Cooper Pratt Getting the Call

[igor67]

If the swap is really Pratt for Rengifo, the floor on that improvement for the team is around 1 WAR. Which isn't tremendous but is about as good as most deadline deals that work out ever are anyway. And that's conservatively putting Pratt on the low end for a debut (again every SS for the Brewers has hit better in their debut by WRC than Rengifo was doing this year.) Right now that 1 Win would put up to the number 2 seed so definitely valuable to be able to set-up our rotation and skip the wild card round in my book. And importantly I have yet to see anyone propose an actual likely to be dealt viable needle mover between either 3rd base or SS. I would love to see Lara in CF and think between the offense and the defense it could definitely be a big improvement for the team.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

I’m in the bring up Pratt and Lara, DFA Perkins and Rengifo, and go for it with Skubal.

Fischer, Sproat/Gasser, and Frelick would be my offer … and maybe 1 more top 11-20 prospect.

[long ball]

4 hours ago, Turning2 said:

That view aligns somewhat with my suggestion that this year is for positioning for the future, i.e. - post lock out, rather than making aggressive moves and going for it this year. Some people were howling that, after a 97 win season, that they didn't make any upgrade moves in the offseason for a serious push this season. I kept telling them, that they are not making moves for this year, but beyond. 

I'm not sure there's a "serious push" unless Attanasio gets into meddling with the baseball ops side. At least as far as outside acquisitions go. Might be a more nuanced push like taking Contreras or Turang through to free agency. 

[adambr2]

1 hour ago, TwinsBrewersWorldSeries said:

I’m in the bring up Pratt and Lara, DFA Perkins and Rengifo, and go for it with Skubal.

Fischer, Sproat/Gasser, and Frelick would be my offer … and maybe 1 more top 11-20 prospect.

Fischer is the only one that would really hurt IMO.

Even though he is technically a higher “rated” prospect, I’d rather deal Jett.

[TURBO]

7 hours ago, Turning2 said:

 I think the team could absorb poor offense from one rookie learning the ropes at either spot, but not both - that might be the best way to put it. 

We've been absorbing poor offense from 3 positions all season, so having 2 rookies who may or may not have poor offensive showings isn't going to matter much.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I'm completely out on trading any top guys in our pipeline for a rental 30 y/o pitcher off (minor) elbow surgery. We are 17 games over .500 in June. That just makes no sense to me and flies completely in the face of how we consistently get where we are.

If I could magic wand anything, it would be a lock down closer. MeGill and Uribe are good players, but I really am shaky with either one closing out a 3-2 game in October.

[JoeyWiemerTruther]

Happy Cooper Pratt MLB Debut day to all who celebrate 

[JoeyWiemerTruther]

1 hour ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I'm completely out on trading any top guys in our pipeline for a rental 30 y/o pitcher off (minor) elbow surgery. We are 17 games over .500 in June. That just makes no sense to me and flies completely in the face of how we consistently get where we are.

If I could magic wand anything, it would be a lock down closer. MeGill and Uribe are good players, but I really am shaky with either one closing out a 3-2 game in October.

Yeah some high leverage bullpen help is a clear need at the deadline, and won’t require crazy prospect losses, if they trade for a starter I’d rather add someone like Sandy Alcantara who would be cheaper than Skubal and is also a rental (unless they were to pick up his 2027 club option for $21 mil)

Otherwise they have whatever they can get coming up from the reinforcements of Woodruff, Henderson, Crow, Rodriguez and maybe other AAA guys like Kuehner, Hardin or Wichrowski, only if needed though

Miz, Harrison, Woodruff, Henderson, Drohan, Sproat, Gasser, Crow, Patrick, Rodriguez, Hardin, Kuehner, Wichrowski as options to start games but really only those first 4 are guys I’d want starting a playoff game. You can’t really count on Woodruff for anything though.

[Outlander]

1 hour ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I'm completely out on trading any top guys in our pipeline for a rental 30 y/o pitcher off (minor) elbow surgery. We are 17 games over .500 in June. That just makes no sense to me and flies completely in the face of how we consistently get where we are.

If I could magic wand anything, it would be a lock down closer. MeGill and Uribe are good players, but I really am shaky with either one closing out a 3-2 game in October.

It makes sense, it would give them a great shot at winning a World Series with three top line starters. You may not want to do that and the Brewers most likely won't either but teams have done it before and will do it again. A 30 year old with a future injury possible in the future isn't much of a concern with a rental. That is the next team's issue.

