SB Nation - Arcenio Leon

Friday's Frosty Mug: The First Wave Of Cuts

Kyle Lobner — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:40:37 -0000

Some things to read while getting amped.

Day 25 of spring training 2013 is upon us, but it's Day One in minor league camp for several Brewer pitchers. Jed Bradley, Taylor Jungmann, Darren Byrd, Arcenio Leon and Jairo Asencio were returned to minor league camp yesterday, and Ariel Pena, Santo Manzanillo and Miguel De Los Santos were optioned to AA.

@Mass_Haas has a look at the roster implications of these decisions, noting that Pena and Manzanillo will each have an option remaining in 2014 and Miguel De Los Santos, who has an arm injury, now cannot go on the 60-day DL.

Yesterday's moves continue the trend of 2011 first round picks Taylor Jungmann and Jed Bradley doing everything together. Adam McCalvy talked to the pair of pitching prospects about their parallel journeys through the organization.

Khris Davis is still in big league camp, meanwhile, and likely will be for a while yet: His third home run in as many days powered the Brewers to a 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks yesterday and got them back to .500 in Cactus League play. We've got the recap, if you missed it. Tom Haudricourt has a look at the difficult challenge the Brewers would face in trying to find Davis a spot on the roster.

Alfredo Figaro survived the first wave of cuts and pitched three scoreless innings yesterday to continue his near-perfect spring. Tom Haudricourt talked to Figaro about his offseason return from Japan and his hopes to make the Opening Day roster.

Other notes from camp:

Doug Melvin was back in camp Thursday after spending several hours Wednesday night in the ER following a scorpion sting. Jaymes Langrehr and @BrewCrewJess are already considering the aftermath.
Today is a big day for Corey Hart, who will have another MRI to check the progress of his surgically repaired knee. It's possible he could be cleared to accelerate his rehab if it goes well.
ASU student Alexia Porto of the JS has photos of Alex Gonzalez's day at first base.
Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk was in Maryvale yesterday and talked to Corey Hart about Batman, took a picture of a fan's Lucroy shirt and documented the winner of the sausage race (Italian).
Speaking of the Sausage Race, ASU student Jason Galvin of the JS talked to Mike Fiers, Scooter Gennett and Corey Hart about their favorite racing meats.
Todd Rosiak talked to Mark Rogers about his effort to get back on track this spring.
Dave Radcliffe of Yahoo listed Rogers among his top three spring training disappointments to this point.
ASU student Carrie Adams of the JS talked to Corey Hart, Wily Peralta, Mike Fiers and Logan Schafer about what they'd be doing if they weren't playing baseball.

Cactus League play continues in Maryvale today when the Brewers host the Rangers at 2. Tyler Thornburg will take on Jeff Beliveau. We talked to Adam Morris of Lone Star Ball as part of our Better Know A Cactus League Opponent series.

After today's game all attention will shift to Chase Field in Phoenix, where Yovani Gallardo will be on the mound when Mexico takes on Team USA in the World Baseball Classic tonight. Mexico needs a win to carry much hope of advancing after getting upset by Italy last night. Gwen Knapp of Sports On Earth has a story on Fernando Valenzuela serving as Mexico's pitching coach, while Mike Oz of Big League Stew has a full recap of yesterday's action.

In the minors: Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has the latest update from the renovation project at Fox Cities Stadium. The team is holding a Media Open House on Tuesday and I'm hoping to attend.

If you'd like more Brewer coverage today but you're sick of reading, Thursday's edition of the Home Stretch Hangout has been archived and features Charlie Wilmoth of Bucs Dugout and I talking about the 2013 Pirates.

Around baseball:

Cardinals: Shortstop Rafael Furcal needs Tommy John surgery and is out for the 2013 season.
Marlins: Released pitcher Michael Wuertz.
White Sox: Signed pitcher Chris Sale to a five-year, $32.5 million contract extension with club options for 2018 and 2019.
Yankees: Reliever Mariano Rivera is expected to retire following the season.

Today in former Brewers:

The Dodgers have announced that Zack Greinke will start when they face the Brewers in Maryvale on Monday.
Adam McCalvy spotted a Bobby Hughes jersey in the crowd at Maryvale.

