Different team to take field
Lots of new faces dot roster, coaching staff
Devoted baseball fans are familiar with the ballpark vendor’s cry, “You can’t tell the players without a program!”
At Miller Park on Monday afternoon, that bit of vocal advertising will ring true.
When the Milwaukee Brewers line up along the first-base line for introductions before the season opener against San Francisco, there will be 15 different players on the 25-man roster from a year ago. And, oh yeah, four new coaches.
Manager Craig Counsell wasn’t yet in place at the outset of 2015, either. At least the Brewers proved Hank is still the same dog.
This is what happens when you strip down a roster to embark on a massive rebuilding project. When the 2015 Brewers took a colossal pratfall out of the gate, costing manager Ron Roenicke his job, the die was cast. Time to blow it up.
New general manager David Stearns continued to push the plunger over the winter, turning over 20 spots on the 40-man roster. The Brewers’ spring camp was brimming with young, inexperienced players, leaving Counsell and his reconfigured staff to choose the keepers to begin what has the makings of a trying season.
“Now is the time when you get down to 25 guys where you become a team,” said Counsell. “I think they’ve done a great job of starting that. That’s a work in progress that never stops.
“We won’t stop that part of it. We can’t stop that part of it. We have to continue to work on it together.”
When the Brewers took the field a year ago at Miller Park, there were high hopes. Carlos Gomez was in center, Aramis Ramirez at third base, Adam Lind at first base, Khris Davis in left field and Jean Segura at shortstop. Now, all are gone, along with closer Francisco Rodriguez, starting pitcher Mike Fiers and others.
Ryan Braun, switching back to left field from right, and catcher Jonathan Lucroy are back, though the latter expected to be traded at any minute over the winter. The only other longtime veterans on the club are right-hander Matt Garza, coming off the worst season of his career, and third baseman Aaron Hill, a former second baseman who slipped badly at the plate in recent years.
Sure, there are others who have their feet solidly in the big-league door. But there are twice as many just getting started, such as infielder Colin Walsh, a Rule 5 draft pick, and centerfielder Keon Brox-
ton. There are potential stars in the making, such as slugging rightfielder Domingo Santana, whose ceiling seems high.
“There will be guys that surprise us for sure,” said Counsell, who is counting on that development to avoid a 100-loss season. “There is enough opportunity for a lot of players here that certainly some will take advantage of that.
“Every team has new players, year to year. You want to get a core of players that can stick together. You’re looking for players that can add their names to that group.”
To put it mildly, expectations from the outside world are virtually non-existent. The bar has been set so low that even “Dancing With the Stars” regulars would be unable to limbo under it.
Counsell expects the starting rotation, which returns four pitchers, to be better this season. It could hardly be worse after ranking 28th among the 30 teams with a 4.79 earned run average in 2015.
Entering camp, Counsell thought the bullpen could survive the exodus of Rodriguez, who was traded to Detroit in November. That was before a spate of injuries riddled the relief corps, the most costly loss being lefthander Will Smith, expected to share closing duties with Jeremy Jeffress.
Players who fare poorly are bound to start looking over their shoulders. It’s no secret the proliferation of trades netted the Brewers a treasure trove of highly regarded prospects, elevating them from bottom third to top third in terms of farm-system talent.
At what point those young studs begin arriving in Milwaukee will be determined by a variety of factors, including how current players perform and how injuries impact the roster. But Counsell does not want his first 25 players to be distracted by the possibility of being replaced.
“That’s major league baseball. There’s always somebody behind you,” he said. “If there’s not somebody behind you, there’s somebody in another organization. You always have to feel like you have to perform. That’s part of your life.
“All players feel it. There’s always somebody trying to take your job. You just try to take care of your own business. That’s how guys approach it. That is job one. If you get to this level, you’ve done a pretty good job of that. It’s not new for players.”
But many of the players are new. As you go through the turnstiles Monday at Miller Park, you might want to buy a program, just to be safe.