2023-24 Offseason Ideas

[jay87shot]

2 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

Ok...these three team trades and then getting Bobby Witt Jr and Sandy Alcantra, do you really think teams are going to trade away the most important players in their franchises like that? Cheap, young, Cy Young and MVP potential players?

And the 3 team deals, they're exceptionally rare. The White Sox wanted 3 souls and a top 5 prospect for Cease. I doubt that's changed.

 

If we're going to make all these massive moves, they're almost certainly going to be trading players in their last year for prospects in HiA or maybe AA. And I don't think we're going to add the type of payroll you're suggesting. 

I also know I kinda started the Yelich trade suggestion, but I think we're on the wrong coast. The Yankees have 600M invested i their OF and I feel like Yelich would hear Horace Greely's words..."go west young man." He's a West Coast kid. With him being a 10/5(AND a NTC) you're trying to navigate a trade in which both he and LeMahieu have to agree to make it work. And to agree, they usually want something out of it. 

 

 

I think it's really fundamentally simple.

1-You decide to run it back and go all in on the draft picks and keep trying to develop;

2-You trade the pitchers and maybe Adames and you're cutting payroll or at least not adding a bunch in Jiminez, or others, you'd be putting that back into your own young players in a re-tooling year.

I don't think you'll sell Burnes and then add these expensive players and kinda go half way in on each.  

I am not proposing all those ideas, they are just random thoughts that maybe 1 of them could work. I was attempt just to throw ideas of the wall not say we should do all those ideas. I did put in somewhere I wouldn't expect the Marlins to trade Alcantara or the Royals to trade Witt. 

[BrewerFan]

5 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

With one year left for each of these guys, the trade returns aren't going to be that much better than the comp picks we'll end up getting for them. Is it really worth forgoing what could easily be another 90+ win season and WS opportunity? And after what Johnson and co. have pulled off the last couple of drafts, why wouldn't we want to give them those picks? If the season goes awry for whatever reason, you can always end up trading them at the deadline, too. 

Offseason focus should be on extending Woodruff/Chourio and on getting Mark Canha/Josh Donaldson types to fill out the lineup alongside Yelich/Contreras and our younger players. Rhys Hoskins, anyone?

You think trading Burnes right now you really won't get a return that much better than a shot at the ~40th pick?

C'mon. Of course it will. 

Now...the answer to this question;

Quote

Is it really worth forgoing what could easily be another 90+ win season and WS opportunity?

I can't possibly answer this. Was it worth keeping Aaron Rodgers last year instead of getting 3 1st round picks, 3 2nd rd picks and saving a ton of cap space? Well obviously NOW I can say it wasn't, I know how it played out. If they won the SB, of course it would have been. 

I'll never root for them to trade their best players, I'm a fan, I always want to see them win, but there is a huge difference in what you can get for these guys in a trade vs in offering them the QO. I'm also conditioned to expect them to trade away these types of players.

 

What the hell though, they want to keep it together and go all in for another year, I'll convince myself those comp picks are already better than Abel or Painter!

[BrewerFan]

5 hours ago, jay87shot said:

I am not proposing all those ideas, they are just random thoughts that maybe 1 of them could work. I was attempt just to throw ideas of the wall not say we should do all those ideas. I did put in somewhere I wouldn't expect the Marlins to trade Alcantara or the Royals to trade Witt. 

Sure, I wasn't trying to sound like a dick and re-reading it-it didn't sound like I wanted it to. 

This is also your own off-season kinda dream, not a prediction. I knew how unlikely trading Yelich would be. 

[biedergb]

With this team so flawed this year and the braves and dodgers so stacked, playoff success this year is basically so unlikely this season.

That leaves the question as

1.  Do the Brewers have a better chance of getting to NLCS/WS next year with Burnes/Adames/Woodruff and an upgrade in the hitters (FA or trade)?

