The former closer finds himself in a prickly situation.

Brewers reliever Francisco Rodriguez had a rough winter, as he had to sit around and wait for months only to sign a one-year, low-money deal for someone with his closing experience. That seemed weird, but we didn't have the proper context for weird until now. Perspective on K-Rod and weird:

Francisco Rodriguez stepped on a cactus yesterday. First freak incident of camp. Status for tomorrow's game unknown right now. #Brewers

— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) March 12, 2014

How do you accidentally step on a cactus? I ask this both in a mocking and curious tone, just in case randomly stepping on cacti is the kind of thing that happens in Arizona if you don't keep your wits about you, or even if you do, like little desert bee hives lying in wait for a reason to attack.

This isn't a common occurrence, either. Search for players who have stepped on cactus during spring training, and you mostly get "Cactus League" results. You're playing in a league named after the things: be on the lookout!

Luckily for Rodriguez and the Brewers, there doesn't appear to be any real damage. Mostly just the cartoonish kind:

Rodriguez/cactus incident not a huge deal -- working on pulling barbs out of his foot at this point.

— Todd Rosiak (@Todd_Rosiak) March 12, 2014

All I can picture is Looney Tunes'd K-Rod carefully picking barbs out of his foot with a pair of tweezers while over-sized cartoon tears fall from his eyes, all with Roadrunner running around freely in the distance.

TOP 20 BASEBALL PROSPECTS FOR 2014 BY ORGANIZATION

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
Baltimore Orioles  (January 26, 2014)
Boston Red Sox  (January 1,2014)
New York Yankees (March 12, 2014)
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays   (January 18, 2014)

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
Chicago White Sox (March 1, 2014)
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals   (December 16, 2013)
Minnesota Twins   (October 15, 2013)

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
Houston Astros (February 18, 2014)
Los Angeles Angels   (January 11, 2014)
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
Atlanta Braves (December 4, 2013)
Miami Marlins (March 7, 2014)
New York Mets  (January 13, 2014)
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
Chicago Cubs   (January 8, 2014)
Cincinnati Reds   (January 22, 2014)
Milwaukee Brewers (January 30, 2014)
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
Arizona Diamondbacks (February 24, 2014)
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants  (December 28, 2014)

Can the Brewers snap a losing streak in Tempe?

The Brewers have lost four of their last five spring training games, but today maybe a change of scenery can snap them out of it.

At 3:05 Central time today they'll be in Tempe for the first time in 2014 to take on Hector Santiago (0.00 ERA this spring, 3.56/4.44 ERA/FIP in 2013) and the Angels. Santiago is 26 years old, throws left handed and went from the White Sox to the Angels in December in the three-team trade that sent Mark Trumbo to the Diamondbacks. Santiago last pitched against the Cubs on Friday and worked four shutout innings, allowing a single hit and recording five strikeouts.

Santiago is the latest in a long string of lefties the Brewers have faced this spring. So far as a team they're hitting .294/.389/.456 against southpaws, but seeing a lefty take the mound isn't good news for everyone: Scooter Gennett, Khris Davis and Martin Maldonado are a combined 1-for-22 against them this spring.

Santiago has never faced the Brewers in the majors.

He'll face Matt Garza (13.50 ERA this spring, 3.82/3.88 ERA/FIP in 2013), who could really use an encouraging outing. Garza pitched three innings against the Padres on Friday and allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits, walking none and striking out three. He's allowed ten hits in four innings this spring.

After his last start it was well documented that Garza hadn't thrown a slider yet this spring. It's reasonable to expect he wouldn't have much success without it, as it's both a large part of his arsenal (about 25% of all pitches over the last three years) and his best pitch. It'll be interesting to see if he breaks it out today, with roughly 3-4 starts remaining before Opening Day.

Garza faced the Angels four different times as a member of the Cubs and Rangers in 2013, posting a 4.56 ERA against them over 25.2 innings with six walks and 18 strikeouts. No less than ten current Angels have faced him ten times or more:

Mike Vassallo has today's lineup and travel roster:

Today's #Brewers lineup vs. Angels in Tempe. First pitch 3:05 CT on @fswisconsin and @620wtmj! pic.twitter.com/kjf8mmD1NW

— Mike Vassallo (@MikeVassallo13) March 12, 2014

Expect another beautiful day for baseball in Tempe, with a game-time temperature around 75 and light east winds.

Matt Garza's rough spring continued with 10 runs allowed in 1 2/3 innings as the Brewers lost to the Angels 12-2. Jonathan Lucroy and Aramis Ramirez provided the only runs for the Brewers.

WP: Hector Santiago (1-1)
LP: Matt Garza (0-2)

HR: None

Box Score

Let's hope Matt Garza is getting this out of his system now.

The Brewers entered today's game against the Angels on a three-game losing streak and had hoped to get back on track on the road.  Meanwhile, Matt Garza had two rough starts to begin the spring, and was hoping to make some progress in this one.  Neither of those things happened.

