What We Learned: Mr. Davis goes to Oakland

The Khris Davis Trade

• While most people were driving home from work on Friday, the Brewers pulled off another big trade: They sent outfielder Khris Davis to the Athletics for catching prospect Jacob Nottingham and RHP prospect Bubba Derby.
• The Davis trade clears up a few potential problems that the Brewers had. Derek looks at how the trade will change the roster for the 2016 season.
• Breaking down the trade even further, Kyle provides an in-depth look at the player that the Brewers traded away in Davis and what they acquired with Nottingham and Derby.
• Over on the Athletics Nation site, Nico gives the trade his seal of approval, and Jeremy Koo says that the trade answers some questions for the future of the Athletics outfield.
• Also on Athletics Nation, Jeremy Koo loves the power Davis has, but Nico asks why Davis' arm is so weak.
• Over on FanGraphs, Jeff Sullivan sees the trade as a win for both sides: The Athletics get the player that can help them right away, and the Brewers get players that could help the team in a few years.
• Meanwhile, Christina Kahrl of ESPN SweetSpot also believes it's a win-win trade for both teams, but does like the Brewers side of it better.

Other Brewers News & Notes

• The countdown to Opening Day is at 49 days. Today's post focused on Ryan Braun's arm. There's also posts from the weekend on #50 Yhonathan Barrios and #51 Cesar Jimenez.
• The BCB Mailbag made a return on Friday, answering many questions on the Brewers as Spring Training approaches. Catch up on the Brewers as Spring Training is under a week away.
• This year's edition of the Baseball Prosectus Annual is out, and Travis has already spent a lot of time reading it. He has a list of ten things he learned from reading this year's edition.
• 2004 was the last year under the old ownership by the Selig family, and it was the last in a series of 12 straight seasons with a losing record. Kyle takes a look back at that 2004 Brewers team.
• Over in the FanPosts, chris33 asks if GM David Stearns made a mistake with the Jason Rogers trade following the other recent trades he has made.
• The Brewers rebuild has been an example of what a team can do when it knows its direction. Michael Bradburn of MLB Daily Dish praises the Brewers for their offseason plan and what they have done so far.
• Aaron Hill is the odd veteran in a team filling up with young players. Seth Victor asks if there is a place for Hill in the younger infield.
• It's been a busy offseason for the Brewers, who have pulled off nine trades so far. Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel spoke with GM David Stearns about all of the deals and his strategy so far.
• As part of their spring training preview, Gary D'Amato of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel asks what could happen if everything goes right for the Brewers.
• Continuing in their Brewers by the Jersey Numbers series, The Brewer Nation has profiles of #52 Jimmy Nelson and #50 Yhonathan Barrios. Boyer pitched for the Twins last year and the Padres in 2014.
• The Brewers pocket schedules are in production for this season. Cait Covers the Bases looks at the process for making these schedules.

Minor League Update

• In the vote for #10 (which ended up becoming #11) in the BCB Community Top Prospects, Kodi Medeiros took the first spot in the second half of the list. The vote is now open for #12.
• The reason Medeiros went down a spot was due to the trade on Friday. With the acquisition of Nottingham, there was a special poll to slot him in the Brewers top prospects, and you placed him at #7.
• The Baseball America rankings of all the farm systems in MLB came out last week, and the Brewers system came it at #9 out of all 30 teams.
• The list of non-roster invitees for spring training grew as relief pitcher Blaine Boyer signed a minor-league deal with the team.
• Several minor-league players have a chance to make an impact in spring training or on the Brewers in 2016. Adam McCalvy looks at the list of players who could impact the Brewers this year.

Around Baseball

• A new protective hat has been designed for pitchers to test during spring training this year. 20 MLB pitchers are expected to test out the hat this spring.
• The Indians signed RHP Tommy Hunter to a one-year contract.
• Mets pitcher Jenrry Mejia has received a lifetime ban from MLB after his third positive PED test.
• The Yankees avoided arbitration with reliever Aroldis Chapman and signed him to a one-year, $11.325 million contract.