Grade the Deadline

[Brock Beauchamp]

Well, that kind of went out with a whimper.

As time passes, I like the Hader trade more. I think that will work out well in the long run, but...

I expected some of those prospects to be used to flip for a bat.

Stearns did a good job re-working the bullpen while bringing back prospects in the process but I'm pretty down on the lack of offense added to the roster.

So what's your grade? Mine is C+. The front office got most of the job done and receives a passing grade but consider me underwhelmed.

[brewers888]

F is my grade based on not getting nearly enough for the best reliever in baseball and doing nothing for the offense. If this team makes the playoffs it will be a quick exit.. 

[beekay414]

These are the thoughts I posted on my social media that pretty much sums up where I'm at...

"FWIW, the offense has been good. I'm not saying it hasn't been. The point is we needed to do something to put us over the top and take advantage of this rotation. Instead, we're content just getting to the dance and lining Mark's pockets with the playoff revenue." 

- said out of frustration but I think there are elements of truth to it.

"I just do not like the idea of using our best asset and not getting any immediate offensive help out of it. Plus, Ruiz is a CF. We just spent the last few drafts drafting nothing but CF and SS and just promoted Frelick, Mitchell AND Wiemer to AAA, all OF."

- Not being literal with the "nothing but CF and SS" part mind you.

"Then proceeded to not use any of them to go get an impact bat. Instead, we trade viable prospects for aging bullpen arms with spotty histories and injury concerns. Bush is a live arm but he's 36 with a half season of production. Rosenthal has 38 innings pitched since 2017."

"So we decided to overpay for BP arms rather than go in and try to put the offense over the top, to help out the strong pitching. I know there's no such thing as "too much pitching" but it's gonna be brutal if the bats no-show the playoffs again."

"That and you messed with the locker room dynamic to not improve the big league club. You make that Hader trade in the offseason, not during a pennant run. That package wasn't going away this winter, I can guarantee you that."

"All in all, just a baffling, baffling deadline. Stearns likely has one foot out the door as well."

"The goal, with this rotation that we're going to have to break up in less than 2 seasons, should be going all out for a World Series ring."

"They (the team) simply just don't have any type of pulse on this fanbase. Attendance is down over 10% this season and Mark's response is 'just make the playoffs so I can get that revenue to make up for it.'"

[BruisedCrew]

In terms of improving their chances to make and advance in this year’s playoffs, it could be an F. 
 

Did any of the serious NL playoff contenders do less, except for the Giants?

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

LOL this will go well ...

[edfunderburk]

C-

I was hoping we would unload Hiura so I don’t have to endure another year of speculation that he is part of our future

[sveumrules]

A+. Upgraded bullpen without trading our #1 best hitter Keston Hiura.

[folly412]

Positives: Risk aversion on Hader and his contract situation, didn't give up any of the outfielders making their AAA debuts tonight or Turang, bad MiLB pitching pipeline ever so slightly improved, philosophically I agree with Stearns that the playoffs are a crapshoot and getting the most chances is the best path to winning a WS.

Negatives: Gaslit from Stearns about not needing lineup upgrades based on a good last week, after all the noise I still consider the bullpen coming out of this to be worse (which means the MLB roster is worse), finished with the "trade for the sake of making a trade" I hoped to avoid, poor signaling to fans in a year where our attendance ranking is down due to what I believe is a lack of excitement/entertainment.

Grade: D+

Can't move downward from here.  Can improve if Ruiz turns out to be really good (+bonus if it's at 2B) or Gasser becomes a mid rotation starter.

[edfunderburk]

3 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

A+. Upgraded bullpen without trading our #1 best hitter Keston Hiura.

I actually laughed out loud … not sure you intended to be funny but your post was immediately after my Hiura jab ⚾️?

[Brewcrew82]

13 minutes ago, BruisedCrew said:

In terms of improving their chances to make and advance in this year’s playoffs, it could be an F. 
 

Did any of the serious NL playoff contenders do less, except for the Giants?

