Brewers catcher
Minor-league catcher hurt bad
René Garcia gets medical attention after being injured in the ninth inning Saturday against the Chicago White Sox at Miller Park. For more on his injury, see the story on
The Milwaukee Brewers achieved a major goal of getting through spring training in relatively good health in terms of those on the major-league roster.
That was not the case, however, for minorleague catcher René Garcia, who was badly injured in a collision at the plate in the ninth inning of the final exhibition game Saturday against the Chicago White Sox at Miller Park.
Garcia was transported from the field on an immobilizer board, wearing a neck brace, after the collision with base runner Nicky Delmonico, who scored on a sacrifice fly in a game the Brewers won, 5-4, in the bottom of the inning on Kyle Wren’s walk-off, bases-loaded single.
After the game, manager Craig Counsell said Garcia was transported to Froedtert Hospital to be examined for possible head and neck injuries as well as injuries to his left knee.
“The throw (from rightfielder Domingo Santana) took him up the line and he was trying to make a play on the ball. He and the runner got there at the same time.”
One of the minorleague players brought from Arizona to fill in during the final exhibition games, Garcia had just entered the game in place of starter Manny Piña. Realizing it easily could have been him, Piña said he planned to monitor Garcia’s condition.
“It’s scary,” Piña said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen to him. He doesn’t have any family here, but we will look after him. We are his family here. I want to know what happens. I heard he had a concussion.”
Catcher Jett Bandy replaced Garcia and was fortunate to escape injury in the bottom of the inning when he raised his left shoulder to deflect an up-and-in pitch from Michael Ynoa.
“I know René; we hung out this spring,” Bandy said. “Catchers are a tight group. I didn’t know what happened at first. I went out there and tried to talk to him; make him smile and stuff. It was just a scary moment. You never want to see that happen.
“I hope he’s OK. He’s a great guy. I feel for him.”
Right-hander Matt Garza (right groin strain) and catcher Andrew Susac (tight trapezius) will open on the disabled list, but the hope is that neither will miss a lot of time.
Mission accomplished: After watching his walk rate climb from 3.3 per nine innings to 4.3 last season, and paying a price for it (8-16, 4.62 ERA), right-hander Jimmy Nelson came to camp determined to pound the strike zone. And that’s exactly what he did.
Nelson put a punctuation mark on a strong spring with five strong innings in the exhibition finale against the White Sox, allowing only two hits and one run with no walks and three strikeouts. In 12 innings in “A” games (he also pitched twice in the minors), Nelson allowed two walks while logging 16 strikeouts. Opponents batted only .204 against him.
In his outing against Chicago, Nelson threw 40 of 53 pitches for strikes.
“The more strikes you throw and get ahead of guys (in the count), the less pitches you use and you go deeper into games,” Nelson said. “You just let the defense work. They played really clean defense today. That always helps a lot.
“I feel really good about where I’m at, physically and mentally, the adjustments I made in my delivery. Today felt effortless and smooth. I really didn’t feel tired at any point. Just stay right there and make my pitches, and good things will happen.”
Nelson will open the season as the No. 5 pitcher in the rotation, meaning his first outing will come Friday at home against the World Series champion Chicago Cubs. Counsell said good things will continue to happen if Nelson keeps pitching like this.
“He threw a ton of strikes, and he has done that all spring. That’s the big thing for me,” Counsell said. “That’s what we left him with at the end of the season last year, and he understood that.
“No matter what, you’re going to make it easier on yourself when you throw more strikes. Make them beat you without giving guys free passes. He just looks like he’s on the attack right now and going after hitters, and getting in good counts. That’s the way to success.”
Status quo: When the Brewers informed nonroster infielder Ivan De Jesus Jr. before breaking camp in Arizona that he wouldn’t make the opening-day roster, he had an agreement that allowed him to look for a bigleague job elsewhere. If offered one, the Brewers were obligated to let him go.
De Jesus Jr. said Saturday he had not received another offer and was making plans to go to Colorado Springs to begin the season. He had an outstanding camp, batting .429 (21 for 49) with a .500 OBP, a home run and six RBI.
“I’ll just go to Triple-A and play in the snow,” he said. “I still have until Monday (to find a majorleague job) but I have a job to do here. I did the only thing I could control — play well. I just have to continue to do my thing, whether it’s here or someplace else.”
He’s a keeper: The San Diego Padres have decided to keep right-hander Miguel Diaz, a Rule 5 pick from the Brewers’ organization, on their opening-day roster. In fact, the rebuilding Padres are keeping three Rule 5 picks to begin the season.
All Rule 5 selections must be kept on the bigleague roster all season or offered back to their original club.