Brewers lose former top catching prospect Mario Feliciano to Tigers on waiver claim

Mario Feliciano, once considered the Milwaukee Brewers’ catcher of the future, is moving on.

The 24-year-old was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, a week after he’d been designated for assignment in the wake of Milwaukee’s trade for infielder Owen Miller.

"Anytime you put somebody on waivers, that's always the risk," general manager Matt Arnold said. "There is also the chance that these guys can get through and you can retain them. But we felt (catcher) was more a position of strength as we spent more time on it with the staff and kind of discussing where we were.

"We were hopeful he'd sneak through but somebody claimed him, and that's part of the business."

Feliciano was drafted in the second round in 2016 and opened the 2022 season as the Brewers’ No. 7 overall prospect as ranked by the Journal Sentinel. He earned a brief promotion and played in two games in mid-August, collecting his first and only major-league hit in the process.

But Feliciano's overall body of work in the minor leagues since 2019 – when he was named the Carolina League’s player of the year while playing for the then-advanced Class A Carolina Mudcats – wasn't impressive.

He was limited to 39 games by injury in 2021 and this past season at Class AAA Nashville hit .274 with six home runs and 38 runs batted in to go along with an OPS of .712. His defense and game calling has also remained a work in progress.

Considering the trades for William Contreras and Payton Henry so far this offseason as well as the continued presence of Victor Caratini, it’s likely the Brewers saw no avenue for Feliciano to make an impact at the major-league level.

The Brewers will also have Alex Jackson in camp as a non-roster invitee for spring training. He played in five games for Milwaukee early last season and had been on the 40-man roster as recently as earlier this month.

Also providing depth behind the plate is Brian Navarreto, who hit .269 with four homers and 18 RBI in 43 games with Nashville last season. He also had a brief cup of coffee in the major leagues with Miami in 2020.

"Obviously we went out to reacquire Henry, and then to be able to retain Jackson (was big)," Arnold said. "Also, a guy who our staff likes quite a bit is Brian Navarreto, a guy who's off the (40-man) but really, really good reports about him.

"Another guy in our mix who we think can potentially help us at the major-league level at some point."

In addition to Jackson, the Brewers have also signed eight other players to minor-league contracts with invitations to spring training – right-handers J.C. Mejía, Collin Wiles, Tobias Myers, Tyler Herb and Lucas Erceg, left-hander Thomas Pannone and infielders Eddy Alvarez and Andruw Monasterio.

Mejía pitched in two games for the Brewers last season before being suspended for 80 games due to a positive PED test while Wiles and Pannone both also have limited major-league experience.

Erceg, a 2016 second-round pick of the Brewers as a third baseman, has a shot at debuting in Milwaukee's bullpen this season after switching over to pitching full-time last season. He's capable of touching triple digits with his fastball, and struck out 69 in 61 ⅓ innings in 2022 between Class AA Biloxi and Class AAA Nashville.

Alvarez has also played in 50 major-league games with the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers since 2020 but is perhaps better known for being one of only six athletes to ever medal in both the Winter (2014, silver as part of 5,000-meter relay in speedskating in Sochi) and Summer Olympics (2021, silver in baseball with Team USA in Tokyo).

Alvarez, who was also a flag bearer for the United States in Tokyo, is one of just two athletes to ever play in the major leagues and medal in the Olympics in another sport.

The other? Jim Thorpe.

“The Olympic speedskaters, right? We’re trying to bring championship-level people into the organization, and that would be one of them,” Arnold said. “He’s an exciting guy to bring into our mix, for sure. Obviously very athletic, very talented, very accomplished – the type of person you want to bring into the organization."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers lose former top catching prospect Mario Feliciano to waiver claim