You are the GM, how do you right the ship?

[jay87shot]

1) DFA Viot, call up Huira      I think everyone has called for this.

2)Switch Lauer and Bryce Wilson temporarily. Lauer needs to reclaim velocity and we need a second lefty, I feel like sending Lauer to the pen for say 5 relief appearances would do that, Have Lauer and Wilson piggy back a game 3/4 innings each, Wilson starts 2ish games, keep Lauer at about 35-45 pitches every 3 days and then stretch him out when the 2-3 mph come back. Wilson has been solid enough that I don't think this is to risky.

3) Send Weimer and Turang down to AAA (not at same time) for 2-3 weeks, this is really just to gain the extra year of control on both. I would send Turang down 1st for Eddy Alvarez (release Claudio), Owen Miller gets near everyday time at 2nd for a bit. Then when Frelick get healthy send down Weimer (unless he gets hot).

4)Stick to one main lineup vs. lefties. Every game it seems like Counsel is overmanaging the lineup against lefties. Just keep Yeli at leadoff full time and keep the best players in the same batting order for a while.

4) Be patient on trades and any big moves.  As much as I would love Chapman or a big bat, the Central sucks and we have reinforcements on the horizon eventually. 

5) Don't feel obligated to hold on to Gus Varland just to keep a slightly above average arm. His last appearance coupled with his lack of success in his rehab appearances worries me, hopefully we can get some big leads and let him figure it out. However we should cut bait if he has a  bad game or two, I don't want to lose a couple games in effort to keep him and narrowly miss the playoffs. He has a nice arm but we have half a dozen guys in AA or AAA who can replace his arm talent. I wouldn't hesitate to call up Abner Uribe (or Trevor Megill, Ethan Small, or Clayton Andrews) straight from AA to replace him.

6)Send Tyler Black and Uribe (if not the bigs) to AAA. Both could help out the big league club at some point this year and don't have anyone blocking them in AAA. Carlos Rodriguez would be a candidate for an aggressive promotion as well with another impressive month or so.

[Harold Hutchison]

1. Call up Hiura, DFA Voit.

2. DFA Bush, add Andrews to 40-man. Maybe see if someone will nibble on Milner for a lottery ticket or two.

3. Lauer on 15-day DL, Rea back to rotation. Something may be up. Call up Ethan small to piggyback with Rea.

4. Hold tight on trades, but try to have Uribe at AAA as soon as possible.

5. Be willing to dump Winker, and call up Tyler Black if things haven't turned around by mid-June. Black could probably DH and do at least as well as Winker.

The team is only a half-game out, so the Brewers don't have to panic, but it may be time for some decisions.

[TURBO]

Uribe is on the IL

[Jake McKibbin]

5 hours ago, clancyphile said:

1. Call up Hiura, DFA Voit.

2. DFA Bush, add Andrews to 40-man. Maybe see if someone will nibble on Milner for a lottery ticket or two.

3. Lauer on 15-day DL, Rea back to rotation. Something may be up. Call up Ethan small to piggyback with Rea.

4. Hold tight on trades, but try to have Uribe at AAA as soon as possible.

5. Be willing to dump Winker, and call up Tyler Black if things haven't turned around by mid-June. Black could probably DH and do at least as well as Winker.

The team is only a half-game out, so the Brewers don't have to panic, but it may be time for some decisions.

Where's suter?

[Harold Hutchison]

1 hour ago, TURBO said:

Uribe is on the IL

I did say as soon as possible.

[nate82]

1. Trade Hiura and a prospect to the Reds for Senzel and DFA Voit.

2. Sign Britton and then work out a trade with the Dodgers for Varland once Britton is ready.  

[Robocaller]

Principally, I don't make hasty decisions based on small samples.

 

[Playing Catch]

8 hours ago, Robocaller said:

Principally, I don't make hasty decisions based on small samples.

 

I found myself thinking, "Are we all sure the ship is adrift? Perhaps on the correct tack, but suffering through the doldrums?"

