Did Attanasio really mention something about Braun and the Dodgers during last nights game. I read something about it but find it hard to believe. I am slightly positive towards Stearns right now but that all goes down the drain if we really make this deal.
I read something from his end of year press conference that he hopes that he's a Brewer next year. He also said that it's different now than when Melvin and Yost approached him about trading Overbay http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/202811180/brewers-owner-mark-attanasio-pleased-with-16/
Lyle fucking Overbay. This dope is comparing a potential trade of Ryan Braun to when the team dealt a mediocre Overbay to make room for Fielder. I can't believe he actually made that comparison and that tells me that Braun is gone.
With me that is certainly possible but there is nothing that can convince me that trading Braun for Puig, the McCarthy contract and anything less than elite prospects makes any sense for this team at all. I fully realize that I have brought this up nearly every day for weeks and I am even annoying myself at this point but I cant understate how much I hate the thought of this actually happening.
The Brewers announced a bunch of front office changes which include a promotion for Ray Montgomery and a new scouting director named Tod Johnson who will handle the draft. All I know about this guy is that he has worked for Microsoft and HP before the Brewers hired him. Sounds like a software guy with no scouting background. I do not like this one bit. Analytics are very necessary but it has little place in evaluating amateur talent. Montgomery better still be heavily involved on the amateur side of things.
Sounds like Montgomery (a guy you like and want to keep) is getting a bigger role and his former assistant was promoted to fill his old role. He has been in the organization for a long time so they must like him. The idea that they have a guy that they like, want to keep, and deemed worthy of promotion should be considered as opposed to finding a guy at another organization looking for a promotion because his current employer wont give it to him.
I didn't realize he was in the organization that long. I read that he was a software guy. As long as Montgomery has more and more say I will be happy because he is the best guy in our front office.
We have to hope that Arizona keeps LaRussa and Stewart. I also can't believe that Minnesota passed up hiring McLeod to hire some guy from Cleveland with one year experience as an assistant GM.
We really need to make quite a few minor league coaching changes and replace Gord Ash so we can have all good affiliates for our prospects.
McLeod may have asked for huge $. It's also been thrown out there that if the Cubs were to win a World Series this year Theo could ride off into the sunset and I would assume Hoyer and McLeod would just get bumped up. Most thought that Theo would have a new contract by now and it could mean he's betting on himself and will ask for the world if they win a World Series (equity stake in the franchise, % of revenue, etc), or he will move onto another challenge.
We have to do whatever it takes to keep Montgomery. Let Stearns be the team president and give Montgomery the GM title. If we lose him the entire organization will crumble.
Any free agents that might get their value killed by a QO that it would make sense to sign to a 2 year deal in hopes of flipping? The Brewers would still need to give up a later pick though right? Just not the first rounder?
The Diamondbacks hired Mike Hazen as GM so we should be safe with Montgomery. This is great news for the Brewers.
Morosi is reporting that multiple teams have interest in Junior Guerra. I say sell high if we can get a good return.
Outta my way, Gyorkass 9:38 Wily Peralta: good candidate to undergo "failed starter turned dominant reliever" transformation? Jeff Sullivan 9:38 Biggest problem: he sucks The upside there is just that he'd be a mystery as a reliever. I don't see any reason to like him *in particular*, but he's certainly nailed the first part of the premise
Brewers DFA'd Chris Carter and signed Eric Thames to a 3 yr contract for 15 million or so. Thames put up huge numbers in Korea after failing to stick on a MLB roster. He is 30 and will be our first baseman. I couldn't care less either way regarding Carter. Yes he has huge power but he was basically a replacement player due to his terrible defense and complete lack of tools other than power. Still I see no reason why we gave a former failed big leaguer a 3 yr deal for his numbers in Korea when he showed he can't hit major league pitching. This is hardly a make or break move for us but I don't like it. Thames already showed he can't hit major league pitching and I just don't see why that would change when he is 30 just because he hit a ton in Korea.
