Ray ranks his top 100 starting pitchers for 2014. Check out where he ranks Masahiro Tanaka in his early 2014 rankings.

After publishing my Top 100 Hitters for 2014 on Christmas Day, I decided it would make sense to publish my Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2014 on New Years Day. So, while you are watching some college football or recovering from a few too many adult beverages last night, take some time to review my rankings, and offer your thoughts in the comments section below. I welcome all opinions as a way for every one to learn from one another.

I have ranked Masahiro Tanaka for the first time in my Top 100 rankings, and have ranked him at #34 overall for 2014. At this point, we don't know where he will sign this offseason, but we are about 24 days from learning where he will sign. He could sign with the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, Mariners or a "mystery team".

I have placed a focus on starting pitching this offseason, since there are so many different ways to analyze starting pitchers. I wanted to conduct more research on starting pitchers this offseason after my first full season of providing daily streaming selections.

Here are a few of the other research pieces i published earlier this offseason, with a few starting pitcher strategy articles as well:

Trends in 5 x 5 pitching categories

Trends in 5 x 5 hitting categories

Starting Pitcher draft strategy: K/100 pitches

Starting Pitcher draft strategy: Target Ground Ball pitchers part 1

Starting Pitcher draft strategy: Target Ground Ball pitchers part 2

Here is my Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2014, updated for a few guys I missed in my original Top 100:

Did I miss anyone? Let me know in the comments section below, and vote in the poll below as well.

Fantasy Rundown

If you are looking for more fantasy baseball rankings, make sure you check out Fantasy Rundown, the one stop spot on the internet for all the fantasy baseball information you will need to win in 2014.

More from Fake Teams

Follow @faketeamsFollow @SBNationMLB

• EPL: Round Up
• 2014 Minor League Keeper Thoughts: Milwaukee Brewers
• MLB Trade Rumors: Clayton Kershaw to test free agency?
• George Springer: 20-20 season in 2014?
• Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 20 Position Rankings
• Deep League Drafting: Third Base
• Keeper League Trade: Manny Machado for Alex Cobb
• 3 UP / 3 DOWN: 2014 Third Base Position
• Fantasy Hockey Roundup: Merry Christmas
• Alexander Guerrero: ZIPS optimistic on Dodgers second baseman

Fake Teams writer Matt Mattingly is in the middle of his 3 Up/3 Down series, where he offers three players on the rise and three players set to decline in 2014 for each position.

Fake Teams writer Matt Mattingly is in the middle of his 3 Up/3 Down series of articles where he provides three players who could improve their fantasy value with breakout years and three players whose value could decline in 2014.

Check out the links below to learn Matt's thoughts on Brett Lawrie, Nolan Arenado, Chris Owings, Eric Hosmer, Jurickson Profar, Daniel Murphy and others.

Catcher

First Base

Second Base

Shortstop

Third Base

More from Fake Teams

Follow @faketeamsFollow @SBNationMLB

• Deep League Drafting: Outfield
• Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2014
• EPL Injuries & Updates: Giroud, Rooney, RVP
• Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy: Streaming Starting Pitchers
• EPL: Round Up
• 2014 Minor League Keeper Thoughts: Milwaukee Brewers
• MLB Trade Rumors: Clayton Kershaw to test free agency?
• George Springer: 20-20 season in 2014?
• Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 20 Position Rankings

One of the Brewers more ill-advised free agent signings turns 39 today.

On this day in 1975 Jeff Suppan was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Red Sox made him their second round pick in the 1993 draft, and he was only 20 when he made his MLB debut in 1995. He pitched 5.2 innings on that day and allowed three runs on nine hits, setting a pretty accurate tone for the rest of his professional career.

Suppan was still only 29 but had been a member of the Red Sox, Diamondbacks, Royals, Pirates and Red Sox again when he caught on with the 2004 Cardinals and became a relatively effective innings-eater. He was with St. Louis from 2004-06 and made 95 starts, posting a 3.95 ERA despite striking out just 5.2 batters per nine innings and also made nine postseason starts over three seasons, including appearances in the 2004 and 2006 World Series. He was the MVP of the 2006 NLCS.

That was enough to convince the Brewers to open their checkbook, and they signed Soup to a four-year, $42 million contract on Christmas Eve of 2006. It turned out to be a poor decision. Suppan posted a 4.62 ERA over 206 innings for the Brewers in 2007, but his numbers declined every season from there. He made 31 regular season starts for the 2008 Wild Card team, but is likely best remembered for an awful performance in Game 4 of the NLDS that effectively ended the Brewers' season.

When the Brewers released Suppan in 2010 he had a 5.08 career ERA in Milwaukee, the franchise's worst ever for a pitcher who started at least 90 games. He eventually caught back on with the Cardinals and made 15 more appearances, posting a 3.84 ERA. After a year away from the majors he added insult to injury against the Brewers on May 2, 2012 when he pitched five shutout innings against Milwaukee as a member of the Padres in one of his final MLB starts.

All told, Suppan pitched in 448 games over 17 MLB seasons with a 4.70 ERA over 2542.2 innings. His 337 career home runs allowed are the 34th most in MLB history.

Suppan turns 39 today.

Ray offers his all breakout team for 2014 for Natiional League only leagues, with Devin Mesoraco, Bryce Harper and Billy Hamilton making the team.

We aren't quite into making predictions here at Fake Teams, that will come sometime in March, but I took on the exercise for predicting an all breakout team for NL-only and AL-only leagues. Today, I offer my thoughts on the NL-only all breakout team, and tomorrow I will publish my AL-only all breakout team.

Breakouts are not easy to predict, but some come as a result of increased playing time, players with another year of experience, or players outperforming their ADP (average draft position). You will hear all kinds of positive stories about players returning from injury, adding a new pitch, or changing their swing come spring training, and some may lead to breakout seasons. For example, last spring we heard that Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown tinkered with his swing with the Phillies hitting coach Wally Joyner, and that resulted in a breakout season for him in 2013.

With that said, here is my take on the 2014 All Breakout team for NL-only leagues:

Catcher: Devin Mesoraco, CIN

The Reds fired manager Dusty Baker very early in the offseason, and then traded catcher Ryan Hanigan to the Rays, opening up the starting catcher role for Mesoraco. Mesoraco was once a top 20 prospect, as he is a catcher who can hit for power and hit for a high average, with some prospect experts predicting him to be a middle-of-the-order hitter, but he has yet to sniff that potential. This season, he gets to play everyday, hits in an excellent hitters park and in a pretty good lineup.

First Base: Brandon Belt, SFG

Belt is another hitter who worked on his swing mechanics in 2013, and saw improvement across the board, hitting .289-.360-.489 with 17 HRs 76 runs, 67 RBI and 5 stolen bases in 571 plate appearances. Belt has the potential to be a .300 hitter, with 25 HRs, 90+ RBI and double digit stolen bases, and 2014 might be the season where we see him reach those totals.

