MLB 2023/2024 Free Agency Thread

[torts]

Full circle for Cooper if he ended up in Milwaukee 

[titletownking]

Oddly quiet right now for the Brewers. McCalvy talked about that ten day window after the GM Meetings where activity typically ramps up. Feel like a move or two coming soon. 

[TURBO]

5 hours ago, torts said:

Full circle for Cooper if he ended up in Milwaukee 

I certainly hope we have set our sights higher than that.

[brewmann04]

I agree this team needs to make a bigger move imo. Still think we are seeing a possible group of trades 

[Frisbee Slider]

8 hours ago, brewmann04 said:

I agree this team needs to make a bigger move imo. Still think we are seeing a possible group of trades 

Is not trading Burnes or Williams equivalent to addition by not subtracting? 

[JefferyLeonard]

Hey, the Royals are spending money in FA...They're trying at the very least. Something I wish the Brewers would do, for once. Soon, in all likelihood, they will announce the signing of(insert players name here) to a 1 yr 10 million $$ deal with a 2nd year option, and Brewerfan.net posters will collectively celebrate what a great signing it is, it has potential etc etc. Keep settling for and willingly accepting mediocrity in FA though BF.net posters. Nauseating. If the royals can do it...(insert sveum/other posters) excuses here. Blah blah blah "The Brewers already have a much higher payroll then the Royals" or whatever else they can drum up as an excuse(they refer to it as a FACT, but it's not) to excuse the Brewers being cheap. It is what it is.  

[Frisbee Slider]

Will Smith was barely above replacement level last year.

Hunter Renfroe was below replacement level last year.

Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo both pitched in the most extreme pitchers park in San Diego last year. Regression should be expected.

The Royals are not expected to be competitive as a result of these signings. They might not even improve their 2024 record by all that much.

12 minutes ago, JefferyLeonard said:

Hey, the Royals are spending money in FA...They're trying at the very least. Something I wish the Brewers would do, for once

 

[Fear The Chorizo]

The Royals won 56 games last season in what was by far the worst division in baseball.  Are we really going to slam the Brewers for not signing marginal veteran free agents to make their roster less talented from a team that won 92?

[JefferyLeonard]

39 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

The Royals won 56 games last season in what was by far the worst division in baseball.  Are we really going to slam the Brewers for not signing marginal veteran free agents to make their roster less talented from a team that won 92?

Who said anything about signing marginal FA's(ironically you're bashing this and yet that is all the Brewers pretty much ever sign)? I sure as hell didn't. That's what the Royals did, sure, but my point was..they have spent 106 million thus far in FA TRYING to improve their team. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't(know one knows), but at least they are giving it a shot. If anyone thinks there aren't holes on this roster(particularly on the corners)  and they think that marginal FA signings will fix them, I want some of what you're smoking. 

[Fear The Chorizo]

Just now, JefferyLeonard said:

Who said anything about signing marginal FA's(ironically you're bashing this and yet that is all the Brewers pretty much ever sign)? I sure as hell didn't. That's what the Royals did, sure, but my point was..they have spent 106 million thus far in FA TRYING to improve their team. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't(know one knows), but at least they are giving it a shot. If anyone thinks there aren't holes on this roster(particularly on the corners) that marginal FA signings will fix, I want some of what you're smoking. 

The Royals could pick names out of a phone book and it would look like they are trying to improve their team...in fact that is basically what they've done.  These FA signings are like all done with the thought of flipping them at the trade deadline, not for the Royals to seriously consider winning anything this season.  It's still three weeks until new years and the Brewers have already been plenty active adding pieces via trade and free agency, and via a unprecedented contract extension to a prospect that hasn't yet played a mlb game.

[JefferyLeonard]

18 minutes ago, Fear The Chorizo said:

The Royals could pick names out of a phone book and it would look like they are trying to improve their team...in fact that is basically what they've done.  These FA signings are like all done with the thought of flipping them at the trade deadline, not for the Royals to seriously consider winning anything this season.  It's still three weeks until new years and the Brewers have already been plenty active adding pieces via trade and free agency, and via a unprecedented contract extension to a prospect that hasn't yet played a mlb game.

Pieces? They are pieces alright...I can't finish that because of the cuss filter, but you get what I'm saying. It's nothing more then throwing those pieces of......against a wall and hoping it sticks. If those kinds of "pieces" excite you(or anyone) then It's obviously already been an exciting offseason for you. 

[jerichoholicninja]

14 minutes ago, JefferyLeonard said:

Pieces? They are pieces alright...I can't finish that because of the cuss filter, but you get what I'm saying. It's nothing more then throwing those pieces of......against a wall and hoping it sticks. If those kinds of "pieces" excite you(or anyone) then It's obviously already been an exciting offseason for you. 

So they're doing the same thing they do every offseason that has resulted in making the playoffs 5 of the last 6 seasons. I suppose it's not as fun or sexy as acquiring names everyone knows but it certainly has been more effective. If it doesn't excite you as a fan then maybe you should start following the Padres. They're always doing something exciting.

[JefferyLeonard]

2 minutes ago, jerichoholicninja said:

So they're doing the same thing they do every offseason that has resulted in making the playoffs 5 of the last 6 seasons. I suppose it's not as fun or sexy as acquiring names everyone knows but it certainly has been more effective. If it doesn't excite you as a fan then maybe you should start following the Padres. They're always doing something exciting.

Ahhhh yes, the proverbial "ole bite of the apple" that the organization uses(obviously effectively) to dupe their fans into believing that the more "bites of the apple" you get, the better your chances are of it eventually paying off. How has that worked out for them? But hey "they've been in the playoffs 5 of the last six years", right"? They should have a ceremony at Amfam this next year to celebrate that great accomplishment and most definitely hang a banner for it! 

