The Brewers have placed stopper Trevor Hoffman on the 15-day D.L. with a strained right oblique muscle. Hoffman pitched in 3 games for the Brewers this spring going 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.33 WHIP. Hoffman is major league baseball’s all-time leader in saves with 554. 25-year old righty Carlos Villanueva will serve as the Brewers’ closer until Hoffman is ready to return to action. Villanueva has pitched in 10 games this spring for the Brewers going 0-1 with a 6.28 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. He has pitched in 116 games (21 starts) in his major league career to date and he is 14-14 with 2 saves, a 3.94 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He should do a decent job for the Brewers until Hoffman is ready to return to action.

The Brewers have released veteran outfielder Trot Nixon. Nixon played in 20 games for the Brewers last season in which he was 4 for 38 (.105 avg, .438 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 3 RBIs. He also whiffed 11 times for the Brewers over the winter. His career could be over but the Brewers shouldn’t miss him at all in 2009.

The Brewers designated 23-year old righty reliever Eduardo Morlan for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Wes Littleton.  Unless another team claims Morlan the Brewers will offer him back to the Rays as they selected him in the Rule 5 Draft.  Morlan was the #19 rated prospect in the Brewers’ minor league system according to Baseball America so some team might take a chance on him.  The 23-year old righty reliever pitched in 5 games (1 start) in spring training this season and he was 0-1 with a 6.43 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP.  This was a now move for the Brewers as Littleton is more likely than Morlan to help them in the 2009 season.

The Brewers have claimed 26-year old righty reliever Wes Littleton off waivers from the Red Sox.  Littleton pitched in 12 games (0 starts) last season for the Rangers and he was 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.  He has now pitched in 80 games (0 starts) in his major league career in which he is 5-3 with 3 saves, a 3.69 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP.  This was a smart move for the Brewers who need help in the bullpen for 2009 and Littleton could provide some.

29-year old righty swinging Bill Hall is the starting 3B for the Brewers by default. He blew up a couple of years ago hitting 30+ homers but he’s never come close again. Hall played in 128 games for the Brewers last season and he was 91 for 404 (.225 avg, .689 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 15 homers, 55 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Hall wasn’t very good in the field either in 2008 for the Brewers. He played in 113 games at 3B for the Brewers last season and he made 17 errors while showing slightly below average range. The Brewers would be better off using Hall as a utility man in 2009.

The Brewers #2 prospect according to Baseball America is 23-year old lefty swinging 3B Mat Gamel and they should give him a chance to start this season. He played in 2 games for the Brewers last season and he was 1 for 2 (.500 avg). Gamel also played in 132 games in AA+AAA ball last season in which he was 172 for 529 (.325 avg) with 99 runs scored, 20 homers, 100 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The future is now for Gamel.

33-year old lefty swinging Mike Lamb will likely have a job on the Brewers’ bench in 2009. Lamb played in 92 games for the Twins and Brewers last season in which he was 58 for 247 (.235 avg, .596 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 1 homer and 32 RBIs. He played in 56 games at 3B last season making 5 errors while showing below average range.

Craig Counsell might also get some P.T. at 3B for the Brewers this season. He played in 38 games at 3B last season making only 1 error while showing slightly below average range.

26-year old righty swinging Casey McGehee could also have a shot at getting P.T. at 3B in 2009 for the Brewers. McGehee played in 9 games for the Cubs last season and he was 4 for 24 (.167 avg, .368 OPS) with 1 run scored and 5 RBIs. He also played in 133 games in AAA-ball last season in which he was 147 for 497 (.296 avg, .774 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 12 homers and 92 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON: C