- I am as frustrated by the DH fiasco as everyone, but I just "feel" like if Hiura were brought up today, I'd feel like the decision would be closer to knee-jerk, than deliberate. Making the move today would feel good, but I'd fear that it would be to the detriment of Hiura properly habituating to his swing mechanics, to a DH/utility role, to developing needed swashbuckling confidence. If he is as good as we hope he will be, then he'll be a valuable asset for 2 more seasons (or a valuable trade piece).

- I happen to think they've handled the rookies pretty well. I think most of us believed that they would require patience and continued development at the MLB level. They may have gone overboard, but they are keeping their heads above water and the captain has eyes on them; they're swimming. In particular due to their contributions to MLB's BEST defense. As in, #1. 

- Perhaps the Brewers could leverage that defense by finding some cheap pitchers with low HR% and BB% ratios that can stem the tide until Woodruff gets healthy.

- In terms of handling prospects, I think they need to stay the course. It's only mid-May. I think that any 40-man roster decisions need to be considered carefully.

Ultimately, the Brewers are in first place after a challenging schedule-to-date. I think making any significant decisions in mid-May may just be sailing too close to the wind.

[LouisEly]

45 minutes ago, Playing Catch said:

I found myself thinking, "Are we all sure the ship is adrift?

When only the Braves and Dodgers have more wins in the NL, I'd say that the ship isn't too far off course.

[SF70]

17 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

When only the Braves and Dodgers have more wins in the NL, I'd say that the ship isn't too far off course.

Agree, and would only get off course if there are more major injuries. With no more major injuries this team will strengthen month after month thru getting the injured back and further development from their rookies and prospects down below.

Hiura, Urias, Frelick, Woodruff, Small, Andrews, Thompson, Uribe should all improve the roster heading into September and maybe we can get Ashby back by playoff time.

[brewers888]

If I was the GM I would know that this is at best the 5th or 6th best team in the National League and plan accordingly. That means trading Burnes, Woodruff if healthy, and Adames if the offers are good.

Hopefully Arnold doesn't give away great talent like Mr Met did last deadline when he traded Hader for peanuts. With this lousy lineup I see no good reason to trade prospects for short term gains and think the time has come to trade our soon to be free agents unless of course we can sign Woodruff which we seem to have no interest in doing.

Nobody wants to hear this but this is just not a very good team and is only in contention due to a lousy division but pretending this team has what it takes to win a championship would be foolish.

[sveumrules]

1 hour ago, brewers888 said:

If I was the GM I would know that this is at best the 5th or 6th best team in the National League and plan accordingly. 

Hopefully Arnold doesn't give away great talent like Mr Met did last deadline when he traded Hader for peanuts.

Nobody wants to hear this but this is just not a very good team and is only in contention due to a lousy division but pretending this team has what it takes to win a championship would be foolish.

The Phillies won the 6th most games in the NL last year and went to the WS. The Braves won the 5th most games in the NL in 2021 and won the WS.

We’ve gotten Contreras, Payamps and Gasser from the Hader deal. That’s closer to those heavenly roasted cashews they sell at AmFam than peanuts.

Anybody paying attention already knows this isn’t a very good team who is only in contention because of a lousy division, well that and the Mets, Padres, Phillies and especially the Cardinals coming out even flatter than us through the first 25% of the season.

[brewmann04]

Hold steady no rush 

[Brewcrew82]

1 hour ago, brewers888 said:

If I was the GM I would know that this is at best the 5th or 6th best team in the National League and plan accordingly. That means trading Burnes, Woodruff if healthy, and Adames if the offers are good.

Hopefully Arnold doesn't give away great talent like Mr Met did last deadline when he traded Hader for peanuts. With this lousy lineup I see no good reason to trade prospects for short term gains and think the time has come to trade our soon to be free agents unless of course we can sign Woodruff which we seem to have no interest in doing.

Nobody wants to hear this but this is just not a very good team and is only in contention due to a lousy division but pretending this team has what it takes to win a championship would be foolish.

Trading Hader for "peanuts"? We got Contreras and Payamps because of that deal....

[Brewcrew82]

1 hour ago, sveumrules said:

The Phillies won the 6th most games in the NL last year and went to the WS. The Braves won the 5th most games in the NL in 2021 and won the WS.