Second Base: Anthony Rendon, WAS

Rendon was learning a new position in 2013, playing second base for the first time. Rendon started off on fire at the plate, hitting over .300 in the first half of the season, but slumped to .234 in the second half. Rendon showed solid plate discipline last season, striking out in under 18% of his plate appearances, while walking at a 7.9% rate. He has the potential to be a 15-20 home run hitter with a high batting average at the keystone, and could see his name among the top 6-8 fantasy second baseman by this time next year.

Shortstop: Everth Cabrera, SD

Cabrera was on his way to his best season as a big leaguer when he was suspended for taking PEDs in the Biogenesis case. He made improvements in his strikeout rate, dropping from 25% to 16%, and his contact rate, which increased from 80% to 87% last season. In 95 games last season, he scored 54 runs and stole 37 bases. With a full season of at bats, he could score 90-100 runs and steal 50-60 bases in 2014.

Third Base: Nolan Arenado, COL

Arenado held his own at the plate in his rookie season in Colorado, hitting .267 with 10 HRs, 49 runs and 52 RBI in 133 games. Most young players start off strong after their call up (see Rendon), but Arenado did not. He hit just .244 with 7 HRs, 25 runs and 27 RBI in 71 games in the first half, but improved in the second half, hitting .298 with 3 HRs, 24 runs and 25 RBI in 60 games. The power may be late to come for him, but if he can hit close to .290 next season, he could hit 15-20 home runs and drive in 80+ runs.

Outfield: Bryce Harper, WAS

It may look odd to see Harper's name on this list, but he hasn't sniffed his potential yet. Despite missing time to various injuries resulting from his run-in with the right field wall at Dodger Stadium, Harper showed improvement at the plate last season, improving his strikeout and walk rates, along with a bump up in his triple slash line. He has the potential to put up a 30 home run, 90 RBI, 25 stolen base, .290 batting average season should he be able to stay healthy in 2014.

Outfield: Billy Hamilton, CIN

All you need to know is he stole 13 bases in 14 attempts last season and had only 22 plate appearances. He could pinch run all year and lead the National League in stolen bases. But, that won't happen as he is slated to play every day in center field next season. He may not need to hit all that much to steal 60 bases next season, and if he does hit, he could easily exceed 60 steals.

Outfield: Giancarlo Stanton, MIA

Stanton has played 150 games just once in his four seasons in the big leagues, his second season in the bigs. He hit 34 home runs that year, but he has the potential to lead the National League in home runs should he be able to stay healthy for a full season. I could see him hitting 35+ bombs in 2014, and probably more if he is eventually traded.

Starting Pitcher: Gerrit Cole, PIT

There are plenty of candidates for breakout years at the starting pitcher position, but no one has more potential than Gerrit Cole, in my opinion. Already an ace, or borderline ace, Cole has the potential to win 15+ games with 200+ strikeouts in 2014. He pitches in one of the best pitchers parks in baseball, doesn't give up many home runs, nor walk batters, and struck out nearly a batter per inning in the second half of the 2013 season. Oh, and he keeps the ball on the ground at nearly a 50% clip.

Fantasy Rundown

If you are looking for more fantasy baseball rankings, make sure you check out Fantasy Rundown, the one stop spot on the internet for all the fantasy baseball information you will need to win in 2014.

More from Fake Teams

Follow @faketeamsFollow @SBNationMLB

• Fantasy Baseball Rankings: 3 Up/3 Down at each position
• Deep League Drafting: Outfield
• Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2014
• EPL Injuries & Updates: Giroud, Rooney, RVP
• Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy: Streaming Starting Pitchers
• EPL: Round Up
• 2014 Minor League Keeper Thoughts: Milwaukee Brewers
• MLB Trade Rumors: Clayton Kershaw to test free agency?
• George Springer: 20-20 season in 2014?

We're getting defensive in our look at the new year's first Brewers news.

Some things to read while dealing with it.

We are 43 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Maryvale, and arguably the biggest move of the offseason was not an acquisition, but the Brewers' decision to move Ryan Braun from left to right field to make room for Khris Davis. Mark Simon of ESPN looked at the biggest defensive change for every NL team, said Braun's throwing arm is "minimal to below average" and suggested that could hurt the Brewers as he makes the move. Braun, by the way, headlined Adam McCalvy's list of the Brewers' top news stories from 2013.

Of course, the Brewers will remain above average defensively in the outfield as long as Carlos Gomez continues to patrol center field. The Gomez extension was one of eight moves nominated for MLB Trade Rumors' poll on the best transaction of 2013, but is currently last in the voting.

The Brewers' infield defense also took a big step forward in 2013 with Jean Segura playing everyday at shortstop. On Tuesday Noah considered Segura as the next Brewer who could receive a contract extension. Meanwhile, Segura's baserunning antics made Baseball Nation's list of 2013's best gifs.

Not every Brewer's defense has a sterling reputation, though: Jonathan Judge of Disciples of Uecker looked into questions about the strength of Jonathan Lucroy's throwing arm.

Now, perhaps a more important question: Does Lucroy's defense matter? Rob Neyer of Baseball Nation crunched some recent data and discovered the difference between baseball's best and worst teams at catching basestealers is less than three wins.

It may have been a quiet offseason for the Brewers, but it's important to remember that quiet isn't always bad. Bill Baer of Hardball Talk left the Brewers off his list of the five teams having the worst winter.

Meanwhile, after posting his first losing season in 2013, Ron Roenicke may feel some pressure to get more results this year. Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew predicts, however, that Roenicke will not be let go this season.

A big season from Johnny Hellweg could do a lot to help the Brewers and perhaps preserve Roenicke's job. Ryan Connor of Reviewing the Brew notes that Hellweg's results haven't always been there, but "a guy with his stuff will always have upside to dream on."

A bounce-back campaign for Rickie Weeks would also make Roenicke look smarter. Bryan Grosnick of Beyond the Box Score has a look at the longest-tenured players with each NL team and notes that Rickie Weeks, a Brewer since 2003, is very near the top of the list.

Weeks is not, however, likely to be an option at first base. Adam McCalvy confirmed that yet again in this week's inbox.

In the minors:

• Jason Arndt of Brewers Farm Report was busy over the New Years holiday, posting stories on 2013 Brevard County pitcher Brent Suter and third baseman Nicky Delmonico and Wisconsin outfielder Michael Reed.
• The minor league team at Fake Teams unveiled their list of the Brewers' top prospects for fantasy purposes on Monday, with Jimmy Nelson leading the way.
• The round-robin portion of the winter league playoffs is underway in the Dominican Republic, and all four teams are 2-2 after four games. Juan Francisco has two homers in four games for Licey.
• Puerto Rico's round-robin playoffs begin tomorrow, and Martin Maldonado, Hiram Burgos and Irving Falu's Mayaguez team has qualified for postseason play.

