Who stays/goes with a fully healthy outfield?

[adambr2]

Assuming we choose to keep our depth and not trade from it, who is sticking around and who isn’t?

I think Perkins and Lockridge are both Nashville bound. Tough break for Lockridge because he was performing well, but if you have options and the guys ahead of you are better, what is there to do?

Chourio/Mitchell everyday, with Lara, Frelick and Bauers mixing in. A little heavy on the left handedness, but Lara being a switch hitter makes carrying at least one of  Lockridge or Perkins unnecessary.

 

[cragi]

12 minutes ago, adambr2 said:

Assuming we choose to keep our depth and not trade from it, who is sticking around and who isn’t?

I think Perkins and Lockridge are both Nashville bound. Tough break for Lockridge because he was performing well, but if you have options and the guys ahead of you are better, what is there to do?

Chourio/Mitchell everyday, with Lara, Frelick and Bauers mixing in. A little heavy on the left handedness, but Lara being a switch hitter makes carrying at least one of  Lockridge or Perkins unnecessary.

 

If everyone is healthy, a trade would help clear some of this up, given what’s likely coming  2027. Frelick healthy would Definitely be in the mix and loved by staff. Solid 4th rotation option. Lockridge is unnecessary. But I think when frelick gets healthy and back to hitting, you probably trade him.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

I’d go with Chourio, Lara, and Mitchell as starters with Lockridge as the 4th.

i’d platoon Yelich and Vaughn at DH , with Bauers at 1st.

i think Bauers in the outfield is unnecessary now.  If Murphy wants Vaughn and Bauers in the lineup, then Yelich sits.

should be a really easy decision as there’s no reason for Yelich to face Lefties anyway, and there is no reason for Vaughn to ever face a rightie

[DonBarclay]

For the short-ish term, it makes more sense to try to trade Frelick. Frelick is arb eligible this off season, while Lockridge still has 2 pre-arb years left. Have to think they’re competing for 4th OF at best, with it possibly being 5th OF with Bauers. 

[ClosetBrewerFan]

30 minutes ago, TwinsBrewersWorldSeries said:

I’d go with Chourio, Lara, and Mitchell as starters with Lockridge as the 4th.

i’d platoon Yelich and Vaughn at DH , with Bauers at 1st.

i think Bauers in the outfield is unnecessary now.  If Murphy wants Vaughn and Bauers in the lineup, then Yelich sits.

should be a really easy decision as there’s no reason for Yelich to face Lefties anyway, and there is no reason for Vaughn to ever face a rightie

Yelich is hitting better against LHs than RHs this year. 756 OPS, 110 wRC+ vs LH.  Also, he has historically been an above average hitter vs LHs (108 wRC+) so its not as if its a small sample issue.

Vaughn has been adequate against RHs (100 wRC+, 716 OPS).  Not great, but he is not a liability especially if he is regaining his power stroke after the hamate injury.

I dont disagree with platooning them, per se, but its not as straightforward as you suggest.

[JoeyWiemerTruther]

3 hours ago, DonBarclay said:

For the short-ish term, it makes more sense to try to trade Frelick. Frelick is arb eligible this off season, while Lockridge still has 2 pre-arb years left. Have to think they’re competing for 4th OF at best, with it possibly being 5th OF with Bauers. 

Sal’s trade value has to be low so maybe wait til the offseason to trade him if he turns it on or run it back with him as 4th OF next season

[Brian]

13 minutes ago, JoeyWiemerTruther said:

Sal’s trade value has to be low so maybe wait til the offseason to trade him if he turns it on or run it back with him as 4th OF next season

That's a very bad reason to keep him unless you send him to Nashville to heal and reboot which I'd be ok with.  A 10 day IL won't do anything cuz the All Star break sure didn't help. 

[rickh150]

I just hate the idea of trading Frelick or Turang, no matter ho much sense it makes n the near future. They are just BRewers in every way, kind of like how Gorman was in the day..

[Brian]

7 hours ago, rickh150 said:

I just hate the idea of trading Frelick or Turang, no matter ho much sense it makes n the near future. They are just BRewers in every way, kind of like how Gorman was in the day..

I heard nothing at all about trading Turang but Frelick would be my 4th outfielder. 

Lara, Chourio, Mitchell would be my starters.  Lockridge hopefully will start his rehab in August. 

[igor67]

Nothing wrong with having Frelick and Lockridge as 4th and 5th OFers. But looking at options coming up from the minors, current service time etc. And you certainly can start seeing what value Frelick has, since there are multiple players getting closer who can likely match or exceed his production.

[wntrtxn21]

14 minutes ago, igor67 said:

Nothing wrong with having Frelick and Lockridge as 4th and 5th OFers. But looking at options coming up from the minors, current service time etc. And you certainly can start seeing what value Frelick has, since there are multiple players getting closer who can likely match or exceed his production.

There is no need for the Brewers to keep a 5th OF if the keep Vaughn. With Bauers ability to play OF and Yelich the emergency OF, they don't have room for a 5th full time OF.  Vaughn, Sanchez, Hamilton, and the 4th OF make up the 4 man bench. 

[CheezWizHed]

Normally, a 5th OF fits on the team fine - Chourio, Mitchell, Lara, Lockridge, and Frelick would be very good.  But with Yelich at DH only and Bauer's and Vaughn's bats pushing more time for Jake in the OF, there isn't room for a true 5th OFer.  

Hard to replace Lara at the moment because he is playing so well. Lockridge and Frelick end up being LH/RH versions of similar players. If they hit over 700 OPS, their defense brings good value to the team.  If they drop below that, they end up 4th OF material. 

My hope was that Sal was ascending and we'd end up with a ~300 BA player that provides 3-4 WAR/year.  But this season makes you wonder if 2025 was an outlier and the truth lies more in the 650-700 OPS or 80-90 OPS+ range with 2.5 WAR/year. 

Lockridge was having a great start to the year, but his history has much less to rely on (even in the MiLB he was averaging only 768 OPS).  

Personally, I'd stick with Chourio, Mitchell, Lara, and Frelick at the MLB level.  Looks like Lockridge can be optioned to AAA, so I'd probably do that.  

Nice level of flexibility when any of Lara, Frelick, or Lockridge can be optioned. 

[BruisedCrew]

Why think about this today?

Have they said anything about Frelick as to whether he needs surgery or when he might return?

The only thing I saw was a targeted return in mid August  That’s 3 weeks away and presumably is a best case scenario  A lot can happen in 3 weeks, including an injury to one of the other OF candidates.

 

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

8 hours ago, Brian said:

I heard nothing at all about trading Turang but Frelick would be my 4th outfielder. 

Lara, Chourio, Mitchell would be my starters.  Lockridge hopefully will start his rehab in August. 

Lockridge started his rehab last week. His first handful of ABs in Nashville have looked pretty ugly. Seems to me the timeline would be Lockridge shaking off enough rust to be deemed to replace Perkins, and if that happens does he do enough to keep a roster spot over Frelick, who would then get slow-played in his own rehab until 9-1?

In a perfect world I agree it's Chourio, Mitchell, Lara & Frelick. No real room for Lockridge since you have a guy on the roster who's pretty much a DH-only.