We’ve gotten Contreras, Payamps and Gasser from the Hader deal. That’s closer to those heavenly roasted cashews they sell at AmFam than peanuts.

Anybody paying attention already knows this isn’t a very good team who is only in contention because of a lousy division, well that and the Mets, Padres, Phillies and especially the Cardinals coming out even flatter than us through the first 25% of the season.

Anybody paying attention knows that you throw out a healthy Burnes, Woodruff, and Peralta out there in a 5/7 game series and you have as good a shot as any at making a run in the crapshoot that is the MLB postseason. 

The roster out there now is also far from our ideal roster due to injuries. The fact that we are where we are right now despite that is a testament to how good this team is. 

[brewers888]

7 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Trading Hader for "peanuts"? We got Contreras and Payamps because of that deal....

Arnold recovered somewhat by getting Contreras but that doesn't excuse Mr Met for what was a bad deal and overall horrendous job at the last trade deadline.

[Lathund]

I don't believe the team is particularly adrift. Doesn't mean moves to improve can't be made of course, I just don't think a huge change in direction is needed. 

- Not heard anything recent on Urias. If he's due back around the minimum stay (So the very end of May), then that's probably the time Voit has to turn things around. If he hasn't, then he's gone when Urias is back. Miller or Brosseau takes the 1B platoon spot against LHP, Urias takes the spot they vacate, and obviously plays most days against RHP as well. 

- I wouldn't rush Hiura. It's not about the results, but the process, and how he's doing on the specific issues that have plagued him in the past; namely the swing-and-miss, particularly on high 4-seamers. Looks like he actually *is* doing a bit better there which is promising. But since he can't be optioned again, I wanna make sure those changes stick. But if Winker doesn't improve, then Hiura for Winker makes a lot of sense. I'd have a bit more patience here though than with Voit. Both with waiting to see if Keston's improvements stick, and to see if Winker can turn it around. 

- Generally I'm not a big fan of trying to fix offensive issues by going after pure platoon bats who further clog up 1B/DH/RF. Voit didn't make any sense to me to begin with, and I'd prefer having "too many" starters and rotating them through the DH spot. Easier said than done though, so another DH type might be a necessary evil. But I hope not. 

- JD Davis, if the Giants are selling, is someone I like if I had to get specific about which DH/bat first type of guy to get. Part of it is that he's not a platoon bat; he actually hits RHP better. But still does fine against LHP (112 wRC+ for his career). 

- As far as the minors go, on the position player side the only real impactful offensive players I can see (other than Hiura) are Sal Frelick (And he's some time away due to slow start and injury) and potentially Tyler Black. And Black would be a rather aggressive promotion, but I do think that kind of eye at the plate really translates. There is the issue of defense/roster fit though. 

- On the pitching side I'd more or less do nothing for now. If injuries mean we're still looking at Colin Rea in the rotation as we near the deadline, then I'd look to deal for a starter. I'd also look at the usual deadline RP rental. Until then, keep trying to find the best bullpen setup. Andrews and Small should get a chance at some point to try and get another lefty in there. 

Basically, I believe that there's some positive regression due on the offense. Adames and Taylor are two guys who I'm sure will hit better and improve the team offense. I don't expect miracles from Wiemer and Turang offensively, but I do think we'll see better than the ~70-ish wRC+ we're seeing now. Winker and Voit will either improve or be replaced. Whereas there's not many players overperforming who are due to come down to earth, Caratini is the only one really. Defense + pitching will keep preventing runs. 

[jay87shot]

When I wrote the title the Brewers were 2-8 in there last 10. Maybe I should have use the term "How to fine tune" or "How to turn this team around".

With the 3 pitchers when healthy this team is no question a contender. However there are definitely some things that need to happen. One thing is that we need some consistency at the 2-4 spots. Winker, Adames, and Rowdy are way to streaky. If Yeli continues that would be huge and Contreras has been a consistent bat that would go a long way towards lengthening the lineup. The rotation will be fine when Woody and Ashby are back and the pen has been sensational except for 2 games where there was complete melt downs. 