Today's statistical note comes from David Schoenfield of ESPN and probably won't surprise anyone who's watched Ron Roenicke's Milwaukee Brewers: The sacrifice bunt is still alive and well.

Meanwhile, Tim Muma of Brewers Mix has a reminder of all the reasons not to take spring training stats seriously.

Today in baseball economics: Players who will open the season on the DL with the Yankees have a higher combined 2013 salary than the entire Rays roster.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my trash can is full.

Drink up.

Brewers Return Five Pitchers to Minor League Camp, Option Three to Double-A

Noah Jarosh — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 01:57:58 -0000

Earlier tonight, the Brewers returned Jed Bradley, Taylor Jungmann, Darren Byrd, and Arcenio Leon to minor league camp. Jairo Asencio was returned even earlier.

Bradley and Jungmann shouldn't come as much of a surprise. The Brewers two first round picks in 2011 had no real chance of making the roster. While some draft picks move quickly through systems, neither player has pitched above High A-Ball yet. Bradley performed better than Jungmann in his brief Major League Spring Training stint, striking out six batters and walking just one over 4.2 innings. Jungmann gave up three walks and struck out one in 2.2 innings.

Leon is similarly unsurprising, though he's had a bit more time in the minors than Jungmann and Bradley. Leon has never been particularly great in his minor league career, however, and similarly struggled in spring ball thus far with two earned runs and two walks in 1.2 innings.

Byrd is a little more curious, as he may have had an outside shot at a bullpen spot this spring. He has been very effective in Double-A the past two years, with a sub 3.00 ERA both seasons. He also posted a career high 8.8 K/9 in 2012. He pitched in just one game for the Brewers during spring training this year, recording just one out while walking three batters. He is likely ticketed for Triple-A. If he continues to pitch well there, he could see a call-up sometime during the year.

In addition to these moves, Ariel Pena, Santo Manzanillo, Miguel De Los Santos were all optioned to Double-A Huntsville today. None of them have been able to truly impress throughout their careers, though De Los Santos's career 13.6 K/9 is certainly appetizing.

Thursday's Frosty Mug: Leon Sticks Around

Kyle Lobner — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:50:48 -0000

Some things to read while reattaching the rope.

We're 34 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training and the Brewers have added (or returned) another name to their list of 2013 camp invitees: Arcenio Leon cleared waivers yesterday and will remain in the organization after being outrighted down to AAA Nashville. He'll now be with the team this spring as a non-roster invitee.

Meanwhile, one more transaction remains on hold: The Brewers' minor league free agent deal with Alfredo Figaro remains in limbo as Figaro's agent and his Japanese team work on a potential resolution. I would think forcing a player to play out his contract in Japan against his wishes might have a negative impact on Japanese teams' ability to sign foreign free agents in the future.

With or without Figaro, the Brewers' starting pitching figures to be the team's most glaring question mark heading into 2013. J.P. Breen of Disciples of Uecker attempted an early projection for the Opening Day pitching staff.

In the minors: Baseball America's 2013 Brewer prospect rankings were released in print form this week and while the list isn't available yet online, Mike Vassallo has it on Twitter. The biggest surprise may be Jimmy Nelson, who they have as the Crew's #5 prospect ahead of guys like Johnny Hellweg, Victor Roache and Clint Coulter.

If we all do our part, a sixth place finish is certainly possible: Tyler Maas of Miller Park Drunk has a reminder to vote for Ryan Braun for the cover on MLB '13 The Show.

Around baseball:

Astros: Top prospect and first baseman Jonathan Singleton has been suspended for 50 games for testing positive for marijuana.
Dodgers: Signed pitcher Matt Palmer to a minor league deal.
Giants: Signed Japanese infielder Kensuke Tanaka to a minor league deal.
Indians: Signed pitchers Jerry Gil and Edward Paredes to minor league deals.
Pirates: Acquired pitcher Jeanmar Gomez from the Indians for a minor leaguer.
Rockies: Signed reliever Manny Corpas to a minor league deal.

