Bill Batterman is the Spring Training begins in less than a month and the Brewers will have no shortage of fresh faces at their Arizona compound. To help fans get acclimated with this year’s crop of newcomers to the organization, the Daily Brew will be publishing a series of player profiles over the next several weeks. This is the fourth installment in the Newcomer Breakdown series, which will cover major leaguers as well as selected minor leaguers; the first three profiles covered Jerome Gamble, Derrick Turnbow, and Justin Lehr.
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Brewers’ General Manager Doug Melvin has developed a penchant for mining the waiver wires and free agent listings for former-Rangers. The architect of that team from 1995-2001, Melvin has repeatedly exploited his Texas connections and uncovered critical pieces of the Brewers’ continuing rebuilding project. From Scott Podsednik to Dan Kolb to Doug Davis, Melvin has given favorites from his days in Arlington a chance to rebuild their careers with Milwaukee. The latest find is Julio Santana, a former top prospect with the Rangers whose star had fallen so far that he spent the last two seasons with the Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese League. A six foot tall right-hander with thick build and a mid-90s fastball, Santana was inked to a minor league contract in December and invited to Spring Training where he will compete for a spot in the Brewers’ bullpen.