Bauers Qualifying Offer

[Brewcrew82]

If Bauers accepts the QO, you definitely trade Vaughn. Why? 

Steamer/600 PAs projections.

Player A: .256/.328/.423, 108 wRC+, 19 HRs, 1.1 WAR (RHH)

Player B: .228/.337/.424, 114 wRC+, 24 HRs, 1.7 WAR (RHH)

If I told you player A is Andrew Vaughn, would you be surprised to learn that Player B is currently sitting in AAA and will make 8 million less in 2027....

[formerlybis]

For the bazillionth time, I'm glad I'm not the GM

Bauers, if he's on the team and going well, probably needs to be in the lineup around 90% of the time. That blocks two out of three of Frelick/Lara/Vaughn (and mostly Vaughn if Bauers can't play OF), and that's not even considering the rising farm assets. I want those farm assets developing where they can play a lot rather than withering up with the big club, but I also don't want to pay a bit of a premium for Vaughn to barely play. There's probably a cheaper option that's in between, though I don't know who that is (ideally a big leaguer journeyman type).

Without Bauers, the calculus changes - Vaughn would be a cheaper 1B starter, but also, the position is potentially a target for a short- to medium-term upgrade, especially if the farm guys aren't ready. And maybe a healthy Vaughn is the answer.

Aye-yi-yi. You can spin on this forever...

[TURBO]

2 hours ago, Team Canada said:

I don't think Jake is getting booed if he leaves. I mean maybe a little from people that would do it regardless, but no one's going to begrudge him seeking a multiyear deal.

Agreed.

I think most of us will show no ill-will towards him at all.  His window isn't open long at his age,  and if only money mattered, he'd be gone to a team that does offer him the 50 million on 3 years, but I truly believe he wants nothing more than to stay here in Milwaukee, with his buddies and the comfort of staying put.  He's got it made here, especially if Vaughn does get traded because Jake takes the offer.

Honestly, I love the guy just as much as I love all these guys.  I'm not thrilled in watching him butcher 1B again this year, and I really want no part of his OF play either.  I don't believe his bat will be as good as 2026, and expect regression.  Everything seemed to fall into place for him and us this season, it was all just part of the plan, the perfect storm, but I think we have seen the best Jake Bauers has to offer.

So if he takes the QO offer, we'll have one more year, if not, and he takes the contract and money elsewhere, I wish him the best of luck unless it is with the Cubs or Cardinals...

[TURBO]

I really don't want the Bauers/Vaughn stuff we had this past season.

I want one or the other.  If Bauers leaves, I want Vaughn to man 1B 80-90% of the time.  Let the man get into some kind of everyday groove and see where it goes.

If we keep Bauers, I want to trade Vaughn.

The issue, once again, will be that we have Yelich clogging up the DH spot.

I just don't want that situation again this season.

I also want our OF to get regular playing time that doesn't see Bauers playing out there anymore.

It will be good for the entire line up if guys are getting regular at bats, which includes Vaughn and Lara.

[Mr Southpaw]

3 hours ago, liveforoctober said:

I actually interpreted this as Jake can either take a big deal and go somewhere where he will now be scrutinized for being a big contract that has to perform (and will get booed if he doesn't perform in that city) .... or he can stay here and no one will care how he plays because we will all still be drunk celebrating for the next 12 months.

That is exactly what I meant. The Yankees Mets Phillies fans of the world one performance for pay where they boo all day.

[StearnsFTW]

4 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

I am envisioning a scenario where the minor league guys are just clearly not ready and the dime-a-dozen guy we bring in to replace him for $2 million has the kind of year Bauers did 2 years ago. With Vaughn I feel like I know what the floor is.

My concern is that his floor and his ceiling are roughly the same and neither is worth $9MM.

 

 

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

27 minutes ago, StearnsFTW said:

My concern is that his floor and his ceiling are roughly the same and neither is worth $9MM.

 

 

this is where I'm at.   Vaughn giving you a .300/.350/.500 line versus lefties is really valuable if he's making $3-4 million.

Given he's limited to starting versus lefties and a couple PH AB per week, spending $10M on a part-time player (given our team construction) seems like a luxury that could impact our ability to retain players that make a bigger impact like Megill, Wild Bill, Ashby, etc...

 

 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

11 minutes ago, TwinsBrewersWorldSeries said:

this is where I'm at.   Vaughn giving you a .300/.350/.500 line versus lefties is really valuable if he's making $3-4 million.