Dodgers? Cardinals didn't exactly do much either...

[PlayerHader]

I think the MLB roster is stronger today than it was Sunday. Disappointed in no bat.

B-/C+

[Playing Catch]

1 minute ago, sveumrules said:

A+. Upgraded bullpen without trading our #1 best hitter Keston Hiura.

Clearly meant to be blue(?)

A "D-" for me.

I was fine/good with the Hader trade because I thought it was the first domino to improving the offense. Obviously, that didn't happen. Did the MLB team improve themselves? The weird thing is that they probably did. The BP (in its totality) is probably better.

However, I think that the emotional toll of losing "the game's best," without significant improvement in other areas sends a terrible message to the team. Are they pro's? Yes. Will they "get over it?" Of course. But I still think any organization is tied to the overall goals. When the goal is in sight, the goal is a World Series Championship, you have to make the team believe that that is the goal. That simply didn't happen.

It would have been a C+ before the Rosenthal trade... I mean, how many relievers can one team carry? And that isn't even about giving up Peters (well... maybe a little, 'cause I love Peters).

 

[CheezWizHed]

Well the brewers got an A+ for doing completely the opposite of what I thought they'd do...

Stearns has done really well in the past for finding pieces we need while improving the team long term too. Maybe that will happen this time,  but that isn't immediately obvious with these additions. 

The Hader trade is growing on me the more I read about Ruiz and Gasser. Bush doesn't excite me despite "multiple years of control".

Solid D

[StearnsFTW]

Fire Stearns.

 

Seriously though, I think the team is about the same as it was before the deadline.  I think Lamet could change that though, for the better.  He is being slept on in my opinion.

 

B 

[Playing Catch]

After the crew win the World Series this year, I'll look back and give the Front Office an A+

[SRB]

B+

I'm not jumping for joy but I think they concretely improved the team, in particular the bullpen, which will be huge in the postseason, and navigated the market well.

I understand that people wanted a big bat, but who exactly was available to add?

Josh Bell would have been nice, but he ended up part of the biggest trade package in recent memory, and in any event might not have been as big of an improvement as everyone seems to think. Over the remainder of the season, Steamer projects:

• Josh Bell, .349 wOBA, 123 wRC+
• Rowdy Tellez, .341 wOBA, 118 wRC+

Could we have used him at DH instead? Yes, but if you are carrying two 1B/DHs (not to mention a third catcher at the moment), then I think you have to give up on McCutchen..... except McCutchen has finally started to look like the guy the front office was excited to add in the offseason. Since June 1, McCutchen has been hitting:

• Andrew McCutchen (since June 1), .363 wOBA, 133 wRC+

I don't see a difference-making bat anywhere else in the infield that was moved at the deadline.

Could we have upgraded the outfield? Well, it's basically a non-starter to replace Yelich (our most expensive and highest upside player) or Renfroe (our best hitter this year). Nor would we want to. Again, they have been hitting quite well all summer:

• Christian Yelich (since June 1), .356 wOBA, 128 wRC+
• Hunter Renfroe (since June 1), .365 wOBA, 135 wRC+

Which leaves centerfield. Only, it's not entirely clear how easily we could have gotten an offensive upgrade there. Ramon Laureano was presumably too expensive, since he didn't leave a rebuilding A's club, and who knows if the front office thinks he is worth it. Over the last two seasons Laureano and Taylor have been close to a wash anyway. I would have taken a flier on Gallo and played him in CF, but I'm not surprised the front office didn't want to take the gamble. They did add a guy in Ruiz who could help out in centerfield, even if he's ticketed for AAA to start.

[Eye Black]

I think they probably made “smart” moves when it comes the best interest of extending their competitive window, but it sure seems like a boring approach as well. I have to admit there’s something to be said for swinging for the fences (i.e. Padres) even if it’s statistically the wrong approach if you truly want the most “bites at the apple” possible. 

