Brewers spring training dates and facts
What: Milwaukee Brewers spring training.
When: Pitchers and catchers report Tuesday; first workout Wednesday. First full-squad workout on Saturday.
Where: Maryvale Baseball Park in Phoenix.
Key dates: Feb. 24, first exhibition game against UW-Milwaukee. March 29, Brewers break camp in Arizona.
STAFF
General manager: David Stearns (second season).
Manager: Craig Counsell (third season, 134-165)
Coaches: Darnell Coles, hitting coach; Derek Johnson, pitching coach; Pat Murphy, bench coach; Ed Sedar, third base coach; Carlos Subero, first base coach, Lee Tunnell, bullpen coach; Jason Lane, coach.
40-MAN ROSTER
Pitchers (21): RH Chase Anderson, RH Jacob Barnes, RH Michael Blazek, RH Tyler Cravy, RH Zach Davies, RH Neftali Feliz, RH Matt Garza, RH Junior Guerra, LH Josh Hader, RH Adrian Houser, RH Taylor Jungmann, RH Corey Knebel, RH Jorge Lopez, RH Damien Magnifico, RH Jhan Mariñez, LH Tommy Milone, RH Jimmy Nelson, RH Wily Peralta, LH Brent Suter, RH Carlos Torres, RH Taylor Williams.
Catchers (3): Jett Bandy, Manny Piña, Andrew Susac.
Infielders (8): 1B Jesús Aguilar, SS Orlando Arcia, 2B Scooter Gennett, INF Hernan Perez, INF Yadiel Rivera, 3B Travis Shaw, 1B Eric Thames, 2B Jonathan Villar.
Outfielders (8): LF Ryan Braun, CF Lewis Brinson, CF Keon Broxton, OF Ryan Cordell, OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF Brett Phillips, OF Michael Reed, RF Domingo Santana.
NON-ROSTER INVITEES
Pitchers (12): LH Andrew Barbosa, RH Yhonathan Barrios, RH Hiram Burgos, RH Joba Chamberlain, RH Paolo Espino, RH David Goforth, RH Stephen Kohlscheen, LH Andy Oliver, RH Rob Scahill, RH Forrest Snow, RH Ryan Webb, RH Aaron Wilkerson.
Catchers (3): Rene Garcia, Dustin Houle, Jacob Nottingham.
Infielders (2): INF Ivan DeJesus Jr., INF Eric Sogard.
Outfielders (1): CF Corey Ray.
5 THINGS TO WATCH
Turning the corners: The Brewers have new players at the infield corners, both of whom they’d like to man those positions for years to come. The Brewers took a definite gamble at first base, cutting loose National League home run co-champion Chris Carter and signing Eric Thames to a three-year deal. Thames put up fantasy baseball numbers over three years in Korea, but there are no Adam Wainwrights pitching there. Third baseman Travis Shaw, who became expendable when he faded last season, was acquired from Boston to help balance the lineup with another left-handed bat (Thames is also a lefty hitter).
A third wheel: The Brewers will break camp with two catchers on their roster. Three catchers will vie for those jobs — newcomer Jett Bandy, Andrew Susac and Manny Piña. Combined, those three have made 137 starts in the majors, five fewer than former No. 1 catcher Jonathan Lucroy started in 2016. Because of that relative inexperience, this could be the most interesting and crucial competition in camp. There is no bigger learning curve than putting inexperienced players behind the plate, which is why Lucroy brought three highly rated prospects in return from Texas.
Gimme five: The good news is that the Brewers have seven experienced candidates for the five spots in the starting rotation. The bad news is two will lose out, barring injury, leaving management to figure out what to do with them. The top starters from 2016, Junior Guerra and Zach Davies, are locks to make the rotation, and Jimmy Nelson likely is as well despite his 2016 struggles. That leaves Wily Peralta, Chase Anderson, lone lefty Tommy Milone and Matt Garza, finally at the end of his $50 million contract, to battle for two jobs.
No shortcuts: After considerable hype as the Brewers’ No. 1 prospect, Orlando Arcia was summoned with two months remaining in the 2016 season and was underwhelming with his offensive performance (.219 batting average, .631 OPS in 55 games). The leash is expected to be fairly long with Arcia, but it won’t be endless. If he looks awful in camp, it’s not out of the question that he would be returned to the minors for more seasoning, with Jonathan Villar shifting back to short. The Brewers, of course, don’t want it to come to that.
Starting at the end: Bullpens are constructed from the back to the front, in terms of when relievers enter games. Free agent Neftali Feliz was signed to handle closing duty after the trade of Tyler Thornburg, and now the bullpen must be constructed in front of him. Carlos Torres and Corey Knebel are likely setup men, and non-roster invitee Joba Chamberlain will be worth watching. There is plenty of depth with the likes of Jacob Barnes, Michael Blazek, Jhan Mariñez, Tyler Cravy and lefty Brent Suter.