Of course, the big news around baseball yesterday was the announcement that the BBWAA failed to elect a single new player to the Hall of Fame for the first time since 1996. All three former Brewers on the ballot (Julio Franco, Jeff Cirillo and Royce Clayton) fell short of the 5% voting requirement to remain in consideration in 2014, although Franco did receive six votes. The Brewers have now had at least one former player receive votes on each of the last 20 ballots.

The BBWAA's decision to leave all the 2013 candidates out could really complicate matters for 2014, when Greg Maddux and Frank Thomas lead another loaded class of first-time eligibles. The Hall of Very Good has a look at the players that will enter the fray next year.

Meanwhile, the most bizarre vote yesterday went to Aaron Sele, who was mentioned on a ballot despite posting a career 4.61 ERA over 15 MLB seasons. Joe Block notes that Sele received more Hall of Fame votes than Cecil Cooper, Gorman Thomas and Ben Oglivie combined.

Elsewhere in former Brewers:

Paul Swydan of FanGraphs has a look at the career of Tommy Harper and his 30/30 career year in 1970.
Lee Panas of Tiger Tales surprised me by having Kevin Seitzer on a list of the best players at advancing runners since 1950.

And elsewhere in Brewer moments past, Jess of The Catlantis has a recollection of her first memories of County Stadium. Mine are that I couldn't see, didn't really know or pay attention to what was going on and Rob Deer didn't play.

Yesterday we mentioned that T-Mobile will be sponsoring wireless phones in the dugouts for managers to use to call out to the bullpen. This isn't going to go well for everyone, of course, and David G. Temple of NotGraphs has a look at some of the things that could go wrong.

A manager could, for example, call the bullpen while wearing the wrong hat. Apparently "the interview cap" is an actual thing MLB teams are making and promoting, bringing us one step closer to having a different hat for every possible situation.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks the sixth anniversary of the Brewers signing R.A. Dickey as a minor league free agent in 2007. Chris Jaffe of The Hardball Times notes that it's also the 17th anniversary of the death of Joe Schultz, the first manager in franchise history.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make sure it doesn't get away.

Drink up.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug: Gonzalez In, Leon Out

Kyle Lobner — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:02:56 -0000

Some things to read while being taunted.

We're 36 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Maryvale, and it appears the Brewer front office is back to work: After an extended delay for the holidays, they finally officially announced lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez's one year, $2.25 million contract yesterday. To make room on the roster for Gonzalez the Brewers have designated pitcher Arcenio Leon for assignment. Leon was claimed off waivers from the Astros earlier this winter, but the Brewers are likely hoping he'll pass through unclaimed now so they can keep him in the organization.

In our Tweet of the Day, Joe Block shows exactly why the Brewers felt the need to load up on lefty relievers this winter:

#Brewers lefties allowed .399 SLG to LHBs in 2012. Michael Gonzalez .269 SLG vs LHBs in 2012.
— Joe Block (@joe_block) January 8, 2013

Gonzalez will wear #51 as a Brewer. Jim Henderson had been wearing it, but will switch to #29 and has already updated his Twitter handle.

Gonzalez is likely to be the final major addition to a Brewer bullpen that has been overhauled in a big way this winter. Mike Axisa of FanGraphs has an overview of the changes, and also notes that Burke Badenhop, Tom Gorzelanny and Gonzalez are likely to cost around $7 million less than what the Brewers paid Francisco Rodriguez, Jose Veras, Manny Parra and Kameron Loe in 2012.

Elsewhere in winter transactions, Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew doesn't understand the Brewers' decision to sign outfielder Cole Garner to a minor league deal over the weekend. Orr notes the presence of outfielders Josh Prince, Khris Davis, Logan Schafer and Caleb Gindl in the upper levels of the organization.

And of course, at the highest level of the organization the Brewers still have Ryan Braun. He's one of seven candidates to be on the cover of this year's "MLB The Show" video game, and Adam McCalvy has the details on how you can vote for him to receive that honor.

In the minors:

Matt Garrioch of MLB Prospect Guide ranked the Brewers as having baseball's 17th best farm system.
Yadiel Rivera had three hits but it was not enough as Santurce lost 7-6 to Carolina in Puerto Rico last night. You can read about that and more in today's Winter League Recap.
Rivera's Santurce team is now 1-4 and in last place in Puerto Rico's round-robin playoffs. Martin Maldonado's Mayaguez team is 4-1 and in first.

