Brewers move Gallardo to bullpen
PHOENIX – The pool of competitors trying to win one of the two final spots in the Milwaukee Brewers’ rotation this spring shrunk by one on Monday, when manager Craig Counsell announced that Yovani Gallardo would move to the bullpen.
With two weeks remaining in camp, it would appear that left-handers Wade Miley and Brent Suter are the leading candidates to join Chase Anderson, Zach Davies and Jhoulys Chacín.
Junior Guerra and Brandon Woodruff are also in the mix.
“At this point we’re going to shorten Yovani up into some bullpen stints,” Counsell said. “You saw yesterday with Wade pitching five innings, so there’s less innings in the bullpen now. We can’t get nine starters ready out there in a bigleague game.
“How we’re constructed now, (relief) is how we’re looking at him. But I will tell you that could change. That’s not in stone.”
It’s been a challenging spring for the 32-year-old Gallardo, a 2004 secondround draft pick of the Brewers who holds the franchise record for strikeouts and ranks in the top 10 in most other pitching categories.
Through four appearances he is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA and has given up two home runs in eight total innings. But Gallardo’s struggles have come while trying to remake his pitching style a bit this spring at the Brewers’ behest by pitching up in strike zone more.
Of Gallardo’s 298 career appearances, 289 have come as a starter. He made six relief appearances last season while with the Seattle Mariners and went 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA.
The one-year, $2 million, non-guaranteed contract he signed with the Brewers on Dec. 21 included a number of incentives based on innings pitched and appearances.
The Brewers already have six spots spoken for in their bullpen, starting with closer Corey Knebel. Also in are Josh Hader, Jacob Barnes, Matt Albers, Boone Logan and Jeremy Jeffress.
Youngster Taylor Williams has turned heads with the way he’s pitched so far this spring and could be in the mix. Veterans Oliver Drake, J.J. Hoover and Ernesto Frieri are also competing with Gallardo for what could be one or two open spots depending on whether the Brewers keep seven or eight relievers.
Setback for Vogt: Stephen Vogt’s bid to make the opening day roster took a serious hit. The veteran catcher has once again been sidelined due to pain in his right shoulder.
“He had a little setback throwing,” Counsell said. “It just didn’t go well, so we shut him down immediately. I don’t have a prognosis for you, but we’re going to have to regroup on him.”
Vogt injured the shoulder in a drill early in camp. He fought through the pain initially, catching the Brewers’ Cactus League opener on Feb. 23 before eventually being shut down from throwing.
Vogt was allowed to participate in catching drills without throwing, and even served as designated hitter in three games before finally receiving the green light to resume throwing Monday.
Now, the Brewers will have to examine their options behind the plate.
They have Manny Piña – who is coming off a career year – as their primary catcher but only Jett Bandy and Christian Bethancourt behind him in camp. Bandy had an inconsistent first year with Milwaukee, while Bethancourt will most likely serve as depth at Class AAA Colorado Springs.
Vogt signed a one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Brewers on Dec. 1 for $3.065 million. He could be released with the Brewers responsible for paying one-quarter of his salary, but only if the decision was performance-based, an issue that likely would need to be determined by Major League Baseball.
The Brewers could also choose to go with Bandy as their backup or acquire a catcher and open the season with Vogt on the disabled list. In that case, the team would be on the hook for his entire salary.
Claimed off waivers from the Oakland A’s last June 25, Vogt went on to hit .254 with eight home runs and 20 RBI in 45 games with the Brewers, although he missed a month with a knee sprain. His left-handed bat provided balance opposite Piña, and he was a strong clubhouse presence.