2.  Or is it better to punt on next season, and try to load up for 2025-2027?

If the FO thinks they can upgrade the offense this offseason (without screwing over the future), the go for it

If not - then trade away and give up on ‘24 and try to find SS and SP in trade market to help build around for ‘25-‘28.

[BrewerFan]

2 hours ago, biedergb said:

With this team so flawed this year and the braves and dodgers so stacked, playoff success this year is basically so unlikely this season.

That leaves the question as

1.  Do the Brewers have a better chance of getting to NLCS/WS next year with Burnes/Adames/Woodruff and an upgrade in the hitters (FA or trade)?

2.  Or is it better to punt on next season, and try to load up for 2025-2027?

If the FO thinks they can upgrade the offense this offseason (without screwing over the future), the go for it

If not - then trade away and give up on ‘24 and try to find SS and SP in trade market to help build around for ‘25-‘28.

It's going to be so very unlikely next year as well. The Braves have 6 legit AS caliber players locked up for years and their weak spots are...not very weak. They might have Waldrep who dominated this year reaching AAA(likely just to get another start, but he could still start in AA and have a very real chance to climb up the system). 

The Dodgers are probably the least talented they're going to be in a while. They're paying Bauer, they WERE trying to stay under the luxury tax, they've got a loaded group of young power arms, Buehler will be back, a guy who they decided to play it safe with. Ohtani and another 100M may be spent this off-season. 

 

The odds will never be in our favor. But look at last years Phillies beat the Braves, then the Dodgers were knocked off a round before that.

The Brewers get the Dodgers and who's to say the Braves...with their two aces currently on the IL(scheduled to return the day before the playoff start in Fried's case and Morton out for the Division round). So they could very easily lose. The Dodgers are a great team, but hardly unbeatable. 

 

I would make the decision on 2024 independent of their chances this year. I suppose if they lose in the WS like the Royals, it'll make it impossible for the FO to trade those players without getting crushed by the fan base. 

Maybe you make a team pay through the nose and a desperate team like the Phills, if they come up short are willing to part with their top prospect for Burnes. There's so many things to factor in. 

 

You make teams Godfather you into making the trade. Or again, maybe you just go for it and take a massive bonus pool and go all out on another draft. 

[biedergb]

9 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

It's going to be so very unlikely next year as well. The Braves have 6 legit AS caliber players locked up for years and their weak spots are...not very weak. They might have Waldrep who dominated this year reaching AAA(likely just to get another start, but he could still start in AA and have a very real chance to climb up the system). 

The Dodgers are probably the least talented they're going to be in a while. They're paying Bauer, they WERE trying to stay under the luxury tax, they've got a loaded group of young power arms, Buehler will be back, a guy who they decided to play it safe with. Ohtani and another 100M may be spent this off-season. 

 

The odds will never be in our favor. But look at last years Phillies beat the Braves, then the Dodgers were knocked off a round before that.

The Brewers get the Dodgers and who's to say the Braves...with their two aces currently on the IL(scheduled to return the day before the playoff start in Fried's case and Morton out for the Division round). So they could very easily lose. The Dodgers are a great team, but hardly unbeatable. 

 

I would make the decision on 2024 independent of their chances this year. I suppose if they lose in the WS like the Royals, it'll make it impossible for the FO to trade those players without getting crushed by the fan base. 

Maybe you make a team pay through the nose and a desperate team like the Phills, if they come up short are willing to part with their top prospect for Burnes. There's so many things to factor in. 

 

You make teams Godfather you into making the trade. Or again, maybe you just go for it and take a massive bonus pool and go all out on another draft. 

Good points. SO it is really roll the dice this off season and next season. With the Braves and Dodgers likely to be so dominant.

The other issue is the emergence of the Cubs and Reds.

Best chances are maybe a few years down the road and hope to build around a core of Contreras, Frelick, Mitchell, Chourio, Quero, Black, Wilken, Turang, Peralta, Misiorowski, Gasser, C. Rodriguez, Williams, Uribe , and maybe Ashby. That is all assuming these players develop as hoped, but it is still a good list (over half a roster) of young players who could be under control for the next 5-6 years.