Wednesday's Frosty Mug: Back from the links

Catch up on the latest news from the Brewers off day.

The Angels struck right away in the first inning with an RBI double from Albert Pujols and an RBI single from David Freese.  Garza limited the damage to two runs in the first, but it just got worse in the second.  The Angels sent 13 batters to the plate, collecting a total of eight runs, seven hits (six of those singles), a walk, and a sacrifice fly.  The Brewers defense didn't give Garza any help either, committing two errors (a fielding error by Rickie Weeks and a missed catch by Jean Segura) that helped extend the inning for the Angels.  Garza was pulled for Rob Wooten, who promptly allowed an RBI single and followed that up by hitting a batter.  At the end of two innings, the Angels were up 10-0 and didn't look back.

Garza's final line for the day was 10 runs allowed (6 earned) on 9 hits, with a walk and a strikeout.  His ERA jumped to 19.06 through 5 2/3 innings this spring.

The Brewers put up two runs in the third inning thanks to a Jonathan Lucroy double and an Aramis Ramirez single, but couldn't put up any more runs after that.

In the bullpen, Rob Wooten allowed the one hit and hit batter but nothing else.  Jim Henderson pitched a clean inning with a strikeout and a walk, and Zach Duke struck out the side in the fifth.  Donovan Hand allowed three hits and a walk but did not allow a run.  Dustin Molleken pitched an inning and allowed two runs on two hits and two walks, and Jose de la Torre finished it up with a clean 1/3 inning.

After the game, the Brewers outrighted Jose de la Torre to the minor leagues, leaving 42 players in camp.  The move also clears a spot on the 40-man roster.

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• Spring training cuts: Brewers option Johnny Hellweg to AAA
• Wednesday's Frosty Mug: Back from the links
• Tuesday's Frosty Mug: A quiet day to reflect
• Brewers make first big round of roster moves, trim roster to 44
• Brewers lose to White Sox 6-3

The move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster.

Following Friday's game the Brewers cleared another spot on the spring training camp roster, outrighting reliever Jose De La Torre to Nashville. He had a 6.00 ERA over four outings in camp, walking three batters and hitting one in three innings. He actually had yet to allow a hit this spring.

The Brewers claimed De La Torre off waivers from the Red Sox last September after he pitched in five games for Boston during the regular season. The Red Sox recently announced they have a World Series ring waiting for him, and the Brewers will be in Boston when they hand those rings out at their home opener. Now, however, it appears JDLT will be busy with the Sounds.

This move opens up a spot on the 40-man roster, creating a spot for a non-roster invitee to be added if they make the team out of spring training. Candidates for that spot include Mark Reynolds, Lyle Overbay, Zach Duke and Donovan Hand.

With this move the Brewers are down to 42 players in major league camp. They started with 58.

We're waiting to see if Matt Garza gives up any more runs during today's roundup of all things Brewers.

Some things to read while looking for a morning snack.

Maybe day #27 of spring training is the day the Brewers snap a losing streak. They lost their fourth consecutive game on Wednesday, and it was not close as Matt Garza's poor outing put the Brewers in a 10-0 hole early and they coasted to a 12-2 loss to the Angels. JP has the recap, if you missed it.

Garza allowed all ten of those runs (although only six were earned) on nine hits while recording just five outs. He's not concerned about the results, though, as he told Adam McCalvy in our Tweet of the Day:

Is Matt Garza concerned about his ugly spring statistics? "No. You get new ones when the bell dings so I’m not too worried about these."

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) March 12, 2014

I wrote about this in two partson Twitter this morning, but I think the Brewers may have made a mistake by having Garza pitch against the Angels yesterday. Kyle Lohse was also available, but the team opted to have him pitch a minor league intrasquad game to stay on schedule. Garza has basically admitted he's non-competitive and not worried about it this spring. If he had pitched the minor league game and gotten rocked, we may never have even heard about it. Instead, his performance is becoming an increasingly large question mark. Craig Goldstein of SBNation.com wonders if Garza has reached the tipping point.

Meanwhile, the Brewers continued to trim their roster yesterday, optioning Johnny Hellweg to Nashville before the game and outrighting reliever Jose De La Torre off the 40-man roster moments after he recorded the final out in the loss. Even after those moves the Brewers still have 20 pitchers in camp.

Other notes from the field:

• Rickie Weeks left yesterday's game early after feeling a pop in his hamstring, but early reports suggest it was just scar tissue breaking loose and he's expected to be ok.
• Zach Duke struck out the side while pitching a perfect fifth inning yesterday.
• Tom Haudricourt has a story on the impression outfielder Mitch Haniger made in his first major league camp.
• Old Time Family Baseball wonders what unofficial mascots other teams could adopt following the Brewers' success with Hank.

The Brewers are on the road again today in Peoria, where they'll take on the Padres at 3:05 Central time. Marco Estrada is scheduled to pitch against Josh Johnson.