Given he's limited to starting versus lefties and a couple PH AB per week, spending $10M on a part-time player (given our team construction) seems like a luxury that could impact our ability to retain players that make a bigger impact like Megill, Wild Bill, Ashby, etc...

 

 

He can start against righties. He just doesn't because they had Bauers. His splits aren't that alarming really.

[MrTPlush]

Vaughn faced righties more than lefties this year. We shouldn’t act like he was in some strict platoon all year long.
 

Vaughn vs RHP in 2026 - .764 OPS 

_____ vs. RHP in 2026 - 776 OPS

One of these is Vaughn, who is apparently a gigantic liability who should never see RHP. The other is someone people glaze more than a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

This isn’t even the first year of Vaughn’s career he hit pretty well against righties. Then some of his other years his OPS split between the two wasn’t that far off what most batters experience.

If Andrew Vaughn hits like he did this year..,or even like his 2022-2023 self (or ‘25 Brewer version), the Brewers really don’t need to platoon him. He got platooned because it made sense for the roster construction we had.

[owbc]

Vaughn I would ship off in a second if the right offer came along. His batted ball metrics don't back up his production over a larger sample. And that's even with the favorable platoon in '26. While providing zero defensive value and clogging up the DH position. 

If Bauers rejects the QO, then yes, we can play Vaughn full-time at 1B in 2027, but over a full season you'd expect mid-to-upper 700s OPS which is only slightly above league average for a 1B/DH. I'd take that in a heartbeat for the cost, but if we have Bauers then Vaughn is redundant as the postseason AB count showed. 

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Still need a DH when Yelich has back tightness half the year. At least that's the only time you're allowed to sit him.

[Joseph Zarr]

20 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Still need a DH when Yelich has back tightness half the year. At least that's the only time you're allowed to sit him.

Honestly, I thought that was the One time a year we'd be lucky enough to see Him batting 7th...🤭

[owbc]

49 minutes ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Still need a DH when Yelich has back tightness half the year. At least that's the only time you're allowed to sit him.

I hate having an aging superstar as a primary DH, it fits perfectly with Contreras spending too much time catching. Although at least that isn't our problem until we sign him to an extension and the overuse catches up to him...

[StearnsFTW]

1 hour ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

He can start against righties. He just doesn't because they had Bauers. His splits aren't that alarming really.

Not alarming.  Just not particularly inspiring.

[StearnsFTW]

1 hour ago, MrTPlush said:

Vaughn faced righties more than lefties this year. We shouldn’t act like he was in some strict platoon all year long.
 

Vaughn vs RHP in 2026 - .764 OPS 

_____ vs. RHP in 2026 - 776 OPS

One of these is Vaughn, who is apparently a gigantic liability who should never see RHP. The other is someone people glaze more than a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

This isn’t even the first year of Vaughn’s career he hit pretty well against righties. Then some of his other years his OPS split between the two wasn’t that far off what most batters experience.

If Andrew Vaughn hits like he did this year..,or even like his 2022-2023 self (or ‘25 Brewer version), the Brewers really don’t need to platoon him. He got platooned because it made sense for the roster construction we had.

Did someone say this? 

[MrTPlush]

Just now, StearnsFTW said:

Did someone say this? 

Saying Vaughn is a platoon player and someone saying he is only worth $4mil (dang near FA minimum guys sign for), yes, that is what is being inferred.

 

[StearnsFTW]

10 minutes ago, MrTPlush said:

Saying Vaughn is a platoon player and someone saying he is only worth $4mil (dang near FA minimum guys sign for), yes, that is what is being inferred.

 

Ok.  So it was an inference.

I think $4MM is closer than $9MM personally.

[BrewerFan]

7 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

If Bauers accepts the QO, you definitely trade Vaughn. Why? 

Steamer/600 PAs projections.

Player A: .256/.328/.423, 108 wRC+, 19 HRs, 1.1 WAR (RHH)

Player B: .228/.337/.424, 114 wRC+, 24 HRs, 1.7 WAR (RHH)

If I told you player A is Andrew Vaughn, would you be surprised to learn that Player B is currently sitting in AAA and will make 8 million less in 2027....

No. I would not be surprised. 

It also projected that we'd be an ~81 win team. So... I'm kinda out on the projections. 

Vaughn has 585 PAs as a Brewer at this point. He's put up actual numbers, not projections. .306/.384/.466 and an 849 OPS and a 135 OPS+. 

SOME of that is no question the platoon. But the projection against whatever player B player you're talking about... it's of little consequence to me. 

I don't think they'll keep Bauers at 23M and then Vaughn at 8M. 

