Milwaukee Brewers Place Mat Gamel, Taylor Green on Waivers
By Aaron Somers
Apr 17, 2012, Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Looking to get a jump on their offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers have placed infielders Mat Gamel and Taylor Green on waivers in order to remove them from the team’s 40-man roster. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports that the team will learn Thursday if they’ve cleared waivers.
Neither Gamel nor Green saw any time with the Brewers during the 2013 season.
Most of the teams across baseball who aren’t in the playoffs have already begun preparing for the offseason – assessing needs, options, etc. – so it’s not abnormal to see a team making moves so quickly. Milwaukee does not need to make any decisions regarding their 40-man roster until November 20th, but the team is carrying multiple players on their 60-day DL that they will need room for. Impending free agents Yuniesky Betancourt and Michael Gonzalez will be removed following the completion of the World Series (as will Corey Hart, once he’s activated from the 60-day DL).
Hart’s injury proved far costlier than initially thought, as Milwaukee was unable to find a way to replace his productivity.
Gamel was first in line to step into the starting role as he returned from missing most of the 2012 season to a knee injury. He re-tore his ACL during the team’s first workouts of Spring Training and lost another year. Two major knee injuries have now cost him nearly two full seasons. He’s still just 28 and if he can demonstrate he’s healthy over the winter then it’s reasonable to expect that someone may give him an opportunity to prove himself on a minor league deal. It doesn’t seem likely that opportunity is going to come in Milwaukee.
Green, on the other hand, appears more likely to return to the club on a minor league deal. McCalvy notes that the team values his versatility, considering he handles both infield corners well. Green was set to take over for Gamel before an injury of his own (hip surgery) cut his season short before it began.
Milwaukee wound up with the worst production in baseball from their first baseman on the season – a group that largely consisted of Juan Francisco, Betancourt, and others mixed in.