Francisco Rodriguez is also expected to make his Cactus League debut today, although the outing almost had to be delayed when he stepped on a cactus. You can't make this stuff up.

Tom Gorzelanny, however, will not pitch today and is still not throwing off a mound. He threw off flat ground at 150 feet on Wednesday but his rehab trajectory almost certainly means he'll open the season on the DL.

Elsewhere in players coming back from injury: Aramis Ramirez got three at bats in a game for the first time this spring yesterday, going 1-for-3 with an RBI. Steve Garczynski of Disciples of Uecker has a preview of Ramirez and the Brewers at third base.

Donovan Hand pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in relief yesterday and is one of roughly 19 pitchers with a chance to make the team's 12-man pitching staff. The Moulton (Alabama) Advertiser has a story on their local product in the Brewers organization.

Ryan Braun got his second consecutive day off yesterday, but that doesn't mean we stopped talking about him. Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk noticed a study that said Braun is known by 25% of US consumers, making him a possible ongoing candidate for endorsement deals. Meanwhile, Mike Bates of NotGraphs had some fun with Braun's comments from the other day where he referred to himself as an artist.

The Brewers are now 6-9 on the spring but at least one writer's optimism regarding this team is improving: David S. Grant of Reviewing the Brew upgraded his "best case scenario" for the 2014 team from 92 to 96 wins.

In the minors:

• The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers open their home season three weeks from today, but most of northeastern Wisconsin remains buried under a blanket of snow. Yesterday the T-Rats posted a picture on Twitter of a crew using snowblowers to clear the infield.
• Elsewhere in stadiums, the Huntsville Stars are entering their final season before their move to Biloxi and at least one local official says they've violated their lease by failing to properly maintain Joe Davis Stadium before their departure. (h/t @Mass_Haas)
• Assuming the snow melts in time, Wisconsin's home opener on April 3 will be televised. Yesterday the Timber Rattlers announced plans to broadcast nearly 40 home games this season.

Back in Milwaukee, work continues to prepare for early season promotions at Miller Park. Yesterday the Brewers unveiled the Kyle Lohse bobblehead they'll be giving away on May 11. This is Lohse's first bobblehead in his 14 year MLB career.

Today in former Brewers:

• Livan Hernandez plans to officially announce his retirement today. He hasn't pitched in the majors since finishing the 2012 season with the Brewers.
• The Mariners have hired Roy Howell as their new manager for AAA Tacoma.
• Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio has Kurt Bevacqua and Rollie Fingers featured in his collection of San Diego Padres cards.

Here's today's most interesting spring training story: Rockies manager Walt Weiss isn't happy about the possibility that shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was intentionally hit by a pitch in their game with the Diamondbacks on Wednesday. Complicating matters is the fact that these two NL West rivals share a spring training facility.

Today's sabermetric note comes from The Hardball Times, where Max Weinstein has a look at how pitch location impacts caught stealing percentages. It confirms what you may have already suspected: A strike up in the zone is not an ideal pitch to run on.

This is relevant to nothing but it's the coolest thing I've seen today: The Midwest League Lansing Lugnuts are proposing to build a housing development in the outfield in conjunction with efforts to renovate the ballpark. If the Timber Rattlers did something like this I might be the first one to move in.

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

• 2014 spring training invitee Jason Rogers, who turns 26.
• 2002 Brewer Jorge Fabregas, who turns 44. We covered his birthday in Today In Brewer History last year.

Today is also the 61st anniversary of the Boston Braves announcing their plans to move to Milwaukee in 1953. We covered that event in Today In Brewer History two years ago.

Now, if you'll excuse me, someone is watching.

Drink up.

A late rally by our Padres yesterday afternoon wasn't enough to overcome the deficit made by the pitching corps. Josh Johnson hopes to have better luck today when the Brewers come to Peoria Sports Complex. Johnson has had a great Spring so far, giving up three runs on five hits through five combined innings of work. He's only walked one batter and collected five strikeouts through his two Cactus League starts.

Yasmani Grandal is also expected to make the start behind the plate this afternoon. It will be his second appearance, but first start of the Spring. Grandal's knee recovery has progressed fairly quickly and he hopes to be ready for Opening Day at the end of the month. In his 2013 debut on Monday, the catcher came in and caught three innings and went 1-for-2 to help the team get the victory over the Rockies.

Milwaukee will give Marco Estrada the ball to make his fourth start of the Spring. The right-hander has given up six runs on 13 hits in 8 1/3 innings. His most recent start was especially troublesome for him. He gave up three runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings against the Royals.

Watch/Listen

Today's game will be available live on Fox Sports SD and MLB.TV. Only the Brewers audio feed will be available via Gameday Audio, but you can also catch the radio broadcast on At-Bat.

Gallardo will get the Opening Day start for a record fifth consecutive season.