[Lathund]

On 9/25/2023 at 4:04 AM, biedergb said:

I may be in the minority, but bring back Burnes, Adames and Woodruff and knowing that they are in contract years, see if you can ride that. You lose them for draft picks, but maybe that will be OK seeing that with a larger bonus pool the team is not afraid to go for talent.

Will need another bat - what about Pete Alonso? What would the price be for him for on last year of control? Must be less than earlier in the season?

Part of the issue here is financial. If the Brewers keep all three they'll also be a fair bit more expensive next year. Meaning that in order for the Brewers to keep them *and* acquire an expensive player like Alonso the overall budget would have to increase. If it doesn't, then they could still keep all three but would have to rely largely on much cheaper acquisitions (or the rookies) to fill out the roster. And I'm not sure it'd be all that much better. 

Personally I'm still in the camp of trading Burnes. He's not signing an extension (He always seemed like he was going to hit the free market, hiring Boras just made his intentions even clearer) and he'll get a big return. So I'd rather look to get player(s) who can make an immediate impact, and also spend the $15m or so saved on strenghtening the weakest part(s) of the team. 

Woodruff and Adames will both get less of a return and are also more likely to sign an extension. So I'd be fine with riding it out with them; maybe an agreement can be reached. Maybe the team is out of it mid-season and can trade then (unlikely, but possible). Or maybe you just get two good contributors to a winning team who then gets us a couple of draft picks. 

But I just think that the financial restraints on the front office (Whether justified based on finances, or imposed by ownership for profits; doesn't really matter which as far as this debate is concerned, either way it's a fact) means that some money needs to be saved in an area of strength to be spent in one of weakness. Brewers have a top 3 ERA, even losing one great pitcher still leaves them in good shape there. I think using Burnes to strengthen the offense and getting long-term assets can be a better move. 

That being said, I'm never opposed to having great players play for the Brewers, so if they keep them all and go for it I'm fine with that too. It just wouldn't be my preferred approach. 

[jay87shot]

1 hour ago, Lathund said:

Part of the issue here is financial. If the Brewers keep all three they'll also be a fair bit more expensive next year. Meaning that in order for the Brewers to keep them *and* acquire an expensive player like Alonso the overall budget would have to increase. If it doesn't, then they could still keep all three but would have to rely largely on much cheaper acquisitions (or the rookies) to fill out the roster. And I'm not sure it'd be all that much better. 

Personally I'm still in the camp of trading Burnes. He's not signing an extension (He always seemed like he was going to hit the free market, hiring Boras just made his intentions even clearer) and he'll get a big return. So I'd rather look to get player(s) who can make an immediate impact, and also spend the $15m or so saved on strenghtening the weakest part(s) of the team. 

Woodruff and Adames will both get less of a return and are also more likely to sign an extension. So I'd be fine with riding it out with them; maybe an agreement can be reached. Maybe the team is out of it mid-season and can trade then (unlikely, but possible). Or maybe you just get two good contributors to a winning team who then gets us a couple of draft picks. 

But I just think that the financial restraints on the front office (Whether justified based on finances, or imposed by ownership for profits; doesn't really matter which as far as this debate is concerned, either way it's a fact) means that some money needs to be saved in an area of strength to be spent in one of weakness. Brewers have a top 3 ERA, even losing one great pitcher still leaves them in good shape there. I think using Burnes to strengthen the offense and getting long-term assets can be a better move. 

That being said, I'm never opposed to having great players play for the Brewers, so if they keep them all and go for it I'm fine with that too. It just wouldn't be my preferred approach. 

Agreed 100%. We are going to need to do some fenagling but not wholesale changes. The offense needs to imporve and we need to always be money and future conscience. Trading Burnes hopefully would improve the offense and then having Woody a full year and some incremental improvements from Peralta, and the 4/5/6 spots can cover Burnes. I also like the idea of trading high on a reliever as a way of improving an area. 