It was a relatively quiet day around baseball:

Rangers: Designated pitcher Tommy Hottovy for assignment.

In former Brewers: Jody Gerut is spending his post-playing days as an agent working to help athletes manage their money and avoid eventual bankruptcy.

Over the last couple of years the Brewers have employed a couple of relatively soft-throwing starting pitchers credited with good command in Shaun Marcum and Mike Fiers. As such I was interested to read this Beyond the Box Score post noting that softer-throwing pitchers are more likely to get called strikes than their hard-throwing contemporaries. There are some possible explanations to consider, but it's still something to think about.

One of this winter's strangest free agent stories is probably Kyle Lohse, whose rumored high contract demands have left him sitting on the sidelines without an offer this winter. Lohse's price seems likely to fall in the coming weeks, and Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs has a (at least partly tongue-in-cheek) look at the argument for a team to sign him.

This morning's edition of Today In Brewer History marks 2008-09 Brewer Mike Cameron's 40th birthday. Plunk Everyone notes that Cameron's 87 career HBP are the second-most ever for a player born on January 8.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find out what happened to my card.

Drink up.

Brewers designate Arcenio Leon for assignment

Nathan Aderhold — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:00:04 -0000

The Milwaukee Brewers have designated right-hander Arcenio Leon for assignment to make room on the roster for new bullpen arm Mike Gonzalez, the team has announced:

The Milwaukee Brewers signed free agent left-handed reliever Mike Gonzalez to a one-year contract today. To make room on the 40-man roster, the team designated right-handed pitcher Arcenio Leon for assignment.

Leon, 26, was acquired off of waivers from the Houston Astros in November. The Venezuelan right-hander has yet to make his big-league debut, but did get a few innings at Triple-A in 2011.

Leon made 44 relief appearances for the Astros' Double-A club in 2012, posting a 4.38 ERA and 8.2 K/9 rate in 63⅔ innings. The right-hander has never had trouble missing bats in his minor-league career but has also never had trouble missing the strike zone, walking over five batters per nine in his eight seasons of professional ball.

It seems unlikely that Leon will find himself in the Brewers' bullpen at any point in 2013, but with the way things went for their pen last season you cannot rule anything out.

Monday's Frosty Mug: Going Gonzalez

Kyle Lobner — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 15:04:15 -0000

Some things to read while getting a new ladder.

The Brewers took a break from their holiday vacation on Friday to add another piece to their 2013 bullpen, reportedly signing lefty Mike Gonzalez to a one year deal worth $2.25 million plus incentives. Gonzalez is 34, has played in ten major league seasons as a member of five teams and posted a 3.03 ERA for the Nationals last season with 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings over 47 appearances.

Here's much more on the move from around the web:

Jim Bowden of ESPN says the Brewers outbid the Reds and Nationals for Gonzalez. I guess I don't usually assume a bidding war took place when a guy only gets $2.25 million.
Ken Rosenthal pointed out that Gonzalez held opposing lefties to a .179 batting average in 2012.
Jaymes Langrehr of Disciples of Uecker says "the addition of Gonzalez means Ron Roenicke will be free to use (Tom) Gorzelanny for a full inning if he wishes to do so, or it could allow him to go the Tony La Russa route and start playing L-L matchups earlier in the game."
Howie Magner says the Brewers have rebuilt their bullpen in "relatively bargain fashion" with Gonzalez, Burke Badenhop and Gorzelanny.
Mark Simon of ESPN has a look at Gonzalez, Badenhop and Gorzelanny's strengths and weaknesses.

As Tom Haudricourt notes, it'll be a few more days until this deal is official because MLB's offices are closed until after New Year's. However, @Mass_Haas notes that the team will need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster to make room for Gonzalez and suggests that recent waiver claim Arcenio Leon is a likely candidate.

With three new arms in the bullpen it's possible the Brewers are done shopping for the winter...but it's also possible they're not. Jon Morosi of Fox Sports listed Milwaukee among ten teams that could still be looking for more help once the calendar turns to January. Zach Links of MLB Trade Rumors notes that the Brewers are one of six teams who won 80 or more games last season and missed the playoffs, but one of just two from that list that aren't making major moves in free agency this winter.

