The Brewers have designated 28-year old righty swinging outfielder Brett Carroll for assignment to make room on the roster for Jerry Hairston. Carroll played in 2 games for the Brewers this year and he was 0 for 3 (.000 avg). Carroll has now played in 175 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 58 for 286 (.203 avg, .603 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 5 homers, 28 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Carroll is a good defensive outfielder but he just can’t hit a lick. The Brewers won’t miss him.

UPDATE: (8/4/2011) - Brett Carroll has refused a minor league assignment from the Brewers and he has become a free agent.

The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired 35-year old righty swinging IF/OF Jerry Hairston from the Nationals for 23-year old lefty swinging outfielder Erik Komatsu. Hairston played in 75 games for the Nationals last year and he was 57 for 213 (.268 avg, .727 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 4 homers, 24 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Hairston has now played in 1,223 games in his first 14 years in the majors and he is 984 for 3,821 (.258 avg, .697 OPS) with 526 runs scored, 63 homers, 365 RBIs and 145 stolen bases. Hairston can play all over the field and he will probably get a lot of P.T. at 2B until Rickie Weeks returns.

Erik Komatsu came into this season as the Brewers’ #14 ranked prospect according to Baseball America. Komatsu played in 93 games in AA-ball for the Brewers this year and he was 94 for 320 (.294 avg, .809 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 6 homers, 40 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.

This seems like a high price to pay for a player like Hairston, but the Brewers are in a win now mode and he should be able to help them right now.

The Brewers have acquired 31-year old switch-hitting infielder Felipe Lopez from the Rays for cash considerations. Lopez played in 32 games for the Rays this year and he was 21 for 97 (.216 avg, .567 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers, 8 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Lopez has now played in 1,169 games in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 1,137 for 4,293 (.265 avg, .727 OPS) with 596 runs scored, 90 homers, 436 RBIs and 124 stolen bases. The Brewers are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with Lopez. They traded for him back on July 19th, 2009. That year Lopez played in 66 games for the Brewers in which he was 83 for 259 (.320 avg, .855 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 3 homers and 32 RBIs. Lopez might get a shot at 2B for the Brewers as he’s a much better option than Craig Counsell.

The Brewers have placed 28-year old righty swinging 2B Rickie Weeks on the 15-day disabled list due to a severely sprained left ankle. Weeks has played in 104 games for the Brewers so far this year and he is 113 of 416 (.272 avg, .825 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 19 homers, 43 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. 40-year old lefty swinging Craig Counsell could see a bump in P.T. before the trade deadline as the Brewers will be on the hunt for a 2B now. Counsell is 0 for his last 38! He has played in 72 games so far this year for the Brewers and he is 17 for 110 (.155 avg, .439 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Brewers have called up 25-year old righty swinging 2B Eric Farris to replace Weeks on the roster. He came into this season as the Brewers’ #9 prospect according to Baseball America. Farris has played in 98 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 101 for 394 (.256 avg, .665 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 6 homers, 36 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Farris has now played in 458 games in his first 5 years in the minors and he is 524 for 1,822 (.288 avg, .709 OPS) with 255 runs scored, 20 homers, 197 RBIs and 152 stolen bases. I have to think that the Brewers are going to get really agressive in trying to deal for a 2B before the trade deadline coming up this Sunday.

The Brewers have dealt 33-year old righty swinging catcher Wil Nieves to the Braves for cash considerations. Nieves played in 20 games for the Brewers this year and he was 7 for 50 (.140 avg, .369 OPS) with 2 runs scored. Nieves has been in AAA for a while now for the Brewers as George Kottaras outplayed him for the Brewers. This is no loss at all for the Brewers as Nieves did nothing for them this year.