The Brewers officially announced their Opening Day starter this afternoon, and for the fifth straight year, it will be Yovani Gallardo taking the mound for the Brewers.  With this start, Gallardo will be the first pitcher in Brewers history to make five consecutive Opening Day starts.  Ben Sheets has the record for most Opening Day starts with six, but those starts were not consecutive.

Considering the Brewers options, it is not a complete surprise that he will get the start, though some may argue that Kyle Lohse deserved the start instead.  However, Gallardo has put together a good spring so far.  In his three starts, he has pitched eight innings and put together a 1.13 ERA.  In total, he has allowed six hits and one earned run, along with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Here are Gallardo's stats from Opening Day in the last four years:

Adam McCalvy also has a preliminary look at how the rotation may line up.  After Gallardo makes the Opening Day start, it will be Kyle Lohse in the second game of the season, and Matt Garza in game four at Fenway Park.

More from Brew Crew Ball

Follow @BrewCrewBallFollow @SBNationMLB

• Thursday's Frosty Mug: Garza gives up more
• Spring training cuts: Brewers outright Jose De La Torre
• Matt Garza gives up 10 runs in 1 2/3 innings, Brewers fall to Angels 12-2
• Spring training cuts: Brewers option Johnny Hellweg to AAA
• Wednesday's Frosty Mug: Back from the links

Reynolds would play first base, while Smith settles into a bullpen role.

This week's Brew Crew Ball Tracking Poll was open from noon Monday through the day Tuesday, and received 194 responses. Here are some notable results:

• 42% of voters picked Mark Reynolds from a list of six candidates to serve as the Brewers' primary first baseman. Juan Francisco (23%) was the only other candidate to get more than 10% of the vote.
• Assuming Will Smith doesn't end up in the starting rotation, 77% of voters favored keeping him on the MLB roster as a reliever. Meanwhile, the majority of voters opted to send both Tyler Thornburg (55%) and Jimmy Nelson (82%) back to Nashville to start.
• 39% of voters favor a "soft platoon" at second base to open the season, with Rickie Weeks starting against left handed pitchers and some righties and Scooter Gennett getting the other starts.
• 84% of voters approve of the job Doug Melvin is doing as general manager, up from 52% in December.

The full results are below.

Which of these players do you think should be the Brewers' primary first baseman?

How should the Brewers handle playing time at second base?

Would you approve if the Brewers open the season with Kyle Lohse, Yovani Gallardo, Matt Garza, Wily Peralta and Marco Estrada in the starting rotation?

If Tyler Thornburg isn't in the starting rotation to open the season, what should the Brewers do with him?

If Will Smith isn't in the starting rotation to open the season, what should the Brewers do with him?

If Jimmy Nelson isn't in the starting rotation to open the season, what should the Brewers do with him?

Do you approve of the job Doug Melvin is doing as general manager of the Brewers?

Do you approve of the job Ron Roenicke is doing as manager of the Brewers?

Can Marco Estrada start another win?

The last time the Brewers won a spring training game, Marco Estrada (6.48 ERA this spring, 3.87/3.86 ERA/FIP in 2013) was the starting pitcher. Today, he'll start again against the Padres at 3:05 Central time. Estrada pitched 3.1 innings against the Royals on Saturday and allowed three runs on seven hits, walking none and striking out one.

We're through three-plus full turns in the rotation for the Brewers this spring, and the only pitcher to complete four innings in a Cactus League game is Tyler Thornburg, who did it against the Cubs in Sunday. Look for Estrada to join him in that group today, as his pitch count may extend into the 70-80 range.

Estrada faced the Padres on April 24 of last season and was a tough-luck loser, allowing two runs on five hits over 6.1 innings in a game the Brewers lost 2-1. No current Padres have faced him ten times or more.

He'll face 30-year-old righty Josh Johnson (5.40 ERA this spring, 6.20/4.62 ERA/FIP in 2013), in his third start of the spring. Johnson is looking to bounce back from a dreadful campaign in 2013, when he dragged a 6.20 ERA across 81.1 innings for the Blue Jays. He pitched three innings against the Indians on Saturday and allowed three runs on five hits, walking one and striking out three.

Johnson was one of baseball's best pitchers for about two and a half years from 2009 through mid-2011, posting a 2.64 ERA in 70 starts and making two All Star appearances. Injuries have dramatically limited him since then, though, causing him to pitch less than 100 innings in two of the last three seasons. When healthy he throws a mid-90's fastball with a slider, curve and occasional changeup.

Johnson has faced the Brewers seven times in his career but only twice since 2010. Two current Brewers have faced him ten times or more:

Mike Vassallo has today's lineup:

Today's #Brewers lineup vs. San Diego in Peoria. First pitch 3:05 CT. Webcast on http://t.co/zg3WAmjtKu. pic.twitter.com/9vMtMwjUBt

— Mike Vassallo (@MikeVassallo13) March 13, 2014

The weather today is nice again. Expect a game-time temperature around 77 under sunny skies with light winds.

Let's say it counts, for now.