[Matt Breen]

Financially, if the Crew keeps the band together (Burnes, Woody, Adames) I don't see them making any big moves (short of the owners increasing payroll).

I think we lose Rowdy, Winker, Anderson, and Chaffin. Plus Voit, Urias, Bush and one or two other guys are gone. Those guys cost us around $25M this year. That should feed many of the arbitration raises our guys are due - and a few guys with options. 

I think they'll bring back Miley and Canha - and perhaps even Santana. That'll eat up most of our cap flexibility. We'll then bring in a few flyers - but nothing major. I just don't see the team adding much salary - but we shall see.

[jay87shot]

It is really to bad the Cards are our rivals. With 3 big 3rd base bats and Goldy expiring they would be a perfect trade candidate. Jordan Walker can hit the daylights out of the ball but was one of the worst OF in the league and Gorman was OK at 2B but is miscast there. 

Would Gasser for Goldy be to much for 1 year.  If we trade Burnes, his $ could bring in Goldy and we would then get a bigger return for Burnes. Possibly get a comp pick for Goldy at the end of the year as well (or extend him short term).

 

[Redd Vencher]

On 10/1/2023 at 1:10 PM, jay87shot said:

It is really to bad the Cards are our rivals. With 3 big 3rd base bats and Goldy expiring they would be a perfect trade candidate. Jordan Walker can hit the daylights out of the ball but was one of the worst OF in the league and Gorman was OK at 2B but is miscast there. 

Would Gasser for Goldy be to much for 1 year.  If we trade Burnes, his $ could bring in Goldy and we would then get a bigger return for Burnes. Possibly get a comp pick for Goldy at the end of the year as well (or extend him short term).

 

That would be way too much for 1 year of Goldschmidt.

[TURBO]

Goldschmidt is declining.  If that is the best we can get for Burnes, keep Burnes.

[BrewerFan]

6 hours ago, TURBO said:

Goldschmidt is declining.  If that is the best we can get for Burnes, keep Burnes.

It was Gasser for Goldschmidt and Burnes traded to pay for Goldy.

 

I just cannot wrap my head around that approach. If you're gonna add Goldy, trade for him, but then one year of a power hitting 1B, you may as well keep Burnes. This balancing where you are adding some offense and taking away some pitching...and in this case, you're also trading the most likely replacement for Burnes. 

But I've even seen Arcia(who has 1 year left) as a suggestion for an Adames trade. Feels like half measures. 

[Brewcrew82]

2 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

It was Gasser for Goldschmidt and Burnes traded to pay for Goldy.

 

I just cannot wrap my head around that approach. If you're gonna add Goldy, trade for him, but then one year of a power hitting 1B, you may as well keep Burnes. This balancing where you are adding some offense and taking away some pitching...and in this case, you're also trading the most likely replacement for Burnes. 

But I've even seen Arcia(who has 1 year left) as a suggestion for an Adames trade. Feels like half measures. 

If you're referring to what I said, Arcia would replace Adames as a bridge to Turang and our other prospects. Not as the main piece of the trade, as we'd obviously expect one of the Braves' top prospects in addition. Unless you're comfortable with Turang and Monasterio as our middle infield....I, for one, am not.

And Arcia has more than one year left. He's under control through 2025, with a club option for 2026. 

[BrewerFan]

46 minutes ago, Brewcrew82 said:

If you're referring to what I said, Arcia would replace Adames as a bridge to Turang and our other prospects. Not as the main piece of the trade, as we'd obviously expect one of the Braves' top prospects in addition. Unless you're comfortable with Turang and Monasterio as our middle infield....I, for one, am not.

And Arcia has more than one year left. He's under control through 2025, with a club option for 2026. 

I don't know that I'm replying to you specifically, but if you wanted Arcia back as piece of the Adames trade...then sure. You're not the only one who's brought him up or others have complained about him.

And the options are in no way Turang/Monasterio OR Arica. 