Of course, they could also look to sell. Tom Stadler of The Book of Gorman makes the case for the Brewers to consider trading John Axford.

With that said, it's worth remembering this important fact: Ron Roenicke Stole My Baseball has a reminder that fans won't pay to see rebuilding teams.

Elsewhere in free agency: Lavelle E. Neal (via Metsblog) reports that Joe Saunders, Shaun Marcum and Brett Myers are all seeking multi-year deals.

Of course, even if the Brewers don't make another move they'll still have Ryan Braun in 2013. Colin Bennett of Reviewing the Brew surprised no one by naming Braun the Brewers' top season-long offensive performer in 2012.

In the minors:

Congratulations are due out this morning to 2012 Southern League MVP Hunter Morris, named the Huntsville Times Sportsperson of the Year.
Martin Maldonado had a pair of hits but it wasn't enough as Mayaguez lost 6-4 to Ponce in Puerto Rico yesterday. You can read about that and more in today's Winter League Recap.
Yesterday's game wrapped up the Puerto Rican regular season, and Maldonado's Mayaguez team qualified for the playoffs by finishing in second place. Jean Segura's Dominican team did not make the cut.
Coming off his solid Arizona Fall League performance, Colin Bennett of Reviewing the Brew lists infielder/outfielder Josh Prince as a Brewer farmhand to watch in 2013.

Finally, we wrapped up one of the offseason's longest-running daily series on Friday with a Brew Crew Blasts bonus entry looking at the season's walkoff home runs.

Somehow we got through the weekend without a single announced transaction, which is weird. Here's a music video with puppets instead:

In former Brewers:

The Cubs may have been one of the four major league teams reportedly considering Yuniesky Betancourt last week, but they're not anymore.
Takashi Saito is returning to Japan and has signed with the Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Tomahawk Take has Hank Aaron and former Milwaukee Brave Phil Niekro on their Braves All-Decade Team for the 1970's.

My favorite piece of sabermetric analysis over the weekend came from Matthew at Lookout Landing, who makes a solid case for reevaluating the way we use home runs to evaluate pitchers. It's well worth a read and some serious consideration.

Today in baseball economics: Fox Sports has purchased Sports Time Ohio, a regional sports network partially owned by the Indians, for $230 million. Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball used that acquisition to build an argument that massive TV deals have reached a ceiling.

Finally, before I wrap up this morning I wanted to give you a quick heads-up on some minor design changes coming to BCB in the next couple of days. Blog Huddle has a description and screenshots of some layout adjustments designed to re-emphasize user-created content on our sites and make things a little easier to read. I like both changes.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get my credit card.

Drink up.

Friday's Frosty Mug: Big Day For Braun

Kyle Lobner — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:08:30 -0000

Some things to read while sneaking in a snack.

Award season continued last night with some good news for the Brewers, as Ryan Braun won his fifth consecutive Silver Slugger Award after leading the NL in home runs, runs scored, total bases and OPS. Braun is only the fourth Brewer outfielder ever to win the award and obviously the first to do it five times. Rob Neyer noted that Braun (who turns 29 next week) and Derek Jeter (who is 38) now have won the award the same number of times.

Braun, by the way, is the only current Brewer on For Baseball Junkies' updated Brewer All-Time Team. He's also one of three Brewers nominated for a Greatness in Baseball Yearly (GIBBY) Award.

Depending on who you ask, this might actually be bigger Braun news: Yesterday Busted Coverage broke the news that Braun is engaged to lingerie model Larisa Fraser. Miller Park Drunk, of course, has the reaction.

Today in free agency:

Ken Rosenthal says the Brewers are interested in Ryan Dempster, whose age (he'll be 36 in May) may be scaring the Dodgers away from offering a long term deal.
Kevin Kaduk of Yahoo is still listing the Brewers as one of three candidates to sign Josh Hamilton, but Rosenthal doesn't have them on his list of four teams.
Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post wonders if the Nationals could be a fit for Zack Greinke.
Jose Veras is the second former Brewer this week (joining Alex Gonzalez) to hire Praver Shapiro as his new agency.