W: Marco Estrada (2-0)
L: Josh Johnson (0-1)

HR: None

Box Score

We've gotten spoiled, you guys. It wasn't that long ago that spring training Brewers games on TV were a rare event to be celebrated. Now it's rare when they're NOT on, so missing today's 8-0 win over the Padres was something of a disappointment.

A midwestern daytime television audience missed an opportunity today to watch Marco Estrada have the best outing by a Brewers starter this spring. He pitched 5.2 innings (he's only the second Brewer starter to complete four innings this spring) and did not allow a run, scattering five hits. He walked none and struck out six in the outing.

He was aided by Scooter Gennett's first big offensive day of the spring. The Brewers' lefty second baseman hit RBI doubles to drive home Jeff Bianchi as part of run-scoring innings in both the third and fifth. Three of his five hits this spring have been for extra bases and driven in runs.

Jeff Bianchi, as mentioned previously, reached base twice and scored a pair of runs. He also stole his fourth base of the spring. Martin Maldonado had a pair of hits, scored a run and drove one in.

The Brewers are now 7-9 on the spring and return to Maryvale tomorrow to host the Diamondbacks. Wily Peralta will take on Randall Delgado at 3:05 Central time.

The Padres got shut out today while pitching gave up a billion runs. In his third Cactus League start, Josh Johnson kept the Brewers to just one run in four innings of work while collecting three strikeouts.

Burch Smith didn't have the same success, however. In the bottom of the 5th, he gave up two singles and a bases-clearing double before recording the first out. Another double padded the Brewers' lead even further. Smith stayed in to pitch the 6th and another run came home on a throwing error by Jace Peterson before the inning's end.

Joaquin Benoit (balls) tossed a scoreless 7th inning. Then Alex Torres and Donn Roach gave up a run each in the 8th and 9th innings.

There wasn't much success on the offensive side, but Yonder Alonso did go 2-for-3 (both doubles) to raise his Spring average to .333. There was a glimmer of home in the 5th inning when Austin Hedges led off the inning with a single, then advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch and reached 3rd on a sac fly during the next at-bat. But the remaining two outs of the innings were made while Hedges was left on 3rd.

Yasmani Grandal made his first start this afternoon, but went 0-for-1 at the plate while catching four innings behind it.

Friar Fever and Thelonius_Friar topped the comment count today. FF racked up as many recs as JJ did strikeouts this afternoon, while Axion and TTG split the only other two recs of the thread.

We're talking about giving Gallardo the ball and more in our daily roundup of all things Brewers.

Some things to read while getting what you paid for.

Today is the 28th day of spring training 2014, and Opening Day is just around the corner. The Brewers will start the 2014 season at home against the Braves two weeks from Monday, and yesterday they announced that Yovani Gallardo will start their first game for the fifth consecutive season. He'll be the first Brewer ever to make five consecutive Opening Day starts.

Starting pitching was also the story on the field yesterday, as Marco Estrada worked 5.2 scoreless innings in the Brewers' 8-0 win over the Padres. We've got the recap, if you missed it. Estrada is the first Brewers pitcher to work more than four innings in a game this spring, and only the second to go past 3.1.

Will Smith continued his solid spring on Thursday, retiring four batters in order in relief of Marco Estrada. This week's BCB Tracking Poll showed, among other things, that a clear majority of fans think he should be in the Opening Day bullpen.

Other notes from camp:

• Francisco Rodriguez was scheduled to debut yesterday but remains sidelined after stepping on a cactus barefoot on Tuesday. He may not be available to pitch today, either.
• Tom Haudricourt has a story on Zach Duke making a positive impression in camp this spring.
• MLB.com has video of Bob Uecker falling for the "exploding golf ball" trick at his golf tournament on Tuesday. (h/t @AdamMcCalvy)
• Hank the dog made an appearance in People Magazine.

The Brewers are back in action and back on TV at 3:05 Central time today when they host the Diamondbacks in Maryvale. Wily Peralta is expected to face Randall Delgado, and Arizona has already posted their lineup.

Jean Segura got four at bats for the first time this spring yesterday, going 1-for-4 and dropping his spring batting line to .310/.375/.345. Vineet Barot of Disciples of Uecker has a preview of Segura and the Brewers' other shortstops.

It'll be interesting to see if we see these patterns re-emerge in 2014: Bryan Cole of Beyond the Box Score did some research on pitchers who are least likely to throw a first-pitch fastball and found three Brewers (Kyle Lohse, Yovani Gallardo and Marco Estrada) among the leaders. Juan Francisco is also one of the hitters least likely to face a first-pitch heater.

