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

[CheeseheadInQC]

8 hours ago, CheezWizHed said:

The Devers trade for Boston now comes down to a #3 SP (Hicks), a #6-7 SP (Bello), and Durbin. Not sure that screams "win now"... 

It really is at this point just Durbin and a guy Fangraphs had ranked 32nd in their system who is still in A ball. They salary dumped Hicks, and May, who they got for Tibbs, left. They did get out of the contract.

[Jopal78]

5 hours ago, Turning2 said:

Well put. Not a popular exercise to suggest anything that rubs against the company line. I'm surprised you only have one down thumb currently. 

Give it time…

[Turning2]

On 2/9/2026 at 10:55 AM, Dadbauer said:

 

Durbin is nice and I really like him, but he has a weak arm and is not great at stealing bases. 

 

18 stolen bags as a rookie isn't bad. He set the Arizona Fall League with SB's too, His big league SB numbers will likely increase this year. 

[Turning2]

On 2/9/2026 at 11:05 AM, Bulldogboy said:

Are the Brewers better now than end of last season?

Offensively at least, I don't think we can say they are better, though some will try to spin it that way. The moves have brought some potential offense in JW but not proven offense. MLB ready is not the same as MLB proven. They are crossing their fingers that he at least replicates Durbin's production and that Mitchell can miraculously not only stay healthy but actually produce to expectations. They also have hopes pinned on a few of the other guys improving or proving certain flashes weren't a fluke. 

[Jopal78]

24 minutes ago, Turning2 said:

Offensively at least, I don't think we can say they are better, though some will try to spin it that way. The moves have brought some potential offense in JW but not proven offense. MLB ready is not the same as MLB proven. They are crossing their fingers that he at least replicates Durbin's production and that Mitchell can miraculously not only stay healthy but actually produce to expectations. They also have hopes pinned on a few of the other guys improving or proving certain flashes weren't a fluke. 

To your point about MLB proven, the starting pitching has taken a step back with Peralta being gone.  Also, I think it gets overlooked Quintana wasn’t any sort of world beater but he was third on the team in innings pitched last year and for the most part gave them a chance to win the games he pitched so all the new inexperienced pitchers have some big shoes to fill.

[Playing Catch]

16 hours ago, edfunderburk said:

I wonder if Turang will get some innings at SS in the WBC 

With Murph's comments about he and Ortiz reprising their full-time roles at their respective positions, I would be surprised if he was moved for the WBC.

1 hour ago, Turning2 said:

Offensively at least, I don't think we can say they are better, though some will try to spin it that way.

I think you are too concerned about people having an agenda, here. Most of us are merely trying to understand the Brewers thinking. Their recent track record simply suggests that whatever they are thinking, they should keep thinking that way.

I don't think Hamilton is the player Durbin is. However, I think the Brewers really like having certain guys playing certain roles, and Hamilton has some real skills that can be used in a limited role. So perhaps the Brewers didn't like Durbin in an everyday, starting 3B role because of his limited ceiling, his reliance on getting drilled, and the deep LF corner in the AmFamClam. But maybe they love Hamilton as the first IF bench role due to his defense, baserunning, and left-handed bat. I have no idea. But I like trying to consider what the braintrust is thinking, because they've proven to be the highly successful counter to baseball's conventions.

The thing about being the eternal realist, is that one needs to tap into reality. The reality is that the Brewers organization has done incredible things, so the pessimism in some posts isn't a realist's outlook, it's just pessimism, and pessimism, by definition, is expecting bad things to happen, even when it's not warranted.

[MilwaukeeBeers]

I’m honestly a little shocked at how upset people still are about losing Durbin. Not as much here, but definitely on Brewers X. I get it. He was a fan favorite and a solid player for us, but his skill set became redundant once we added Jett Williams. Jett is, in all honesty, a better version of that player with stronger tools across the board.