[Thurston Fluff]

19 hours ago, Turning2 said:

It won't make them less competitive; that's not the issue. Will it make them MORE competitive? Possible, but not likely unless they upgrade 3B. If Pratt was pounding .280 with 6-7 HRs in Nashville, he would stand a chance of pounding maybe .250 while adjusting to big league pitching. And they could make a run with that. But he's not. I fully expect him to hit no better than .230 with an odd dinger or two the rest of the way out. I don't see that as an upgrade for now but for later. 

The rest of my post was about how bringing him up now gave him the best chance to make them MORE competitive. The entire post was about probabilities of making them more competitive in the post season.

[tmwiese55]

1 hour ago, Outlander said:

It makes sense, it would give them a great shot at winning a World Series with three top line starters. You may not want to do that and the Brewers most likely won't either but teams have done it before and will do it again. A 30 year old with a future injury possible in the future isn't much of a concern with a rental. That is the next team's issue.

Kinda true, but he's just been hurt and we all know how elbows go. Once one things happens that's usually not it.  So there is a fairly significant chance once you trade for him that something else happens and then you just traded a lot of capital for like 4 starts. And if you're him in this situation, any pain you should sit out rather than risk TJ.   If he was having his normal dominant year cruising along with no issues, I'd probably be indifferent/ok with it.   With the injury, I think its enough for me to pass unless the cost is much less than we all assume.

 

[Brian]

19 hours ago, long ball said:

I’m not all that optimistic that Pratt will be an upgrade offensively. However, I am glad they’re bringing him up to the majors. 

If Pratt can hit .235 it would be a noticeable upgrade. The bar is not that high. 

[long ball]

18 minutes ago, Brian said:

If Pratt can hit .235 it would be a noticeable upgrade. The bar is not that high. 

I agree the bar is quite low since the current guys haven’t hit well. 
 

But our glove first infielders have all struggled at the plate during their early years (Hardy, Escobar, Arcia, and Turang). Ironically, Joey Ortiz was by far the best hitter in his first real big league stint compared to that group. 
 

As I mentioned in my post, I agree with the move to promote Pratt. I hope he runs with it, but I have low expectations that he will be an upgrade offensively. I hope I’m wrong!

[Brian]

25 minutes ago, long ball said:

I agree the bar is quite low since the current guys haven’t hit well. 
 

But our glove first infielders have all struggled at the plate during their early years (Hardy, Escobar, Arcia, and Turang). Ironically, Joey Ortiz was by far the best hitter in his first real big league stint compared to that group. 
 

As I mentioned in my post, I agree with the move to promote Pratt. I hope he runs with it, but I have low expectations that he will be an upgrade offensively. I hope I’m wrong!

6' 4" and 21 years old, so he will be getting stronger also for at least 4 more years. 

[Thurston Fluff]

18 hours ago, Turning2 said:

That view aligns somewhat with my suggestion that this year is for positioning for the future, i.e. - post lock out, rather than making aggressive moves and going for it this year. Some people were howling that, after a 97 win season, that they didn't make any upgrade moves in the offseason for a serious push this season. I kept telling them, that they are not making moves for this year, but beyond. 

Not to take this too far off track but I don't think the Brewers sacrifice any season for any other. Be it future or current. They make moves that keep a balance between this season and future seasons.

[Thurston Fluff]

18 hours ago, Turning2 said:

That view aligns somewhat with my suggestion that this year is for positioning for the future, i.e. - post lock out, rather than making aggressive moves and going for it this year. Some people were howling that, after a 97 win season, that they didn't make any upgrade moves in the offseason for a serious push this season. I kept telling them, that they are not making moves for this year, but beyond. 

Not to take this too far off track but I don't think the Brewers sacrifice any season for any other. Be it future or current. They make moves that keep a balance between this season and future seasons.

[Turning2]

1 hour ago, Thurston Fluff said:

Not to take this too far off track but I don't think the Brewers sacrifice any season for any other. Be it future or current. They make moves that keep a balance between this season and future seasons.

