3B Caleb Durbin, SS Andrew Monasterio, Util Anthony Seigler and Comp B pick traded to Red Sox for LHP Kyle Harrison, LHP Shane Drohan and 2B/SS David Hamilton

[Jopal78]

26 minutes ago, gregmag said:

Even stacking the deck with negative characterizations as you’ve done here, that sounds like a pretty decent return for an expensive closer we didn’t need.

What’s negative about it? In fact it’s entirely factual. 
 

I guess the point is, Williams was a premium reliever whether the Brewers “needed him” or not. After these series of moves, what do they have in exchange for a bona fide ace reliever? Lockridge (almost certainly ticketed for AAA OF duty) A couple of minor league pictures who very well may or may not be good and a utility infielder who they already traded away once before in a salary dump to move JBJ’s contract to Boston.

original point: they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt, but it seems like a lot of shuffling pieces around right now. 

[CheezWizHed]

7 minutes ago, Austin Tatious said:

Would people be ok with packaging Logan Henderson and Brock Wilken (or Luke Adams) for a controllable young 3B?  

It is hard to gauge the trade for a fictitious player.  Technically Wilken and Adams are both controllable, young 3B.  I'd assume you mean someone at the MLB level, but are we talking a 100 OPS+ bat or 140? GG defense or passable? 1 year of control or 6? 

The variables matter a lot... 

[jay87shot]

10 minutes ago, Austin Tatious said:

Would people be ok with packaging Logan Henderson and Brock Wilken (or Luke Adams) for a controllable young 3B?  

I would be interested in it, but it would depend greatly in who the player is.

[patrickgpe]

12 minutes ago, Austin Tatious said:

Would people be ok with packaging Logan Henderson and Brock Wilken (or Luke Adams) for a controllable young 3B?  

they have a bunch of them in the minors, It doesn't make sense to give up assets for a young 3rd baseman. 

[CheezWizHed]

10 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

What’s negative about it? In fact it’s entirely factual. 
 

I guess the point is, Williams was a premium reliever whether the Brewers “needed him” or not. After these series of moves, what do they have in exchange for a bona fide ace reliever? Lockridge (almost certainly ticketed for AAA OF duty) A couple of minor league pictures who very well may or may not be good and a utility infielder who they already traded away once before in a salary dump to move JBJ’s contract to Boston.

original point: they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt, but it seems like a lot of shuffling pieces around right now. 

We did also have Durbin's 1 year of production at 3B (2.8 bWAR) which was more than Williams brought in any single year of his career. 

 

[owbc]

8 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

What’s negative about it? In fact it’s entirely factual. 
 

I guess the point is, Williams was a premium reliever whether the Brewers “needed him” or not. After these series of moves, what do they have in exchange for a bona fide ace reliever? Lockridge (almost certainly ticketed for AAA OF duty) A couple of minor league pictures who very well may or may not be good and a utility infielder who they already traded away once before in a salary dump to move JBJ’s contract to Boston.

original point: they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt, but it seems like a lot of shuffling pieces around right now. 

The Yankees currently have nothing from that trade. 

[tmwiese55]

17 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

What’s negative about it? In fact it’s entirely factual. 
 

I guess the point is, Williams was a premium reliever whether the Brewers “needed him” or not. After these series of moves, what do they have in exchange for a bona fide ace reliever? Lockridge (almost certainly ticketed for AAA OF duty) A couple of minor league pictures who very well may or may not be good and a utility infielder who they already traded away once before in a salary dump to move JBJ’s contract to Boston.

original point: they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt, but it seems like a lot of shuffling pieces around right now. 

Not sure I get the thinking here.  Have to remember it was for 1 year of Williams. We'd have literally 0 right now if we kept him.  Instead, we already got one year of Durbin which would generally be the equivalent of the one year of Williams.  And now we have two pitching prospects and 14ish years of control on them, that if they pan out at all makes the brewers come out way ahead in the deal.