So Arcia has two years of team control. I don't think the Braves would feel like there's much excess value, we know him, he's not much(if any) of an upgrade on what we have, he has two years of team control left, 1 more than Adames and the Braves had arguably the best lineup in MLB History this past season and they can bring every player back next year. So I don't see them being all that motivated to swap out their worst hitter for Adames and give up much prospect value. 

I remember someone say if we're going to actually be competitive, we can't just spend the off-season, "plugging dikes." Wish I remember who it was, but they were right. We're trading Burnes, we're trading Adames...but in those trades or any trades, we have to make CERTAIN that we have a guy who put up a 1.6 WAR this year(same as Turang, .3 better than Monasterio in ~200 fewer ABs)?

 

Getting back less prospects or controllable talent so we can get a one year insurance policy whilst also trading Burnes, Adames(maybe not having Woodruff)...what is the goal there? 80 wins instead of 78?

 

So to answer your question(pretending to accept the premise is true that it's an either or)...no, I'd rather go with the two guys who were rookies this year than to play around the fringes while we trade away a Cy Young pitcher, our power hitting SS and our other TOR arm possibly spends a good chunk of next year coming back from a shoulder injury. At the very least, his future is in the air at this point.

 

Again, I'd trade for the best young controllable talent I could get for Burnes, Adames, Williams if there is a market for him that makes it make sense, and look at '25 as a more likely starting point to try and return to being a competitive team, hopefully with 3-4 more young guys who are either part of the team or on their way. 

 

 

[Lathund]

As I'm typing this I remember I've already posted a few times in here. But I'm far enough into it that I'll post it anyway. Brewers could run it back again in 2024, but keeping all of the big 3 will mean there's not much money for FAs or to trade for more expensive players. They'd still have a good shot at the division, but would have much the same weaknesses as this year. More than that though, the 3 draft picks they'd get from QO's are great, but whatever they get from that is really far in the future. There's nothing to help in 2025 or 2026. 

So I'm firmly in the trade Burnes camp. He may have had a "down" year to some extent, but over the last two years he's got a 3.16 ERA while averaging close to 200 IP. No health concerns or age concerns. He's likely a rental, but a very valuable one. Find a blocked AAA hitting prospect or 1st year guy with limited chances as part of the deal, and that + $15m goes a long way even in the short term. 

Woodruff and Adames I'm more torn over. Depends on what the trade market and their willingness and asking price for an extension. Shouldn't trade them just for the sake of it. The gap between a trade return and the value of a draft pick is less than for Burnes, they're also more likely (Though how much more is certainly a question) to sign an extension, and they're (slightly) cheaper. So I'd lean keep, but again depends on the ratio between trade value and extension cost. 

Devin Williams is the other one I'd definitely look to trade. If the team believes in the current crop of rookies/controllable talent as well as the players likely to debut in 24 and 25 (Black, Chourio, Wilken, Quero etc), then Williams is only really there for the very start of that run, and will be making $10m or so. We know the Brewers can develop relievers, and spending money on relievers is the worst thing you can do when you've got a small budget. 2 years of Williams could get a good return for a team with a short window but an iffy bullpen. San Diego, Texas spring to mind. But contenders in other situations can also be itneresting; Braves or Dodgers might feel like it's the one thing they're missing. 

With 5 above average or better CFs on the 40-man roster (Taylor, Mitchell, Perkins, Wiemer, Frelick) perhaps a defense-needy team would be interested in a deal for a bat-first player. Hard to know what's out there, but should keep an eye out for it.

 

Non-tenders: Lauer and Tellez are the two clear ones IMO. Toro is cheap, but out of options, and probably not a ton of trade value. So tender if you like him and see him as part of the team, non-tender otherwise. The rest you tender, even if one or two might get traded. Seen lots of suggestions that Houser should be non-tendered, but 1 year $5m for a career 4 ERA starter is excellent value. That's what, for example, Jameson Taillon is. And look at what he got paid. At worst, tender and trade. But I'd keep him. 

