Minor League Free Agent Signings Update

Last Update: February 2, 2014

The following players have been signed to 2014 minor league contracts or acquired via trade or waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers and could be members of the Sounds roster this season:

P Jose De La Torre - De La Torre, who was claimed off waivers from Boston in September, enjoyed a solid season for Triple-A Pawtucket in 2013. The 28-year-old Puerto Rican hurler fired 52 1/3 innings of 2.75 ERA ball with 10.1 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9, though he didn't fare as well at the big league level. Making his major league debut this season, De La Torre allowed eight runs on 10 hits and 10 walks in 11 1/3 innings (6.35 ERA). After originally signing with the Brewers as an international free agent in 2004, De La Torre was released and picked up by the Mets. He spent the next five seasons in the Mets' system before signing with the Indians in February 2012, and was traded to Boston for infielder Brent Lillibridge before last season's trade deadline. In seven minor league seasons, the reliever has a career 31-21 record and 2.82 ERA in 248 appearances.

P Zach Duke - Duke, 30, pitched in 26 games (one start) last season for Washington and Cincinnati, going 1-2 with a 6.03 ERA. He was released by the Nationals in June and signed with the Reds, and pitched much better in Cincinnati (0.84 ERA over 10 2/3 innings in 14 games). Duke began his big-league career with Pittsburgh, pitching there from 2005 through 2010. He went 45-70 with a 4.54 ERA in 160 games with the Pirates. After his stint with Pittsburgh, Duke pitched for Arizona in 2011 (3-4, 4.93 in 21 games) and Washington in 2012 (1-0, 1.32 in eight games). Overall, Duke is 50-76 with a 4.57 ERA in 215 games (169 starts) over nine years in the major leagues.

INF Irving Falu - Falu, 30, played for Kansas City's Triple-A Omaha club last season. In 135 games, he batted .256 with a .320 on-base percentage for the Storm Chasers. His name should be a familiar one to Sounds fans, as 2013 marked Falu's fifth consecutive season playing primarily in the PCL as a Sounds' opponent. Falu did play in one game for the Royals last year after seeing 24 games of big-league action in 2012.

INF Taylor Green - A two-time Brewers Minor League Player of the Year and former All-PCL selection for the Sounds (2011), Green has batted .207/.266/.343 in 158 major league plate appearances. In the minors, he has batted .289 with a .370 on-base percentage, 78 home runs and 431 RBIs in 692 games over parts of seven seasons. He underwent surgery in late April to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. Green was removed from Milwaukee's crowded 40-man roster in October and re-signed with the organization as a minor league free agent.

OF Greg Golson - Golson spent all of last season in the minors and also appeared in one game in independent ball, batting .249/.313/.392 with six homers and 19 steals overall. In 2013, he split time between the Braves and Rockies organizations, spending most of the year at the Triple-A level, including batting .244 in 55 PCL contests with Colorado Springs.

OF Jeremy Hermida - Hermida, 30, last played in the majors with San Diego in early 2012. Last season, he played in 132 games with the Cleveland Indians' Triple-A Columbus affiliate,, batting .247 with 17 home runs and 66 RBIs. A first-round draft pick by the Marlins in 2002, Hermida is a lifetime .281 hitter in 716 minor league games during his 11-year pro career.

INF/OF Elian Herrera - Herrera, who will turn 29 before the start of spring training, is a switch-hitter who split each of the past two seasons between Triple-A Albuquerque and the big-league Dodgers, hitting .305 with 10 home runs and 83 RBIs in 172 games in the Minors, and .251 with a .336 on-base percentage in the Majors over that span. He has played every position but catcher during a professional career that began in 2003, when Herrera signed with the Dodgers out of the Dominican Republic. For the Dodgers, he started at least one game at all three outfield positions, plus second base and third base.

OF Kevin Mattison - Mattison, primarily a center fielder, was selected in the first round of December's Triple-A phase Rule 5 draft off the Double-A Jacksonville roster of the Miami Marlins. Mattison, 28, batted .216 with seven home runs, 31 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases with Triple-A New Orleans last season. He was originally drafted by the Marlins in the 28th round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.

C Lucas May - Entering his 11th pro season, May joins his sixth different organization with the Brewers this year. He spent 2013 with the Pirates' Triple-A club in Indianapolis, where he hit .226 in 57 games. May previously appeared in the PCL with Albuquerque (2010), Omaha (2010-11), and Reno (2011). He carries a .254 career minor league average and enjoyed a 12-game big league stint with Kansas City in 2010.

P Brad Mills - The 28-year-old Mills opened the 2013 campaign at Triple-A Round Rock in the Rangers system and went 7-5 with a 3.87 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) before spending the second half of the year playing for Nippon Professional Baseball's Orix Buffaloes in Japan. The left-hander, who enters his eighth pro season, carries a 3.96 career minor league ERA in 130 contests (123 starts).

INF Pete Orr - Orr has played off the bench for the Braves, Nationals, and Phillies, appearing in the Majors in eight of the last nine seasons. He spent most of 2013 with Philadelphia's Triple-A Lehigh Valley affiliate, hitting .258 in 95 games, but he also appeared in 13 big league games with the Phillies as a pinch-hitter, third baseman, and left fielder. The 14-year-veteran carries a career .262 average in 1104 minor league games.

C Matt Pagnozzi - Pagnozzi, 31, played in nine games with Houston after being purchased in September from Atlanta, but he spent most of last season with the Braves' Triple-A Gwinnett affiliate, batting .210 with six homers and 30 RBIs in 90 games (290 at-bats). Pagnozzi has seen brief action in the majors with the Cardinals, Rockies, and Pirates before the action with the Astros. He has previously spent time in the PCL as a Sounds opponent with Memphis from 2007-10 and with Colorado Springs in 2011.

P Will Smith - Smith, a 24-year-old left-hander, was acquired by the Brewers in a December 5 trade that sent OF Nori Aoki to Kansas City. He spent parts of the last two seasons in the major leagues with Kansas City, going 8-10 with a 4.76 ERA in 35 games (17 starts). He has also appeared with Omaha in the PCL during the past two seasons, including a 6-4 record with a 3.03 ERA in 28 games (10 starts) for the Storm Chasers in 2013, adding 100 strikeouts in 89 innings. Smith carries a career 3.80 ERA in 133 minor league games (112 starts) over six pro seasons.

INF Joe Thurston - Thurston, 34, played in 124 games with St. Louis in 2009 but has made just one big league appearance since -- with the Marlins in 2011. He played last year with Lancaster of the independent Atlantic League and Yucatan of the Mexican League, hitting a combined .297 over 126 games. In 15 professional seasons, the veteran infielder carries a .292 average in 1,496 career minor league contests. The Brewers mark his tenth different organization.