Tagged: Matt Pagnozzi

Breaking Brewers News: Braun Update, Roster Moves

Braunwalkoff

The Milwaukee Brewers announced today via press release and on Twitter that Ryan Braun underwent his thumb procedure today as scheduled.

OFFICIAL RELEASE:

Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun underwent a cryotherapy procedure today on his right thumb. The procedure was performed by Dr. Vernon Williams at the Kerlan Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles. Braun will meet again with Dr. Williams on Monday, October 6. If there is no adverse reaction to the treatment, Braun will begin swinging a bat to determine the effect of the procedure on his swing along with this pain tolerance.

Braun batted .266 with 19 HR, 81 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 135 games this season.

The other breaking news of the mid-afternoon comes in the form of a pair of roster moves.

Relief pitcher Alfredo Figaro was claimed off waivers by the Texas Rangers. Figaro, 30, spent parts of the past two seasons in the Brewers organization, compiling a 3-4 record and 4.46 ERA, in 82.2 innings pitched across 39 games, five of which were starts.

Catcher Matt Pagnozzi cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Colorado Springs. Pagnozzi, who turns 32 in November, joined the Brewers organization as a minor league free agent in December of 2013. Pagnozzi was added to the 40-man roster as a September call-up in 2014, appearing defensively in just one game without recording a plate appearance.

As a result of the two roster moves, the Brewers’ 40-man roster stands at 38. This number looks to fluctuate quite a bit this off-season as some pending free agents aren’t resigned and as the injured players currently on the 60-day disabled list are activated from the same.

Brewers Make First Group of September Call-Ups

pagnozzi

The Milwaukee Brewers have made what is at least their first round of September call-ups prior to Monday’s game in Chicago.

As I first told you on Twitter just before 10pm on Sunday night:

I went on to mention how much sense it makes to have a third catcher in the month of September. Just think back to how the Brewers utilized Yorvit Torrealba, and you’ll get the idea.

In order to clear a 40-man roster spot, which I mentioned they’d need, the Brewers moved infielder Jeff Bianchi to the 60-day Disabled List.

The only other true September call-up at this point is outfielder Logan Schafer, likely recalled a day earlier than he would have been due to the uncertainty surrounding the injured wrist of Carlos Gomez. Gomez said he felt a pop in his left wrist while swinging during an at-bat in the top of the third inning on Sunday afternoon in San Francisco. He was pulled from the game after awkwardly finishing his at-bat with a bad swing.

To Schafer’s part, he’s had a whole lot full of better looking swings since getting back in a groove due to his regular playing time with Nashville. When he was demoted following the acquisition of Gerardo Parra, Schafer went back to a .236/.349/.375 slash line in Triple-A. All he’s done is get hits in 19 out of his 23 games (including eight multi-hit affairs) and raised his slash line to .273/.356/.461 which is not an insignificant increase. Schafer still brings his glove with him which he might need early.

As for the other additions made official on Monday, while Jimmy Nelson is technically a September call-up (he was only officially with the Brevard County Manatees on paper while awaiting his scheduled MLB start Monday afternoon), the Brewers otherwise activated both Matt Garza and Wei-Chung Wang off of the 15-day Disabled List.

Garza is scheduled to rejoin the Brewers starting rotation on Wednesday in Chicago. He has been out since being pulled during a brilliant start against the St. Louis Cardinals back  on August 3rd after straining his left oblique. The Cardinals came back to steal that one from the Brewers prompting Garza to say that they “dodged a bullet.” Hopefully it doesn’t take Garza long to round back into that same form. The Brewers are going to need him.

The Brewers probably won’t need much from Wei-Chung Wang though. Wang has been stretching out during his rehab assignment, most recently completing the longest outing (7.2 IP) of his professional career with the Brevard County Manatees. In it, he tied a career-high with eight strikeouts, something he hadn’t done since his first appearance in 2013 in the Pirates’ system. It will be good experience for Wang to be around a pennant push, though I wouldn’t expect him to pitch maybe at all in September. They’ve got more than enough arms to cover themselves and Ron Roenicke rightfully won’t exactly trust Wang with every pitch being so crucial over the next 28 days.

The other new face in the Brewer locker room on Monday is expected to be relief pitcher Jonathan Broxton whom the Brewers officially acquired from the Cincinnati Reds just after noon on Sunday. For more on that deal, check my write-up here as well as my short interview with Broxton’s agent.

2014 Opening Day Affiliates Rosters

Opening Day is here for the minor leagues!

What follows are the announced rosters for each of the full-season minor-league affiliates for the Milwaukee Brewers, broken down by position group.

Nashville Sounds

Class-AAA Affiliate (Twitter: @nashvillesounds)

Manager: Rick Sweet

28 Total Players

Pitchers (13)

Catchers (3)

Infielders (9)

Outfielders (3)

Huntsville Stars

Class-AA Affiliate (Twitter: @HuntsvilleStars)

Manager: Carlos Subero

28 Total Players

Pitchers (14)

Catchers (3)

Infielders (7)

Outfielders (4)

  • Kentrail Davis
  • Mitch Haniger (@M_Hanny19)
  • Brock Kjeldgaard
  • D’Vontrey Richardson

BC Manatees

Class-A Advanced Affiliate (Twitter: @BCManatees)

Manager: Joe Ayrault

26 Total Players

Pitchers (13)

Catchers (2)

Infielders (8)

Outfielders (3)

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

Class-A Affiliate (Twitter: @TimberRattlers)

Manager: Matt Erickson

27 Total Players

Pitchers (13)

Catchers (3)

Infielders (6)

Outfielders (5)

*Player/Coach

Brewers Finally Announce 2014 Jersey Numbers

Earlier today, the Brewers finally announced the jersey numbers that the players coming to big league camp will be wearing whilst at Maryvale.

