Off Topic » David Stearns doesn’t expect wholesale change

MILWAUKEE (AP) — 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 http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-yoan-moncada-jersey , 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 Chacin, Zach Davies and Chase Anderson. The wild card for that unit is Jimmy Nelson, a breakout ace in 2017 who missed all of this season following surgery on his right shoulder.The Brewers’ bullpen 1-2 punch of Josh Hader and Corey Knebel are also under team control for years to come.“We certainly like our numbers and we do feel we have depth at that position,” Stearns said. “We’re always going to look to get better. We’re always going to look to improve. But we think we have a number of high-upside, high-quality arms who are continuing to improve Welington Castillo Jersey , and some who are entering that sweet spot in their careers. That’s fun for us to see.”The team has just three free agents — late-season acquisitions Wade Miley, Gio Gonzalez and Curtis Granderson. Miley was a major contributor, going 5-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 16 starts during the regular season and then pitching masterfully in the postseason.Mike Moustakas and Joakim Soria have mutual options for $15 and $10 million, respectively, and Jeremy Jeffress and Jordan Lyles have club options for 2018.Moustakas seemed a strange fit when Milwaukee acquired him from Kansas City prior to the trade deadline because the team already had Shaw entrenched at third base. But Shaw held his own after moving to second, and Moustakas came through with some timely postseason hits after delivering eight homers, 33 RBIs and a .767 OPS in the regular season.“There is a reason why he has the reputation he has as a big game player,” Stearns said. “We’re happy to have him.”Jonathan Schoop didn’t fare as well after he was acquired from Baltimore. He batted .202 with four home runs and 21 RBIs for Milwaukee and went hitless with three strikeouts in eight postseason plate appearances.Schoop is still under team control for next season, but after earning $8.5 million in 2018, he might be a non-tender candidate.“He has had really impressive stretches throughout his career, and unfortunately for both him and us http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-cliff-pennington-jersey , we didn’t see one of those stretches when he was a Brewer,” Stearns said. “We’ll sit down to see if we can determine why, and then we’ll go forward.” TORONTO — The Tampa Bay Rays have had their way with the Toronto Blue Jays this season.They defeated the Blue Jays 7-1 Monday in the opener of a three-game series at the Rogers Centre and lead the season series 8-2.The Rays (74-63) will try to keep that mastery going Tuesday in the second game of the series when they will start right-hander Ryne Stanek (2-3, 2.72 ERA) while the Blue Jays (62-75) will start left-hander Ryan Borucki (3-3, 4.52).Article continues below ...Stanek will be starting for the second game in a row and for the 23rd time this season. Tuesday will be the 42nd time this season that the Rays will use a reliever to start a game, or what has become known as an opener. Then manager Kevin Cash will bring in a pitcher who can go a bit longer. Or, as in the case Monday, much longer.After Stanek pitched a perfect first inning Monday, Yonny Chirinos took over and allowed one run in seven innings to earn the win.“When he’s going good that’s kind of what we’ve seen, very, very efficient Joey Votto Jersey ,” Cash said of Chirinos.It was the right-hander’s sixth consecutive relief appearance of five or more innings, which is tied for second in major league history.Chirinos gave up two walks and an RBI single in his first inning, requiring 25 pitches, then he settled down and used only 47 pitches for his final six innings.Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman allowed six hits and four runs in 1 2/3 innings Monday. It was his first start since Aug. 17 because he had been on the disabled list with a blister on his right middle finger. It was still bothering him Monday.“It’s clearly affecting him and bothering him,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said.Borucki has never faced the Rays. He is coming off a 4 2/3 innings no-decision start against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday when he allowed five hits and five runs in a 10-5 loss.The Blue Jays have won only twice in their past eight games, while the Rays have won 12 of their past 14 games. They are now 11 games over .500 for the first time since finishing the 2013 season at 92-71.“It’s been fun,” Cash said.Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are batting only .175 against the Rays this season, their lowest against any team.Both teams have taken advantage of the expanded rosters for the final month of the season.The Rays selected catcher Nick Ciuffo, their No. 25-ranked prospect, from Triple-A Durham and he made his major league debut Monday night’s game and went 0-for-4 with a run scored.Rays catcher Adam Moore was placed on the restricted list due to improper documentation for his passport http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-brandon-finnegan-jersey , making room for Ciuffo on the 40-man roster.The Rays also will recall right-hander Jake Faria on Tuesday.Outfielder Mallex Smith (viral infection) was reinstated from the 10-day disabled list Monday and was 1-for-5 with an RBI. He also used his speed in right field to cut off a potential extra-base hit by Billy McKinney and keep it to a single in the sixth inning. That proved valuable when the next batter, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., grounded into a double play.The Blue Jays have already called up relievers Mark Leiter Jr., Jose Fernandez and Taylor Guerrieri — all of whom pitched Monday — as well as Sean Reid-Foley, who struck out 10 in earning his first major league win Sunday in Miami.“I thought they all did very well,” Gibbons said.There will be more players called up this week.“There’ll be a few,” Gibbons said. “Some of them will come (Tuesday).”The Triple-A Buffalo Bisons’ season ended Monday and they missed the playoffs. That could mean that outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. and infielder Richard Urena will be called up soon.