Tom Haudricourt

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee Brewers made their final two pitching cuts of spring training Saturday and to say the least, neither player took it well.

Relievers Tyler Cravy and Rob Scahill were told they were being sent to Class AAA Colorado Springs, leaving 24 players, one less than needed. That meant the Brewers were preparing to acquire a player from outside the organization, but general manager David Stearns said he couldn’t talk about it yet.

Cravy and Scahill were not hesitant to talk, however. Cravy, in particular, was quite upset after compiling a 2.03 earned run average over 11 exhibition outings while holding opponents to a .116 batting average.

Rather than report to the minors, Cravy said he might seek “a 9 to 5 job where I get treated like a human, at this point.”

What had Cravy and Scahill most upset was they were told there would be a competition for jobs at the start of camp and pitched well, yet were cut anyway. Scahill allowed only one run in 12 outings (0.73 ERA) but was a non-roster invitee to camp, which didn’t help his chances.

“I would assume that it did (work against me),” Scahill said. “But, again, that’s not my call. I felt like I pitched well enough to win a job, but they’re going in a different direction.

“I’m not the one who makes the decisions. I’m not happy but it’s part of the game. I understand that but it doesn’t make it any easier.”

Cravy, who compiled a 2.86 ERA in 20 outings for the Brewers last season, had a minor-league option remaining and the club exercised it. He said he was not certain he would report, however.

“It would just be nice to have the honesty straight up front instead of, ‘Hey, you’re competing for a job,’ then literally out-compete everyone and be told, ‘Sorry, we have other plans.’

“It says a lot about the integrity, or lack thereof, of the guys running the show, but what are you going to do? All you can do is put up numbers and sometimes that’s still not enough. I don’t think they would release me. I think it would just be me deciding to quit if I chose that route. I’m just not sure I want to play for guys who treat you like this.”

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While no doubt taken aback somewhat by Cravy’s strong comments, Stearns noted that Cravy was cut right at the end of camp last spring as well and that made it even tougher when it happened again.

“I think it’s very natural for any player who has had a good spring and has competed well throughout spring and is in the final cuts to be disappointed and emotional about it,” Stearns said.

“Tyler, in particular, went through this last year. He made the trip with us (to play Class AA) Biloxi and was sent out at Biloxi. Dealing with this two years in a row is not a pleasant experience. We’re sensitive to that.”

Of Scahill being a non-roster player, even with an opening on the team’s 40-man roster, Stearns said, “I think factors like that always play some part into a decision. We have to think about what’s best for the immediate near-term and also how best to manage our roster through the entire season.

“The truth is … the likelihood is very high that players who have come this far in camp are going to be with this team for a large segment of the season. That’s certainly no consolation to guys who aren’t on the roster on opening day. I recognize that, but any player who is one of the final send-outs, as painful as that can be, is very likely to be part of the team going forward.”

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Though Cravy and Scahill obviously were very upset about being cut, Stearns and manager Craig Counsell said often in recent days that external moves were being considered and therefore nothing was final with the group of players brought to Milwaukee after breaking camp in Arizona. In fact, they spoke in terms that made it seem likely that such a move was forthcoming.

“Our job is to manage the organization the best we can to get as many wins as possible as we can," Stearns said. "I understand players are going to be emotional. I certainly understand players are disappointed when they performed well and aren’t immediately rewarded for that performance.

“It happens a lot in this industry. It’s one of the more challenging parts of this industry when players perform well and there’s not that immediate reward. So, I certainly understand that disappointment.”

The Brewers have until 11 a.m. Sunday to set their opening-day roster.

Taylor Jungmann, one of the other candidates for the final job in the bullpen, was told he made the club. Despite allowing two runs in the ninth inning to the Chicago White Sox that tied the exhibition game at Miller Park, Jungmann also pitched well in camp (2.45 ERA in 13 outings).

Out of sensitivity to his closest friend on the team, Cravy, Jungmann said he didn’t feel like talking about receiving good news personally.