Although a sporadic trickle of players hit the disabled list daily, a few players who began the season on the DL have already rejoined their teams. Milwaukee activated Geoff Jenkins from the disabled list on Wednesday. His rehab assignment went well and he's had no problems with his wrist since joining the team. Wrist injuries frequently drain power from a hitter, but this injury does not appear to have been serious. He also attended to the injury quickly rather than attempting to play through it, so he isn't likely to have any significant lingering problems.

In order to clear room on the roster for Jenkins, the Brewers demoted Jason Conti. Milwaukee acquired Conti from the Devil Rays for C-S Javier Valentin a week before the start of the season. Conti has displayed promising plate discipline and speed in the past, as well as marginal power skills. Unfortunately, the 28-year-old's strike zone judgment has deteriorated over the past few years. He's not a bad reserve outfielder, but he wasn't worth the price of a switch-hitting catcher.

I felt Valentin's inclusion in the Brewers' trade with the Twins this off-season tipped the scales on the trade in favor of Milwaukee. However, GM Doug Melvin squandered his surplus in this deal. While the Brewers were a little short of outfielders due to injury, they need not have dealt Valentin for an outfield back-up. Numerous outfielders signed minor league contracts this off-season. Milwaukee could have secured injury insurance for a minimal price. I'm sure Rickey Henderson would have signed for minimum wage, allowing them to forego this deal and keep Valentin. Meanwhile Tampa substantially upgraded their back-up catcher at a negligible cost to their outfield.

The Brewers seemed to collect catchers this off-season, but as the regular season approached, they shed the best of the bunch. Valentin and Robert Machado should have comprised the Brewers catching detail, but Milwaukee didn't even bother trading Machado; the team simply released him. Machado signed a minor league deal with the Orioles, who placed him on the AAA disabled list with a pulled hamstring.

The 28-year-old suffered the hamstring injury early in the exhibition season and missed most of Spring Training, so he wouldn't have been able to break camp with the Brewers. However, Milwaukee could have easily stashed Machado on the DL, insuring that they'd have an alternative if their primary choices of Keith Osik and Eddie Perez mysteriously failed to produce. Instead, the Orioles were able to acquire solid injury insurance for their catchers.

David Segui returned from the disabled list on April 4th, missing only a few days of the regular season. Segui predicted a fast return from his broken thumb to which we apparently should have paid more attention. He seems to have completely recovered well in advance of his estimated late April return.