I was INCREDIBLY annoyed at the bemoaning Vaughn's lack of PHing during an 11-2 run. I also think he's a good hitter and that the start of his career was destroyed by the White Sox who took the #3 pick, rushed him to the big leagues, put him in LF and then dumped him. 

He's hit as a Brewer and we can't spend 31M on Bauers and Vaughn. Both things can be true. Luke Adams is fine as a platoon player to start the year. 

[BrewerFan]

3 hours ago, MrTPlush said:

Vaughn faced righties more than lefties this year. We shouldn’t act like he was in some strict platoon all year long.
 

Vaughn vs RHP in 2026 - .764 OPS 

_____ vs. RHP in 2026 - 776 OPS

One of these is Vaughn, who is apparently a gigantic liability who should never see RHP. The other is someone people glaze more than a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

This isn’t even the first year of Vaughn’s career he hit pretty well against righties. Then some of his other years his OPS split between the two wasn’t that far off what most batters experience.

If Andrew Vaughn hits like he did this year..,or even like his 2022-2023 self (or ‘25 Brewer version), the Brewers really don’t need to platoon him. He got platooned because it made sense for the roster construction we had.

I both agree with this post... and then find it obnoxious. Are we not better than the "glazing" nonsense?

That's... Twitter hyperbole and it's pretty low-brow and pretty vulgar.

I don't know who has a .776 OPS. 
I went through and looked, I figured maybe Contreras. Not him. Yelich... I think he's respected because of his past.

Chourio or Pratt were the two closest(though neither matched perfectly)... but you're talking about two elite defensive players who also didn't get platooned. They didn't get ALMOST exclusively the preferably matchups. They didn't just not let Vaughn hit vs righties. They played Ortiz and Vaughn in a very similar way. Not having them face guys who threw a lot of sweepers and sliders and letting them face pitchers who matched their strengths. 4 steamers, changeups, even curveballs, up and down vs East and West style pitches. 


So I'm not sure who you're talking about. If we're comparing a RHHed hitter who crushes lefties to the tune of a ~.980 OPS and won a Gold Glove(again, IF you're talking about Chourio) or if it's someone who plays for another team, but... it's an Apples to Oranges comparison. 


The way people worry about Vaughn though! The Brewers will figure this out. I'd probably prefer we keep Bauers for a year, use Adams to be the other half of the platoon and then lose Bauers and go with Black as the other half of a Vaughn platoon. But I do think Vaughn has a LOT of ability, could get better and could be an .800 OPS as a full time starter in which the Brewers just let him play vs whoever is on the mound with only the occasional day off vs a tough righty. 
 

[rickh150]

We wouldn’t offer Bauers the QO unless for the 1st round pick… just no way. It’s a worthwhile risk.

And just no way we spend wildly at 1st base for both Bauers and Vaughn when Burke, Fish, and Adams are not just sitting at AAA… they’ll be playing spring training games and minor league games in April/May. We have the luxury to see their development.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I don't think anyone has mentioned keeping both. Just paying $9mm for Vaughn if Bauers doesn't take his QO, which is exactly what I think will happen. 

$9m sounds like a lot but one-year deals are the Brewers friend. 

[BrewerFan]

18 minutes ago, rickh150 said:

We wouldn’t offer Bauers the QO unless for the 1st round pick… just no way. It’s a worthwhile risk.

And just no way we spend wildly at 1st base for both Bauers and Vaughn when Burke, Fish, and Adams are not just sitting at AAA… they’ll be playing spring training games and minor league games in April/May. We have the luxury to see their development.

Probably not... but Bauers for one more year and with him NOT looking like a guy who just had good luck, great swing decisions, hard hit... I think they'd just like to see him back for a year, not for 4. 

[ClosetBrewerFan]

4 hours ago, OldSchoolSnapper said:

Still need a DH when Yelich has back tightness half the year. At least that's the only time you're allowed to sit him.

Burke, Adams, or Fischer could fill that role.  Even Black would be an option to start the year.

[TURBO]

Again with the Black talk...

I don't get it.  

[long ball]

42 minutes ago, TURBO said:

Again with the Black talk...

I don't get it.  

The only potential role I see for Black on the 2027 team is if they do not re-sign bauers, and they want a placeholder lefty bat the share time with Vaughn for the first couple months of the year until they decide to promote either Burke or Fischer. 
 

realistically though, I’m with you. He’s barely hit at AAA. Propped up by a good walk rate. Has no real defensive home. He’s now out of options. He might not last the offseason on the 40 man roster.