The secret to adapting with the Crew? Google 'Brewers' 40-man'

PHOENIX -- What’s the best strategy for learning 100-plus names and faces all at once? For Tyson Miller, the right-hander who is joining the Brewers organization after pitching for the Rangers last year, the solution was simple.

Google.

“I’m not going to lie. I just Googled, ‘Brewers 40-man,’” Miller said. “I’m a guy where you can say your name and I won’t remember. If I can see the name written down, it helps me remember.”

Conversations with the new pitchers on Milwaukee’s 40-man roster revealed a number of strategies, mostly involving an early arrival to get to know the clubhouse attendants and athletic training staffers. For a new player, those are some of the most important folks to know.

After that, it just takes time to learn coaches and teammates. In every case of the 40-man roster pitchers new to Milwaukee’s organization -- Miller, Javy Guerra, Janson Junk, Joel Payamps, Elvis Peguero, Gus Varland and Bryse Wilson -- the player has changed teams before.

“With the Dodgers, it was extremely overwhelming,” said Varland, who came to the Brewers from Los Angeles in December’s Rule 5 Draft. “I think I did it right this time.”

Varland was hanging drywall on Feb. 12, 2021, when he was traded by the A’s to the Dodgers. That was a Friday. By Sunday, Varland was at L.A.’s complex in Glendale, Ariz., shaking hands with Clayton Kershaw.

“I’d never even been to Double-A before,” Varland said. “I was coming off surgery, too, from Tommy John. It was a big jump. It was very overwhelming. It was wild.”

The Brewers start the transition with chats over the winter between players and staffers like pitching coach Chris Hook and bullpen coach Jim Henderson. That sort of groundwork was forbidden last winter because of the lockout.

Switching teams is easier today because there’s so much movement in baseball. Every one of those new Brewers pitchers could look around the room and find a former teammate.

“I did the same thing with the Angels, and I was just getting everyone’s name down,” said Junk, Milwaukee’s No. 13 prospect per MLB Pipeline, who has been traded with Peguero twice in the past year and a half.

They were both dealt by the Yankees to the Angels at the 2021 Trade Deadline, then dealt by the Angels to the Brewers (with Minor League pitcher Adam Seminaris) for Hunter Renfroe.

“Getting to learn everybody’s story, that’s the kind of stuff I love,” Junk said. “Everybody has the same goal. Everybody is there for each other. The quicker you learn that, the more comfortable you’re going to be.”

Said Guerra, who switched positions from an infielder to a pitcher beginning in 2019, then switched teams from the Padres to the Rays last year before landing with the Brewers in a November trade: “It’s easier every time. I played with [Luis] Urías, with [Eric] Lauer. I’ve been here for a month already, throwing lots of bullpens. It’s better every day.”

“The Latinos, we know a lot of each other from the winter leagues, so that helps,” Peguero said. “It can be overwhelming, but since I’ve been in the big leagues in the past and I know the big league experience, I’m coming in with an idea and it’s not as overwhelming.”

Peguero, notably, has options, so the Brewers could start him in the Minor Leagues should they choose. Ditto for Junk and Miller, who will stretch out this spring with the starters. Guerra, Payamps and Wilson are all out of options, meaning the Brewers must keep them on the Opening Day roster or expose them to waivers before the end of camp.

Varland is in his own category as a Rule 5 pick. The Brewers must carry him on the Opening Day roster or offer him back to the Dodgers.

“It is pretty cool. I did not expect to get picked up at all,” Varland said. “I feel extremely confident and ready going into it, just because of all of the work I put into it this offseason and last season.”

Varland had developed an extreme overhand delivery following surgery. When he made a mechanical adjustment last year to drop back down, the result was a more consistent delivery, more strikes and more velocity. In his very first bullpen session after making the change, Varland went from throwing 92 mph to 96 mph.

“When I felt that first pitch, I was like, ‘Oh my God,’” Varland said. “I was so happy. But also very angry because of how much wasted time there was. Everyone’s path is different. This is just mine.”