What We Learned: The Brewers are rebuilding, not tanking

Brewers News & Notes

• The Opening Day countdown is at 73 days. Continuing in the series of previous teams, today's post focuses on the 1973 Brewers and the first year of the designated hitter.
• Currently there is a vote going on for fans to vote for which t-shirts will be given out at select Friday games this season. Travis has a strong opinion on this, and laid out his top choices and why you should vote for them.
• Recently there has been some discussion about the Brewers strategy and if it should be classified as rebuilding or tanking. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel spoke to GM David Stearns, who stated that the Brewers are in the process of rebuilding, not tanking.
• Jonathan Lucroy's recent comments have made some fans angry. J.P. Breen of BP Milwaukee says that the comments shouldn't because all Lucroy really wants to do is win.
• The Brewers rotation had problems last season, but it's a problem that could have seen a little relief with better bullpen management. Ryan Romano of BP Milwaukee argues that the Brewers should have used their bullpen more often in 2015.
• The Brewers could be looking for a new broadcaster. Current Brewers broadcaster Joe Block is up for the role of the #1 broadcaster in Pittsburgh, and the Brewers are starting a search in case Block does get the job.
• Former Brewers groundskeeper Gary Vanden Berg, who passed away in 2011, will be inducted into the MLB Groundskeepers Hall of Fame on Saturday.

Minor League Update

• In MLB Pipeline's Top 10 LHP Prospects, Josh Hader came in at #6 in the rankings. Meanwhile, no Brewers made it into the top 10 RHP Prospects.
• The Biloxi Shuckers announced the game times for all of their home games this season. They can be found on the Shuckers website.

Around Baseball

• MLB announced yesterday that the trade deadline for the 2016 season will be on August 1, one day later than usual. The reason for the change is that the deadline this year falls on a Sunday when most teams will be playing. The change is effective for only 2016.
• The Astros signed LHP Wandy Rodriguez to a minor-league deal.
• The Rays signed utility player Steve Pearce to a one-year deal.
• The White Sox signed reliever Matt Albers to a one-year, $2.25 million contract.