Veras, by the way, was the subject of Nate's MVBrewers Honorable Mention post yesterday. We've still got a couple of posts left in that part of the series, and the next one will run at 2 today.

Nyjer Morgan is also a free agent this winter, inspiring Tyler Maas of The A.V. Club Milwaukee to look back at his best moments with the Brewers.

Having your top prospects continue to refine their game in winter ball always seems like a good idea until something like this happens: Jean Segura was lifted from last night's game in the Dominican Republic after being hit by pitches twice. That's all we know at this point, hopefully it's nothing serious.

Elsewhere in the minors:

Johnny Hellweg, Hunter Morris and Arcenio Leon were also in action last night and you can read all about it in today's Winter League Recap.
Entering the day yesterday noted leisured gentleman Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs had Segura among the DWL prospect leaders in his SCOUT stat.
Congratulations are due out this morning to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, announced yesterday as the winner of the national Larry MacPhail Award for the top promotional effort in Minor League Baseball. They'll be honored at the Winter Meetings in Nashville.
Rattler Radio, by the way, has a video update from the renovation project at Time Warner Cable Field.

The Brewers continued their 2013 bobblehead announcements yesterday with another notable alum: They'll be giving out Gorman Thomas bobbles to all fans to attend the Sunday, September 1 game against the Angels.

I might try to go to Miller Park for some of this year's bobblehead games, but I can assure you I won't be there on this day: Country star Kenny Chesney will play Miller Park on May 18 as part of his "No Shoes Nation" tour, which will also feature Eric Church, the Eli Young Band and Kasey Musgraves.

Around baseball:

Angels: Signed pitcher Mitch Stetter to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training.
Blue Jays: Signed infielder Maicer Izturis to a three year, $9 million deal with a club option for 2016, acquired pitcher Jeremy Jeffress from the Royals for cash and designated pitcher Scott Maine for assignment.
Indians: Signed pitcher Hector Rondon and infielder Luis Hernandez to minor league deals with invitations to spring training.
Marlins: Named Tino Martinez as their new hitting coach.
Phillies: Avoided arbitration with infielder Kevin Frandsen (one year, $850,000 plus incentives).
Rangers: Acquired pitcher Tommy Hottovy from the Royals for a PTBNL and cash.
Reds: Pitcher Bill Bray and infielder Wilson Valdez have refused outright assignments to the minors and are now free agents.

Because of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, we're a little closer to spring training than we'd typically be at this point. The Brewers haven't made their spring training schedule official yet, but the Astros have announced that they already have a game on February 23.

Today in former Brewers:

1980s Brewer pitcher Mike Birkbeck was named Baseball America's College Assistant Coach of the Year for his work as pitching coach at Kent State.
Dante Bichette reportedly turned the Rockies down when they called to ask if he was interested in their vacant hitting coach position.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to write about everything else.

Drink up.

Monday's Frosty Mug: A Strangely Busy Early Offseason

Kyle Lobner — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:58:13 -0000

Some things to read while getting an expert diagnosis.

A Brewer news-filled week spilled over into the weekend, giving us two new members of the roster to introduce this morning: The Brewers claimed 26-year-old right handed reliever Arcenio Leon off waivers from the Astros on Friday and signed free agent pitcher Michael Olmsted on Saturday. Olmsted signed a minor league deal but has also been added to the 40 man roster.

Leon is 26 years old and a native of Venezuela who has played eight professional seasons in the Astros organization. He posted a 4.38 ERA over 63.2 innings for AA Corpus Christi in 2012. He's a curious choice for a waiver claim, as nothing in his minor league history really jumps out at me. He strikes out about eight batters per nine innings in the minors but also walks over five.

Olmsted is a much more interesting case. He was the Mets' ninth round pick in 2007 but his career in that organization was derailed by injuries and led him to the minors in Japan. He's pitched in the low levels of the minors for the Red Sox the last two years and posted a 1.52 ERA with 14 strikeouts per nine innings between High-A and AA in 2012.

The Brewers also cleared two spots on the roster by outrighting Kameron Loe and Travis Ishikawa to Nashville. Both players have declined the assignment and are now free agents. It's a somewhat ignominious end to Loe's Brewer career, as he had a down year in 2012 but still leaves Milwaukee with a career 3.67 ERA over 195 relief appearances.