I dont blame them for hesitating to give Carter $8m. I didn't watch many games last year but whenever I did he would kill any rally with his inability to get the bat on the ball when needed. Maybe Thames will show something more than he did in his previous stint in the big leagues.
I hope Thames shows something but I think its a longshot at best. Giving him a 3 yr deal for 15 million won't kill us in any way but I just don't see why he will be any good when he failed previously and is now 30. His stats in Korea look great but I doubt he has seen any fastballs above 92 MPH.
Carter is a 40 HR guy who still managed a WAR barely above 1. His defense was as bad as Fielder gave us and other than power he really offered nothing. No reason to pay him 8 million or so in 2017 but with so many outfielders we should have just moved the ultra lazy Santana to first and saved the money.
I really hate this Thornburg deal. Travis Shaw is not very good and the two prospects aren't good enough. I was actually going to suggest trading Thornburg with the contracts that free agent relievers are getting but we needed to get an elite prospects or two in the deal. Not a fan of the Thames signing but the money we gave him wasn't much so I don't care all that much but this deal is awful. When Mark Melancon is getting 60 million for 4 years we should be able to get a huge return for Tyler Thornburg who is cheap and very good.
The scouting community seems to think so. I guess those deals are somewhat similar in that we got a catcher that may be ok but could be a AAAA catcher, and a pitcher with lots of talent and upside but also plenty of risk. Here we got a platoon CI that may be a AAAA player, a pitcher with lots of talent and upside but also plenty of risk, and middle infielder with a good hit for average tool but not much else.
Shaw can't hit lefties at all so he will definitely have to platoon. I can't say that the return is awful especially if the pitcher develops but I hate trading for low upside players like Shaw. In return for Thornburg we should have gotten at least one elite prospect. I hate quantity over quality trades. Our system is more than deep enough at this point so depth does little to help us. Melancon just got 60 million and Jansen as well as Chapman will both get at least 80 million so Thornburg with 3 years of control should have gotten us a lot more than we did. This is really a Melvin type of deal where we just took a third baseman because we had a need instead of aiming for upside. This is just not a good deal.
My one thought, and I am not saying I agree with it or that it makes sense, is that Attanasio wants some semblance of major league players out there and that was the motivation for getting a guy like Shaw. Is cheap, 5 years of control, and fills in at third, and got two more prospects with at least some upside albeit at the lower levels. Like you've pointed out, given the prices out there there must have been a better deal out there though. One point you made that I would argue against is Arcia/Diaz having any bearing on targeting other middle infielders with trades. The Cubs have a massive logjam in the middle infield and just turned a prospect into Aroldis Chapman and the final piece on winning a ring. Organizational depth is never a bad thing.
With Desmond off the market for teams in need of infielders do we consider moving Villar? I'm guessing he's always been available for the right price but does not seem to be a guy they are shopping around. Wonder if he would make sense for a team like the Dodgers. Then again, Stearns went after him right away from Houston so he probably values him pretty highly.
I have no issue with moving Villar but the return would have to be substantial. This organization is loaded from a depth stand point but could really use a few more elite prospects. With so much control left I can't see Villar being moved but then again most of the moves that Stearns has made have come out of nowhere.
Outta my way, Gyorkass 12:28 MIL-BOS Thornburg trade - win for MIL, win for BOS, neither, or both? Dave Cameron 12:28 I like Thornburg, but BOS gave up a lot. I like it more for MIL
Dubon comes in at #9 in our farm system now. Pennington not in the top 30 which shows how far this system has come. He was #22 in Boston's system.
Phil Bickford was suspended for 50 games for his second failed drug test. I guess he is a pot head from his college days. If he fails a third test the penalty is 100 games but he doesn't get tested for pot once he is on the 40 man roster. I think he is 2 years away from having to be added to the 40 man so he better lay off the stuff. Bickford is probably our future closer so he needs to stay clean.