Durbin was likely close to maxed out. I would not be surprised if this past season ends up being the highest WAR year of his career. I will still root for him, but some fans and analysts seem apoplectic about selling high after his best season, especially when it brought back two potentially very good pitchers and a tools upgrade for our utility infield spot.

I am also going to predict that at some point this year Jett becomes our everyday third baseman. I know he has not played there much, if at all, in the minors, but I do not think that will deter the Brewers. He has already shown he can handle shortstop adequately. Moving to the hot corner without much prior experience is not unprecedented for this organization. Ortiz and Durbin are recent examples.

One thing you absolutely do not do, though, is move Ortiz to third base. His primary value to this team is his glove at shortstop. Taking him off that position would significantly diminish what he brings to the table.

[Jopal78]

34 minutes ago, Playing Catch said:

With Murph's comments about he and Ortiz reprising their full-time roles at their respective positions, I would be surprised if he was moved for the WBC.

I think you are too concerned about people having an agenda, here. Most of us are merely trying to understand the Brewers thinking. Their recent track record simply suggests that whatever they are thinking, they should keep thinking that way.

I don't think Hamilton is the player Durbin is. However, I think the Brewers really like having certain guys playing certain roles, and Hamilton has some real skills that can be used in a limited role. So perhaps the Brewers didn't like Durbin in an everyday, starting 3B role because of his limited ceiling, his reliance on getting drilled, and the deep LF corner in the AmFamClam. But maybe they love Hamilton as the first IF bench role due to his defense, baserunning, and left-handed bat. I have no idea. But I like trying to consider what the braintrust is thinking, because they've proven to be the highly successful counter to baseball's conventions.

The thing about being the eternal realist, is that one needs to tap into reality. The reality is that the Brewers organization has done incredible things, so the pessimism in some posts isn't a realist's outlook, it's just pessimism, and pessimism, by definition, is expecting bad things to happen, even when it's not warranted.

Why does a contrary opinion have to be pessimism? To your point about David Hamilton, the Red Sox liked him well enough at one point to absorb Jackie Bradley Jr.’s contract in order to acquire him (They released Bradley after 290 PAs).

3 years later, the Red Sox obviously preferred Durbin and Monasterio to David Hamilton. Couple that with the stat sheet showing a career .642 OPS and it’s “realistic” to wonder if Hamilton is going to hit enough to be more than a bench player. 
 

Pitching wins games, and the Brewers have shown a knack of being able to develop young pitchers, so it makes sense that they’re trying to acquire as many young staying pitchers as possible.

At the same time, it’s not so much that Durbin is traded it’s that on offense they have now traded away nearly  1100 PAs of above league average offense without really replacing those players. So it is realistic to wonder if the Brewers are going to hit enough especially from the left side of the their infield  to win consistently, especially if their pitching staff isn’t as strong as last year with the departures of Peralta and Quintana. 
 

However, there are plenty of unknowns at this point:  Like Turang last year, maybe Chourio grew into some adult strength over the off season and hits 35+ homers, and Vaughn puts up a .500 slugging percent again, then it wouldn’t matter as much if neither 3B and SS has an OPS above .650

[RobDeer 45]

12 minutes ago, MilwaukeeBeers said:

One thing you absolutely do not do, though, is move Ortiz to third base. His primary value to this team is his glove at shortstop. Taking him off that position would significantly diminish what he brings to the table.

I agree with your whole post, but this is my mindset as well.  Ortiz is so good at SS.  Putting him back at 3b doesn't make sense to me.  I get why people want an upgraded bat at SS, but I think some people might under appreciate how good his glove is.  I hope his bat is closer to the 2024 version because that would be a huge boost!

[Playing Catch]

1 hour ago, Jopal78 said:

Why does a contrary opinion have to be pessimism?

It doesn't. I like contrary opinions, even if they are stated as straw-man devil's advocates.

I don't believe that we will find truth in our opinions, but without testing different hypotheses, we won't advance toward truth, either. But let's not hide behind the "realist" label, either. Nor explain away other opinions as groupthink when the Brewers have outperformed on every front relative to their standing in baseball, year after year after year.