In the minors:

• Yesterday the Brewers announced they've released La Crosse native and longtime minor league pitcher R.J. Seidel. The former 2006 16th round pick had spent seven seasons in the minors, including splitting 2013 between Huntsville and Nashville, and has a 4.39 career ERA in 521 innings.
• Former Brewers front office employee Tony Blengino has a piece at FanGraphs ranking all 30 MLB farm systems based on "impact talent," and has the Brewers 29th.
• Brad Krause of Miller Park Prospects talked to infielder Jose Sermo about coming back from a knee injury that cost him most of 2013.
• The @BrewersPD Twitter feed has pictures of Josh Prince and Hector Gomez in the cage.
• Chris Mehring of Rattler Radio remembers the 2013 Mother's Day jerseys worn by top prospects Orlando Arcia, Tyrone Taylor, Michael Reed and others during their time with Wisconsin.

Back in Milwaukee, the Brewers have announced the date for Davey Nelson's sixth annual celebrity golf tournament. It'll be held on the Brewers' off day on Monday, June 30 and will benefit both the Open Arms Home for Children in South Africa and the Brewers Community Foundation.

Around baseball:

Diamondbacks: Returned Rule 5 pick Marcos Mateo to the Cubs.
Indians: DH Jason Giambi will likely open the season on the DL with a broken rib.
Phillies: Released catcher Lou Marson.

Today in former Brewers:

• @ChrisCotillo reports that Todd Coffey continues to draw interest from teams and expects to sign around Opening Day.
• The (Attleboro, Massachusetts) Sun Chronicle has a story on Bill Travers being inducted into the Brewers' new "Wall of Honor" in 2014.

My favorite spring training story today comes from Diamondbacks camp, where a local newspaper in Sydney and some of his teammates are working together to set up a blind date for pitcher Josh Collmenter during the team's season-opening trip to Australia.

Elsewhere in silly spring moments, yesterday the Mariners released their 2014 TV commercials and, as usual, they're all pretty great.

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

• 2012 Brewer Josh Stinson, who turns 25.
• Former Brewers hitting coach Butch Wynegar, who turns 58.

Plunk Everyone notes that Wynegar's 17 career HBP are the third most ever for a position player born on March 14, and Josh Stinson's one career plunking means he leads all active pitchers born on this day.

Today is also the 23rd anniversary of the Brewers trading DH Dave Parker to the Angels for Dante Bichette in 1991 and the eleventh anniversary of Bob Uecker being announced as the 2003 winner of the Ford C. Frick Award, earning him induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. We covered those events in Today In Brewer History last year and two years ago, respectively.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I just ceased to exist.

Drink up.

Welcome back, televised baseball!

The Brewers have just seven home games left at Maryvale Baseball Park this spring. They'll play four of them in the next five days.

The first of those games is today when they'll send Wily Peralta (3.24 ERA this spring, 4.37/4.10 ERA/FIP in 2013) to the mound to take on the Diamondbacks. Peralta is making his fourth appearance and third start of the spring, and his first since working 3.1 innings against the Indians on Sunday. He allowed three runs on four hits in that game, walking two and striking out two. Those were the only runs he's given up this spring.

2014 is Peralta's second full season in the majors, and he's still just 24 years old. We still tend to treat him as a young player that could develop into anything, but the projection systems don't seem to see him that way. FanGraphs has four projections for him from Steamer, Oliver, ZiPS and their own community and all of them have him posting an ERA and FIP between 4 and 4.5 in between 25-32 starts.

Peralta beat the Diamondbacks on July 14 of last season, holding them to a single run on seven hits over seven innings with two walks and eight strikeouts. No current Diamondbacks have faced him ten times or more.

He'll face 24-year-old Panamanian righty Randall Delgado (6.14 ERA this spring, 4.29/4.99 ERA/FIP in 2013) in his third start of the spring. Delgado last pitched in a big league game on March 4 against the Padres, who he allowed four runs on five hits over 3.2 innings. Two of those five hits were home runs.

Delgado joined the Diamondbacks when Atlanta included him as part of the Justin Upton deal in January of 2013. He's made 43 starts in the majors over the last three seasons but this could be his first chance to spend a full season with the big club. He throws a low-90's fastball with a lot of changeups (over 25% of all pitches) and the occasional curve.

Delgado pitched six innings against the Brewers on July 13 of last season and allowed four runs on eight hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Jonathan Lucroy homered off him in that game. No current Brewers have faced him ten times or more, but the Brewers who have faced him at all are hitting a combined .381/.409/.524 in 22 plate appearances.

Mike Vassallo has today's lineup:

Today's #Brewers lineup vs. Arizona in Maryvale. First pitch 3:05 CT on @fswisconsin and @620wtmj. pic.twitter.com/euN5GEAi5c

— Mike Vassallo (@MikeVassallo13) March 14, 2014

Wily Peralta will be the first Brewers pitcher to bat in a game this spring. Zach Duke, Hiram Burgos and Jim Henderson are also expected to pitch today.

It's been cloudy in Phoenix today, but that should pass as the afternoon goes along. Expect a game-time temperature of around 75 to climb towards 80 as the afternoon goes along, with winds starting out blowing from right to left and eventually switching to straight out to center.

There are only three games left before the team heads off to Australia. Two of them are against the Brewers, so I trust we are ready to give Ryan Braun the welcome he so richly deserves...

