Brewers Acquire Lance McCullers Jr. From Astros

4 hours ago, igor67 said:

Just as importantly even when teams get big names at the deadline they are rarely viewed in history as players who got teams over the top. If you dispute this come up with a list of 10 players traded at the deadline since 2000 that were the big difference makers for those Championship teams.

Fair point, but also somewhat subjective. Teams that usually get the "big names" are likely to have a higher threshold of talent as their foundation to begin with and the big market financial advantage to acquire that "big name". 

Sabathia didn't get them a championship, but he is generally recognized as being a huge difference maker in getting them out of the playoff drought. Seems reasonable to view that today's team needs that same level of acquisition splash to get them out of the next drought level they are mired in, which is... getting back to the WS. And I say that hesitantly, as I'm not an "all in, mortgage the future" guy. I do believe it's reasonable to expect them to be a bit more aggressive. Not Skubal level aggressive, but perhaps Joe Ryan level. Different era and all, but it shouldn't be unreasonable to hope for them to pursue today's version of Don Sutton, whether its Ryan, Mize, Detmers etc. 

I'll add, I agree with a previous poster's comment that they have too many other holes, so just nabbing even a 2nd tier starter isn't going to strengthen them that much. But with their prospect depth, could they afford to get a reasonable / quality starter plus Brooks Lee to deal with the 3B no power mess, and quality middle reliever without totally gutting the future, I believe so. Wouldn't guarantee a championship, but it would demonstrate a will to do more than just keep dangling "future hope" like a carrot on a stick. I'd have no problem trading Pena or Jett Williams, especially for a guy with some control left. 

17 hours ago, owbc said:

It seems like the Astros think McCullers is worth nothing and they were willing to part with a AAA starting pitcher in exchange for cutting costs. I’m not sure what their thinking is. Fielder feels like a thrown in to save the Brewers a bit of cost and possibly for optics on the Astros side.

Overall my reaction is that it gives us something to think about on the off day. If this trade happened on deadline day it would have barely been noticed. 

I think Fielder maybe has some value for an organization as far as “here is something for our social media team and it should make for some popular bobblehead days in the minors.”

Maybe that’s part of the value? It’s almost assuredly not as a future pro. 

49 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

This will get far deeper than it needs to, but once I realized long ago that I don't know anything... My life changed. Even the things I think I know a lot about.. I almost always find out at some point that I actually know nothing about them.

Learning is awesome. "Building puzzles" is awesome. Being involved is awesome. But most things don't have answers... So all you can do is try your best and see how things unfold.

I haven't had anxiety in a decade because of it. I don't know anything and very few people do. Just try your best and talk about it. Let it play out and we will find out together.

You forgot the most important part----"and blame the manager/front office when it doesn't work."

9 minutes ago, owbc said:

How long can the Dodgers remain at the top before Father Time and deferred contracts catch up to them? 

I don't think deferred contracts have any impact. That money needs to be put aside well before it gets paid out. Within two years of a player earning the deferred money it needs to be put aside in an escrow account. So for example Ohtani's deferred money being earned in 2026 needs to be set aside by 2028 before it's eventually paid out in 2036.

9 minutes ago, owbc said:

How long can the Dodgers remain at the top before Father Time and deferred contracts catch up to them? 

Might depend on the next CBA……..as things stand they will likely be able to reload on the fly for many years to come since they will pay at the top of the market…..have an excellent farm system and front office ……not to mention that every good player will give them strong consideration if they come calling.

3 hours ago, Turning2 said:

Sabathia didn't get them a championship, but he is generally recognized as being a huge difference maker in getting them out of the playoff drought.  

I wish I could easily dig up 15 year old posts, but it was recognized after the fact around here that Sabathia performed unusually well for a trade deadline acquisition. That was in many ways why I posted the challenge players who perform really well just aren't traded as often. While the Brewers are underdogs in a series to the Dodgers they'd still have a decent chance. Even in a 7 game series the best team doesn't win that much more often.

On 7/16/2026 at 4:43 PM, owbc said:

How long can the Dodgers remain at the top before Father Time and deferred contracts catch up to them? 

They will just declare bankruptcy and force the league to bail them out again.

Then start the cycle fresh.