Taylor, Houser to NYM

[brewcrewdue80]

5 hours ago, monty57 said:

Regarding the bolded portion, it wasn't just 40-man spots we cleared, we also cleared two 26-man spots. That would seem to mean that the Brewers are looking at adding a couple of players to the MLB team. Dropping guys at the bottom of the 40 man roster doesn't solve this.

If we make some trades or signings that bring in talent that the team wants on the MLB roster, then without this trade you have a roster crunch. Taylor and Hauser were obviously the odd men out. I don't want to disparage two guys who have helped the Brewers out over the recent past, but it doesn't seem that Taylor and Hauser had as much trade value as some here think they did, especially if the Brewers get themselves into a roster crunch and other teams think they can just wait it out and pick up the guys for free when the Brewers release them.

I'm with you that it seems the return is a little light, but I have to assume that Arnold made some calls and there wasn't a big market for these guys. Saving some money, getting the roster spots opened up, and getting back a guy who seems to project to be a regular in the MLB rotation from 2025-2031 isn't the worst result we could've had. The guy(s) they brought back had to be off the 40 man, so we weren't bringing in a major leaguer. We needed some pitching to go along with the young position players we have for the next half-decade, and Crow adds that.

But let's remember that this isn't the big move. This opens up spots and frees up some cash for the moves that will fill those vacated roster spots. That's what we should be excited about.

Good notation on how this opens 26man spots that may be optionable vs Taylor/Houser (with an O)

Black is on the horizon.  You could see 2 for 1 out of either Burnes/Adames trade.  The 1b FA signing is 1 not to have options. Did Haase have 1? Imagine if he did he wouldn't have been available.  Maybe they gained clarity towards trade offers on what was being offered and the crunch that put them in, that has been eased by 1 or even 2. Including not taking a worse offer while "dumping salary to be able to do so.

 

[Scooterfletcher]

How long do we ideally need to keep gasser in Nashville to get the extra year of control from him?  Same for Black I assume? 

[brewcrewdue80]

1 hour ago, Scooterfletcher said:

How long do we ideally need to keep gasser in Nashville to get the extra year of control from him?  Same for Black I assume? 

Depends the goal. Gasser I wouldn't worry about. Black has potential staying power depending these future offseason moves.  He also profiles as a quick extension  should the team solidify a future defense position for him. Not confident for 3b. I think safe to say is 12days for Super 2 and 6.171/0? days end of team control. Another 40+ days is the questionable cut line on Super 2.

 

[Rick Daltons Flamethrower]

I agree with a previous poster who indicated wait and reserve judgement until more deals proceed. This is a "setting the stage" for a future or future deals. Will tap the brakes until then. 

[Thurston Fluff]

On 12/22/2023 at 7:43 AM, JohnBriggs12 said:

So you see Taylor as someone who won't age well?  Yet you don't back that up with anything.  He's coming off the best 2 month stretch of his career at age 29 so what makes you think he'll fall off a cliff at age 30?  Taylor's value in 2024 was the perfect place holder starting in RF and taking pressure off the younger outfielders all of whom have multiple options remaining.  He's a better hitter right now than any of Mitchell, Frelick, and Wiemer.  Certainly he has more power than Mitchell and Frelick and his bat sent Wiemer to the bench last year.  Hopefully all those guys progress in 2024 but that's a hope not a given.  Defensively, Taylor may not be as spectacular as those three but he's certainly dependable and versatile, never having made an error in 300 major league games in the outfield and he's a tremendous instinctive base runner.

Looking at the Mets roster, I think Taylor would be an improvement over 34 year old Starling Marte in RF and he's going to get plenty of time in CF and LF too.  I expect he'll easily get 450 or so AB's.  If he hits like he did in August and September of 23, Arnold is going to look foolish.   

Offensively he's produced less each season. The year he played the most he produced less than the previous years. That doesn't seem like a guy who's suddenly going to improve when past his prime physically. He'll have value as a defender and on the bases. But given he got on base less each season, that value is somewhat mitigated. He's a good part time player because he adds value on defense and isn't a black hole on offense...yet. I just don't see a guy who's on base percentage peaked at .321, and went down every season since, suddenly turning it around after age 30.

[wallus]

After some additional thought, my view on this trade will change depending on how the payroll flexibility is used/not used.

If we use this to improve the team, then I am okay with it. If this was truly a payroll dump on a rebuilding year, then I am not a big fan.

[MNBrew]

I think this is an interesting move -- I don't love it or hate it, though I can understand the arguments for both sides.  It seems to me that this move serves some purpose(s) beyond itself.  Opening roster spots?  Salary space for one or more new acquisitions?  Something else?  Multiple moves/layers?  Time will tell, and I'm curious, which surely also requires some patience.

[sveumrules]

Salary saved re-invested and then some.

[Frisbee Slider]

One month in:

Houser with 8.37 ERA in 23.2 IP and -0.7 WAR

Taylor with .707 OPS (below career average) and 0.6 WAR in 69 AB

 

 

[gregmag]

Taylor’s now down to near replacement level, and Houser appears to be toast. I suppose you could argue that Taylor has been better than Chourio and Weimer, but those guys are part of the future, plus they’re cheap.

The trade looked like a decent move when it happened. It looks better now.

[KeithStone53151]

On 5/30/2024 at 1:30 AM, gregmag said:

Taylor’s now down to near replacement level, and Houser appears to be toast. I suppose you could argue that Taylor has been better than Chourio and Weimer, but those guys are part of the future, plus they’re cheap.

The trade looked like a decent move when it happened. It looks better now.

To add to your argument, Chourio and Weimer are much more likely to improve than Taylor at this point(especially Chourio). Fwiw, I think Houser still hangs on for a bit longer as a reliever...relief is so volatile that I think he'll put together enough good stretches to stay in the league a bit longer. It should have been quite obvious that these guys would be fringe roster players going forward.