Around baseball:

Angels: Signed pitcher Mark Mulder to a minor league deal.
Astros: Signed reliever Jesse Crain to a one-year deal (terms undisclosed).
Cubs: Signed reliever Jose Veras to a one-year, $3.85 million contract.
Marlins: Signed outfielder Joe Benson to a minor league deal.
Nationals: Re-signed second baseman Will Rhymes to a minor league deal.
Pirates: Acquired first baseman Chris McGuiness from the Rangers for pitcher Miles Mikolas.

Today in former Brewers:

• Somehow, some way, Yuniesky Betancourt's agent reports he continues to draw interest from teams and may have one offer for a starting role.
• Amazin' Avenue has a look at Michael Gonzalez as a relief option for the Mets.
• Mike Petriello of FanGraphs says Jamey Wright, who was a Brewer from 2000-02, is improving with age.
• The LA Times has a recap of Jerry Hairston Jr.'s 2013 season and transition to broadcasting with the Dodgers.
• Amazin' Avenue has a recap of LaTroy Hawkins' 2013 season with the Mets.
• Cyril Morong has Jason Kendall, Jeff Cirillo, Ray Durham and Jose Valentin all among the top eight on his list of the best players (by WAR) who never received an MVP vote.
• Jason Brannon of Baseball Nation has Ted Simmons on his All-Switch-Hitter Team.
• Halos Heaven named Devon White as the 38th greatest Angel of all time.
• nullacct recently profiled Kevin Brown (no, not that Kevin Brown) as the face of the 1990 Brewers.

Once April and May roll around we'll probably spend a fair amount of time again discussing the roof at Miller Park and the Brewers' decisions to open and close it. The Astros also have a retractable roof at Minute Maid Park, but largely keep it closed. They're looking for ways to open it more often in 2014.

Meanwhile in navel-gazing, Yar Nivek has our end-of-year look at the memes and inside jokes of the Brew Crew Ball comments. If you're new around here and don't get all the jokes, most of them are listed there.

On a more serious note: If you weren't around the site over the last few days you may have missed our New Year's Eve post on members of the Brewers or Milwaukee Braves who passed away in 2013, including Johnny Logan, George Scott and Mike Hegan. Baseball Card Memories also notes that Wednesday was also the 37th anniversary of the passing of 1976 Brewer Danny Frisella, who was killed in a dune buggy accident in 1977.

Finally, with help from the B-Ref Play Index, we'd like to wish a happy birthday today to:

• 2007-10 Brewer Jeff Suppan, who turns 39. We covered his birthday in Today In Brewer History.
• 2003 Brewer Royce Clayton, who turns 44. We covered his birthday in Today In Brewer History two years ago.

Plunk Everyone notes that Suppan's 94 career hit batsmen are the second-most ever for a pitcher born on January 2. Clayton's 45 career HBP are the fourth-most for a position player born on this date.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find a new place to sleep.

Drink up.

Plaque engravers never had to learn to spell these guys' names.

In this morning's Mug I linked to this post from Cyril Morong, where he noted that four former Brewers are among the eight greatest position players who never received a vote for MVP.

That post served as the inspiration for today's quiz: There are 13 current or former Brewers who have been worth at least ten wins above replacement (rWAR) for Milwaukee, but were never mentioned on an MVP ballot during their time here. How many can you name in five minutes?

If the quiz isn't displaying correctly for you here or you'd simply prefer to take it over there, follow this link to play the quiz at Sporcle.com.

Please post your score in the comments below, but also remember that comments on this post may contain spoilers. If you get all 13 answers correct, post your time along with your score in the comments.

If you've finished this quiz and would like another challenge, here are this offseason's other Thinkers:

• Name the new homes of this winter's top 50 free agents (updated today).
• Name the members of the Brewers' new Wall of Honor.
• Name the Brewers who have appeared in more games than Corey Hart.
• Name the Brewers with career OBPs above .350.
• Name the 15 players who have played first base for the Brewers since Prince Fielder.
• Name the Brewers who have hit 25 or more home runs in a season.
• Name the nine Brewers under contract for 2014 (as of November 14).
• Name the 12 relievers that have faced the Brewers at least 25 times since 2007.
• Name the 28 position players who have made at least 200 plate appearances against the Brewers since 2007.
• Name the 18 starting pitchers who have faced the Brewers eleven times or more since 2007.
• Name the eight former Brewers who have appeared in the 2013 postseason.
• Name all 40 members of the 2013 Milwaukee Brewers.

You can also check out the archives for all of last winter's quizzes.

Have fun, and don't forget to post your score in the comments!

Matt takes a look at which outfielders you should target and avoid for the 2014 fantasy baseball season.

↑↑↑3 UP↑↑↑

Bryce Harper– The 21 year-old outfielder is already a very popular selection in fantasy leagues. But Harper might just be starting to realize his potential. After hitting 22 HR’s along with 98 runs scored in 2012, Harper wasn’t able to match those totals in 2013. The main reasoning behind the downtick in stats was due to the nagging injuries that Harper dealt with all season. The left-handed hitter admitted towards the end of the year that he was playing hurt for most of the season after two hazardous crashes into the outfield wall in April. Add that to the fact that he was only on the field for 118 games, and the 20 HR total becomes a little more impressive. ESPN analyst Tim Kurkjian recently made the bold prediction that Harper will win the Triple Crown in 2014. That should give you an idea of the immense talent that this young phenom possesses. Bryce Harper is one of the only athletes on the planet that rivals Mike Trout in terms of pure baseball abilities. 2014 could be the year that Harper taps into that potential and establishes himself as a perennial 1st round fantasy selection.

Khris Davis– This outfielder was very impressive after receiving his call to the show in 2013 when injuries struck the Brewers organization. He displayed plenty of power, hitting 11 HR’s in just 136 AB’s (56 games) after his call-up. Over the course of a full season, that would project out to over 30 homeruns. The Brewers are considering moving Ryan Braun to right field after trading Norichika Aoki this off-season to the Kansas City Royals for Will Smith. Moving Braun to right field would open up the room for Khris Davis to start in left field, his natural position, to begin the 2014 season. The front-office in Milwaukee believes that their young outfielder could become a nice young weapon and a premier power threat in the National League Central. While most of your league mates are chasing the other Chris Davis in the 1st round, think about adding this bat later in your draft for power.

Adam Eaton – The Diamondback’s speedy prospect was a popular sleeper pick headed into the 2013 season after winning the Triple-A Pacific Coast League MVP in 2012. But the outfielder dealt with injuries and missed an ample amount of time during his first year in the big leagues. Eaton returned late in the season, and demonstrated the run scoring promise that he displayed in the minor leagues. In December, the D-Backs traded Eaton to the Chicago White Sox in a 3-team deal to acquire Mark Trumbo. The White Sox expect their new acquisition to take over in centerfield and bat lead-off for the South-Siders in 2014. If this young outfielder can stay healthy, Adam Eaton could top 100 runs scored while also contributing nice stolen base totals for the new look White Sox line-up in 2014.