Options: Decline Chafin and Wilson. Mutual options almost never get exercised by both sides, so Miley is gone as well, but should explore re-signing him. Canha is a tough one. I'd lean decline, but multi-positional reliable bat who is a fan favorite and seems a great professional for a $9.5m decision (Option - $2m buyout) isn't bad at all. The team paid similar money for Cutch and Winker to DH recently. 

Sign/Acquire: Not that much, honestly. Give the kids a chance to play. The rookies from this year plus Black, Quero, Chourio, Gasser, Rodriguez, Misiorowski? Wilken too perhaps. I also wouldn't be the least bit surprised if a Biloxi infielder would be our 2024 Monasterio. None are overly likely by themselves, but I'll say now that one of the following takes a step forward into contention: Clarke, Collins, Zamora, Murray, (EBJ too, but sticking with the more unheralded ones). 

So what should they get? Well the team is lacking power, so get power. Rhys Hoskins is one of the few times I'd be open to signing a 1B/DH type to a multi-year deal; I think there's a decent chance he'll be cheap enough for it to make sense. But I'd stay away from a bidding war. Not much out there in terms of realistic starting type sluggers though. Garver? So perhaps a RHH who can be a semi-platoon at some of 1B/2B/3B/DH. Other than that, get depth mostly. A Miley type. A Rea type for AAA. Maybe a solid backup catcher if they don't like their current stopgaps while waiting for Quero. 

Now this is the Brewers we're talking about, so none of us will see some of the moves they make coming. But it's fun to speculate anyway. I think 2024 can be a solid year even with some selling trades. Burnes and Williams are some of the best at what they do, and that'll hurt for sure. But they also account for like 17% of innings pitched. Those 17% innings will be worse, but with a more established bullpen outside Williams (compared to this time last year) and Gasser/Rodriguez/Ashby (hopefully) stepping in I think those other 83% can improve enough to compensate. 

Preliminary 26-man

C: Contreras, Henry/new singning/eventually Quero

IF: Canha/Hoskins/other signing, Turang, Adames, Black, Monasterio, Drury (or similar RHH bat)

OF: Yelich, Mitchell, Frelick, two of Taylor/Perkins/Wiemer. Chourio at some point. Maybe even opening day, but likely later. 

SP: Peralta, Woodruff, Gasser, Ashby, Miley (Or a Miley-like signing). Rodriguez, Junk, McKendry, veteran depth signing backing up.

RP: Uribe, Payamps, Megill, Milner, Peguero, Wilson, Bukauskas, Small (I'm sure some relievers will be acquired too)

Now if Woodruff or Adames gets traded this'll have a knock-on effect. Probably means spending some money/prospects on a starter and a 2B. I've also not included the return from Burnes/Williams trades, as its just too unpredictable, and might not be guys that are locks for the opening day roster. 

[wallus]

What kind of return could Devin Williams get?

[wibadgers23]

37 minutes ago, wallus said:

What kind of return could Devin Williams get?

I have a difficult time gauging what the return would be on elite relievers these days but can you imagine the influx of talent the Brewers would get if they traded him and Burnes this offseason?  I would most definitely start listening to offers for Williams.

[Brewcrew82]

38 minutes ago, wallus said:

What kind of return could Devin Williams get?

I'd take Mayo or Basallo from the Orioles, who are going to be without Bautista for the next year. 

[wibadgers23]

2 minutes ago, Brewcrew82 said:

I'd take Mayo or Basallo from the Orioles, who are going to be without Bautista for the next year. 

Would love Mayo and I know the Orioles have historically held onto their prospects but I could see them being more aggressive going forward.

[Brewcrew82]

3 hours ago, wibadgers23 said:

Would love Mayo and I know the Orioles have historically held onto their prospects but I could see them being more aggressive going forward.

I'd also see if you can rip Abel or Painter off Dombrowski and the Phils, who are going to lose Kimbrel in the offseason.