Meanwhile, the deadline passed on Friday and the Brewers opted not to give one year, $13.3 million qualifying offers to Shaun Marcum or Francisco Rodriguez. As such, the Brewers won't be compensated if either player signs elsewhere.

Today in free agency: Dave Cameron of FanGraphs listed Zack Greinke among this winter's likely best free agent values.

Marco Estrada's role with the 2013 Brewers may well be determined by the results of this winter's free agent market. The Glendale News-Press has a look at Estrada's breakout campaign in 2012.

Elsewhere in possible members of the 2013 rotation, we took a look back at Mark Rogers' 2012 season in Friday's installment of our Most Valuable Brewers series. We'll unveil another honorable mention at 2 today.

Rogers is one of several Brewer pitchers who have had major arm surgery during their career, but this post puts that into perspective a bit: Jon Roegele of Beyond the Box Score attempted to compile a complete list of pitchers who have had Tommy John surgery in the majors and minors and found that the Brewers have had less than 15, which puts them near the bottom of baseball in that category.

RBI are widely seen as a largely irrelevant, opportunity-based statistic but Lee Panas of Tiger Tales has an interesting attempt to look at them another way. He lists Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez as the fourth and 14th most likely major leaguers to get a run home when they come up with runners on.

To be honest, I think these awards carry roughly the same relevance as Gold Gloves: Plunk Everyone has unveiled their 2012 awards for oustanding achievement in the field of getting hit by pitches, and Norichika Aoki was named Plunked Rookie of the Year for getting hit 13 times. Here are some other notes from the proceedings:

Yovani Gallardo led all NL pitchers by facing 860 batters this season without hitting one.
Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks, Aramis Ramirez and Norichika Aoki all made the NL All Plunk Team.
Miller Park led all NL stadiums in foul balls hit this season.

Elsewhere in 2012 evaluations, Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew gave the Brewer bullpen two C's, two D's and an F in part four of their offseason report card.

Odds are by now you've probably seen Mark Attanasio's open letter to Brewer fans, which the team sent out yesterday morning. If you don't have time to read the whole thing, @poonix has summarized it for you.

This will also help sell tickets, of course: The Brewers will give away Carlos Gomez bobbleheads to all fans attending Sunday, June 9's game against the Phillies.

In the minors:

New Brewer Arcenio Leon pitched a scoreless inning for Zulia yesterday in their 3-2 loss to Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League. You can read about that and more in today's Winter League Recap.
The Journal Sentinel (behind the paywall) has a look at infielder/outfielder Josh Prince's surprising season in the Arizona Fall League.

Around baseball:

Angels: Declined pitcher Dan Haren's contract option for 2013.
Astros: Outfielders Brian Bogusevic and J.B. Shuck and pitcher Jorge De Leon have refused outright assignments and are now free agents.
Athletics: Re-signed pitcher Bartolo Colon to a one year, $3 million deal with incentives.
Blue Jays: Acquired pitcher Esmil Rogers from the Indians for infielder Mike Aviles and catcher/infielder Yan Gomes.
Braves: Made a one-year qualifying offer to outfielder Michael Bourn.
Cardinals: Made a one-year qualifying offer to pitcher Kyle Lohse.
Cubs: Claimed pitcher Zach Putnam off waivers from the Rockies.
Dodgers: Are expected to hire Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire to fill the same position.
Indians: Claimed pitcher Blake Wood off waivers from the Royals.
Mariners: Re-signed pitchers Oliver Perez (one year) and Hisashi Iwakuma (two years, $14 million with a club option for 2015).
Marlins: Signed third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and pitcher Jordan Smith to minor league deals.
Nationals: Made a one-year qualifying offer to first baseman Adam LaRoche.
Orioles: Claimed infielder Alexi Casilla off waivers from the Twins.
Padres: Designated pitcher Josh Spence and outfielder Blake Tekotte for assignment.
Rangers: Made a one-year qualifying offer to outfielder Josh Hamilton.
Red Sox: Signed DH David Ortiz to a two year, $26 million deal.
Royals: Claimed pitcher Guillermo Moscoso and catcher Brett Hayes off waivers from the Rockies and Marlins and designated pitchers Tommy Hottovy and Jeremy Jeffress and outfielder Jason Bourgeios for assignment.
Twins: Claimed pitcher Josh Roenicke and shortstop Tommy Field off waivers from the Rockies.
Yankees: Gave one-year qualifying offers to 1B/OF Nick Swisher and pitchers Rafael Soriano and Hiroki Kuroda.

