Greetings from the Valley of the Sun. Your bespectacled, bald, radio host here to try his hand at a weekly notebook from Maryvale on the sights and sounds of spring training. Next week on WTMJ, I’ll be bringing you to American Family Fields of Phoenix and across the Cactus League as we give you a week of coverage you won’t find anywhere but the Home of the Brewers.
Sal Frelick playing the infield?
By now you’ve heard about Sal Frelick auditioning for some playing time on the infield for the 2024 season. In case you were unaware, Pat Murphy enlisted the help of four-time Gold Glover Dustin Pedroia to give Frelick a crash course. “Pedey” played for Murphy at Arizona State and the two have maintained a strong relationship.
Pedroia was also Frelick’s childhood idol growing up in Lexington, MA. When it comes to his actual performance on the dirt, Murphy assured the media we will see Sal start on the infield during spring training games.
“I believe in Sal as a player, and I knew he had a history in high school of playing infield … and I just looked at our outfield situation and realized, ‘This might be a cool idea,’” Murphy said on Wednesday. “I brought it up to Matt [Arnold], he thought it was good and I just went to work. How would you help a kid develop? I called Dustin and he said ‘I’m on it.’”
More from Sal’s side of things next week here on WTMJ.
Joey Wiemer and a new swing
Joey Wiemer has always been a freak athlete. His incredible 2021 season culminated with the Brewers’ Robin Yount Award for the top season in the minor leagues. All eyes were on this 6’4, 220 pound outfielder with long blonde hair mashing a .958 OPS and .296 batting average across two levels. Those eyes also noticed one of the more unique swings in baseball.
Fast forward to 2024, and Joey Wiemer isn’t “going fishing” anymore. A self-motivated Wiemer, with the appreciation of the Brewers front office, decided to revamp his swing this offseason.
The “fishing” refers to his signature loading mechanism, cocking his hands out in front of his chest, flinging the bat head above the plate before continuing his swing – almost like casting a fishing rod.
He put it simply, “pretty easy to realize it’s time for a change with my batting average.” The 24-year-old rookie hit .206 with a .645 OPS during the 2023 season – being thrust into action on the 2nd day of the MLB season.
Now Wiemer is sort of pre-setting the hands and loading sooner, and with each day is feeling more and more comfortable.
Pat Murphy just wants to see it carry over from the cage to the field. “To make changes, the player has to believe and be part of that change,” Murphy said this week. “I believe in Joey, he’s not afraid of ‘what’s next,’” he continued, complementing Joey’s simplified approach.
Janson Junk is not going to Japan
Janson Junk had a whirlwind day on January 20th, he was getting married. But yet, in the cesspool that is X (formerly known as Twitter), the Yakyu Cosmopolitan account tweeted that Junk was seeking a contract in Nippon Professional Baseball – the top professional league in Japan.
On the surface, it’s not that out of the realm of possibilities for Junk. There’s a cap for non-Japanese players on NPB teams and those spots tend to fill quickly in the offseason. There are plenty of success stories of American pitchers going to Japan or Korea and restarting their careers – look at Colin Rea.
But here’s the problem: it was all made up.
I approached Junk this week about it, just trying to get background off the record. He followed up, “no no, this is on the record, that never happened. I have no idea where that came from.”
His agent didn’t know, his loved ones didn’t know, friends are texting him “congrats on Japan!” and here he is on his wedding night trying to figure out what the heck is going on.
Junk feels he can seriously compete for a role on the Brewers big league staff – especially considering his flourish at the end of the 2023 season:
Junk is certainly a candidate to help the starting rotation, he still has one option year remaining too. Pat Murphy made it clear on Wednesday, “I think you can plan on a lot of guys you’re going to see in camp getting to us [in Milwaukee].”
Andruw Monasterio: Gains season
Returning to Spring Training is a lot like returning from summer vacation in high school. A lot can change in a few months, especially for Andruw Monasterio.
The utility infielder put on about 12 pounds of muscle this off season, with consistent meals (sometimes up to eight in a day) and a mix of lifting, stretching, and agility.
‘[Hitting for power] was the first goal, but second, learn to use my body the right way. I watched some videos of me at the plate and I didn’t have good support with my lower half,” Monasterio said. “I got good results from the offseason, I feel stronger, I feel taller, a lot of stretching.”
What about the diet? “Mostly potatoes and egg whites, but sometimes I get my rice and my spaghetti, but potatoes and eggs were number one,” Andruw said, thanking his aunt for cooking for him all winter back home in Venezuela.
