PHOENIX -- The Brewers experienced a short camp in 2020 when they trained for three weeks ahead of a pandemic-shortened, 60-game season. The task facing them on Friday was different.

President of baseball operations David Stearns and manager Craig Counsell have less than one month to prepare for 162 games, plus, they hope, a fifth straight trip to the postseason. On top of that, the end of MLB’s lockout meant free agency and trades reopened, with a flurry of moves expected throughout the industry. And on top of that, there are new rules to consider, most notably the introduction of a universal DH for a team that has not employed that extra batter, 2020 aside, since its American League days.

“Really our focus is just to stack a bunch of good days on top of each other, and then when we get to April 7, we’ll be ready to go,” said Counsell, referring to the Brewers’ new Opening Day against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. “There’s time for this. There’s plenty of time for this. I think, really, it’s just going to heighten everyone’s focus and concentration, to make each day a really good day. If you do that, you’ll get to the season in great shape.”

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By rule, Counsell and Stearns were barred from contact with players or their agents during the lockout, which lifted Thursday evening after MLB and the MLB Players Association struck an agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Immediately, Counsell and his coaches began making calls to check in with players and assess their preparedness.

Early reports were promising, Stearns said, particularly with the team’s young and talented pitchers. They are the ones arguably most impacted by the shortened camp, which will formally get underway Sunday before the start of exhibition games on March 18.

“I think from the calls that Craig and [pitching coach] Chris Hook and [bullpen coach] Jim Henderson made last night, we think our starters are coming in in a pretty good spot at this point in March,” Stearns said. “It's really tough to simulate competition, so that's what we're going to have to watch out for as all of our players, particularly pitchers, get into competition.”

Stearns was in midseason form discussing his plans for additional acquisitions in the weeks ahead, laying out available options while committing to none of them. After acquiring power-hitting right fielder Hunter Renfroe in a trade with the Red Sox minutes before the lockout was imposed in December -- so close to the deadline that Counsell was already asleep, he said, meaning he couldn’t call to introduce himself to Renfroe until Thursday night -- Stearns indicated that he believes the Brewers already have the core of their team intact. He didn’t rule out major transactions during Spring Training or even in-season, but said, “there isn't a move we feel we have to make.”

If the Brewers have holes at the moment, they are probably the DH position or experienced bullpen arms behind closer Josh Hader and setup man Devin Williams. The relief market, often the last thing to move in a typical offseason, remains stocked with dozens of choices and the Brewers almost certainly will be one of the clubs involved.

As for the DH, onetime Brewers farmhand Nelson Cruz is among the most notable free agents available. The Brewers are relatively deep with the sort of controllable pitching other clubs often covet and could also pursue trades. If they hold those pitchers, they are open to employing a six-man rotation at times, as they did in 2021, Stearns said.

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“I think there are a number of different ways we can look at the DH, and we've talked about that over the last couple of months. Those conversations will continue,” Stearns said. “The DH can be a spot to add some flexibility to your everyday lineup, it can be a spot where we get regulars off their feet a little bit more at bat but keep their bat in the lineup, or a DH can be devoted more or less to a singular player who occupies that role. I think we're open to either of those constructs.

“As the roster lays out right now, it probably lends itself more to the former. And if we were to add another bat or someone who's worthy of taking the majority of the DH bats, then we could switch to more of the latter. But, we're not set in any one way of how we approach the DH.”

Stearns said he was not surprised that the first night of open transactions in MLB was quiet. A flurry of moves would have indicated that teams and agents were talking when those conversations were technically barred. But he does expect the coming weeks to be very busy -- and reminded everyone that signings and trades don’t have to stop come Opening Day.

Meanwhile, Counsell and his coaches are assessing rules changes baked into the new CBA, some of which were still emerging on Friday morning, and some which will not be implemented until future seasons. One notable change is that players can only be optioned back and forth between the Minors and Majors five times in a given year; the Brewers are among the teams that “actively manage” the roster and had three players -- Pablo Reyes, Alec Bettinger and Hoby Milner -- who were optioned that many times last season.

“I have an open mind,” Counsell said. “We’ll adjust. I do think the game is ready and hopefully entering an era that we’re more willing to change and more aggressive in trying to change, with the understanding that we’re not going to get every one right. But we’re trying to make the game better. We have to get a couple of more days ahead to get everything finalized, to see what we’re dealing with and then give them some time as to how they play out and not rush to judgment.”

Counsell said his conversations with players on Thursday night were all positive.

“Guys were excited. That was the number one thing,” he said. “They’re ready to just play baseball. Whether it be watching baseball, playing baseball, coaching baseball -- just getting on the field is what everybody expressed: ‘Let’s get on the field together in a Brewers uniform.’”