I was just going through the MLB list of the Brewers top 30 prospects and Dubon would rank around 15th or so. I still don't like this trade one bit but hopefully Dubon and Pennington will develop enough to make this a good deal because I just see so little upside to Shaw. With so many teams desperate for closer types we should have held out longer to see if a team was desperate enough to give us a haul. Once Jansen signs Thornburg would clearly be better than anyone else on the market and a team like Washington who is all in already may have given us more if they even have any prospects left after their laughable Eaton deal cleaned them out. I think this Red Sox deal would have been there in two or three weeks but someone else could have given us more. I don't like this deal but I don't think this in any way outweighs the good trades we have made like the Will Smith deal or the Lucroy/Jeffress one.
Outta my way, Gyorkass: Dave liked Milwaukee’s return from Boston more than Thornburg. Agree or disagree? 9:26 Jeff Sullivan: In Boston’s situation I’d rather have Thornburg, but I really like what the Brewers got. Dubon intrigues the hell out of me after his midseason burst
I think we will be signing at least one veteran reliever with the hopes of flipping them next deadline. I would like to see us sign Greg Holland but it will probably be a guy like Feliz or Casilla.
I think you are correct to wonder whether there was a better deal out there but relievers are tricky. Smith and Jeffress provided almost no value to the Giants and Rangers. Thornburg is a sore elbow away from being worthless . Even if we aren't stockpiling superstars, look what Adam Eaton just returned. There is always value in stocking up on young cheap position players.
Baseball America rates our prospects: image: http://www.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/3ds_brewers79.jpg TOP 10 PROSPECTS 1. Lewis Brinson, of 2. Josh Hader, lhp 3. Luis Ortiz, rhp 4. Corey Ray, of 5. Isan Diaz, ss/2b 6. Trent Clark, of 7. Brandon Woodruff, rhp 8. Phil Bickford, rhp 9. Lucas Erceg, 3b 10. Marcos Diplan, rhp Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2017-milwaukee-brewers-top-10-prospects/#CxhwW6etCAtIGUhA.99
Fucking Colorado Springs J.P. (Springfield, IL): While Jorge Lopez certainly had his struggles this year, he seems to be back on track in winter ball. Are you optimistic he can regain his 2015 form and become a mid-rotation type? Is he in your next ten names in the top 30? Tom Haudricourt: Lopez is in the next 10 of Brewers prospects. Here’s what scouts told me happened with Lopez at Colorado Springs: He couldn’t get his signature curveball to break as it had in the past, started fiddling with it, got his mechanics all messed up, lost confidence, etc. He was removed from Colorado Springs for his mental health and eventually put back at Class AA Biloxi, where he was Southern League pitcher of the year in 2015. As you noted, he is dealing once again in Puerto Rico. Now, the Brewers must decide if they can risk sending him back to Colorado Springs in 2017 or just leave him at Biloxi to continue pitching. Tough call. Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/milwaukee-brewers-top-10-prospects-chat-2/#LoUUgwMwuMvB1WlB.99
Its not a tough call at all. We flat out shouldn't let any of our prospects pitch in Colorado Springs.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2017-zips-projections-milwaukee-brewers/ http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/lets-talk-about-that-eric-thames-projection/ All of the projection systems like Thames. We shall see
Outta my way, Gyorkass: What’s the optimal strategy for a team like the Brewers, who are a year+ beyond initiating a rebuild – basically stand pat, take high upside FA flyers, and just let the player development machine do its thing? Obviously, it makes sense to flip a Braun or Garza if someone comes up and makes them a good offer, but does it also make sense to actively try to trade guys like Guerra who might only be medium-term Brewers? 10:05 Jeff Sullivan: The Brewers have more or less been doing everything optimally. I love how their rebuild has gone. They’re still not close, but you can see how they could field a respectable club as soon as 2017. There should be any urgency to further subtract; they don’t have any more assets like Lucroy or Gomez. I like the upside shots they’ve taken
Couple of rumors that the Brewers will be signing Neftali Feliz. I would be ok with this and he could be a guy to flip if he has a good season.