This is probably unfounded, but watching how sad/confused Devin Williams appeared to be about the Hader trade gave me deadline flashbacks to how devastated Jonathan Schoop appeared when he found out he got traded to the Brewers right as the deadline passed. 

[mtrebs]

Not sure where else to post this so I’ll do it here. First, I know the Brewers are in a difficult position financially and they can’t go out and sign big-time free agents and take on big contracts, especially with Yelich’s contract. They need to build from within and supplement where needed. After the 2018 and 2019 seasons we were looking at our best opportunity with our stud pitching. But in 2020, 2021, and now halfway through the 2022 season, they have done basically nothing to supplement our offense. Now Hader is gone. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Woodruff traded this off-season. While the team may be “competitive” and be in the hunt for a postseason spot, the likelihood that they will make it deep into the postseason is slim. It’s so frustrating that the window of the best pitching in franchise history is closing fast and they refuse to make moves that can push us to the next level. Yes, we are lucky to have had a good run, but it means nothing without making it to the World Series, or at least having another serious run like in 2018. I had real high hopes that we were going to see a World Series within four years after the 2018 season and I’m just so disappointed that it’s pretty much not going to happen.

End rant.

[Brewcrew82]

Solid C. I was expecting a bat, though I'm glad they didn't mortgage the farm to do it. Still, I think we needed another hitter who can hit LHP. 

Really excited about the prospects we got in the Hader deal. Rogers isn't really much of a downgrade from Hader and Lamet is a sleeper.

Also, happy about getting Bush. He can be a key late-inning reliever for us. Think Kelly is ultimately destined for the bullpen.

 

 

[yourout]

C....Without a more reliable run producer in the middle of the lineup it will be a short playoff run if they get there.

[titletownking]

For me it’s a D. No major league bats added, 1 hitter with an OPS of .800 or higher, shook up the locker room and replaced their all time greatest relief pitcher with a bunch of guys over 30 and paid a hefty prospect price. 

[BruisedCrew]

22 minutes ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Dodgers? Cardinals didn't exactly do much either...

The Dodgers didn’t need to do anything so they probably belong in a different category.

The Cardinals added Quintana and Montgomery to beef up their biggest weakness. It might not have been much, but it’s still more than the Brewers did.

It puzzles me how people can go from touting Hader as one of the big weapons that would give the Brewers a puncher’s chance in a playoff series to thinking Rogers isn’t much of a downgrade  

 

[brooks_quichenick]

B-/C+

I like the Hader deal more than most, and hope that it doesn't affect the clubhouse too much going forward. With that said, I was definitely hoping for at least one solid bat to supplement the offense. On the flip side, we didn't deal either of Frelick, Mitchell or Wiemer, so we'll more than likely be giving one of those 3 or Turang/Ruiz an opportunity in a pennant race (should the need arise), and that is really exciting to me. #trusttheprocess

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

I'll play and echo Eye Black's sentiments at least partially.

This is the approach I would have taken. The MLB team is better. The farm system is better, or at least not worse. I just don't think there was a good fit in terms of a position player, at least not once Bell came off the board. Soto was going to be too costly.

In terms of this year, here's how I see it: the Brewers are going to have to play a best of 3 series where runs will be at a premium. Are you really going to sacrifice future value for 12 ABs that won't be much of an upgrade over what we have? The value of a clean inning is so high in the playoffs, and it seems smart to lean in to relievers, especially when they are pretty cheap comparatively speaking. I've been a fan of Stearns' approach since the Thornburg trade. The dude knows how to value bullpen pieces. His record is much more mixed on offense (Daniel Norris excepted).

The Rosenthal trade is weird. But, again, you're trading a guy who will probably not become an MLB player for a decent shot at clean postseason innings. 

I actually like our lineup. I know Stearns "pretty deep already" stuff is GM talk, but there's truth there too.

B/B+. I'll be the Kool-Aid drinker, I guess if that's what it comes down to.

[CheezWizHed]

31 minutes ago, Playing Catch said:

However, I mean, how many relievers can one team carry?