 

[Redd Vencher]

10 hours ago, brewers888 said:

Arnold recovered somewhat by getting Contreras but that doesn't excuse Mr Met for what was a bad deal and overall horrendous job at the last trade deadline.

It wasn't a bad deal. Ruiz is pacing a 3.5-4.0 WAR season for the A's in his first season. If he hits that consistently, that's an absolute win for 1.5 seasons of Hader not even talking about Gasser and Rogers.

[Outlander]

The Hader deal was a good deal if just looking at the trade but tough for PR and selling a product to fans. Saying the Brewers received Peanuts is certainly false but can make the case they shouldn't trade a guy like Hader when in first. The Brewers won't forget the reaction from last year so may be hesitant to trade Burnes/Adames if in contention.

[wallus]

Aren't we better off, this season at least, after trading Hader?

[Jake McKibbin]

16 hours ago, wallus said:

Aren't we better off, this season at least, after trading Hader?

I think you could make an argument that he may have accounted for a few less bullpen collapses with Devin + Josh still, however I think Contreras has been pretty huge in value so far and is directly due to that trade (ie not involving anyone else in the minor league system), Ruiz has provided a lot of value for the A's so far too if you want to go that route

We also got Payamps who has been very efficient at stopping hard contact, which kind of fills the Hader void, at least a little bit

Gasser needs time to work on his command issues, but if he can control his stuff better then he'll be a big bonus

I think long term we're definitely better off, and this season we probably are

[wallus]

8 hours ago, Jake McKibbin said:

I think you could make an argument that he may have accounted for a few less bullpen collapses with Devin + Josh still, however I think Contreras has been pretty huge in value so far and is directly due to that trade (ie not involving anyone else in the minor league system), Ruiz has provided a lot of value for the A's so far too if you want to go that route

We also got Payamps who has been very efficient at stopping hard contact, which kind of fills the Hader void, at least a little bit

Gasser needs time to work on his command issues, but if he can control his stuff better then he'll be a big bonus

I think long term we're definitely better off, and this season we probably are

Don't forget that we would have to pay Hader 14.1 million dollars as well.

[MadThinker88]

"Right the Ship"???

I am no sailor but I have heard over the years there were complements given to the Capt of the battleship USS Nevada when he ran the ship aground instead of letting the Japanese sink the Nevada in the entrance to  Pearl Harbor during the 12/7/41 attack..

Perhaps something similar here will keep the Brewers afloat and not list too much to one side or the other...

 

 

Just a thought....

 

[sveumrules]

The top seven players by plate appearances - Adames, Yelich, Anderson, Tellez, Wiemer, Contreras and Turang - have registered positive WAR ranging from 0.5 to 1.3 so far with Wiemer (73 wRC+), Turang (81 wRC+), and Adames (91 wRC+) getting most of their value from defense. Wiemer and Turang should hopefully improve at the plate as the year goes on, while Adames is lagging behind his projections by around 13 to 29 percent up til now so should be due for positive regression as well.

Miller (120 wRC+ | 0.7 WAR) and Caratini (124 wRC+ | 0.4 WAR) have also provided positive value in reserve roles.

Between Taylor, Urias, Frelick and maybe even Black we should hopefully have reinforcements for that eighth position player spot coming shortly, which just leaves DH. Hiura injury is a bummer there, but otherwise it is the easiest spot to fill so I would expect at least one bat to be acquired at the deadline if Winker doesn't start doing something besides walking.

On the pitching front it gets a little dicier. Now down to Burnes and Peralta as our only "legit" starters. Houser rounding back into form, would imagine Lauer gets moved back to the rotation with Miley's injury, then the questions begin. Getting Woodruff back should be a boost, but would guess at least one starter is targeted at the deadline (or maybe even before if they want to get a lil extra proactive) as well.

Bullpen (along with the defense) has been the saving grace of the team to this point with their +3.18 WPA topping all of MLB after last night's gutsy performance. Williams, Strzelecki, Payamps, Milner, Peguero and Wilson have six spots capably filled which just leaves a couple spots at the back for roster churn with a number of intriguing arms in Nashville to cycle through for MLB looks. Either way would not be surprised if another relief arm is acquired come deadline time.