Monasterio had a quietly productive season, a .259 average and .330 OBP, which was 5th on the team among hitters with at least 200 PA. But with a slugging percentage lagging under .350 and a hard-hit rate three points below league average, Monasterio enters 2024 trying to compete for a position on the infield.
Brandon Woodruff returns
Members of the media aren’t supposed to play favorites, but that’s a really hard rule to follow when it comes to Brandon Woodruff. The fans’ reaction to the signing alone signals what the city thinks of Brandon Woodruff, his teammates and coaches all rave of his character whenever he is brought up.
I was chatting with a player I will not name in the clubhouse the moment the news came across the TVs on MLB Network. I looked up, “Oh wow, you guys re-signed Woody,” he turned to me and said “yyyyyeeeeeesssssssss.” Think of Jonah Hill’s character in Moneyball during the trading deadline scene.
More reactions like that throughout the day, even despite the fact that Woodruff will likely not pitch in a game this season. He did reveal he would travel with the team all year to continue his slow rehab process from shoulder surgery this past October.
He reflected with the media on the last moment we saw him, his lowest moment, breaking down in tears in the American Family Field interview room, begging to be able to pitch but his body would not let him.
“That’s the emotions of baseball and in life … the way things shook out for me, it made me realize that I wasn’t supposed to go out the way I was supposed to go out… now that I’m signed back it kind of just hit me that this is where I’m supposed to be. I’ve still got a lot of unfinished business in a Brewers uniform.”
I cannot wait to hear the ovation on Opening Day for Big Woo in lineup introductions.
Mark Attanasio stops by for a chat
Principal Owner Mark Attanasio made his annual address to the media on Tuesday on the heels of maybe the busiest offseason of his tenure. The Brewers have hired a new manager, opened a state-of-the-art facility in the Dominican Republic for their youngest prospects, secured legislation and funding for the current lease at American Family Field to be extended to 2050, and promptly started to create improvements at the ballpark.
Attanasio admitted he’s not the most retrospective, but looking back he feels the accomplishments of the hundreds of Brewers staffers involved with all of these various projects. With all of this excitement noted, what about the actual team on the field?
One of the funnier moments of the spring was the first statement from Mark in regards to the expectation to compete. With USA Today’s Bob Nightengale sitting across the boardroom table, Attanasio brought the data.
“For the last eight years we’ve been the third best team in the National League, and since I bought the team in 2005, we’re top four. That gets disregarded largely in the national media … Bob?”
The room enjoyed the chuckles at Nightengale’s expense, but Bob offered a chance for Attanasio to remind the national media again who currently runs the NL Central. Nightengale recalled Cubs owner Tom Ricketts telling the media he expects the Cubs to win the division in 2024.
“I hesitate to say this, but there was a team that was widely picked to win last year that finished 21 games behind us [the Cardinals]. And the Cubs finished nine games behind us, so I appreciate the friendly competition,” Attanasio said. “But we’re just going to focus on what we need to do, game-by-game… Look, I think the division is clearly better this year.”
Game is played on the field, but fun to have some war of words among owners.
Odds & ends
59 players in camp: 32 pitchers | 6 catchers | 13 infielders | 8 outfielders
40-man roster: 40
Upcoming broadcast schedule
Saturday, 2:10 PM CST, at San Diego (Peoria) – 620 WTMJ
Sunday, 2:10 PM CST, vs Colorado (Maryvale) – Brewers.com
Monday, 2:10 PM CST, vs Cincinnati (Maryvale) – 620 WTMJ
Monday, 7:00 PM CST, Brewers Spring Training Report – 620 WTMJ
Recent transactions:
Released C Austin Nola from Minor League contract
Signed C/DH Gary Sánchez to a one-year deal
Signed RHP Brandon Woodruff to a two-year deal plus a mutual option for 2026 and placed on 60-day IL
Designated UTL Jahami Jones for assignment
Random stat of the day
The Brewers were one of three teams last season to only use two catchers all season, William Contreras & Victor Caratini. The other two? Philadelphia (JT Realmuto & Garrett Stubbs) and Miami (Jacob Stallings & Nick Fortes)
Dominic Cotroneo is the host of Brewers Extra Innings, your home for Brewers talk after the games all season long. He also hosts the weekly live show/podcast Brewers All-Access here on WTMJ. You can follow him on X at @Dom_Cotroneo.
