Results tagged ‘ Jonathan Lucroy ’

Hart bumped up to No. 2, Lucroy starts again

Brewers manager Ken Macha continues his search for the right combination at the top of the order, moving red hot slugger Corey Hart into the No. 2 hole behind Rickie Weeks.

Hart will bat second for the fourth time this season, while Weeks moves back to the leadoff spot after batting second in each of the last two games.
Aside from continuing the Prince Fielder-Ryan Braun switch, and starting rookie Jonathan Lucroy for the second straight game, the rest of the lineup is the same:
Weeks  2B
Hart  RF
Fielder  1B
Braun  LF
McGehee  3B
Gomez  CF
Lucroy  C
Escobar  SS
Narveson  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter

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Edmonds leading off, Lucroy starting

Manager Ken Macha continued to tweak the Brewers lineup on Thursday, using his fourth different leadoff hitter of the season.

Veteran center fielder Jim Edmonds was in the No. 1 spot for the Crew, with usual leadoff hitter Rickie Weeks batting second behind him. 
Aside from the Edmonds move, Macha’s lineup was pretty straightforward, with rookie catcher Jonathan Lucroy starting in place of George Kottaras.
Here’s the lineup:
Edmonds  CF
Weeks  2B
Fielder  1B
Braun  LF
McGehee  3B
Hart  RF
Lucroy  C
Escobar  SS
Bush  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter
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Macha shakes up lineup

In an apparent attempt to keep a hitter with a high on-base percentage batting second, Brewers manager Ken Macha threw a few wrinkles in his lineup once again on Sunday.

After batting catcher George Kottaras second on Saturday, another Brewers hitter got the nod in the two hole on Sunday. With Kottaras on the bench as Jonathan Lucroy catches for Randy Wolf, left fielder Ryan Braun was bumped up from batting No. 3 to No. 2
The rest of the lineup remained the same, but with everyone moving up a spot as well, including Wolf. Shortstop Alcides Escobar was ninth, behind the pitcher’s spot.
Here’s the lineup:
Weeks  2B
Braun  LF
Fielder  1B
McGehee  3B
Hart  RF
Gomez  CF
Lucroy  C
Wolf  P
Escobar  SS
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter

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Lucroy makes first Major League start

After making his Major League debut over the weekend in Minneapolis, catcher Jonathan Lucroy is in the starting lineup tonight for the first time in his big league career as the Brewers return home to host the Astros.

When Lucroy was called up on Friday, manager Ken Macha suggested Lucroy’s best chance to start would be with veteran lefty Randy Wolf — who is tonight’s starter — on the mound. Lucroy will bat eighth for the Brewers, behind shortstop Alcides Escobar.
Here’s the rest of the lineup:
Weeks  2B
Gomez  CF
Braun  LF
Fielder  1B
McGehee  3B
Hart  RF
Escobar  SS
Lucroy  C
Wolf  P
– Jordan Schelling, Associate Reporter

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Zaun expected to hit DL; Lucroy coming up

Injuries keep biting Brewers veterans. The latest to go down is catcher Gregg Zaun, who suffered a strained right shoulder in Thursday’s win over the Pirates and will be placed on the 15-day disabled list Friday.
Zaun is expected to be replaced before an Interleague Series against the Twins by Triple-A Nashville’s Jonathan Lucroy, a 23-year-old considered Milwaukee’s top catching prospect in lieu of Angel Salome’s recent personal problems. Unlike Salome, Lucroy is not on the Brewers’ full 40-man roster, so a corresponding move will be necessary to free him a spot. 
Zaun, meanwhile, will travel back to Milwaukee to see Brewers doctors. 
“They’re going to send me home to have it looked at and we’ll figure out what’s what when we get there,” Zaun said. 
Zaun’s shoulder has not been right since a home plate collision with Washington’s Ian Desmond in mid-April. He developed what he described as a “knot” in the joint which led to some embarrassing throwing problems in an April 26 game against the Pirates, but had overcome the injury with regular treatment. 
He tweaked the shoulder on a swinging strike in the second inning on Thursday, a few pitches before Zaun was struck on the left hand by a pitch that also struck the handle of his bat. A few pitches after that, Zaun managed to hit a run-scoring groundout that brought the team to within a run of the Pirates at 3-2 in an eventual 4-3 win. Zaun was replaced the next half-inning by George Kottaras, who figures to see regular duty behind the plate in Zaun’s absence. 
Adding Lucroy to the 40-man roster could complicate the other addition being mulled by Brewers officials, who were poised Thursday to add left-handed relief prospect Zach Braddock to a big league bullpen undergoing a facelift in recent days. Braddock is also not on the 40-man roster. 
The Brewers will likely make the moves official by midday Friday.
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Lucroy bumped up to Nashville

