Brewer Daily News For March 15th: Morris to Triple-A, Team USA loses

Good morning and happy Friday to all our readers out there. The Milwaukee Brewers have made another cut in Spring Training and are formulating how the 25-man roster will look come April 1st. In the second bit of news today, Team USA lost to the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic last night and will play for a semifinal spot tonight.

Hunter Morris has flown by the minors rapidly. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

On Wednesday, the Brewers announced that first base prospect Hunter Morris would be sent down to Triple-A at the beginning of the season. Morris, who was thought to be in the running as a temporary replacement for Corey Hart, will be in his first year in Triple-A.

"“When you look at a guy coming from Double-A, if he just goes off in the spring you may think, ‘You know something? Maybe he can handle the atmosphere and all that,'” manager Ron Roenicke said. “He was definitely a name that we thought of, but it’s not like I was thinking he was going to be our guy. Things like that do happen, but he needs to go to Triple-A and continue to improve on his defense, and then have another big year offensively.” – via Brewers.com"

Morris has played in 11 games so far in the spring and is only batting .120 with one home run and one RBI. The 24-year-old still has time to improve his game as Roenicke mentioned and the Brewers are by no means in a rush to bring him up to the majors.

If Morris does see time in the majors, expect it to be either late 2013 or the beginning of the 2014 season. With Hart in a contract year, his return still remains unknown as the Brewers haven’t made offered him any extensions.

Last night, Team USA suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Dominican Republic’s team. In the 3-1 loss, the game was tied 1-1 until the top of the 9th when the D.R. struck for two runs off of the Atlanta Braves’ closer Craig Kimbrel.

The Brewers’ Ryan Braun went 0-4 in the loss and Jonathan Lucroy did not play. The USA’s only run came in the 1st when Eric Homser was walked with the bases loaded and Brandon Phillips scored. Team USA will play an elimination game tonight against Puerto Rico at 7 PM EST / 6 PM CST for a semifinal shot to play at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Ryan Vogelsong will start for Team USA and Nelson Figueroa will take the mound for Puerto Rico.

This afternoon, the Brewers (7-10) will take on the Cleveland Indians (12-7) at 4:05 PM EST / 3:05 PM CST in Maryvale. The starters will be Chris Narveson for the Brew Crew and Brett Myers for the Tribe.