[harrydalton]

My analysis is the Red Sox ran out of serious 3b trade options and knew of the Brewers interest in Harrison from recent discussions. So they sought out Durbin as a 2b-3b option with Marcelo Mayer.  Durbin more likely fits 2b in the longer term where he's better defensively and his limited power works better. Then the teams worked around the two principal targets 

[WiscoSportsHub]

This is a big no no in my eyes, Logan Henderson is a pitcher the Brewers need to hang onto. Robert Gasser is a maybe at best and he’s the only young pitcher I’d even consider moving.

[RobertCrawley]

I'm going to miss Durbin. He wasn't a very good third baseman to begin last season. His throwing and fielding were definitely suspect. But he worked really hard and became a solid player for us. That says a lot. But getting four years of control of a major league pitcher with a little above 4.0 ERA is huge. Hook will dial him in a little bit (or a lot), and he'll help us stay with the Cubs in the divisional race. I also like what we're getting with David Hamilton. He batted .250 in 2024 but fell on last year to .198. If he can find his swing again, he'll help us. 

[Austin Tatious]

Few thoughts:

1. I’m stunned by the trade. I doubt anyone here can say otherwise.  
2. Really like Durbin and I think he’s a winning player.  
3.  I am not qualified to judge the trade at this point because I’m digesting it and it’s not like I’ve got a recent scouting report on either pitcher we got.  
4. I’m not going to blindly defend the move or hate the move.  
5. Having said that, my view is these trades don’t just fall into the Brewers’ lap haphazardly.  Arnold has a big team behind him and they are using advanced tools and I’m positive they’ve got very good thoughts on every reasonable asset in any organization.  
6. But it’s way more than that.  They’ve got every guy rated on how they like his metrics, how they think they can develop him, etc.  These things aren’t perfectly simple either.  Sproat isn’t a perfect Brewer target at some level (flatness of his fastball, spin rate, etc).  But they’ve undoubtedly got a deep analysis on him.  There are probabilities, etc.  This isn’t Branch Rickey in 1953 making a trade at a bar and puttting on his reading glasses to understand who he is getting.  
7. Harrison was obviously highly regarded and, like the Brett Baty’s and Coby Mayo’s and endless other guys, you would have thought we could never get him a year or two ago.  For the investment guys, it kind of reminds me of a stock that gaps up and then you don’t buy it until it retraces to support.  I think that’s exactly where we got Harrison.  
8. Bottom line, the Brewers make trades holistically and in complementary fashion.  They got Jett in one trade and moved Durbin in another.  
9. Now we are looking at young pitching arms like Mis, Sproat, Harrison, and Priester.  All very controllable.  Henderson, Gasser, Crow, Patrick.  That’s how they stay competitive.  
10.  I think this trade is a precursor to another.  I tossed out Henderson plus one of Wilken or Adams.  I’d really like to see some pop added to the lineup after those four Dodger games where everyone tanked together. 

[WiscoSportsHub]

If there isn’t Hader PTSD I could see Megill being moved at the deadline and another reliever being brought in

[Austin Tatious]

17 minutes ago, patrickgpe said:

they have a bunch of them in the minors, It doesn't make sense to give up assets for a young 3rd baseman. 

Maybe so, but you can have a strategy like getting a Cam Smith for a year at third and then shifting him to OF.  

[Bulldogboy]

Hamilton as a bench piece is fine. In no way should he be starting at third base. It's a huge hole and this close to spring options are surely limited. I am hoping there is another move coming. 

[Austin Tatious]

24 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

It is hard to gauge the trade for a fictitious player.  Technically Wilken and Adams are both controllable, young 3B.  I'd assume you mean someone at the MLB level, but are we talking a 100 OPS+ bat or 140? GG defense or passable? 1 year of control or 6? 

The variables matter a lot... 

I agree it depends and the value would vary.  I meant more in terms of a general idea.   Plus or minus you could adjust who we send out.  But I’m a big Fisher fan.  We’ve got Blake Burke too.  I think if we dealt one of Adams and Wilken, I am very comfortable with our minor league depth at corner IF.   