While one catching prospect tends to family matters, the Brewers pushed another one step closer to the Major Leagues. 
The Triple-A Nashville Sounds placed Angel Salome on the temporary inactive list for the second time this season while he is at home in New York with his wife, who is expecting the couple’s second child. To fill that spot, the Brewers promoted Jonathan Lucroy from Double-A Huntsville. Lucroy was expected to be in uniform for Tuesday’s game against Oklahoma City. 
Lucroy, 23, hit safely in all 10 of his games at Huntsville and led the Southern League with a .452 batting average, 19 hits and a .500 on-base percentage. His 19 hits ranked fifth of all Minor League players through Monday’s games.
Lucroy, Milwaukee’s 3rd round selection in the June 2007 draft, has been an All-Star in each of his three professional seasons and has impressed as a nonroster invitee to the Brewers’ Major League Spring Training camp in each of the past two years. He may have been due for a promotion to Nashville, but the Brewers opted to preserve their catching depth by sending Salome there. 
 
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Treanor traded to Texas

The Brewers traded catcher Matt Treanor to the Rangers on Monday for Minor League infielder Ray Olmedo, a move that put George Kottaras on the inside track to open the season as Milwaukee’s backup catcher. 

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” Treanor said. “It’s a really good situation for me and hopefully it works out for the Brewers as well. … It’s a good feeling to know that you’re wanted.”
The Brewers made four other moves before Monday’s game against the Dodgers: Pitcher Josh Butler and infielder Adam Heether were optioned to Triple-A Nashville and outfielder Trent Oeltjen was returned to Minor League camp. The Brewers also added infielder Trent Green to big league camp as a nonroster player.
Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash cautioned against anointing Kottaras the backup to Brewers catcher Gregg Zaun just yet, but the only other catcher still on the camp roster is Jonathan Lucroy, who topped out at Double-A Huntsville last season. 
The Rangers are off on Tuesday so Treanor’s first opportunity to meet his new teammates will come Wednesday. The Minor League contract that Treanor signed with the Brewers includes a March 30 “out” clause that allows him to elect free agency if he is not added to the 40-man roster. 
Even if he does not make Texas’ big league club, the Rangers probably offer a better opportunity for Treanor than Milwaukee, where Lucroy and fellow prospect Angel Salome represent something of a Triple-A logjam.
“Basically I’m going to be in the same boat over there as I am here, competing for a job,” Treanor said. “From what it sounds like, I have a good opportunity [to begin the season in the Majors]. I just have to go over there and catch as many guys as I can and learn the staff and become a part of the Texas Rangers’ organization.”
The tough part is that Treanor was just getting comfortable in his Brewers jersey, a month into camp. Now he has two weeks to learn an entirely new slew of pitchers. 
“That’s the way the game is,” he said. “I’m not accustomed to this situation. I was with Florida for 11 years after my first trade [from the Royals to the Marlins in July 1997] and you get kind of used to the guys. … Any time you get sent out it’s a weird feeling. I think I’m definitely taking this better than I did when I was 21, 22 years old. It’s a part of the game and a lot of guys do it.”
Kottaras was the Brewers’ pick for a number of reasons, including the fact he is already on the 40-man roster and is out of Minor League options. Kottaras, 26, is also eight years younger than the veteran Treanor and offers more of an offensive element than the defense-first Treanor. 

“They had a stronger need for catching than we had, and considering how our situation was unfolding, we felt it was wise to make that maneuver now to give us more depth on the Triple-A infield,” Ash said. “[Treanor] is a good veteran guy. He knows how to handle a staff. But when you’re trying to blend the present to the future, it made more sense to go this way.”
“George is an outstanding talent,” Treanor said. “He likes to work, he’s very organized. Maybe that’s why the move was made; maybe I wasn’t going to make the team.” 
Olmedo can play second base, third base and shortstop. Olmedo, 28, has played professionally since 1999 with time in the Major Leagues with Cincinnati (2003-06) and Toronto (2007), hitting .228 in 198 games. 
Olmedo was in Texas’ big league camp as a nonroster invitee, but he will report to Milwaukee’s Minor League camp. 
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Injury hampers Gamel's big-league bid

The Brewers’ medical staff has been discouraged by third baseman Mat Gamel’s slow progress back from a sore right shoulder, and it is increasingly likely that the injury will cost Gamel a shot at the Opening Day roster, manager Ken Macha said Wednesday. 

