.
• Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker continued his season previews with a look at the corner infielders of the NL Central.
• Over on The Brewers Bar, Nick Michalski previewed the Reds season with an interview from the blog Chris Sabo's Gobbles.
• Chris Cwik of Big League Stew notes that Wrigley Field now has a Jumbotron, and it will be up and running for Opening Day.
• As part of April Fools' Day, Baseball-Reference made an update to their site that allowed anyone to add a beard, afro, or mustache to any player.

Today’s Action

The Brewers are traveling today to face the Padres this afternoon. It's an earlier game than usual today, with first pitch scheduled for 2:05 pm. Only a web broadcast is available on MLB.com.