[brewmann04]

The really must trade Corbin he not signing an Extension so we only need one team to overpay and the O’S need pitching 

[nate82]

I think this might work for a 2024 soft rebuild:

Braves get Adames

Brewers get Grissom and Alvarez (3B)

Padres get Burnes

Brewers get Snelling (LHP), Zavala (OF) and Lizarraga (RHP)

Rangers get Williams

Brewers get Foscue (2B), Leiter and Echedry Vargas (2B/SS)

 

In the Braves trade Grissom becomes the 2B for the Brewers in '24 moving Turang over to SS with an exciting 3B prospect in Alvarez in A ball.

In the Padres trade the Brewers get a really good LHP who can start for the Brewers in '25 with an exciting 19 year old OF in A+ ball.  Lizarraga maybe the best piece coming back. 

In the Rangers trade the Brewers are getting insurance in case Grissom doesn't pan out at 2B in Foscue.  Leiter maybe the name piece but I have him going to the Brewers as I think they will think they can fix him with their pitching lab and get him back to what he was coming out of Vanderbilt.  Vargas is a wild card here he could be really good or he may just be all hype with the bat. 

If the Brewers can fix Leiter that could give them a rotation in '25 of Peralta, Gasser, Rodriguez, Misio, Leiter and Snelling.  With Lizarraga possibly in AA or AAA.  Offensively Foscue is probably the more complete player and he is a really good bat to ball hitter with some pop 20+ HR's a year type of power.

These trades would be for the '25-'26 seasons. 

[jay87shot]

1 hour ago, nate82 said:

I think this might work for a 2024 soft rebuild:

Braves get Adames

Brewers get Grissom and Alvarez (3B)

Padres get Burnes

Brewers get Snelling (LHP), Zavala (OF) and Lizarraga (RHP)

Rangers get Williams

Brewers get Foscue (2B), Leiter and Echedry Vargas (2B/SS)

 

In the Braves trade Grissom becomes the 2B for the Brewers in '24 moving Turang over to SS with an exciting 3B prospect in Alvarez in A ball.

In the Padres trade the Brewers get a really good LHP who can start for the Brewers in '25 with an exciting 19 year old OF in A+ ball.  Lizarraga maybe the best piece coming back. 

In the Rangers trade the Brewers are getting insurance in case Grissom doesn't pan out at 2B in Foscue.  Leiter maybe the name piece but I have him going to the Brewers as I think they will think they can fix him with their pitching lab and get him back to what he was coming out of Vanderbilt.  Vargas is a wild card here he could be really good or he may just be all hype with the bat. 

If the Brewers can fix Leiter that could give them a rotation in '25 of Peralta, Gasser, Rodriguez, Misio, Leiter and Snelling.  With Lizarraga possibly in AA or AAA.  Offensively Foscue is probably the more complete player and he is a really good bat to ball hitter with some pop 20+ HR's a year type of power.

These trades would be for the '25-'26 seasons. 

I like those ideas, I think we might have to give up a bit more for Grissom. Also I'd switch Jack Leiter for Brock Porter.

I think Williams should get 2 top 100 prospect type players. I kind of like the idea of Williams to Atlanta for Grissom and on of their top pitching prospects.  

Williams has been the top reliever in the league over the past 4 years and there would be a ton of buyers. We should get way more than we got for Hader at least.

Burnes to the Dodgers still makes the most sense in my mind, they have pitching prospects and a few nice young bats. They will have a need for an ace and Burnes would be perfect for them if they don't get Ohtani.

[jay87shot]

I know this is a sore subject but where are we on Trevor Bauer. A video he put out with evidence made it seem the woman was out to get him. If we trade Burnes, Bauer could be an interesting 1 or 2 year high upside starter, maybe like 1/8 with incentives and some option structures. On top of it Milwaukee would be a low key place for him to step back in, assuming that his incident(s) weren't as bad as they were made out to be. 

Again this is only if he is exonerated on some level. On top of that Bauer is still a turd sandwich but could be an interesting fix into keeping up the rotation and trading Burnes or at least fixing half measures.