Brewers inactive on Day 1 of Meetings

> The Brewers didn’t make any significant moves on the first day of this year’s Winter Meetings. Doug Melvin was questioned about a few topics, such as a possible pursuit of Ryan Dempster, but, as always, he said very little.

When asked about Dempster, Melvin gave a relatively indirect response, and made no indication as to whether the Brewers were after him:

“While he’s here, we might as well [meet]. We like the starters that we have, though. You’ve got [Yovani] Gallardo, you’ve got [Marco] Estrada and [Mike] Fiers, [Wily] Peralta, Mark Rogers, [Chris] Narveson. Is it time to give our young guys a chance and find out about them?” 

Whether or not the Brewers end up signing a veteran such as Dempster, the young guys are still going to get a look. In my opinion, the only locks for the rotation at this point are Gallardo and Estrada. The rest of the guys- Fiers, Peralta, Rogers, Narveson- are all viable options as well, however, and I don’t think the rotation is as big of a problem as some are making it out to be.

Personally, I’m in favor of signing Dempster. I don’t think he’ll turn out to be a Jeff Suppan or Randy Wolf-like signing (despite the fact that Dempster is older than both), but you never know. As I’ve been saying, Dempster isn’t a necessity: I’m perfectly fine with a rotation consisting of Gallardo, Estrada, Peralta, Narveson, and Fiers (I’m beginning to see Rogers as a potential reliever). I can see where someone not too familiar with the Brewers would have concerns about that rotation, but go back and look at the numbers. That’s by no means among the best rotations in baseball, but it’s capable of winning games, especially with the offense the Brewers already have. (By the way, Melvin also mentioned prospects Tyler Thornburg and Hiram Burgos as options, but they’re probably still both a year- maybe less- away.)

Melvin did speak about the bullpen situation, however, and said he’d made contact with the agents of two of the best possible fits for the Brewers: Sean Burnett and Jason Grilli. Burnett, in my opinion, is the best lefty on the market, so if the Brewers were to nab him, I’d be happy. But that’s what we all thought about David Riske in 2007, and look what happened after the Brewers signed him to a three-year pact.

Grilli is already 36, but the Brewers had success with LaTroy Hawkins (38 at the time) and Takashi Saito (41) in 2011, so I’m not too worried about the age factor. Anyway, he’s one of the better right-handed relievers on the market, and can still get it up their in the mid-to-upper 90’s, something the Brewers are looking for.

Anyway, those were the main points for the interview with Melvin today. Adam McCalvy reported a few other “tidbits” from the chat as well:

> Melvin clarified that the Brewers see Estrada and Narveson as starting pitchers “at this time.” Estrada, who basically played the role of swing-man in 2011 and early 2012, has proven that he is much more successful pitching in the rotation, and now he’s getting his shot at the full-time job. Narveson, on the other hand, missed all of 2012 after just two starts because of a rotator cuff injury. If the Brewers sign a veteran starter, Narveson would be my first choice to move to the bullpen, but I’m fine with him in either role.

> After the Burke Badenhop deal the other day, Melvin said the Brewers aren’t involved in any trade talks at the moment.

> Melvin hasn’t talked to Corey Hart about a possible extension yet. But now there’s speculation that his price has driven up following the mega-deals that went to B.J. Upton and Angel Pagan.

> As I’ve speculated over the past few weeks, teams have asked the Brewers about Jonathan Lucroy and Martin Maldonado, possibly the best young catching tandem in the Majors. But Melvin said he’d need to be blown away by a deal for either of them.

> And that’s about all the Brewers news for today. Check back tomorrow for coverage of Day 2.

> Minor moves: 

Red Sox: Signed Mike Napoli to a three-year deal; signed Mitch Maier, Terry Doyle, Drew Sutton, Oscar Villarreal, and Jose De La Torre to minor league deals.
Giants: Re-signed Pagan to a four-year deal.
Rangers: Signed Joakim Soria to a two-year deal; re-signed Geovany Soto to a one-year deal.
Rays: Signed James Loney to a one-year deal.
Padres: Re-signed Jason Marquis to a one-year deal.
Blue Jays: Claimed Eli Whiteside off waivers from the Yankees.
Nationals: Re-signed Zach Duke to a one-year deal; signed Bill Bray to a minor league deal.
Braves: Re-signed Paul Janish to a one-year deal.
Diamondbacks: Signed Rommie Lewis, Eddie Bonine, Kila Ka’aihue, Humberto Cota, Jeremy Reed, and Brad Snyder to minor league deals.

Wolf gets hammered in loss to Reds

> The Reds were in their Brewers-murdering form from 2010 today, as the crushed the Crew, 9-3. Randy Wolf had has longest start of the spring, but got knocked around in the process. He gave up seven runs on 12 hits in seven innings, while striking out six. This ballooned his spring ERA to 4.78. Zach Braddock also pitched in the game, and was erratic, giving up two runs on a hit and two walks.

Cincinnati got on the board first with Juan Francisco’s solo homer in the second inning. They got two more runs in the third on Miguel Cairo’s RBI double and a Todd Frazier RBI single. The starting pitcher, hard-throwing lefty Aroldis Chapman, helped his own cause with an RBI double in the fourth. The Brewers would finally get on the board in the bottom of the fourth on George Kottaras’ two-RBI single.

But the Reds weren’t quite done. They had a three-run sixth inning, with RBIs coming from Ryan Hanigan, Paul Janish, and Wilson Valdez. They also got one more run in the ninth on Francisco’s sacrifice fly. The Brewers got one more run on a Martin Maldanado solo shot in the ninth, but couldn’t rally any more than that.

But here’s a funny incident from the game. Chapman’s first pitch of the game was apparently way outside, and flew to the backstop. This led to radio announcer Bob Uecker’s classic sarcastic line: “Just a little outside.” He doesn’t say it all that often anymore, but it’s still never gets old.

> The Brewers made a series of roster moves today. Unfortunately, they lost prospect Zelous Wheeler off waivers to the Orioles. I always had high hopes for that guy, but best of luck to him in Baltimore.

The Brewers also optioned Braddock, Taylor Green, and Maldanado to Triple-A Nashville. With Green optioned, that means Cesar Izturis is probably going to make the Opening Day roster- exactly what I’ve feared all spring. Anyways, the Brewers also placed Brandon Kintzler on the DL with right elbow inflammation, something he just hasn’t been able to get around for the past year or so.

With Braddock and Kintzler out of the mix, the chances for Tim Dillard and Manny Parra to make the bullpen out of camp have increased.

> And that’s about it. My Reviewing the Brew problems have continued- now I can’t log in. Maybe tomorrow… Anyway, thanks for reading, and feel free to leave your thoughts.