Jeremy Jeffress' agent sent out a tweet yesterday saying the Royals are looking to trade the former Brewer pitcher. Adam McCalvy talked to Doug Melvin about it (under "Last Call") and he said he doesn't know if the organization is interested in bringing Jeffress back. Melvin also said he wasn't involved in any of the Angels' efforts to trade Dan Haren before declining his option.

While Jeremy Jeffress hasn't worked out with the Royals, Jake Odorizzi has. Ray Guilfoyle of Minor League Ball wonders if he's ready for a spot in Kansas City's rotation in 2013.

Today in baseball economics: The Brewers won't be the only team giving out ten bobbleheads next season after all: The Dodgers announced a plan over the weekend to hold ten giveaway games of their own in 2013, including repeating Vin Scully and Sandy Koufax giveaways from 2012.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need more fashion tips.

Drink up.

Brewers outright Kameron Loe, Travis Ishikawa; claim Arcenio Leon

Nathan Aderhold — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 12:30:24 -0000

The Brewers continued clearing house and re-shaping their roster over the weekend, outrighting right-hander Kameron Loe and first baseman Travis Ishikawa to Triple-A, while claiming right-hander Arcenio Leon from the Houston Astros off of waivers, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

The Brewers sent reliever Kameron Loe and first baseman Travis Ishikawa outright to Class AAA Nashville, and also claimed minor-league reliever Arcenio Leon off waivers from Houston.

Loe and outfielder Nyjer Morgan, who was sent outright to Nashville the previous day, exercised their right to become free agents as expected, and Ishikawa is expected to do likewise.

Following five seasons with the Texas Rangers primarily as a starter, the 37-year-old Loe spent three seasons in the Milwaukee bullpen, posting a 3.67 ERA and 7.3 K/9 in nearly two hundred innings of work. Loe would have been eligible for a final year of arbitration had the Brewers not pushed him off the roster and into free agency.

Ishikawa, 29, appeared in ninety-four games for the Brewers in 2012, hitting .257/.329/.428 with four home runs while filling in for the injured Mat Gamel and Corey Hart. The lefty hitter, who has now played in parts of five big-league seasons, has also exercised his right to free agency rather than accept his Triple-A assignment.

Leon, 26, had been in the Astros’ minor-league system since 2005, slowly making his way through the ranks after signing as an 18-year-old out of Venezuela. Leon has spent most of the last three seasons at Double-A, where he holds an impressive 9.2 K/9 in over one hundred fifty innings, but also has a 6.1 BB/9 and a 5.00 ERA.

New Brewers: Michael Olmsted, Arcenio Leon

Kyle Lobner — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 00:30:35 -0000

Yesterday we reported (via Mike Vassallo) that the Brewers had claimed pitcher Arcenio Leon off waivers from the Astros. They made another acquisition on the first day of free agency today, as Vassallo just tweeted the following:

The #Brewers have signed minor-league free agent RHP Michael Olmsted. He will be added to the Brewers 40-man roster.
— Mike Vassallo (@MikeVassallo13) November 4, 2012

Let's start with Leon. He's a 26 year old Venezuelan native who has spent all of his eight professional seasons (including two in the Venezuelan Summer League) in the Astros organization, pitching almost exclusively in relief. He appeared in 44 games for AA Corpus Christi in 2012 and posted a 4.38 ERA over 63.2 innings. He's currently pitching for Zulia in the Venezuelan Winter League.

Olmsted, meanwhile, is a 25 year old right hander who the Mets drafted in the ninth round back in 2007. He missed the entire 2009-10 seasons but has come back in a big way in the Red Sox organization, posting a sub-2 ERA over the last two seasons while climbing from rookie ball to AA. He struck out 14 batters per nine innings over 47 minor league appearances this season.

Even with Olmsted and Leon the Brewers have just 34 players on their 40 man roster, by my count.