Brewers reliever Tyler Cravy wasn’t happy when he received the news that he and bullpen mate Rob Scahill did not make the team’s 25-man roster to open the regular season. Both will start with Triple-A Colorado Springs. That is, if Cravy doesn’t seek employment in a completely new field.
Per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Cravy says he might seek “a 9 to 5 job where I get treated like a human, at this point.” He added, “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.’” Scahill doesn’t see the Brewers releasing him, rather, “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.”
Scahill isn’t happy, either. He thinks his status as a non-roster invitee worked against him in his quest to make the roster. He said, “I would assume that it did (work against me). 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.” Scahill continued, “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.”
Both pitchers performed admirably this spring. Cravy pitched 13 1/3 innings, yielding only three runs on five hits and three walks with 11 strikeouts. Scahill logged 12 1/3 innings, giving up just one run on nine hits and a walk with eight strikeouts.
It’s easy to write off Cravy and Scahill’s frustration, but it’s understandable. Among Brewers pitchers to rack up double-digit innings in spring training, Wily Peralta -- whose roster spot was already guaranteed -- was the only one with a spring ERA in the same neighborhood at 0.71. Despite pitching much better than could have been reasonably expected, both are now faced with the prospect of lower pay, long bus rides instead of plane trips, and motels instead of hotels in the minor leagues.
GM David Stearns empathized with Cravy and Scahill. He said, “Our job is to manage the organization the best we can to get as many wins as possible as we can. 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.”