Look, most of us agree that this was a weird trade. Not in terms of talent-acquisition, but in terms of roster construction. I don't like the roster right now. I would prefer not staring at an Ortiz/Hamilton left-sided infield come opening day. But Durbin isn't some $20M albatross the Brewers were trying to offload. He had real value to a team like the Brewers, so they must be thinking about something, here, particularly when they trade away Mona and Seigler in the same deal.

1 hour ago, Jopal78 said:

it’s not so much that Durbin is traded it’s that on offense they have now traded away nearly  1100 PAs of above league average offense without really replacing those players. So it is realistic to wonder if the Brewers are going to hit enough especially from the left side of the their infield  to win consistently

I think that, literally all of the posters here would prefer to have Durbin and co. playing 3B than [fill-in-the-blank]. And I'm not sure the Brewers wouldn't either. But they were willing to take that hit in order to acquire more SP depth.

They might be wrong. The move may end up looking arrogant and too clever by half.

But let me ask you this... Are you taking the over or the under on 85.5 wins? There are good reasons to take the under, but I think all of those reasons have to do with what the other teams in the division did. Not what the Brewers have or haven't done.

[owbc]

15 minutes ago, Playing Catch said:

It doesn't. I like contrary opinions, even if they are stated as straw-man devil's advocates.

I don't believe that we will find truth in our opinions, but without testing different hypotheses, we won't advance toward truth, either. But let's not hide behind the "realist" label, either. Nor explain away other opinions as groupthink when the Brewers have outperformed on every front relative to their standing in baseball, year after year after year.

Look, most of us agree that this was a weird trade. Not in terms of talent-acquisition, but in terms of roster construction. I don't like the roster right now. I would prefer not staring at an Ortiz/Hamilton left-sided infield come opening day. But Durbin isn't some $20M albatross the Brewers were trying to offload. He had real value to a team like the Brewers, so they must be thinking about something, here, particularly when they trade away Mona and Seigler in the same deal.

I think that, literally all of the posters here would prefer to have Durbin and co. playing 3B than [fill-in-the-blank]. And I'm not sure the Brewers wouldn't either. But they were willing to take that hit in order to acquire more SP depth.

They might be wrong. The move may end up looking arrogant and too clever by half.

But let me ask you this... Are you taking the over or the under on 85.5 wins? There are good reasons to take the under, but I think all of those reasons have to do with what the other teams in the division did. Not what the Brewers have or haven't done.

Regarding whether or not we are better than 2025, I think it's unfair to compare to the September roster, the real comparison is the Opening Day roster...

• Jake Bauers
• Vinny Capra
• Oliver Dunn
• Rhys Hoskins
• Joey Ortiz
• Brice Turang

So...yes, we are in insanely better position with the infield than we were a year ago. 

[wallus]

Differing opinions are always welcome. Unfortunately most of the time they are  not supported by any facts or data and just shooting from the hip.

[liveforoctober]

2 hours ago, Jopal78 said:

Why does a contrary opinion have to be pessimism? 

My only response to this is just a preference on communication in general. I have no way of backing this up with any data - but I would bet at least a small percentage of the reason Andrew Vaughn saw immediate success with Milwaukee after leaving Chicago was because the FO and coaching staff here were "optimists" when talking to him while the Chicago FO were "realists" with him.

I don't think Hamilton is going to hit .300 or hit 20 home runs for us. I do not think the Brewers folks think that either. But he is a Brewers player now so I think everyone has a choice to either look at it and see all the bad that this presents us with "well he offers no everyday solution at 3B nor does he have power nor does he get on base very often" or you can look at the positives that we are now presented with "we have an elite late inning defensive alignment now with Turang, Ortiz, and him to close games AND our starting staff now has a bit more balance with the lefty that we acquired."