[Underachiever]

36 minutes ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Only thing that compares is young, controllable, power-hitting middle IFers and CFers. 

As for the latter, they have Jackson Chourio under contract for 8 more years, and Jesus Made probably only a year away. 

That's the plan, and their pathway to a WS.....

Is Made seen as a power hitter? Doubles hitter, for sure. but as I've understood it he's kind of been an OBP guy.

[Jim French Stepstool]

In recent years the Brewers have looked to lean on the cheap, under-the-radar guys to fill INF spots---Dunn & Capra to start last year, Mona, Owen Miller, Brosseau, Brian Anderson, Jace Peterson, Pablo Reyes. What made me initially think this a precursor to another deal is there doesn't appear to be anyone of that ilk in the organization (Eddys Leonard?) Blacks' heart rate must be quickening right now, but 3B? No way.

Wilkin, Adams, Made, Pratt and others appear to be on the verge, but not quite there yet. The situation seems to scream a one-year placeholder at 3B. The FO has earned our trust many times over. It's hard to map out how this turns out, but that's nothing new.

I haven't read the whole thread--is it too late for the "What's Josh Donaldson doing" joke?

[Frisbee Slider]

If a team said they traded this 3B for one of the more promising LHP entering last year, they would be happy:

To be fair, Durbin rarely strikes out and squares the ball up very well.

[Jim French Stepstool]

8 minutes ago, Bulldogboy said:

Hamilton as a bench piece is fine. In no way should he be starting at third base. 

Yeah, Hamilton replaces Mona as INF depth. He's played exactly one-and-a-third innings at 3B for the Sox. And never played there in the minors.

[Brewcrew82]

19 minutes ago, Underachiever said:

Is Made seen as a power hitter? Doubles hitter, for sure. but as I've understood it he's kind of been an OBP guy.

He has Chourio type of raw power (105.2 90th percentile EV at 18), but it's untapped in-game right now due to his swing plane. 

I'd be shocked if he wasn't a regular 20 HR threat. A more optimized swing plane and he could have seasons where he threatens 30. 

[Brewcrew82]

11 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

If a team said they traded this 3B for one of the more promising LHP entering last year, they would be happy:

To be fair, Durbin rarely strikes out and squares the ball up very well.

Right, and how much of his OBP was propped up by his league leading HBP rate? If that regresses to the mean....

[Brewcrew82]

13 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

In recent years the Brewers have looked to lean on the cheap, under-the-radar guys to fill INF spots---Dunn & Capra to start last year, Mona, Owen Miller, Brosseau, Brian Anderson, Jace Peterson, Pablo Reyes. What made me initially think this a precursor to another deal is there doesn't appear to be anyone of that ilk in the organization (Eddys Leonard?) Blacks' heart rate must be quickening right now, but 3B? No way.

Wilkin, Adams, Made, Pratt and others appear to be on the verge, but not quite there yet. The situation seems to scream a one-year placeholder at 3B. The FO has earned our trust many times over. It's hard to map out how this turns out, but that's nothing new.

I haven't read the whole thread--is it too late for the "What's Josh Donaldson doing" joke?

Jett Williams at 3B or outside trade imo.

[trwi7]

Keith Law in his chat (because I know you all like him) said

 

”I think Durbin just had his best year.  I’d rather take the chance on helping Harrison than settling for Durbin’s low ceiling; the competitive balance B pick going to Boston isn’t nothing, though.”

[snoogans8056]

59 minutes ago, Austin Tatious said:

Would people be ok with packaging Logan Henderson and Brock Wilken (or Luke Adams) for a controllable young 3B?  

Brock Wilken is the controllable young 3B.

[wallus]

The only thing that is a bummer about this trade is the timeline. In an "ideal world", this trade would have been made after this season when you have more of your top prospects hopefully read to be promoted.

I think the team really like Harrison and decided the risk was worth it. 

Also, it is important to consider that the team might not be as high on Durbin as others. I know defense was a consideration but Dunn and Capra were our starting 3B over him last year.