Milwaukee Brewers Add Two Former New York Yankees

The Milwaukee Brewers might have gotten jipped out of a first round draft pick (they got a second-rounder instead) this winter when they lost CC Sabathia to the Yankees, so instead they’ll add a pair of Bombers in separate moves.

The Brewers recently added 25-year-old lefty Chase Wright, who was recently DFA’d by the Yankees. They also signed former Yankee Ramiro Mendoza to a minor league contract.

I’m unsure about what Wright’s realistic chances of making the Beer Makers' starting rotation this year, but they can’t be too bad. They must replace both Sabathia and Ben Sheets, who left via free agency. Well, Sheets will eventually.

This is good news for Wright who, despite being left handed, just didn’t fit in to the Yankees' system. He will have a chance to earn a spot even if it isn’t right away.

In exchange for Wright, the Brewers sent catcher/outfielder prospect Eric Fryer to the Yankees. Fryer is 23, and he played last season in the Southern Atlantic League, doing pretty well for himself. Over 104 games, Fryer hit .335/.407/.506. He was a 10th round draft pick in the 2007 draft.

He was recently converted to catcher and it is possible he will be converted back because he is at the same level as, but older than, both Austin Romine and Jesus Montero. There is barely enough room for both of them, so there certainly isn’t going to be enough room for all three. It is also possible this means Montero will finally be moved out from behind the plate.

Every time I think Mendoza is out of baseball, he shows up again. Mendoza last appeared with the Yankees’ triple-A squad in 2006. He had a 6.96 ERA that year over 63.1 innings. He last pitched in the majors for one inning in 2005 and for the Red Sox in 2004. From what I can tell, he never fully recovered from shoulder surgery he had in 2004.

Mendoza was what I considered a very under-appreciated part of the the 1998 Yankees' success. He also played a role on lots of other World Series winning teams. He has five rings. He is also on the preliminary roster for Panama’s WBC team.