Brendan Ryan

[Warning Track Power]

I know others on this site have brought him up as a possible trade candidate come midseason if the Brewers finally have enough of the YuBet experiment (I know I have) but I am not sure what he brings to the team. I never really followed him much on the Cards and don't remember him being a thorn in the Brewers side ala Ryan Theriot so I am not sure as to what we would be getting if we were to acquire him. He seems like a perfect candidate for us to acquire with the Mariners having Ackley ready, Jack Wilson and Chone Figgins in the IF already. But I don't know much about his game save what Baseball Reference says, so I have questions...

 

1. Would he be a significant defensive upgrade over YuBet?

2. Would he be a significant offensive upgrade over YuBet?

3. Is he the best realistic candidate, in your opinion, for the Brewers to try and upgrade SS? (With the caveat I don't believe Reyes & Furcal are realistic options for the Brewers)

4. What do you think it would take to acquire him? Jack Z. knows the system pretty well and I doubt a player from our MLB roster would be moved to get Ryan. So what would it take and what would you be willing to give?

[StearnsFTW]

I prefer Hardy to anyone you listed except Reyes, who will be out of our price range prospect-wise.

 

I'll leave it to the statheads to talk about Ryan's defense, but I know he's better than Betancourt in every way except power, which is no big deal on this team.

 

I could get behind a Ryan trade as long as we don't give up much. A player 20+ on the power 50 with a low-ceiling. I wouldn't give up more than that for him. Rob Wooten for example. Low ceiling type.

[Warning Track Power]

I prefer Hardy to anyone

I like where your head is at. Nothing would make me happier than to see JJ at SS. However, I doubt it'll happen. Too much bad blood from his demotion. He's my ideal but I think Ryan is the more likely candidate.

[DHonks]

WTP, I'm pretty sure JJ wants to win and wants to get paid. Now that he's a free agent, what happened in pre-arby days should be insignificant

[StearnsFTW]

Yeah, I would like to think he's a professional, as is Doug.

 

I think he's a pretty darn good fit and wouldn't cost that much. I haven't looked, but I can't imagine he projects higher than a type B, and in any case, I doubt he gets offered arby (maybe though), so prospect-wise I think he'd be attainable.

 

Just get Betancourt off my TV. He makes my eyes bleed.

[MJLiverock]

Just say no to Brendan Ryan. He has the OBP skills of Betancourt but with less power. His range at SS is limited by his rag arm. I dont' think the Cardinals mind seeing him gone at all.

[TooLiveBrew]

You're not remembering Ryan's arm correctly. His arm is good, and iirc he ranges well at SS. He's graded out as a plus defender by every metric I've seen, including the Fans' Scouting Report.

[MJLiverock]

Maybe I was too harsh on the arm comment, I just remember some his 110% effort rainbowed throws to first in a few games. I tend to put him in the Eckstein, Theriot, category of guys that for some reason fans glom onto and inflate their ability because they are the little utility guy who gets some bloop hits but really can't hit very well at all. Sort of the catcher idea where if a guy can't hit he must be good at defense or calling a good game. I'll admit I am biased and hate all three of those players, along with Skip Schumaker, Fontenot, Punto.

 

My Cardinal fan friends hated Ryan as well because he was apparently a knucklehead on top of not being able to hit worth a lick.

[StearnsFTW]

If he's decent to slightly above average defensively, he's a pretty big upgrade. I admit I don't know for sure.

 

He did OBP .340 in 2009 in a full season, which is miles better than anything Betancourt has ever done.

 

There are better options for sure, but I would consider Ryan to be an upgrade. Which is more of a commentary on Betancourt than anything else.

[MJLiverock]

Ryan also managed to follow that .340 up with a .279 OBP in 2010 in nearly the same amount of PA's and has managed a paltry .288 in so far this year. His career is .313 including that one year abberation of .340. Plus he can't hit the ball out of the infield. He is one of the worst hitters in baseball. I would say Ryan is a lateral move at best with slightly better defense and worse offense, certainly not enough to make a difference.

[dadofandrew]

Ryan, however, would be exactly the type of player you could get quickly and easily if Yuni was injured. That's why losing Luis Cruz, while bad for AAA depth, has little bearing long-term. Doug could find a couple decent gloves that get out 70%+ of the time in 24 hours.

[endaround]

Then why are we playing a terrible glove that get's out 70%+ of the time?

[strawbossisevil]

Because at least our guy with the terrible glove can slug his way out of a paper bag. Like others have said, the difference between a Ryan and Betancourt is miniscule. I would be very disappointed if we gave away any players of value to make such a small upgrade, if it would even be an upgrade.

[endaround]

I think people don't understand just how bad Betancourt is. Betancourt's UZR/150 for his career is -8.2. Ryan's is 8.1. Betancourt's ZiPS®: .265/.292/.399; Ryan's ZiPS®: .245/.302/.323. That doesn't make up for the huge defensive difference. I don't care for Ryan particularly but Betancourt just should be replaced. If they just played Counsell more it would help

[strawbossisevil]

Ryan's career slugging is .323 (and in the last two seasons .294 and .305). If we are going to trade for him, that means we will likely have to give away a prospect to get him. The difference between Ryan and Betancourt is not worth giving up any sort of prospect. Yes, Ryan is a better fielder, but he makes Craig Counsell look like a power hitter. He is that bad of a hitter. If this is the best the Brewers can do, I'd rather just save the prospect and continue with Betancourt until a better option comes along.

Like I said before, when you take into account the difference in offensive and defensive abilities between the two players, the difference is minuscule, less than 1 win above replacement difference between the two of them over a full season. And in addition it would cost us a prospect and cash. No thank you.

Also, it should be pointed out (small sample alert) that to this point of the season, Ryan's defensive value has been negative per fangraphs.

[dadofandrew]

Very true on Yuni's SLG...the average SS is so bad offensively, Yuni's OBP is barely below average, and Yuni can hit doubles and HR's.

[StearnsFTW]

Up to a .345 OBP this year. .317 career OBP.

 

Still better than Betancourt, particularly for our lineup.