I don't think either of those interpretations is wrong and if you choose to see the bad in all of it then you do you. But if the definition of optimism is seeing or expecting the best out of situations and your viewpoint is on the opposite side of that... 

[brewcrewdue80]

Looking at Hamilton's savant, I dont see how the Brewers would start him Opening Day. He just looks like Monesterio with bigger speed but less power. Doesn't appear a better defender. Team control between the 2 nearly the same. Well I should say service time.  There's gotta be some geriatric 3b they sign or they see Williams as an opening day rookie.

Brings the question, as a rookie to qualify for draft pick, is it just on OD roster? Or OD starter? Would he be required an X amount of games as starter?  

Ortiz was a +defender at 3b. If we're going to be starting Williams&Ortiz on left side, I'd hope they fill it via what the combined +defense would be in regards where Williams plays.

[BucketSitter521]

If you sign Ramon Urias to platoon w/ Hamilton to start the year you have pretty good coverage until one of the young guys are ready.

 

Urias vs LHP (2y split) - .275/.328/.782

Hamilton vs RHP (2y split) - .235/.295/.686 

If you take Hamilton out of Fenway vs RHP - ,261/.315/.789

 

Conservative platoon split would look like .250/.300/.720. That would be at least serviceable.

[igor67]

That seems very reasonable and goes a long way towards limiting the downside. And if the team is really thinking Wilken or someone else in the minors is going to force the issue later in the year, I can't imagine that Urias would actually hold up that process. Either internally you shuffle things anyway to cover for injuries later in the season, or you can probably flip him for the modest salary you are paying him.

[Turning2]

3 hours ago, Playing Catch said:

With Murph's comments about he and Ortiz reprising their full-time roles at their respective positions, I would be surprised if he was moved for the WBC.

I think you are too concerned about people having an agenda, here. Most of us are merely trying to understand the Brewers thinking. Their recent track record simply suggests that whatever they are thinking, they should keep thinking that way.

I don't think Hamilton is the player Durbin is. However, I think the Brewers really like having certain guys playing certain roles, and Hamilton has some real skills that can be used in a limited role. So perhaps the Brewers didn't like Durbin in an everyday, starting 3B role because of his limited ceiling, his reliance on getting drilled, and the deep LF corner in the AmFamClam. But maybe they love Hamilton as the first IF bench role due to his defense, baserunning, and left-handed bat. I have no idea. But I like trying to consider what the braintrust is thinking, because they've proven to be the highly successful counter to baseball's conventions.

The thing about being the eternal realist, is that one needs to tap into reality. The reality is that the Brewers organization has done incredible things, so the pessimism in some posts isn't a realist's outlook, it's just pessimism, and pessimism, by definition, is expecting bad things to happen, even when it's not warranted.

My "spin" comment wasn't directed specifically at the posting sentiment here if that helps. It's an observation culled from various social media, and an observation of humanity in general. Most people are too cowardly to speak the least amount of opposition to acceptable opinion.  I try to be as balanced and fair in my assessments and as intellectually honest I am capable of. 

It's not an agenda that I shed light on. It's a mindset of whistling past the graveyard, a cognitive dissonance, a herd mentality that often drapes everything in sunshine and lollipops. That is intellectually disingenuous in the "reality" you speak of. 

I extend hope and optimism when and where it is merited in my posts. But when something ugly needs to be addressed, I'm not going to put lipstick on the pig and lie to myself or others about the issue at hand. That's reality. The alternative is a bubble of group think, a mutual agreement society, go along to get along. Maybe I should change my handle to Neo because I kick against the matrix... LOL.

I've stated previously that the Brewers do an admirable job with what circumstances they face.  That does not mean I have to polish up every move they make into something it hasn't been and possibly won't be just to feel good about them. 

 

 

[wallus]

9 minutes ago, BucketSitter521 said:

If you sign Ramon Urias to platoon w/ Hamilton to start the year you have pretty good coverage until one of the young guys are ready.