Randall Delgado RHP, 0-0, 6.14

Wily Peralta RHP, 0-1, 3.24

Diamondbacks line-up

1. Didi Gregorius, SS
2. Aaron Hill, 2B
3. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
4. Martin Prado, 3B
5. Gerardo Parra, RF
6. A.J. Pollock, CF
7. Tony Campana, LF
8. Henry Blanco, C
9. Randall Delgado, P
   + Joe Thatcher, Addison Reed and J.J.Putz

Not really too much to add here. Interesting to see Campana starting in left-field - definitely makes me think that he may be making the trip to Australia

Almost 9000 people paid to see the Brewers and Diamondbacks play extra baseball.

W: Alfredo Figaro (1-0)
L: Bo Schultz (0-1)

HR: Jonathan Lucroy (1), Tuffy Gosewisch (1), Rudy Flores (1)

Box Score

It took almost three and a half hours, but the Brewers sent the largest crowd of the spring home happy with a 9-8, tenth inning walkoff win over the Diamondbacks. Khris Davis and Caleb Gindl were the heroes: Davis' pinch hit double in the tenth set the stage for Gindl to drive him home with a ground ball to win the game.

Today certainly could have been much worse, as the Brewers trailed 6-2 entering the bottom of the sixth inning but scored two in the sixth and three more in the seventh to retake the lead. Scooter Gennett had another double today, his third in two days, and Aramis Ramirez contributed a double and a rare triple in the game. He's hitting .500 in his limited opportunities this spring.

Unfortunately, the lead was short-lived. Hiram Burgos allowed back-to-back homers in the top of the eighth as the Diamondbacks retook the advantage. The Brewers later tied it in the ninth on Sean Halton's RBI double, sending everyone to an extra frame.

Wily Peralta had his longest outing of the spring today, allowing three runs on six hits over 4.2 innings. His final inning was the rough one for the Brewers, as Michael Blazek followed him to the mound and allowed all four batters he faced to reach. The best Brewers pitcher of the day was Alfredo Figaro, who worked a scoreless ninth and tenth to keep the game alive.

8,720 people paid to watch today's game, the most that have attended a contest at Maryvale Baseball Park this spring. Some of them may come back tomorrow when the Brewers host the Reds at 3:05 Central time. Tyler Thornburg is scheduled to start against Homer Bailey.

The Brewers are down to 36 candidates for the 25 spots on the Opening Day roster.

During today's game Adam McCalvy noticed that Mike Fiers had cleaned out his locker. He's heading over to the minor league complex tomorrow, but he won't be alone.

Following the game the Brewers announced Fiers, first baseman Sean Halton and pitcher Hiram Burgos have been optioned to Nashville. Of those three the biggest surprise may be Halton, who went 2-for-2 in Friday's win and was actually having a pretty good spring. He was batting .261 and had already drawn seven walks in 30 plate appearances. Meanwhile, the move adds insult to injury for Burgos on a day where he allowed back-to-back home runs in a relief appearance.

Joining those three on the walk over to the minor league side are four non-roster invitees: Outfielder Kevin Mattison, catcher Matt Pagnozzi, infielder Eugenio Velez and reliever Dustin Molleken. None of the four were notable candidates to make the MLB roster, although they've received pretty significant playing time this spring as the Brewers worked to fill the late innings of games.

Pagnozzi will be replaced on the spring roster by minor league catcher Lucas May. The Brewers signed May as a free agent this winter after he caught 57 games for AAA Indianapolis in the Pirates organization last season.

Counting May, the Brewers now have 36 players in major league camp.

Arizona surrendered leads of 2-0, 6-2 and 8-7 this afternoon, Milwaukee tying the game in the ninth and walking it off in the 10th. Brad Ziegler and Bo Schultz both were tagged with blown saves. Get them all out of your system now, lads...

Record: 9-9-3. Change on 2013: +1.5.

The day started off pretty well for the Diamondbacks bullpen, with Josh Collmenter continuing his fine spring, extending his scoreless streak by retiring all four batters he faced. We should have quit while we were ahead, because the remainder of the afternoon did not go so well. In the four innings which followed, Arizona relievers allowed eight hits, three walks and seven runs, six of them earned. And that even included a 1-2-3 eighth from Addison Reed, which gives you some idea of how awful the other three were. Step forward J.J. Putz, Brad Ziegler and Bo Schultz, as the guilty parties responsible.

Putz and Ziegler have both struggled badly in their Cactus League appearances - I'll be talking more about that later tonight, actually - and this afternoon was no exception. Putz gave up a double to Aramis Ramirez, the first batter faced, and one out later, an RBI triple, with the runner coming home as relay man Didi Gregorius threw the ball past third into the dugout. A walk to Lyle Overbay - and, more embarrassingly, a stolen-base [Lyle has been playing since 2001 and has a total of 17 SB] - also followed.Ziegler's day was worse still, with three hits, a walk and three earned runs; it might have been worse, but a Milwaukee TOOTBLAN gifted him the third out.

