Brewers get Felipe Lopez from Rays for cash; UPDATE: Lopez to Milwaukee, Eric Farris back to AAA

[CWSOmaha]

So this then does mean DM thinks there's no trades to be made and he's going with what he's has? Man, I sure hope not because it could be a long August and Sept then.

 

Has anyone heard about the "entourage"/"people" Lopez had around him in 2009? Just wondering.

[yoshii8]

Aren't him, Rickie, Grienke and Prince all from the same area? What did you hear about his entourage?

[whizkid]

So some team is holding out for too much from Doug so Doug brings up Lopez to show he is willing to go that route if the price isn't lowered. Who knows.

[pebadger]

Just another piece in a mountain of evidence of the philosophy the current FO has with respect to the relative value of experienced veterans versus prospects who are anything than top-level.

[RockCoCougars]

So this then does mean DM thinks there's no trades to be made and he's going with what he's has? Man, I sure hope not because it could be a long August and Sept then.

 

Has anyone heard about the "entourage"/"people" Lopez had around him in 2009? Just wondering.

No. Do tell...

[JohnBriggs12]

Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but after pondering it for 24 hours, it's possible the Brewers came to the conclusion they don't need to save a roster spot in case of a deal, that releasing Counsell is the next logical step to free up room.

[CWSOmaha]

I have always wanted to say this when his name has come up...Just heard some things that in 2009 the Brewers weren't happy with the people he had hanging around the clubhouse because the Brewers promote a "family atmosphere" there. How can I say this...Maybe they weren't the best of influences.

And maybe that's one of the many reasons he's been with so many different clubs(this is just speculation on my part, who knows)

 

Sorry got to go, off to the game!!

[PrinceEatMeat]

http://www.jsonline.com/b...rfeed&utm_medium=twitter

 

Melvin said they planned to bring him up right away all along. Just couldn't decide on a corresponding move. Seems like they've decided he is the best 2B option. Doesn't mean something won't come up for a SS/3B though.

[gregmag]

Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but after pondering it for 24 hours, it's possible the Brewers came to the conclusion they don't need to save a roster spot in case of a deal, that releasing Counsell is the next logical step to free up room.

Man, that would be nice. I hope you're right.

[TheCrew07]

I wonder... with Lopez starting does this give Milwaukee the worst IF defense in MLB? UZR won't give us the answer but I'd be curious what plus/minus will say after the season about this stretch without Weeks. UZR/150 has Lopez as basically a stratch defender at 2B and he's pretty bad every where else except 1B, at 2B he's trending like you would expect as he ages.

[brettac1]

Well, this is better than Farris, and as I said previously, better than Wilson and/or Counsell.

[The Truth]

I wonder... with Lopez starting does this give Milwaukee the worst IF defense in MLB history?

Changed that for you...

[ninja33]

I wonder... with Lopez starting does this give Milwaukee the worst IF defense in MLB? UZR won't give us the answer but I'd be curious what plus/minus will say after the season about this stretch without Weeks. UZR/150 has Lopez as basically a stratch defender at 2B and he's pretty bad every where else except 1B, at 2B he's trending like you would expect as he ages.

Lopez is -13 in 2656 innings at 2nd. As a comparison, Weeks is -33 in 6271 innings at 2nd. So that's pretty much a wash, with a slight edge to Lopez. UZR/150 gives Lopez a small edge as well. So the defense should be about the same.

For what its worth, Lopez is also an average defender at 3rd according to plus/minus and UZR/150. Basically as long as he doesn't play SS, he won't hurt the defense.

[Oxy]

Lopez is -13 in 2656 innings at 2nd. As a comparison, Weeks is -33 in 6271 innings at 2nd. So that's pretty much a wash, with a slight edge to Lopez. UZR/150 gives Lopez a small edge as well. So the defense should be about the same.

For what its worth, Lopez is also an average defender at 3rd according to plus/minus and UZR/150. Basically as long as he doesn't play SS, he won't hurt the defense.

Except all of Weeks' negative UZR came in his first 4 years in the league, and he has basically been league average for the last couple of years. Meanwhile, Lopez is aging and is on the downside of his career. Weeks is a better defender than Lopez right now.

[TheCrew07]

I looked at the career numbers over at fangraphs prior to posting, Weeks career UZR/150 is -4.9 not sure where the 3 win difference is coming from, if you're using BP I don't have access over there anymore. He's been positive since 2009, +24.2 runs over those 3 years.

 

Lopez for his career is -1 at 2B according to fangraphs, his last 3 years (he didn't play there at all for the Rays) -7.7 if I did my math correctly. His defense at 3B is a -3.8 ove the last 3 seasons. The sample size is too small conclude anything, the fans certainly don't like his D anywhere and I've never been a fan of him in the field, though I've never seen him play 3B in person.

[ilovebeer]

I hope he does well while Rickie is out.

[ninja33]

Lopez is -13 in 2656 innings at 2nd. As a comparison, Weeks is -33 in 6271 innings at 2nd. So that's pretty much a wash, with a slight edge to Lopez. UZR/150 gives Lopez a small edge as well. So the defense should be about the same.

For what its worth, Lopez is also an average defender at 3rd according to plus/minus and UZR/150. Basically as long as he doesn't play SS, he won't hurt the defense.

Except all of Weeks' negative UZR came in his first 4 years in the league, and he has basically been league average for the last couple of years. Meanwhile, Lopez is aging and is on the downside of his career. Weeks is a better defender than Lopez right now.

Lopez is only 30 years old, and the last time he played significantly at 2nd was in 2009, when is UZR was positive. I understand that Weeks has improved a lot defensively, but he still had a plus/minus of -11 last year. I understand that I'm using different metrics there....but each one tends to fluctuate year to year, and most metrics seem to grade both Weeks and Lopez as very similar and average defenders. Like I said in my initial post, most metrics give Lopez a slight edge for his career...if you want to say that Weeks is improving while Lopez is getting older, that's fine...but the difference will still be pretty negligible. Not saying Lopez is a world beater, or should be the answer to replace Weeks...but I don't expect much of a drop defensively.

And TheCrew07, was "not sure where the 3 win difference is coming from" directed towards me? I don't think I mentioned anything like that.

And for what it's worth, Fangraphs has plus/minus. It's under rPM in advanced fielding.

[Ayt]

Wow, Lopez already in the lineup and hitting 5th. Crazy turn of events.

What did DM give up for this guy? It must have been a lot because getting a 2B that can hit 5th is expensive. Those guys don't grow on trees.

[CheezWizHed]

I wonder... with Lopez starting does this give Milwaukee the worst IF defense in MLB history?

Changed that for you...

We could put Braun back at 3rd...

[RockCoCougars]

And Lopez with more hits this summer in a Brewer uniform than Counsell....

[ninja33]

trade for adam dunn and put him in the of, move braun to third, and move mcgehee to second. master plan complete.

[Funketown]

trade for adam dunn and put him in the of, move braun to third, and move mcgehee to second. master plan complete.

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"Daddy, why do they suck so much? They're hurting my eyes."