That's essentially my definition of "positioning". They didn't mail it in or punt as some others have referred to it. Coming off the 97 wins and falling completely on their face in the NLCS, they didn't aggressively go for it either (and I wouldn't want them to). So when I use "positioning" it's more of a mushy, happy medium term. The reality is, even though they dominated the regular season with 97 wins, the NLCS revealed that they weren't really very close to a WS berth. It would have required some incredible serendipity to get past LA. They could have gone crazy in the offseason pursuing talent, hoping to get over the hump. But they knew the lockout and CBA are on the horizon, so the financial ramifications of that are an unknown. Why commit big money and prospect capital to a couple guys, when adding proven talent might be more manageable after the new CBA is settled? They also knew that they have a solid crop of prospects to be harvested shortly after that new CBA too. Overall, it felt like they didn't tank it, but they went status quo, just keep doing what they do making marginal additions, hoping serendipity shines on them for a change this year. 

[CheezWizHed]

On 6/15/2026 at 12:56 PM, Turning2 said:

It sure is. The bigger question that can't be ignored, and often is - does Pratt clearing that low hurdle, say maybe hitting .220 with a 2-3 HRs the rest of the way out, make them any more competitive for the post season? Nope.

I've said before that I believe the front office approached this year as a season to position themselves for the potential lockout and to see how the new CBA affects their financial strategies. I usually get scoffed at. Don't care. This move supports that premise UNLESS they make a significant trade to upgrade 3B. They can absorb one lower average, developing hitter between SS and 3B. They can't seriously compete for a World Series championship with two. Moving Vaugn to 3B somewhat regularly might be an option. It would also support the premise of holding pat until after the CBA is settled. Plug an out of position guy in, rather than move assets to try and fix a hole for a championship run.

Sometimes you need to see the trend to understand the direction. 

Bringing up Pratt right now gives them a chance to see if he can hit MLB pitching.  I don't expect him to be a 850 OPS hitter.  But if he is 650 with good defense... you've "fixed" the SS position.  They see what they have for the next 1.5 months and then come to the trade deadline knowing what they need to fix. 

There is no harm putting Pratt in there... they can still make a deadline trade if needed.  This isn't an either-or proposition. 

[Turning2]

52 minutes ago, CheezWizHed said:

Sometimes you need to see the trend to understand the direction. 

Bringing up Pratt right now gives them a chance to see if he can hit MLB pitching.  I don't expect him to be a 850 OPS hitter.  But if he is 650 with good defense... you've "fixed" the SS position.  They see what they have for the next 1.5 months and then come to the trade deadline knowing what they need to fix. 

There is no harm putting Pratt in there... they can still make a deadline trade if needed.  This isn't an either-or proposition. 

If they were determined to rush him to the bigs, now is a good time. As you pointed out, it gives them a window to see what he can do before the deadline. Although, if he struggles, do you really believe they would trade for an upgrade. I don't. Per AI, a .650 OPS translates to roughly a .230 -.250 hitter and <10 HRs. Does that fix the position enough while trying to make a serious run at a championship? Maybe. 

[cragi]

An Ortiz/Hamilton platoon at 3B is an improvement on both offense and defense over Rengifro. Pratt at SS is likely a slight upgrade over Ortiz/Hamilton with a high floor and some upside. incremental improvement regardless and the rest of the lineup is good enough for the postseason. If we are going to improve somewhere at the trade deadline, its to add another really strong pitcher.

[markedman5]

 

[CheezWizHed]

48 minutes ago, Turning2 said:

If they were determined to rush him to the bigs, now is a good time. As you pointed out, it gives them a window to see what he can do before the deadline. Although, if he struggles, do you really believe they would trade for an upgrade. I don't. Per AI, a .650 OPS translates to roughly a .230 -.250 hitter and <10 HRs. Does that fix the position enough while trying to make a serious run at a championship? Maybe. 

I'd feel better if we were getting 750 OPS out of one of the SS/3B positions, but no one move will fix two positions. This move was "free"... so there is no harm in trying it, IMO. 

Just about every year, the Brewers trade for a rental player at the deadline... most often an RP, but we've grabbed a few bats in the past too.  If they have two positions at sub 600 OPS, I can almost guarantee they will bring someone in.

FYI, the Dodgers won the WS last year with:

• Michael Conforto: 199/305/303/637 (79 OPS+) - 486 PAs
• Tommy Edman: 225/274/382/655 (82 OPS+) - 377 PAs

No team has 800 OPS hitters in every position... 

[Turning2]

7 hours ago, JoeyWiemerTruther said:

Happy Cooper Pratt MLB Debut day to all who celebrate 

A festivus for the rest of us!

[CheezWizHed]

1 hour ago, Turning2 said:

A festivus for the rest of us!