A team-by-team look at the National League Central entering spring training, including key players each club acquired and lost, and dates of the first workout for pitchers and catchers, and the full squad:___Milwaukee BrewersManager: Craig Counsell (fifth season).2018: 96-67, first place, lost to Dodgers in NLCS.Training Town: Phoenix.Park: Maryvale Baseball Park.First Workout: Feb. 14/19.He's Here: C Yasmani Grandal, OF Ben Gamel, 2B-3B Cory Spangenberg, LHP Alex Claudio, RHP Deolis Guerra, RHP Bobby Wahl.He's Outta Here: 3B Mike Moustakas, LHP Gio Gonzalez, LHP Wade Miley, OF Keon Broxton, OF Domingo Santana, 2B Jonathan Schoop, RHP Joakim Soria, LHP Dan Jennings, OF Curtis Granderson, LHP Xavier Cedeno.Going campin': The Brewers return mostly intact after making it to the NL Championship Series last year in the franchise's first playoff appearance since they also lost the NLCS in 2011. Grandal is a major upgrade behind the plate after he hit 24 homers last year with the Dodgers. There... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — David Stearns doesn't expect wholesale change for the Milwaukee Brewers after they fell a game short of the World Series.Milwaukee is set to return most of its roster after winning the NL Central in a tiebreaking 163rd game and pushing the Dodgers to Game 7 of the NL Championship Series. Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain headline the group, with Ryan Braun, Travis Shaw, Jesus Aguilar and Orlando Arcia all under contract, too. That gives Milwaukee's general manager reason for optimism long-term."Those are players that performed on a big stage in October and have the ability to continue performing as Brewers in the future," Stearns said. "We genuinely believe we are set up to succeed going forward."Stearns also pointed to an abundance of young pitching. Rookie right-handers Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta pitched well down the stretch, and Woodruff and Burnes played crucial roles in the postseason. All three will be in the mix for a rotation spot with Jhoulys... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers think they're just getting started.Sure looks that way, too.Led by breakout performances by Yelich, Josh Hader and Jesus Aguilar, Milwaukee chased down the Chicago Cubs to win the NL Central for the first time since 2011. The youthful Brewers then swept Colorado in the Division Series before taking the Los Angeles Dodgers all the way to Game 7 in the NL Championship Series.The playoff run ended with a 5-1 loss to the more seasoned Dodgers on Saturday night, but the Brewers plan on returning to October very soon."We feel like we've got a lot of talent here," Yelich said. "Hopefully it's just the beginning."The 26-year-old Yelich nearly won the Triple Crown in his first season with Milwaukee after he was acquired in a trade with Miami in January. The silky smooth outfielder is the leading candidate for his first NL MVP award.Aguilar cruised past his previous career highs with 35 homers and 108 RBIs, and Hader set a major league record... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wade Miley threw just five pitches in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series before Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell emerged from the Dodger Stadium dugout and abruptly removed his starter.Oddly enough, five innings after this extraordinary bit of subterfuge, Counsell probably waited a bit too long to go to his bullpen again.Brandon Woodruff pitched 5 1/3 innings of highly unusual relief against the Dodgers on Wednesday, but he also gave up Max Muncy's tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth inning of Los Angeles' 5-2 victory.Counsell has used his bullpen liberally and unconventionally throughout the Brewers' remarkable season, and this particular gambit yielded mixed results.All the results aren't in yet, either: After walking leadoff hitter Cody Bellinger and then leaving Game 5, Miley will start Game 6 in Milwaukee on Friday when the Brewers attempt to avoid elimination."Look, they're trying to get matchups, we're trying to get matchups," Counsell said. "They're a very tough... [More]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Wade Miley threw just five pitches in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series before Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell emerged from the dugout and abruptly removed his starter.Oddly enough, five innings after this extraordinary bit of subterfuge, Counsell probably waited a bit too long to go to his bullpen again.Brandon Woodruff pitched 5 1/3 innings of highly unusual relief against the Dodgers on Wednesday, but the right-hander gave up Max Muncy's tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth inning of Los Angeles' 5-2 victory to put the Brewers on the brink of playoff elimination.Counsell unveiled his latest creative usage of his bullpen at a pivotal point in the series, but it didn't stop the Brewers from losing for the third time in four games after a 12-game winning streak that propelled them deep into the postseason.A surprise bullpen game worked well, until it didn't.Woodruff escaped a first-inning jam and kept the Dodgers in check until the fifth, when he gave up Austin Barnes'... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Told he had the day off after pitching three shutout innings in the NL Championship Series opener, hard-throwing Milwaukee left-hander Josh Hader wasn't expecting a call to the bullpen.After watching Brewers relievers blow a late three-run lead in Game 2, Hader would have embraced back-to-back outings, high pitch count and all."Adrenaline can do a lot things," he said when asked if he could have pitched.The best-of-seven series is tied at a game apiece after the Dodgers dented the rest of the Brewers' hard-throwing relievers in the late innings for a second straight day and won 4-3 on Saturday.While Wade Miley pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings and became Milwaukee's first pitcher to get an out in the sixth inning in the postseason, the Dodgers rallied from a three-run, seventh-inning deficit for the win.Miley had thrown 74 pitches when he was removed."Look you're either too early or too late," manager Craig Counsell said. "At some point, you've got to make a decision, and I... [More]

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Cracks are showing in the Milwaukee Brewers' vaunted bullpen.The Los Angeles Dodgers tied the NL Championship Series at a game apiece after teeing off on Milwaukee's hard-throwing relievers for the second straight day.Milwaukee had No. 5 bullpen ERA during the regular season at 3.47, including a best-in-the-majors 1.98 in September.But the Brewers nearly wasted a five-run lead in Game 1 before holding on for a 6-5 win. Less than 24 hours later, Wade Miley pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings Saturday, but the Dodgers rallied from a three-run, seventh-inning deficit to win 4-3.Other than Josh Hader, the Brewers' bullpen has allowed eight runs in 7 1/3 innings against Los Angeles, a 9.82 ERATwo runs in the seventh off Corbin Burnes in Game 2 were followed by Justin Turner's go-ahead, two-run homer off Jeremy Jeffress in the eighth.Jeffress sat by himself quietly in the dugout after leaving the game, blowing bubble gumA travel day will allow the bullpen to reset heading into Game... [More]