 

Urias vs LHP (2y split) - .275/.328/.782

Hamilton vs RHP (2y split) - .235/.295/.686 

If you take Hamilton out of Fenway vs RHP - ,261/.315/.789

 

Conservative platoon split would look like .250/.300/.720. That would be at least serviceable.

An argument could be made to do a platoon with Ortiz as well. Hamilton playing at Fenway was a poor fit for his bat.

I'll keep pounding the table that Urias is the move much like I did with Quintana last year.

I think people are going to be surprised at how much Hamilton plays this year.

[Playing Catch]

43 minutes ago, Turning2 said:

My "spin" comment wasn't directed specifically at the posting sentiment here if that helps. It's an observation culled from various social media, and an observation of humanity in general. Most people are too cowardly to speak the least amount of opposition to acceptable opinion.  I try to be as balanced and fair in my assessments and as intellectually honest I am capable of. 

It's not an agenda that I shed light on. It's a mindset of whistling past the graveyard, a cognitive dissonance, a herd mentality that often drapes everything in sunshine and lollipops. That is intellectually disingenuous in the "reality" you speak of.

I understand. I have the same concerns when it comes to the tone of disagreement, particularly in these times of uncomfortable change in this regard.

But as it relates to the Brewers success on the field, why do the Brewers or their fans need to drape anything in sunshine and lollipops?

[Jopal78]

1 hour ago, wallus said:

An argument could be made to do a platoon with Ortiz as well. Hamilton playing at Fenway was a poor fit for his bat.

I'll keep pounding the table that Urias is the move much like I did with Quintana last year.

I think people are going to be surprised at how much Hamilton plays this year.

Except Urias was DFA’d in November and could have been acquired with merely a waiver claim. If he wasn’t the solution then, would he be the solution now simply becase his cost is likely less? 

[wallus]

2 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

Except Urias was DFA’d in November and could have been acquired with merely a waiver claim. If he wasn’t the solution then, would he be the solution now simply becase his cost is likely less? 

He was projected to make 6 million dollars. I'm guessing he will be signing for 3-3.5 mil today.

[Jopal78]

1 minute ago, wallus said:

He was projected to make 6 million dollars. I'm guessing he will be signing for 3-3.5 mil today.

Like I said, if he wasn’t a solution when he was available as a waiver claim, did he suddenly become a solution because he’s presumably cheaper after being released? 

[SeaBass]

4 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

Except Urias was DFA’d in November and could have been acquired with merely a waiver claim. If he wasn’t the solution then, would he be the solution now simply becase his cost is likely less? 

What good is adding Urias in November when you have no idea what the roster will look like in February?

Plus it's the Brewers, of course they would want to sign a player for less money.

That's if they're even interested in Urias at all, folks can speculate and even think he's a match but that doesn't mean anything until something does or does not happen.

[wallus]

2 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

Like I said, if he wasn’t a solution when he was available as a waiver claim, did he suddenly become a solution because he’s presumably cheaper after being released? 

Well probably because Durbin was still on the team in November. What other free agent that can play 3rd base or guy on the roster do you like better?

[Jopal78]

2 minutes ago, SeaBass said:

What good is adding Urias in November when you have no idea what the roster will look like in February?

 

The first lines do not make any sense.
 

I would hope a front office has some sort of strategic framework for the future which identifies players in the majors or minors who are viewed likely being able to help win games should the player become available.

8 minutes ago, wallus said:

Well probably because Durbin was still on the team in November. What other free agent that can play 3rd base or guy on the roster do you like better?

Like I said above. These are multi- million dollar businesses, they don’t go into off season roster building shooting from the hip or making it up as they go along with no contingency plans.

I can only assume they wanted Harrison/ young SP all off season, and wanted him badly enough to trade their starting 3B to get him. 

The 3B free agents left are all garbage. Maybe they can wait Urias out as a band aid, but if he was a player who they really viewed as an improvement over what’s in house, they would likely have acquired him already.