Those two innings turned a four-run lead into a deficit. Things had been going pretty well too. We'd scored two in the first, both coming home on a single from Gerardo Parra and, while Randall Delgado had coughed that back up in the bottom half (on a two-run homer, naturally), he then settled down, with no further damage for the Brewers until Putz showed up. In the meantime, Parra added his third RBI with a sacrifice fly, A.J. Pollock drove in a run with a single, and Tony Campana had a two-run single, though he too was out trying to make it to second.

Even after the Brewers had taken the lead, the Diamondbacks fought back. Tuffy Gosewisch and Rudy Flores got their first home-runs of spring, each a solo shot in a two-run eighth as we regained the advantage, 8-7. However, Schultz couldn't close it down, back-to-back doubles with one out forcing extra innings. We stranded a man at first, but Schultz was unable to secure the tie either. A lead-off double was bunted to third, and came home on a groundout to Gregorius, the throw from his knees going to Tuffy's right, and just allowing the runner to get in ahead of the tag.

No shortage of offense, with Arizona getting 14 hits in a losing cause. Paul Goldschmidt went 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored; Martin Prado and Pollock each had a pair of hits, and Parra reached base twice, on a hit and a walk, as well as those three RBI. Tomorrow, it's the final road game before we head to Australia, the D-backs going to Goodyear where they'll face the Cleveland Indians, beginning at 1:05pm. Patrick Corbin gets the start for Arizona there.

The Angels have added the 26-year-old shortstop to bolster their infield depth.

The Los Angeles Angels have acquired shortstop Hector Gomez from the Milwaukee Brewers per a source. Wisconsin Sports Blog has added that the Brewers will receive a player to be named later in exchange for the 26-year-old infielder.

Gomez was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Colorado Rockies in 2006. He had a breakout season at Low-A Ashville in 2007, hitting .266/.309/.421 with 20 steals, 53 extra-base hits and excellent defense at shortstop, all at the age of 19. Heading into the 2008 season, he was ranked as the 95th best prospect in the game by Baseball America.  He struggled through injuries over the next four seasons, but was good enough in 2011 to garner a big league call-up in mid-September. He played in just two games for the Rockies, hitting a pair of singles and walking once in seven plate appearances. Gomez was claimed off waivers by the Brewers in June of 2012. Last season, he struggled offensively for Double-A Huntsville, posting a .494 OPS in 113 games. He has three hits and one walk in nine big-league Spring Training plate appearances this month.

Gomez figures to be Triple-A fodder for a team lacking in depth. The Angels bench is currently slated to compose of Hank Conger, Grant Green, and Collin Cowgill/JB Shuck, with the fourth spot likely going to either Carlos Pena, John McDonald, Andrew Romine, or Luis Jimenez. Gomez has an outside shot at that final roster slot, but odds are he spends the year in Salt Lake City unless he can show significant offensive improvements.

As expected, the Brewers appear to be getting the ball rolling on an extension for their solid young shortstop. What kind of deal might Segura fetch when it's all said and done?

The Brewers plan to have an internal discussion this weekend about whether to open discussions with shortstop Jean Segura about a possible extension, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

General manager Doug Melvin plans to talk with owner Mark Attanasio, who is in Arizona with the club dealing with business affairs this weekend, per Haudricourt. One of the items on the agenda is whether the Brewers feel it makes sense to negotiate a long-term deal with Segura, who remains under team control for five more seasons and isn't even eligible for salary arbitration until 2016. The team previously discussed an extension with Segura before last season, but the two sides were unable to come to an agreement. Milwaukee planned all along to revisit the topic this spring, as MLB Daily Dish's Chris Cotillo wrote in February.

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Segura, who turns 24 on March 17, hit .294/.329/.423 in 2013, his first full season in the majors. The Dominican Republic native also performed well defensively, finishing the season at seven runs above average, according to Baseball-Reference. The solid numbers in both facets made Segura a 3.9 rWAR player, which ranked fifth among all MLB shortstops.

Over the past few years, several shortstops have received contract extensions while in situations similar to that of Segura. Troy Tulowitzki signed a six-year, $31 million extension with the Rockies after the completion of his rookie season in 2007 before eventually signing a deal in excess of $150 million. Elvis Andrus received a three-year, $14.4 million contract from the Rangers after his third full season before signing through 2022 at roughly $15 million per season. More recently, the Braves and Andrelton Simmons agreed to a seven-year, $58 million extension after his Gold Glove-winning 2013 campaign.

Segura is in the upper tier of that trio offensively but is closer to Andrus than he is to Simmons and Tulowitzki on defense. Still, it's likely his side will at least mention what Simmons received but will probably realistically land something closer to what Tulowitzki reeled in six years ago. And that number would likely represent a bargain for the Brewers, who will enjoy plus production from the position for years to come assuming Segura remains healthy.