3 More Up: Christian Yelich, Desmond Jennings, Eric Young Jr.

↓↓↓3 DOWN↓↓↓

Domonic Brown– The left-handed power hitter broke-out in 2013 and started to display the promise that made him a top prospect just a few years ago. But there are a few reasons to be cautious with the outfielder moving forward. After a torrid start to the season and remarkable 1st half that led to an All-Star Game selection, Brown struggled in the 2nd half. After hitting for 23 HR’s, 67 RBI’s, and 49 R’s before the All-Star break, Brown accumulated just 4 HR’s, 16 RBI’s, and 16 R’s after the break. Brown’s 2013 stat line was driven by a hot month of May when he accumulated 12 homeruns. He also failed to hit as well against left-handed pitching, which could lead to a future platoon. Brown was dealing with an achilles injury at the end of the season, which may have attributed to his 2nd half performance. But the splits are too drastic, and Brown has not performed at an elite level for long enough to be trusted as an early pick in fantasy leagues just yet.

Nick Markakis– Another one of the players that constantly gets over-drafted based on name value. Markakis was once a highly regarded prospect and had a stellar 2007 season with 23 HR’s and 112 RBI’s. But the outfielder has since failed to replicate those numbers, and hasn’t even come close to the same production since 2010. Take a look at the following stat lines from 2013…

“Player A”- 624 AB, .271 BA, 10 HR, 59 RBI, 89 R, 1 SB.

“Player B”- 473 AB, .279 BA, 10 HR, 47 RBI, 67 R, 10 SB.

The main difference between the two stat lines is that “Player A” has about 35 more RBI + R with about 10 less SB’s than “Player B”, which should equate to a similar overall value. “Player A” is obviously Nick Markakis. Any guesses as to who “Player B” might be? Hint: He was the 4th outfielder on a team that plays in one of the toughest hitters parks in the big leagues. Give up? “Player B” = Chris Denorfia, an outfielder that could be found on most leagues waiver wire throughout the season. But Markakis continues to be owned in practically all leagues. He is drafted as if there is a reasonable chance that he could produce the same level of production we saw many years ago out of the 30 year-old outfielder, which grows even more unlikely as each year passes. Let someone else overdraft Nick Markakis in 2014.

Marlon Byrd– This one should be pretty obvious. If you were thinking at all about this outfielder at all during the 2013 season, you were probably wondering when the hot streak would end. As a Marlon Byrd owner, I was just waiting for everything to come crashing back to earth so I could leave the former-Cub back on the waiver wire where I found him. But the Byrd-man just never slowed down. He finished with a career high 24 homeruns and was fantasy-relevant all season. But Byrd had averaged just 7 HR’s per year over the past 3 seasons. It would be unreasonable to expect the 36 year-old to continue to produce at the same level in 2014. The Phillies have a few younger players that could step in and take over for Byrd if he struggles. Someone will draft Marlon Byrd hoping for a repeat in production, don’t be that owner.

3 More Down: Melky Cabrera, Andre Ethier, Ichiro Suzuki.

Which outfielders do you think could break-out next year?

Which outfielders will be over-drafted in 2014?

Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below...

More from Fake Teams

Follow @faketeamsFollow @SBNationMLB

• Early Rankings Love for 2014
• Deep League Drafting: Starting Pitcher
• The 2014 All Breakout Team: NL-Only leagues
• 2014 Minor League Keeper Thoughts: Pittsburgh Pirates
• Fantasy Baseball Rankings: 3 Up/3 Down at each position
• Deep League Drafting: Outfield
• Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2014

Could the veteran reliever come back for a fourth season in Milwaukee?

Last season the Brewers got a pretty great "buy low" bargain with reliever Francisco Rodriguez. He joined the team on a minor league deal in April, recorded career save #300 in June and was flipped to the Orioles for a prospect in July. Rodriguez has pitched parts of each of the last three seasons in Milwaukee and, if you believe the rumors, it's possible he'll be back for a fourth.

The Brewers are "one of the teams expressing interest" in the free agent's services, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN. The Orioles are also believed to be interested, although earlier this winter we'd heard that he would not be welcomed back in Baltimore.

Rodriguez will turn 32 on Tuesday and has a 2.70 career ERA across 730 relief appearances, but that mark has ballooned to 3.72 over the last two seasons. His FIP over that span is a little higher at 3.88. He has 304 career saves but just 13 since joining the Brewers in July of 2011. He's also a four-time All Star, but hasn't appeared in the game since 2009.

The Brewers have been rumored to be seeking a veteran reliever with closing experience to join Jim Henderson and Brandon Kintzler in the 2014 bullpen, but we'd also previously heard that the team was not interested in reunions with Rodriguez or John Axford, who later signed with the Indians.

Rodriguez's 134 relief appearances as a Brewer are the 33rd most in franchise history. If he does re-sign with the team, he'd become the new active leader in that category.

We're talking about another possible Brewers return in today's daily news roundup.

Some things to read from your niche (h/t Tangotiger).

We are 42 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Maryvale, and the Brewers may need to dust off an old nameplate for a locker in big league camp: Rumor has it they're one of multiple teams interested in re-signing Francisco Rodriguez. He's been a part of the organization for parts of each of the last three seasons, posting a 3.15 ERA over 134 appearances for the Brewers.

Rodriguez was pretty good as a Brewer during partial seasons in 2011 and again in 2013, but concerns about his attitude and off-the-field issues have followed him across baseball. R.D. Topp touched on that in our Tweet of the Day:

@akschaaf@RDTopp@BrewCrewBall Oh right, the things he did. My understanding is they're ok because he didn't take PED's.

— RD Topp (@RDTopp) January 3, 2014

If Rodriguez were to re-join the Brewers, he'd likely compete with Jim Henderson for the opportunity to close games this season. The Calgary Herald caught up with Henderson to discuss his first full season in the majors and look ahead to 2014.

Rodriguez wasn't on this list, but Justin Schultz of Reviewing the Brew has a look at several other players who have left the Brewers organization over the last few months.

Meanwhile, the door has not swung in the other direction. @AdamMcCalvy notes that the Brewers are the only team that has not signed a major league free agent this winter.

At least the Rodriguez rumor took our minds off the first base situation for a bit. There's no news on that front, aside from the formal completion of one-time possibility Brett Pill's new contract with Korea's KIA Tigers.

The Brewers spent most of last year moving players from other positions to play first, and Nicholas Zettel of Disciples of Uecker has a look at the patterns used to determine which players can play which positions.