The majority of the players who saw time at the MLB level in 2013 have not changed numbers, though two did. One coach gave up his number for a player. And of course the newest acquisitions and non-roster invitees all need number assignments as well.

Here are all the changes. (Keep in mind that my uniform number repository only counts players wearing a specific number while on the big league roster. I’ll update those pages after camp breaks.)

New Players on 40-Man Roster:

  • #50 – Jose De La Torre
  • #63 – Brooks Hall
  • #60 – Kevin Shackelford
  • #13 – Will Smith
  • #51 – Wei-Chung Wang
  • #25 – Hunter Morris
  • #61 – Jason Rogers
  • #3 – Elian Herrera

Players on 40-Man Roster Last Year With New Numbers:

  • #30 – Tyler Thornburg (switched from #63)
  • #38 – Wily Peralta (switched from #60)
  • #58 – Ariel Pena (switched from #73)

Both New Non-Roster Invitees (Players on MiLB contracts invited to big league camp) and Repeat Invitees w/New Numbers:

  • #59 – Zach Duke
  • #77 – David Goforth
  • #70 – Dustin Molleken
  • #66 – Robinzon Diaz
  • #72 – Cameron Garfield
  • #68 – Matt Pagnozzi
  • #71 – Adam Weisenburger (switched from #91)
  • #65 – Irving Falu
  • #24 – Lyle Overbay
  • #7 – Mark Reynolds
  • #67 – Eugenio Velez
  • #73 – Kentrail Davis (switched from #93)
  • #75 – Mitch Haniger
  • #76 – Kevin Mattison

Hot Stove Report: Brewers Add Infielder, Catcher

Matt Pagnozzi and Irving Falu pose for the camera on Photo Day in 2013.

Matt Pagnozzi (L) and Irving Falu pose for the camera on Photo Day in 2013.

On Wednesday it was announced that the Milwaukee Brewers had signed a pair of free agents to minor league contracts. Those contracts include invitations to big league camp at Maryvale come February, officially labeling both new additions as “non-roster invitees” or NRIs.

The two players involved are catcher Matt Pagnozzi, late of the Houston Astros system, and utility infielder Irving Falu, most recently of the Kansas City Royals organization.

Full write ups of their pasts will come during the 2014 edition of “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers”, but for now let’s go ahead and give you a little taste.

Matthew Thomas Pagnozzi (hey kids, he’s on Twitter! @MattPagnozzi) is a 31-year-old veteran of 11 seasons in professional baseball. He’s been employed by six different organizations including five in the last three years. Pagnozzi doesn’t hit much but has a solid reputation as a defensive-minded catcher. The Brewers could use a quality receiver to work with the next wave of prospects at Triple-A Nashville. Barring injury, that’s Pagnozzi’s likely destination when camp breaks at the end of March.

Irving Falu (Twitter: @irvingfalu) is a native of Puerto Rico who was first drafted in 2001 by the San Diego Padres and then again in 2003 by the Royals. He is 30 years old and as the polar opposite of Pagnozzi has only known one organization. In a beautiful irony that Brewers fans can appreciate, Falu made his MLB debut in 2012 after injury sidelined Yuniesky Betancourt. Perhaps Falu can permanently replace Betancourt in the Brewers organization going forward. Forever. And ever.

And ever.

Both of these players will be heavily involved in Spring Training. Pagnozzi as a top MiLB catcher and Falu as a switch-hitting infielder who can back up at second base, third base and shortstop.

Milwaukee Brewers Uniform Number History: #11

Wondering who wore a certain uniform number all-time for the Milwaukee Brewers?

The Brewer Nation has got you covered. If you found this list on its own, head back here for the full repository after checking out this one.

#11

John Kennedy (’70)
Davey May (’70-’74, ’78)
Sixto Lezcano (’75)
Kurt Bevacqua (’75-’76)
Jim Rosario (’76)
Jim Gantner (’76)
Steve Brye (’77)
Jeff Yurak (’78)
Vic Harris (’80)
Ed Romero (’81-’85)
Rick Cerone (’86)
Charlie O’Brien (’87-’88)
Mike Young (’88)
LaVel Freeman (’89)
Greg Vaughn (’89)
Gary Sheffield (’90-’91)
Dave Nilsson (’93-’95)
Derrick May (’95)
Kelly Stinnett (’96)
Antone Williamson (’97)
Ronnie Belliard (’98)
Hideo Nomo (’99)
Richie Sexson (’00-’03)
Lyle Overbay (’04-’05)
Mike Rivera (’06-’09, ’11)
Adam Stern (’10)
Chris Dickerson (’10)
Alex Gonzalez (’12-’13)
Sean Halton (’13)
Matt Pagnozzi (’14)