“It’s getting to the point where it’s going to be hard to get him enough at-bats to feel like he’s ready,” Macha said. 
Gamel also missed time last spring with a sore throwing shoulder. During the season, he bounced between everyday duty at Triple-A Nashville and the Brewers’ big league bench. He batted .278 with 11 homers and 48 RBIs in 75 games at Nashville and .242 with five homers and 20 RBIs in 61 games with Milwaukee. 
“I would have liked to have him have a very positive spring and come into the [season] with a positive attitude,” Macha said. “Last year, it was a little bit of a struggle for him at the end of the year.”
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Speaking of injury-plagued prospects, catcher Angel Salome suffered a minor ankle injury during batting practice on Tuesday and will be sidelined a few days. He was supposed to catch Dave Bush in a “B” game against the Rangers on Thursday, but Matt Treanor will handle that assignment instead. 
Last spring, Salome missed time because of a bad back. 
UPDATE from assistant general manager Gord Ash, who says that Salome’s left ankle is the one in question. He saw Dr. Evan Lederman on Wednesday morning, and Lederman suggested that the injury is not a major issue. 
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Either Salome or fellow catching prospect Jonathan Lucroy might end up very disappointed at the end of camp. Both probably belong in Triple-A this season, Salome because he was there last year and held his own, and Lucroy because he was very good at Double-A Huntsville last season and then participated in the Arizona Fall League. 
Macha said that club officials had discussed the conundrum this week. He hinted that if Salome and Lucroy are both healthy and in the organization at the start of the season, he would prefer to see one sent o Nashville and the other to Double-A Huntsville. 
“I don’t think it helps you in your development if you’re not catching five days out of the week,” Macha said. “That’s just my opinion. Your job as a catcher is to learn the pitchers and learn what pitches work and sequences and things like that. When you’re catching three days a week, that’s tough.”
But Macha stressed that it’s not his call. 
“That will be something for somebody else to figure out,” he said. 
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David Riske, recovering from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, was scheduled to throw another bullpen session on Wednesday morning and said he could progress to a live batting practice session next week. But it is clear now that he will have to stay in extended Spring Training while the Brewers head north. 
“I’m positive about the way things are going,” Riske said. “It will be nice to get a hitter up there.”
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The Brewers’ lineup against Aroldis Chapman and the Reds looks like this:
Rickie Weeks  2B
Carlos Gomez  CF
Ryan Braun  LF
Corey Hart  RF
Steffan Wilson  1B
Craig Counsell  3B
Alcides Escobar  SS
George Kottaras  C
Doug Davis  LHP
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Brewers sign catcher Zaun

The Brewers didn’t wait for the start of next week’s Winter Meetings to make their first Major League free agent signing.

The team on Friday inked switch-hitting catcher Gregg Zaun to a one-year deal with a club option for 2011 in a move that signaled the end of Jason Kendall’s tenure in Milwaukee. The sides reached terms late Thursday night and Zaun traveled to Milwaukee early Friday morning for a physical exam.

“It was an opportunity to play every day and I’m excited about that,” Zaun said. “I’m 38 years old and a lot of people have made assumptions about how much I can play, but I like that challenge. I’ll have to earn it every day, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

The Brewers were the most aggressive of Zaun’s suitors, and the financial package they offered didn’t hurt. Zaun, who earned $1.5 million last season from the Orioles and Rays, is guaranteed $2.15 million in his contract with the Brewers. 

He’ll get a $1.9 million salary in 2010 with the opportunity to earn $600,000 more in bonuses based on games started. The Brewers hold a $2.25 million option for 2011 with a $250,000 buyout.

“They were aggressive early,” Zaun said. “It made me feel important to them.” 

He will play an important role in 2010. Kendall had been Milwaukee’s regular catcher the past two seasons but he earned $5 million in 2009 and Brewers officials decided to go with a cheaper option. 

The Brewers now have to decide how to line up Zaun’s backups. The incumbents include Mike Rivera, who has been Milwaukee’s back-up since 2006 but he’s arbitration-eligible this winter and can expect a bump in pay. The Brewers also claimed left-handed hitter George Kottaras off waivers from the Red Sox this fall and have a pair of catching prospects in Angel Salome and Jonathan Lucroy. If the team decides to promote Lucroy all the way from Double-A, a possibility already raised by general manager Doug Melvin, the experienced Zaun could help him break into the Majors.

Zaun has already played for eight teams in a 15-year career that began with the Orioles in 1995. He split 2009 between Baltimore, where he mentored stud catching prospect Matt Wieters, and Tampa Bay, where he finished the year after an August trade. In 90 games he was a .260 hitter with eight home runs and 27 RBIs.

Zaun is a Type B free agent and Tampa Bay offered him arbitration. Because he signed before Monday’s deadline for players to accept or decline the offer, the Rays will receive a compensatory pick between the first- and second rounds of next year’s Draft.

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Braddock, Lucroy contribute in AFL title game

Left-hander Zach Braddock struck out the side in a scoreless third inning and catcher Jonathan Lucroy sparked the winning rally with a single in the eighth as the Peoria Javelinas captured the Arizona Fall League Championship with a win over the Phoenix Desert Dogs on Saturday. Phoenix had won the league title in each of the past five years.

Braddock and Lucroy were the only Brewers prospects to appear in the game. With Peoria trailing in the eighth, 4-3, Lucroy lined a one-out single to left field before White Sox prospect C.J. Retherford lifted a go-ahead, two-run homer.

For full coverage of Saturday’s championship, check out Tom Singer’s game story on MLB.com. You can link from there to AFL stats and the final standings.

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