What We Learned: The many sides of rebuilding

Brewers News & Notes

• The countdown to Opening Day is at 80 days. Today's post focuses on the 1980 Milwaukee Brewers.
• What could the Brewers look like in three years? Kyle put together a potential future for the Brewers, featuring both pieces from their own system and pieces acquired through trades.
• Continuing in his offseason update series, Travis takes a look at the current state of the outfield.
• Jonathan Lucroy is hard at work this offseason staying in shape for next season, and his brother David has been helping him through the offseason. Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com takes a look at the training regimen for the two brothers.
• Ticket sales so far have been down for 2016, which is to be expected with the forecast for the season. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel breaks down the challenge ahead for the Brewers as they try to sell tickets in what will probably be a rough season.
• The rebuilding process has left the Brewers with a bit of a budget surplus. J.P. Breen of BP Milwaukee thinks that the Brewers should be spending this money, but not on the major league payroll.
• There's a major divide in talent in the National League, where half of the league is surging and the other half (including the Brewers) is tanking. Jayson Stark of ESPN looks at the current state of the National League and asks if changes need to be made to take away the incentive of losing.
• Continuing in the talk about the possibility of trading Jonathan Lucroy, Jeff Sullivan tries to find a deal that could work between the Brewers and Rangers.

Minor League Update

• While the Brewers have added depth at catcher, one catcher who was already in the system is currently in a little bit of limbo: Adam Weisenburger. Jim Goulart of BrewerFan.net asks why Weisenburger isn't getting more consideration and argues that he should be the primary catcher at Colorado Springs.

Around Baseball

• The Athletics avoided arbitration with third baseman Danny Valencia and signed him to a one-year, $3.15 million contract.
• The Diamondbacks signed RHP Sam LeCure to a minor-league deal.
• The Dodgers avoided arbitration with first baseman/outfielder Scott Van Slyke and signed him to a one-year, $1.225 million contract.
• The Mariners avoided arbitration with outfielder Leonys Martin and signed him to a one-year, $4.15 million contract.
• The Marlins avoided arbitration with pitcher Bryan Morris and signed him to a one-year, $1.35 million contract.
• The Orioles avoided arbitration with first baseman/outfielder Mark Trumbo and signed him to a one-year, $9.15 million contract.
• The Padres signed shortstop Alexei Ramirez to a one-year contract. They also avoided arbitration with catcher Derek Norris and LHP Drew Pomeranz. Norris signed a one-year, $2.925 million contract, and Pomeranz signed a one-year, $1.35 million contract.
• The Pirates signed catcher Chris Stewart to a two-year extension. They also avoided arbitration with LHP Jeff Locke and signed him to a one-year, $3.025 million contract.
• The Rangers avoided arbitration with infielder Jurickson Profar and signed him to a one-year, $605,000 contract.
• The Rays were given permission by the Tampa Bay city council to start searching for new ballpark sites in and around Tampa Bay. They also avoided arbitration with LHP Jake McGee, RHP Alex Cobb, and outfielder Brandon Guyer. McGee signed to a one-year, $4.8 million contract, Cobb signed to a one-year, $4 million contract, and Guyer signed to a one-year, $1.185 million contract.
• The Tigers avoided arbitration with infielder Andrew Romine and signed him to a one-year, $900,000 contract.
• The Twins avoided arbitration with LHP Tommy Milone and signed him to a one-year, $4.5 million contract.
• The White Sox avoided arbitration with infielder Brett Lawrie and reliever Dan Jennings. Lawrie signed a one-year, $4.125 million contract, and Jennings signed a one-year, $810,000 contract.