Crew releases Zimmermann, Boxberger

PHOENIX -- The Brewers released former All-Stars Jordan Zimmermann and Brad Boxberger on Friday but indicated a desire to re-sign both players to new Minor League contracts if they’ll agree to report to Milwaukee’s alternate training site.

Why would a team release players who were in camp on Minor League contracts only to try to re-sign them to new ones? Because Zimmermann and Boxberger were Article XX(B) free agents who finished the previous season on 40-man rosters of big league clubs, and if the Brewers didn’t agree to add either player to the 40-man roster by Saturday, they would have had to pay a retention bonus of $100,000. At that point, the players could have opted to decline and try their luck elsewhere.

Both Zimmermann and Boxberger had been in the running for bullpen jobs, the Brewers’ 40-man roster is already overflowing and the club likes many of the young pitchers already on the 40-man roster with the flexibility of Minor League options, including spring standouts Drew Rasmussen, J.P. Feyereisen and Angel Perdomo.

“I think we’ve got a lot of close calls at the end of our ‘pen,” Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who are throwing the ball well. We have guys who threw the ball well for us last year. And so, putting that all together and thinking through various ways we can construct our roster for those first couple days of the season, we just didn’t have a spot at this point.”

Of the two, Boxberger, 32, may have been the more surprising decision. He has something most of the Brewers’ bullpen options do not: experience. Boxberger topped 30 saves in separate seasons with the Rays (2015) and the D-backs ('18). He was coming off an impressive outing against the Rockies in which Boxberger touched 94 mph with the fastball and struck out the side.

“It’s certainly our hope that we can keep ‘Box’ as part of the organization," Stearns said. “I do think he has the ability to help us over the course of the season.”

Feeling ‘great,’ Freddy’s ready
Freddy Peralta stumbled a bit in his sixth inning of work during the Brewers’ 7-5 loss to the White Sox on Friday and was charged with five earned runs in all, but the right-hander struck an uber-confident tone after his first start since being named Milwaukee’s fifth starter to begin the regular season.

“I threw the ball really well,” Peralta said. “I feel great on the mound. I’m doing what I want to do, and it feels great. All of my pitches are working well. It feels really good.”

Peralta won the right to start over veteran Josh Lindblom based on continued success throwing a slider and changeup, in addition to the fastball and curveball that got Peralta to the Majors three years ago. The team will have to put together a simulated outing for Peralta to make his final preparations for a scheduled start at Wrigley Field against the Cubs on April 7.

“He’s a different pitcher right now,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “I think he’s going to enjoy a lot of success doing this. … There’s been this transformation the last two starts. There’s options for him. He’s pitching like a starter, controlling the game, managing lineups. Obviously, you don’t want to give up runs, but he’s in a good place.”

Hedbert’s highlight
What 17-year-old kid doesn’t like getting his uniform dirty?

Hedbert Perez, the Brewers’ No. 3 prospect per MLB Pipeline, got to do just that when he laid out for a run-saving catch to end the eighth inning against the White Sox. Perez, who signed with the Brewers in 2019 and was denied a pro debut in ’20 by the coronavirus pandemic, was greeted by most of the team when he returned to the dugout after the first highlight-reel moment of his professional career.

"Look, I have a 17-year-old son,” said Counsell, whose eldest son, Brady, recently committed to play baseball at the University of Minnesota. “When I put Hedbert in the game, I don't think everybody realizes how old he is sometimes, and you get a little anxious for him because he's 17 years old. It's a credit to him, just his makeup as a person. He’s ready for this because of how mature he is. He’s got a lot of work to do on the baseball field, but his maturity is what makes him able to be out there. He can handle a lot that you throw at him. He’s great in the dugout, incredibly positive and fun to be around. That’s what really is getting him the opportunities right now.”

Last call
• “I do think there’s a fit” for Daniel Vogelbach on the Opening Day roster even though there is no designated hitter in the National League in 2021, Stearns said. Part of that is roster construction; with an off-day immediately after Opening Day and another the following week, the Brewers are considering beginning the regular season with 14 position players and only 12 pitchers on the 26-man roster, though they’ll likely go to 13 and 13 before the end of the opening month.

“We have not made a firm decision yet on how many pitchers vs. position players,” Stearns said. “But that is a possibility, that we can go down a pitcher and have an extra position player for a little while at the front end of the season because we have the off-days. How long we can do that, I'm not sure. We are going to be cognizant of protecting pitchers. We are going to be careful not to overload anyone early in the season.”

• Stearns didn’t drop any hints about where 2020 first-round Draft pick and Spring Training star Garrett Mitchell will begin his professional career, but Stearns did say, “We’re certainly not going to hold him back.” Mitchell, who tripled against the White Sox and his hitting .379 in the Cactus League, is a candidate to skip Rookie ball, open the season with Class A Carolina, and potentially advance quickly.