In the minors:

• Mass Haas of Brewerfan.net has a note on changes within the Brewers scouting department this winter. The most notable change might be the departure of Mike Farrell, the scout who recommended 2009 first round pick Eric Arnett.
• Juan Francisco went 1-for-3 with a double and drove in a pair as Licey beat Aguilas 7-1 in the Dominican Republic last night (box score).
• Licey is now 3-2 in the round robin portion of the playoffs, tied for first with Escogido. Those two teams play tonight.
• Puerto Rico's round robin postseason opens tonight with Martin Maldonado, Hiram Burgos and Mayaguez visiting #1 seed Caguas.

Closer to home, I wandered over to the FanPosts section for a moment this morning to congratulate and thank the most active members of the BCB community in 2013. Thanks again to Yar Nivek, nullacct and all the commenters that come together to make this a great place to discuss the Brewers.

Around baseball:

Mariners: Signed pitchers Matt Palmer and Ramon Ramirez to minor league deals.
Rays: Claimed pitcher Pedro Figueroa off waivers from the Athletics.
White Sox: Designated pitcher Santos Rodriguez for assignment.

Today in former Brewers:

• Todd Coffey hasn't pitched in the majors since July of 2012 but is looking to make a return to the majors in 2014 and is planning on holding a showcase for teams in January. He reports eleven teams were interested at the Winter Meetings.
• Yesterday was Jeff Suppan's 39th birthday, and he officially announced his retirement after taking a year off in 2013. Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar remembers the time Suppan outpitched Adam Wainwright.
• It's Pronounced "Lajaway" has a tribute to the broadcasting work of Mike Hegan, who recently passed away following two decades of work with the Indians.
• Bruce Markusen of The Hardball Times also remembered Hegan in a recent post.

Meanwhile, longtime Brewers groundskeeper Harry Gill has been announced as a 2014 inductee into the MLB Groundskeeper Hall of Fame. Gill was in charge of the grounds at County Stadium from 1975-90.

Today in baseball economics: The Phillies are believed to be preparing to sign a new local television contract with Comcast Sportsnet that will lock up the team's broadcasting rights for 20-25 years, beginning following the 2015 season.

Finally, with help from the B-Ref Play Index, we'd like to wish a happy birthday today to:

• 2003 Brewer Mike Crudale, who turns 37.
• Appleton Baseball Hall of Famer Bart Johnson, who turns 64.
• 1972 Brewer Archie Reynolds, who turns 68.
• Appleton Baseball Hall of Famer Adrian Garrett, who turns 71.

Plunk Everyone notes that Johnson's 15 career hit batsmen are the fourth most ever for a player born on January 3.

Today is also the 29th anniversary of the Pirates drafting Greg Vaughn in the secondary phase of the 1985 draft (he didn't sign) and the third anniversary of Chris Capuano signing with the Mets as a free agent in 2011, effectively ending his Brewers career. We covered those events in Today In Brewer History last year and two years ago, respectively.

Now, if you'll excuse me, something's wrong with this broccoli.

Drink up.

Fake Teams writer Joe Pytleski provides his thoughts on deep league draft strategy as he takes a look at each position for 2014.

Fake Teams writer Joe Pytleski has completed his deep league draft strategy series, and here are links to his articles for each position. In each piece, he takes a look at stats for the last three seasons and offers his players to target and players to avoid at each position.

Check out his thoughts on Manny Machado, Carlos Gomez, Pedro Alvarez, Andrelton Simmons, Cole Hamels and others.

Catcher

First Base

Second Base

Shortstop

Third Base

Outfield

Starting Pitcher

Deep League Trade Targets

Deep League Dumpster Diving

Deep League Debate: Elvis Andrus vs Zack Cozart

More from Fake Teams

Follow @faketeamsFollow @SBNationMLB

• Deep League Drafting: Outfield
• Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 100 Starting Pitchers for 2014
• EPL Injuries & Updates: Giroud, Rooney, RVP
• Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy: Streaming Starting Pitchers
• EPL: Round Up
• 2014 Minor League Keeper Thoughts: Milwaukee Brewers
• MLB Trade Rumors: Clayton Kershaw to test free agency?
• George Springer: 20-20 season in 2014?
• Fantasy Baseball Rankings: Top 20 Position Rankings
• Deep League Drafting: Third Base

This weeks lessons include more waiting on free agency and some more goodbyes to end 2013.

We are still waiting for something to happen in free agency.

The Brewers are the only team in MLB that hasn't signed a free agent.  In fact, it has been about a month since the last major move that the Brewers made (the Norichika Aoki trade).  It has even been scarce on the rumor market lately, though it has been quiet overall with the holidays around.  We did get one rumor this week.  There is some interest from the Brewers in another return for Francisco Rodriguez.  The Brewers are looking for a little bullpen help, and Rodriguez did help the team last season.  He could help the team again, but it's not exactly the exciting move that we were all waiting for.

The other option the Brewers have for making moves is within the organization.  Noah pointed out that the Brewers have signed a player to an extension each offseason the last few seasons, and considered who the Brewers could extend next.  While there isn't a definite candidate for who to sign next, there are some possibilities.  At this point, we're just in wait and see mode.

We finished up 2013 with some more goodbyes.

As the year came to a close, we said goodbye to some people and another facility.  To finish the year on BCB, Kyle recapped all of the former Milwaukee players that passed away this year.  Eleven players passed away in 2013, and this is a good way to catch up on those events.  Meanwhile, another facility closed down to end the year as the Metrodome hosted its final professional sports event.  The Brewers had played against the Twins there for several years, first as part of the American League and then in yearly interleague games.  Not many people are going to miss the facility, though it will take a little more history with it when it's gone.

Other Notes

- The first story on BCB of 2014 was celebrating Jeff Suppan's birthday.  In related news, Suppan retired this week after 17 seasons in baseball.
- Fake Teams profiled the Brewers minor leagues to provide information for fantasy baseball players heading into 2014.
- Looking back to the week of 12/22, morinek0 has a review of different players' performance in the winter leagues.

Highlights From the FanPosts

- The Face of the Franchise series continued with nullacct's look at the 1990 season.
- We got a different perspective on franchise pitching from nullacct, who put together a visual representation of franchise pitching.
- In BCB community discussion, we got a review of the memes used around BCB from Yar Nivek.
- Yar Nivek also has an idea for BCB user Sporcle quiz.
- Kyle also added to the community discussion with the top ten members of 2013 by comments.

The Collection of Mugs

12/30/2013: Projecting next season
1/2/2014: On defensive impact
1/3/2014: The K-Rod boomerang effect

Test Your Knowledge

The Thursday Thinker: MVP-Free

The former Brewers and Nationals outfielder eyes a return to Major League Baseball after spending 2013 in Japan.

Nyjer Morgan is looking for a return to the major leagues, his agent tells Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.

The 33-year-old outfielder hit .294/.361/.434 with 11 home runs and 15 doubles in 108 games with the Yokohama Bay Stars in Japan in 2013. Morgan last played in MLB with the Brewers in 2012.

