Last call

• Right-hander Mike Fiers is scheduled to start the Brewers' Cactus League opener against A's righty Jesse Chavez at Maryvale Baseball Park on Saturday. Righties Yovani Gallardo and Marco Estrada will pitch the day before in an intrasquad game tentatively scheduled to begin around noon MT, which is open to the public. The Brewers will only play about three innings.

• Reliever Kelvim Escobar's first bullpen session of the spring was pushed back a day because of morning rain in Phoenix. The right-hander, trying to mount a comeback after years of shoulder issues, is now scheduled to take the mound on Thursday.

• The Brewers predicted a four-month recovery for first baseman Corey Hart following right knee surgery, pegging his return for late May. But Hart made a bold and surprisingly precise prediction for ESPN's Tim Kurkjian on Wednesday, predicting he'd be back in the lineup on April 20, according to a tweet by Kurkjian.

Hart is scheduled for a follow-up MRI scan on March 8, at which time he and the Brewers will have a much better handle on the timetable.

• The Red Sox on Wednesday traded for Mariners outfielder/first baseman Mike Carp, a blow to Lyle Overbay's chances of making that club. Overbay chose a non-roster invite from Boston last month over a similar offer from Milwaukee, and could be a cost-effective trade target for the Brewers later this spring if they seek a more experienced first baseman to cover for the injured Hart and Mat Gamel. Brewers officials say they will look at internal options first.

• The Brewers announced that Fiers and fellow right-handers Josh Stinson and Tyler Thornburg had signed 2013 contracts, leaving infielders Jeff Bianchi and Jean Segura as the only unsigned members of the 40-man roster.