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The Brewers committed an embarrassing snafu on Friday when they mistakenly added Jeff Bennett's name to the list of players who were reassigned to minor league camp. The right-hander found out about the move while listening to a broadcast of the game in the team's training room. Surprised, he "suddenly jumped off the training table and ran to the offices upstairs," according to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy.
"We kick around so many names and have a number of different lists going. I just happened to transcribe his name onto the wrong list," Assistant General Manager Gord Ash told McCalvy. "[Bennett and I] had a nice chat. He understands."
While Bennett remains with the Brewers, the same cannot be said for infielder Matt Erickson, left-hander Sam Narron, and catcher Julio Mosquera. That trio was reassigned to bring the number of players still in camp to 39 including ten non-roster invitees and 19 pitchers.
A Wisconsin native, Erickson made a brief appearance with Milwaukee last season but spent most of the year with Triple-A Indianapolis where he hit .271/.359/.358 in 122 games. Selected by the Marlins in the seventh round of the 1997 draft, Erickson played two seasons in Single-A, two seasons in Double-A, and three seasons in Triple-A before departing as a six-year minor league free agent. He batted .311 with 73 doubles in 321 games in the Pacific Coast League between 2001 and 2003 and will likely open 2005 (his age-30 season) as Nashville's starting shortstop.
Narron, a 6-foot-7 soft-tosser who turns 24 in July, was claimed off waivers from the Rangers late in last year's campaign. He split the season between Double-A and Triple-A and made a spot start for Texas in just his third professional season. A product of East Carolina University, Narron is a candidate for the Nashville rotation but could end up in the bullpen or at Double-A Huntsville.
A defense-first minor league veteran, Mosquera was once a top catching prospect in the Blue Jays system. Signed as an amateur free agent out of Panama in 1991, he spent the next eight seasons with Toronto but earned just two call-ups to the big league club and accumulated only 30 Major League at-bats. He's bounced around ever since, spending time in the minors with the Devil Rays, Yankees, Rangers, and Mariners. He split 2004 between the Mexican League, the independent Atlantic League, and the Frisco Roughriders, Texas' Double-A affiliate. While his career minor league batting average stands at a respectable .281, the 33-year old has little plate discipline (he's averaged one walk every 15.5 at-bats) and modest power. His strong arm and excellent pitch-blocking skills have helped him enjoy a long career but he will have trouble wrestling playing time away from fellow veterans Pat Borders and Mark Johnson at Triple-A.
Bill Batterman is a writer for Brewerfan.net. You can get in touch with him by sending email to batman@brewerfan.net.
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