"Japan was a great experience for Nyjer and he would still enjoy playing there, but he's had a great deal of success in the States and would love to come back here as well," Morgan's agent Jonathan Maurer told Crasnick. "We've had interest from teams who see him as a guy who could come in and spell a starter or possibly earn more playing time."

In parts of six major league seasons, Morgan hit .280/.341/.364 with 73 doubles and 117 stolen bases in 583 games.

Minnesota minor leaguer Rosario suspended

Twins minor league infielder Eddie Rosario was suspended 50 games for a second positive test for a drug of abuse, Major League Baseball announced on Saturday. The positive test was a violation of the minor league drug prevention and treatment program.

News of a possible suspension was first reported in November, when Rosario informed his winter league team of the pending punishment, but wasn't officially announced until Saturday.

The 22-year-old second baseman hit .302/.350/.460 with 32 doubles, 10 home runs and eight triples in 122 games between Class-A Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain in 2013. Rosario was drafted by the Twins in the fourth round in 2010. John Sickels of Minor League Ball rated Rosario as the fifth-best prospect in the Twins system heading into 2014.

Huff announces retirement

Former first baseman and outfielder Aubrey Huff told Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish he is retired. Huff, 37, last played in 2012 with the Giants, but any thoughts of a comeback ended when he took a job announcing college baseball games for the Pac-12 Network.

"I'm officially done. I have no desire to play anymore," Huff told Cotillo. "That has come and gone. I couldn't even imagine picking up a bat and trying to get ready for the whole grind of a baseball season anymore. I'm enjoying this way too much, just hanging out."

Huff batted .278/.342/.464 in his 13-year MLB career. He hit 360 doubles and 242 home runs in 1,681 games for the (Devil) Rays, Astros, Orioles, Tigers and Giants.

More from SB Nation MLB:

• How many years will Tanaka get? | D'Backs still "serious suitors"

• Rob Neyer's (fake) Hall of Fame ballot includes Bonds, Clemens

• Baseball Hall of Fame profiles:Jeff Kent | Mike Mussina | Curt Schilling

• ‘No idea’ when A-Rod decision will be made

• Death of a Ballplayer: Wrongly convicted prospect spends 27 years in prison

Yet more playoff action

2013-12-29

2013-12-30

2014-01-02

2014-01-03

2014-01-04

It won't take long for you to catch up on Brewers offseason news in today's roundup.

Some things to read from your doomed planet.

We are 39 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Maryvale, and this morning I'd like to welcome back those of you who haven't been around since the first day of football season. If you've fallen behind, here's a quick primer on the winter's Brewers news:

• Norichika Aoki is with the Royals now.

And that's about it. The Brewers still haven't addressed concerns at first base or in the bullpen, and they're still the only MLB team that hasn't signed a major league free agent this winter. Despite all of that, though, hope springs eternal for some: Kristin Zenz of PocketDoppler.com has reasons for optimism for the 2014 team.

Curt Hogg of Disciples of Uecker says having depth on the roster will be a key to contending for the 2014 team. The bench is more or less established with Logan Schafer, Caleb Gindl, Jeff Bianchi and Martin Maldonado on the roster at this point, but it remains to be seen how much they'll contribute.

A full, healthy, productive season from Ryan Braun may be a bigger key, though. Tim Brown of Yahoo listed Braun as one of ten compelling figures to watch in 2014.

Conventional wisdom would suggest the Brewers would also benefit from longer outings from their starting pitchers, but how much of that argument actually holds water? Bryan Cole of Beyond the Box Score looks at the tangible merits of "saving the bullpen," or lack thereof.

Today on the hot stove:

• Earlier this winter we mentioned reports that the Brewers had inquired about former Cubs closer Carlos Marmol. Bill Baer of Hardball Talk reports that Marmol has discussed major league deals with three teams.
• The first rumor of the offseason dealt with the Mets, who reportedly talked to the Brewers regarding Ike Davis. New York still hasn't found a home for their extra first baseman, though, and now they're saying they plan to bring him to spring training.

Any bullpen help the Brewers bring in this winter may serve as competition for Jim Henderson, who enters the spring as the team's likely closer for the first time. As of this writing 44% of voters in this Reviewing the Brew poll think Henderson will save between 21 and 30 games in 2014.

Tom Gorzelanny is unlikely to move into the closer role, but at the moment he projects to be the most experienced member of the bullpen. Justin Schultz of Reviewing the Brew says the Brewers should keep the lefty in a relief role going forward.

In the minors:

• Jason Arndt of Brewers Farm Report has a story on 2013 Huntsville pitcher Brooks Hall, one of the Brewers' latest additions to the 40-man roster.
• Brewers AAA manager Mike Guerrero stepped down from his job as manager of Licey in the Dominican Republic to deal with an ongoing health issue, but @Haudricourt reports it was just the flu.
• Maybe Guerrero was also in charge of the DWL website. As of this writing the Dominican Winter League scoreboard hasn't been updated, but Licey entered play Sunday at 4-4 in the league's round robin postseason, good for second place. They were scheduled to play first place Escogido last night.
• He's since come back home, but Sean Halton's hot start in the Dominican was a key part of Licey's success. Justin Schultz of Reviewing the Brew has Halton and Elian Herrera as the two Brewers who shined in the DWL this winter.
• Meanwhile in Puerto Rico, Irving Falu had three hits in Mayaguez's 3-2 win over Carolina (box score). Martin Maldonado went 0-for-5 in the game.
• Mayaguez is now 3-0 in round robin play, with nine games remaining in the round.
• You can read more about the Brewers' performance in the winter league postseason in morineko's weekly recap.

If you weren't around the site this weekend then you might have missed JP's weekly look at what we learned over the previous seven days. With that roundup wrapped up, we can more or less close the book on 2013.

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Reassigned former bullpen coach Pat Hentgen and hired former minor league coach Bob Stanley to fill the job.
Orioles: Signed outfielder Quentin Berry to a minor league deal.
Pirates: Signed outfielder Chris Dickerson (terms undisclosed).

Meanwhile, the biggest news around baseball yesterday was the passing of longtime Padres broadcaster Jerry Coleman, who was 90 years old. Coleman served in combat missions in World War II and the Korean War, played in the majors with the Yankees from 1949-57, managed the Padres in 1980 and had been in broadcasting since 1960. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.

In former Brewers:

• Nyjer Morgan is looking to return to the US following a season in Japan where he hit .294/.361/.434. He's unlikely to be a fit with the Brewers.
• I've already mentioned Chris Dickerson signing with the Padres, but two 2012 Brewers also found new homes over the weekend as Eric Farris and Brooks Conrad signed minor league deals with the Twins and Padres, respectively. Neither player will be invited to major league camp.
• Joseph Warner of It's Pronounced "Lajaway" asks if the Shaun Marcum signing was the Indians' best offseason move.
• The LA Times has a look at Chris Capuano's 2013 season with the Dodgers.
• Will Leitch of Sports on Earth has a story on Jeff Suppan and getting 17 years out of what he calls "average talent."
• AZ Snakepit notes that Suppan was the last active member of the 1998 expansion Diamondbacks.

