Key Spring Training dates
By this time next week, Maryvale Baseball Park will be officially open for business.
Brewers pitchers and catchers are already trickling in for the start of the team’s 40th-anniversary season in Milwaukee and will begin in earnest with the year’s first formal workout on Feb. 22. Less than a week after that, position players will join the fold, and Spring Training will be under way.
As usual, MLB.com will have it all covered on Brewers.com, the “Brew Beat” blog and on Twitter. Here’s a rundown of some key dates between now and the start of the season:
- Feb. 22: Pitchers and catchers first workout.
- Feb. 27: First full-squad workout.
- March 2: Start of a 10-day window during which teams can renew contracts of unsigned players. As of the start of this week, 15 members of the 40-man roster are still unsigned.
- March 4: First Spring Training game at Giants in Scottsdale.
- March 6: First Spring Training home game at Maryvale Baseball Park, vs. Giants.
- March 17: Deadline, at 1 p.m. CT, for clubs to request release waivers on players and owe only 30 days’ termination pay. But remember that players on multiyear contracts are guaranteed their salaries.
- March 19: Last date to assign certain injured players to Minor League clubs. To qualify, players must have less than three years of Major League service time and have not appeared in the Majors the previous season.
- March 26: Earliest date a club may backdate a placement on the 15-day disabled list.
- March 31: Last date to request release waivers on players and owe only 45 days’ termination pay. After 1 p.m. CT on this date, contracts become guaranteed. This could potentially come into play for someone like Dave Bush, who is vying for a spot in the rotation. His $4.215 million salary doesn’t become guaranteed until Opening Day, so it’s possible the Brewers could cut him loose to restore some payroll flexibility.
- April 2-3: Exhibition games vs. Tigers at Miller Park.
- April 4: Clubs must submit 25-man rosters.
- April 5: Opening Day at Miller Park against the Rockies.
Let the season begin!
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Adam McCalvy
