What We Learned: There will be no closer

Yesterday’s Results

Brewers 5, White Sox 2

Links from BCB

• The countdown to Opening Day is at 18 days. Continuing in the theme from yesterday, Derek looks at the Brewers prospects in 2018.
• Our own Travis is currently down in Arizona for a few days attending spring training. In his first report from Maryvale, he wrote about the current roster situation for Rule 5 picks Zack Jones and Colin Walsh.

Other Brewers News and Notes

• For those of you who hate the closer role, yesterday's statement from Craig Counsell made you happy. Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com reports that Counsell will not have a specific closer, and both Will Smith and Jeremy Jeffress will be used in the ninth inning based on matchups.
• Ryan Braun made his spring debut yesterday and looked strong. In two plate appearances, he drove in a run, then walked and scored a run. Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com reports that Braun is feeling good after his debut yesterday.
• Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Scooter Gennett and Jeremy Jeffress are making good progress on their injuries and should appear in a Cactus League game this week.
• Even though the Brewers probably won't factor into the playoff race this year, there is still some optimism for the current season. Mike Bauman of MLB.com looks at what there is to be optimistic about for the Brewers in 2016.
• When were Brewers fans most interested in the team? It's easy to figure out based on recent history, but Julien Assouline looked at some Google trends to find when people tend to be interested in the Brewers.
• The Brewers have had some bad Opening Days. There have been some truly terrible ones. In fact, two of them were so bad that they made a list from Henry Druschel of Beyond the Box Score of the top five worst Opening Day pitchers in the last decade.
• Over on View from Bernie's Chalet, JD has his prediction for the 25 man roster to start 2016.
• While Hiram Burgos is not ready to give up on playing baseball just yet, he is preparing for his future when baseball will not be a part of it. Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com spoke with Burgos about his attempt to make the team and returning to college during the offseason to finish his degree.
• Could the Brewers affiliation with Brevard County end after the 2016 season? While nothing official is being said, Jim Goulart of Brewerfan.net lays out a series of developments that could result in the Brewers looking for a new High-A affiliate after 2016.
• Kyle Lobner of TimberRattlers.com interviewed both pitcher Trey Supak and first baseman David Denson as they prepare to open the 2016 season with the Timber Rattlers.

Around Baseball

• The path towards Cuban players playing in MLB has become a little easier. Mike Bates of MLB Daily Dish reports that the US is changing the rules around their embargo with Cuba, allowing Cuban citizens to be paid directly, as long as that money does not go to the Cuban government.
• Are you a customer of T-Mobile? David G. Temple of FanGraphs notes that T-Mobile customers will have the opportunity to get a free year of MLB.TV Premium. (Unfortunately, blackout restrictions will still apply.)
• MLB is investigating new allegations involving the Cardinals regarding hate speech towards gay people. Chris Cwik of Big League Stew notes that former Cardinals minor-league pitcher Tyler Dunnington (who has come out as gay in the last year) left the game due to hateful speech from teammates and coaches about gay people.
• Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar spoke with Cardinals blogger C70 about what to expect from the Cardinals in 2016.
• Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig will not be suspended for his role in an alleged domestic violence incident in November.
• The Mariners released RHP Justin De Fratus.
• The Mets released shortstop Ruben Tejada after he went unclaimed on waivers.
• Nationals pitcher Bronson Arroyo has a significantly torn rotator cuff, and is waiting for a second opinion before deciding if he will try to rehab it or retire.
• Are the Rangers prepared to move on from their interest in Jonathan Lucroy? A new report suggests that the Rangers are looking at Padres catcher Derek Norris, and Evan Grant of the Dallas News has a series of reasons why Norris would be a better acquisition than Lucroy.
• The Reds released RHP Carlos Contreras.
• The story behind the retirement of White Sox designated hitter Adam LaRoche took an unexpected turn yesterday, when LaRoche revealed that he retired because the team did not want his son in the clubhouse every day. Matt Goldman of MLB Daily Dish has the full story, including the White Sox position on LaRoche's son.
• Umpire Tim Welke has decided to retire after over 4,200 games and 33 seasons in the major leagues.

Today’s Action

The Brewers travel to meet the Rangers in an evening game. First pitch is at 8:05 pm, and it is available exclusively on MLB.com.