Today's sabermetric note comes from John Autin of High Heat Stats, who has a look at the average proportion of wins above replacement teams get from pitchers and position players. Across the board, the numbers suggest most teams will get 60% of their value from position players. The 2013 Brewers got 75%.

Finally, with help from the B-Ref Play Index, we'd like to wish a happy 59th birthday to UW-Oshkosh alum Doe Boyland. He played parts of three MLB seasons as a member of the Pirates between 1978-81.

Today is also the eighth anniversary of the Brewers acquiring third baseman Corey Koskie from the Blue Jays and releasing third baseman Russell Branyan. We covered those events separately in Today In Brewer History two years ago and last year, respectively.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I don't have much time.

Drink up.

Doug Melvin is still talking to the Mets about Ike Davis, but the two sides remain at an impasse.

The Brewers and Mets, unsurprisingly, are still talking about a possible trade involving first baseman Ike Davis being sent to Milwaukee.

Asked if the Mets were being unreasonable in their demands, Doug Melvin told Adam McCalvy the following:

"Everybody makes the deal that they feel is the best deal for them. I don’t ever consider whether asking prices are too high on [trades] or not, because you don’t know until after the deal and you’ve seen players perform.  I think we’ve pretty well stood by — the one thing we’ve done is we do not want to give up pitching."

It had been previously reported that the Mets wanted Tyler Thornburg from the Brewers. That kind of deal struck most Brewers fans as laughable. Thankfully, it appears Doug Melvin feels more or less the same way.

At this point though, there's either no chance the Brewers and Mets make a deal or there's an air of inevitability that Davis will be a Brewer at some point. I'm not sure which. The Brewers don't really have anything the Mets need anymore. New York has fixed their outfield (and Milwaukee already traded Aoki). It's not like Milwaukee has many prospects that are viable trade assets, even for someone like Davis. Trading Jim Henderson is about the only thing I can see that would help the teams match up, but that doesn't seem like something the Mets will do.

Still, the fact that Melvin and Sandy Alderson are still talking indicates that there is something there. If there weren't, both teams would say "Maybe another time" and hang up the phone. That hasn't happened. So at least one side is willing to nudge a little bit. Maybe Melvin won't give up a Thornburg, but could be convinced to give up a Hellweg.

Melvin also gave some other good news on Monday, saying that earlier in the offseason the team made the decision to "go with our young guys" rather than sign an overpriced veteran. That's what most fans would prefer, I think. If they compete next year -- and they can, if things really go right -- then awesome. If they don't they see what they've got in Khris Davis and Scooter Gennett and Thornburg and so on and so forth. Bringing in some veteran player to fill a hole won't change their projections enough.

Melvin says the team could sign someone for around $5-6 million next year, or a similar deal to what the team offered Corey Hart.  It's also notable that the Brewers offered James Loney a similar deal as he signed with the Rays, around $7 million per year for three seasons. There aren't really any players out there that can fill first base and deserve that kind of money, though, and the team won't spend for the sake of it.

In fact, the only place the Brewers could invest that money is likely to be in the bullpen at this point. If they are content going young, the bench is probably fine. And Melvin told McCalvy he would like to add some relief experience. There are still plenty of good veteran relievers on the free agent market, enough that it makes no sense guessing who the Brewers could target. We do know they are interested in re-acquiring Francisco Rodriguez, though, and Doug Melvin does love players with whom he already has a relationship.

For now, a dead Brewers offseason is showing no signs of picking up. It's at least somewhat comforting knowing that's sort of kind of according to plan, though.

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• Monday's Frosty Mug: Welcome back!
• This week in winter baseball: 12/29-1/4
• What we learned this week: January 4, 2014
• MLB Rumors: Brewers again interested in Francisco Rodriguez
• Which Brewers player should receive the next contract extension?

Doug Melvin says the Mets and Brewers haven't found a price for Ike.

In a talk with the media today, Brewers' general manager Doug Melvin suggested that, although the Mets and Brewers are still talking about Ike Davis, there has been no agreement in what should be exchanged for the Mets' beleaguered first baseman.

The Mets had reportedly been asking for young pitching in exchange for Ike, but Melvin noted:

I think we’ve pretty well stood by - the one thing we’ve done - is we do not want to give up pitching.

Melvin could be in a bad spot, however, as the Brewers seem to not want to go into the year with Juan Francisco as the club's starting first baseman, and most other first base options have been taken off the board. Melvin also suggests that talks have continued, but neither team is seeing eye-to-eye on a price, adding:

We haven’t gotten to anything where we’re comfortable with the deal from our side, and he’s not been comfortable with the deal from his side

The talks with Melvin have been continued from the Winter Meetings, but within the past few weeks the Brewers told the Mets they were no longer interested in acquiring Ike Davis, though today's report retorts that.

More from Amazin' Avenue

Follow @AmazinAvenueFollow @SBNationMLB

• It's a great time for leadoff hitters around baseball -- except on the Mets
• Community Projection Review: John Buck
• 2014 MLB Free Agent Profile: Carlos Marmol
• Mets Morning News: Opportunities for Ike Davis and condolences for Jerry Coleman
• Sandy Alderson's Gambit: The Ike Davis story

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin stands by his team's quiet winter.

The Brewers don't plan on trading pitchers in an effort to improve this offseason, according to general manager Doug Melvin (via Brew Beat's Adam McCalvy).

Milwaukee has been linked to Mets' first baseman Ike Davis in trade rumors this winter, but Melvin quickly balked at the Mets' asking price of right hander Tyler Thornburg.

"The one thing we've done is we do not want to give up pitching."

That approach has limited the Brewers opportunities on the trade market, and Melvin is skeptical that the type of free agents his club can afford are his best alternative.

"We weren’t going to get [Shin-Soo] Choo. We weren’t going to get Robinson Cano ... We can look at $5-$6 million guys, but if we think our guys are better or as good at $500,000, why would we make a move just to make a move?"

The Brewers are the only team that has yet to sign a free agent since the end of the season, but Melvin sees the return of Ryan Braun, and the further development of players like Khris Davis and Jean Segura, as the club's best option for an improvement on their 4th place finish in the NL Central last year. Full seasons from Braun, Davis and third baseman Aramis Ramirez could also aid the team considerably.

Melvin's only notable move has been adding lefty Will Smith by trading outfielder Norichika Aoki to the Royals earlier in the offseason. Smith is currently listed as a reliever by MLBDepthCharts.com, but he could see time in the rotation as well if one of the current starting five struggles or spends time on the disabled list. Aoki's departure could lead to more consistent playing time for Davis, as well. He was excellent for the team last season, batting .279/.353/.596 in 56 games.

