Catching is still up for grabs
Counsell doesn’t have a set plan
Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell said Thursday it would be fruitless to try to figure out his plan for dividing playing time between his two catchers at the outset of the season.
Why? Because he doesn’t have one.
“Don’t try to figure out a pattern because I don’t have a pattern figured out,” Counsell said during a media session before the team worked out at Miller Park after breaking camp in Arizona.
“I’m going into it with a really open mind. I don’t see it as a competition but, obviously, if one guy takes off, then (he will play more). They’re both young in big-league experience so I can’t say I know exactly what this player is going to look like or what kind of season this guy is going to have.
“There’s still a little bit of the unknown, so we’ll let that play out a little bit.”
After years of having Jonathan Lucroy as the No. 1 catcher and Martín Maldonado as the backup, the Brewers have a new catching tandem this season in Manny Piña and Jett Bandy. Piña finished the 2016 season with the Brewers but Bandy was acquired over the winter in a trade that sent Maldonado to the Los Angeles Angels.
The third catcher originally in the mix, Andrew Susac, has not played for two weeks because of a neck / shoulder issue and will begin the season on the disabled list, a move yet to be announced.
Piña, 29, had a big spring camp, batting .422 (19 for 45) with four home runs, 13 runs batted in and .822 slugging percentage. Bandy, 27, did not approach those numbers, batting .220 with no homers, three RBI and .524 OPS.
Beyond having the better camp, Piña has caught opening day starter Junior Guerra in both the majors and minors but Counsell would not commit to his catcher for Monday.
“They both did a heck of a job,” Counsell said. “Manny had a tremendous offensive spring. Jett was new and had a little bit more of a challenge with learning, and information, and just knowledge of a whole new staff. He has done a really good job with that. He’s got a great way about him as far as how he interacts with every pitcher.”
All for one: Don’t use the term “bench” around Counsell. He prefers to look at all nonpitchers as his “position player group” and intends to get all of them as much action as possible. Accordingly, look for him to use several different lineups until things get sorted out a bit more.
“As far as position players, I’m really excited about the group,” Counsell said. “I think we still have competition for atbats. It’s a group I think we’re going to be able to share at-bats with.
“It’s going to be on me to try to get guys playing time and take advantage of some of these guys. I’m excited about that part of it. I see it more as the lineup changing daily, with a couple of guys that can play multiple positions.
“Maybe one or two guys are really playing every day, and the rest of the group is on a schedule where you’re playing a lot but not every single day.”
Other than Susac, the position players are healthy, which Counsell noted was a big goal in camp. Hernán Pérez and Jonathan Villar had to catch up in playing time after serving as reserves for Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, respectively, in the World Baseball Classic, but both saw a lot of action recently.
“The guys we’re going to end up going with, I think they’re all in pretty good places,” Counsell said. “They’re all healthy; they’ve all got plenty of at-bats. That’s probably the most positive thing, and the goal for these last two days.”
Great equalizer: To say the least, it was quite a bit colder and wetter in Milwaukee than in Arizona when the team broke camp. But, for the opener on Monday, no matter what’s going on weather-wise, the Brewers know the Miller Park roof will keep everyone relatively comfy.
“Having a roof, obviously, does help a lot,” Guerra said through translator Carlos Brizuela. “It’s not going to be as cold as it is outside. That’s a benefit for us.”
Asked what he thinks of the Brewers’ chances entering the season, Guerra said, “The team made a lot of changes. I feel we have a very young and talented team. I think we’re going to go out there and battle and compete every game. I think we have a chance to win quite a few games.”