[jerichoholicninja]

25 minutes ago, JefferyLeonard said:

Ahhhh yes, the proverbial "ole bite of the apple" that the organization uses(obviously effectively) to dupe their fans into believing that the more "bites of the apple" you get, the better your chances are of it eventually paying off. How has that worked out for them? But hey "they've been in the playoffs 5 of the last six years", right"? They should have a ceremony at Amfam this next year to celebrate that great accomplishment and most definitely hang a banner for it! 

You don't like it. You've made that point thousands of times. There's no reason to keep saying it over and over again. The fact is that this team has made the playoffs more than (and I'm pulling a number out of my butt here) 90% of the rest of the league. You might not like how they get to the playoff but they do it more than the vast majority of the rest of the league. If your be all end all is winning the world series then it sucks to be a fan of 29 teams every year.

[brewerfan82]

If you sort this offseason's FA's by projected WAR (https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/free-agent-tracker), 16 of the top 50 FA's have signed. One team has signed three of those players (STL), three teams have signed two of them (MIL, DET, KC), seven teams have signed one of them (LAD, PHI, SFG, ARI, NYM, HOU, CIN), and 19 teams haven't signed any of the top 50 FA's.

The Brewers have spent up to $28M on two top 50 FA's, plus another $1.75M on Ross, and gave one of the top prospects in baseball an $82M contract extension.

Relatively speaking the Brewers have been more active than the vast majority of the league while also having a better team to start the offseason than the majority of the league as well. The only teams that have signed as many or more top 50 FA's at this point (STL, KC, and DET) have significantly worse holes in their rosters than the Brewers.

All that said, it is way too early in the offseason to start critiquing how any team has done yet. 34 of the top 50 FA's haven't even signed and the trade market has just barely gotten underway.

[brewcrewdue80]

1 hour ago, JefferyLeonard said:

Ahhhh yes, the proverbial "ole bite of the apple" that the organization uses(obviously effectively) to dupe their fans into believing that the more "bites of the apple" you get, the better your chances are of it eventually paying off. How has that worked out for them? But hey "they've been in the playoffs 5 of the last six years", right"? They should have a ceremony at Amfam this next year to celebrate that great accomplishment and most definitely hang a banner for it! 

Just make a thread in transactions/rumors for you to list every player with years/$$$ you want Milw to offer to them today.  I'd like to see what you want them to pay the FA you want them to sign. So when another team pays 1 more year and 12-20M more doing so, you are seeing the side of business vs just coming out and saying Brewers need to spend money like-X.  When you wouldn't have offered that for them.

This will also allow you to vent in one topic where it's actually reasonable to, vs derailing topics and adding pages of comments that just are a waste towards these threads. So take what's left of the top 50FAs and go have a fun ventful day over there.  This strawman argument never comes with direct players-salaries-years, just spend money on FAs..  like who/how much&long? Please. 

[markedman5]

Hunter Renfroe continues his long pursuit of playing for every major league team!.

[JefferyLeonard]

8 hours ago, brewcrewdue80 said:

Just make a thread in transactions/rumors for you to list every player with years/$$$ you want Milw to offer to them today.  I'd like to see what you want them to pay the FA you want them to sign. So when another team pays 1 more year and 12-20M more doing so, you are seeing the side of business vs just coming out and saying Brewers need to spend money like-X.  When you wouldn't have offered that for them.

This will also allow you to vent in one topic where it's actually reasonable to, vs derailing topics and adding pages of comments that just are a waste towards these threads. So take what's left of the top 50FAs and go have a fun ventful day over there.  This strawman argument never comes with direct players-salaries-years, just spend money on FAs..  like who/how much&long? Please. 

I already stated awhile back this very thing. My targets were Chapman and Hoskins. I THINK( if memory serves me right, doubtful) I had something like 2 years/48 Million for Chapman, and Like 2 yrs/32 mill for Hoskins. I don't know if those were exact numbers, but relatively close, I think.

[wiguy94]

11 minutes ago, JefferyLeonard said:

I already stated awhile back this very thing. My targets were Chapman and Hoskins. I THINK( if memory serves me right, doubtful) I had something like 2 years/48 Million for Chapman, and Like 2 yrs/32 mill for Hoskins. I don't know if those were exact numbers, but relatively close, I think.

Chapman is never signing a 2 year deal. Likely going to need at least 4 to get him. MLBTR has him estimated for 6/$150M 

[JefferyLeonard]

28 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

Chapman is never signing a 2 year deal. Likely going to need at least 4 to get him. MLBTR has him estimated for 6/$150M 

Fine with me, that is the same AAV of my 2 years/48 Million. I'm a huge proponent of longer term deals anyway. I have said all along I don't like all these 1 yr deals they do. man up, and go longer term for once. 

[sveumrules]

7 hours ago, JefferyLeonard said:

man up, and go longer term for once. 

They literally just signed a player for eight guaranteed seasons, plus two team options.

Its the second longest contract of the offseason so far after Ohtani.

[torts]

5 hours ago, sveumrules said:

They literally just signed a player for eight guaranteed seasons, plus two team options.

Its the second longest contract of the offseason so far after Ohtani.

For someone who never played in the mlb, too!  Like, I'd say someone manned up and some

[brewerfan82]

5 hours ago, sveumrules said:

They literally just signed a player for eight guaranteed seasons, plus two team options.

I don't know, seems kind of wimpy to give that to someone so young. A real man would tack on another $70M and give a contract like that to someone on the wrong side of 30.

[markedman5]

 

[wiguy94]

One of my 3 desired backup catchers is now off the board. Tom Murphy to the Giants. 2/$8M.