Other than adding Smith to the bullpen, the Brewers appear prepared to enter the 2014 season with a very similar roster to the group that took the field on Opening Day in 2013, but healthy return from some of their best players could be enough for Milwaukee to improve while standing their ground this offseason.

More from SB Nation MLB:

• FAQ: The baseball Hall of Fame, BBWAA ballot, rules and regulations

• Baseball Hall of Fame profiles:Rafael Palmeiro | Craig Biggio | Mike Piazza

• How many years will Tanaka get? | D'Backs still "serious suitors"

• Rob Neyer's (fake) Hall of Fame ballot includes Bonds, Clemens

• Death of a Ballplayer: Wrongly convicted prospect spends 27 years in prison

Bring something warm to drink with today's roundup of all things Brewers.

Some things to read later than usual.

We are 38 days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Maryvale and yesterday was Three Kings Day in Puerto Rico, where Martin Maldonado held his annual celebration for children in his native community. Adam McCalvy has the story, including notes on several fellow players and sponsors that helped make the occasion extra special.

It remains to be seen if Maldonado will have any more new teammates when the Brewers get to Arizona in a few weeks. Yesterday Doug Melvin told Adam McCalvy the team's inaction is a sign of faith in their young players, and also said they're not interested in trading young pitching for hitting.

In the minors:

• Juan Francisco went 0-for-3 but it didn't matter as Licey beat Escogido 7-3 last night in the Dominican Republic (box score). Jason Rogers went 1-for-4 with a double in the loss.
• Enrique Bakemeyer of The Brewers Bar has a recap of Brewers' winter league performance across the Caribbean.

Despite having had a somewhat mediocre winter season, Juan Francisco still profiles as a likely candidate to be the Brewers' Opening Day first baseman. Adam Wieser of Disciples of Uecker has a closer look at Francisco's performance in the Dominican.

Meanwhile, utilityman Elian Herrera's winter season is over as Estrellas was eliminated from contention in the Dominican Republic. Benjamin Orr of Reviewing the Brew wonders what Herrera's role could be with the 2014 Brewers.

Around baseball:

Cardinals: Claimed outfielder Rafael Ortega off waivers from the Rangers.
Indians: Signed outfielder Jeff Francoeur and reliever Scott Atchison to minor league deals.
Mariners: Signed catcher Humberto Quintero to a minor league deal.
Mets: Signed catcher Taylor Teagarden to a minor league deal.
Rays: Signed shortstop Ray Olmedo, infielder/outfielder James Darnell, pitcher Santiago Garrido and catcher Ali Solis to minor league deals.

Today in former Brewers:

• Chris Capuano is believed to be seeking a two-year deal this winter.
• Jason Brannon of Baseball Nation has Ted Simmons on his roster of the greatest players who never won a World Series, MVP or Cy Young Award and aren't in the Hall of Fame.
• Simmons (#26), longtime Milwaukee Brave Joe Torre (#34), Dave Parker (#44) and Willie Randolph (#45) made Baseball Past and Present's list of the top 50 players not in the Hall of Fame.
• Neil Weinberg of Beyond the Box Score says Dave Nilsson had the tenth best final season in MLB history.
• Halos Heaven ranked Jim Abbott as the 33rd greatest Angel of all time.
• Viva El Birdos is the latest to offer up a tribute to recent retiree Jeff Suppan, while Lee Warren of Minor League Ball remembers Suppan's work ethic during his 2011 season in AAA.
• Elsewhere in tributes, Chris Mehring of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers has one for former Brewer and Milwaukee broadcaster Mike Hegan.

Even on days like today when internet outages set me back several hours, it's nearly impossible for me to write a "quick" Frosty Mug. The reason is that frequently along my morning reading I get sucked into something great from around the web that causes me to put everything else aside and finish reading. Today that post came from Gaslamp Ball, looking at one of the little things that made longtime Padres broadcaster Jerry Coleman great.

Finally, with help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, we'd like to wish a happy birthday today to:

• 2013 Wisconsin Timber Rattler Eric Semmelhack, who turns 23.
• 2009 Brewer Carlos Corporan, who turns 30. We covered his birthday in Today In Brewer History last year.
• 2011-13 Brewer Francisco Rodriguez, who turns 32.
• 2006-07 Brewer Kevin Mench, who turns 36.
• 2008 Brewer Eric Gagne, who turns 38.
• 1999 Brewers manager Jim Lefebrve, who turns 72. We covered his birthday in Today In Brewer History two years ago.
• 1971 Brewer Jim Hannan, who turns 74.
• 1971 Brewer Dick Schofield, who turns 79.

Plunk Everyone notes that Gagne's 33 career hit batsmen are the third most ever for a pitcher born on January 7.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm getting weaker.

Drink up.

Our first Brewers chat of 2014!

It's cold today. You probably don't want to go outside. But you probably do want to talk about the Brewers, and anything else that makes you think of warmer days. And you're in luck.

Today at 3:15 I'll be appearing on The Home Stretch with Justin Hull on 95.3 FM WSCO in Appleton to talk Brewers. I'll be in studio with Justin for about half an hour (maybe more, depending on how things go) today taking your questions, which you can send in any of the following ways:

• Call us at (866)653-1570.
• Email HomeStretch@gmail.com.
• Tweet us at @BrewCrewBall or @JustinHullRadio.
• Text us by sending a message starting with "WSCO" to 68255.

Listen in live or check back later for the archived audio, or listen in live and then listen to it again later.

If you're wondering why teams bring young pitchers along slowly, here's a pretty telling cautionary tale.

There's a saying around baseball, often abbreviated as TINSTAAPP: "There is no such thing as a pitching prospect." So many things can happen to a young pitcher before they reach the majors, the argument goes, that counting on a young pitcher to develop is akin to counting your proverbial eggs before they've hatched.

The Brewers lent a little evidence to that philosophy today when they released Canadian right hander Nick Bucci, just a few weeks after releasing fellow former 40-man pitcher Cody Scarpetta. Bucci is 23 years old and has appeared in just eleven professional games since Opening Day 2012.

The Brewers selected Bucci out of high school in the 18th round of the 2008 draft and pushed him pretty hard up the organizational ladder, allowing him to make his professional debut in his age 17 season in 2008 and continuing to elevate him one level per season through 2011, when he pitched a career-high 150 innings for Brevard County at age 20 and posted a 3.84 ERA.

Bucci was also active in international tournaments, pitching for Canada in the 2009 and 2011 Baseball World Cups and the 2011 Pan American Games. In fact, those last two tournaments may have marked the beginning of the end of his Brewers tenure.

Both tournaments were played in October of 2011, immediately following the longest season of Bucci's young career. He was added to the 40-man roster that winter but was unable to pitch in camp the following spring and appeared in just ten games for the AZL Brewers and Brevard County that season. He also missed nearly all of the 2013 season, recording just two outs in his lone AZL appearance.