Fear The Chorizo

If not for CC's history of giving infinitely long leashes to marginally decent veteran hitters who are struggling before changes actually get made, I'd think there's smoke to this line of thinking. IMO I think CC still has flashbacks to the end of his playing career and is trying to find a player to break his 45 AB hitless streak to get his name out of the record books for that feat.

But i bet he can't throw as hard as EDC or tag as cool as Javy B.!

Or Arnold does what he should do and get Winker out of the organization so CC can't sharpie his name in the lineup anymore.

From that article, that CC quote about not being sure there are enough at bats at DH for Hiura due to Winker being on the roster is downright maddening.

I'll start with the obvious caveat that Cleveland plays in the equally awful AL Central, and despite being 1 game under 0.500 sit just 1.5 games out of 1st place in that division. One would think they could be buyers this deadline - however they've got key pitching injuries that aren't going to be sorted out until after Aug 1, making them a team that will likely either stand pat or look for minor bullpen/hitting upgrades to try and eek out a playoff berth that likely winds up going nowhere in the postseason. That being said, there are the annual trade rumors about Jose Ramirez, the switch-hitting 3B/DH who puts up a mid- to upper-800s OPS in his sleep. He signed a 7 yr extension last year I believe (that also includes a NTC), but the remaining 5 years on that deal aren't awful for a guy who can flat out hit and still play a solid 3rd base before transitioning to an everyday DH as he gets into his mid 30s late in the contract. Don't get me wrong, he'd cost a ton in prospect capital to acquire right now and his contract would take up a sizeable amount of team payroll for the next 5 seasons....but if the Brewers are serious about making a significant roster/offensive upgrade for longer than a rental to dramatically improve the lineup, I'd make sure Cleveland has absolutely zero interest in trading Ramirez - at this deadline or this offseason. It would also take Ramirez waiving the NTC, but he may view Milwaukee as a similar market to Cleveland and prefer playing in those type of environments. What would a trade package from the Brewers need to look like for Cleveland to make this trade right now? Start with Black, Misiorowski, and one of the advanced Brewer outfield prospects/young players (Frelick, Mitchell) and add what more? I know it's likely a pipe dream and it would be an incredibly steep price in terms of prospect capital - but I feel like this is the caliber of player the Brewers need to go after via trade if they want to make a difference in postseason aspirations with the time they have left before Burnes/Woodruff find more lucrative pastures a couple offseasons from now. There's a history between these two teams making splashy deadline deals (or near deadline deals), it's a pipe dream but this is the time of year to dream big!

To be fair, at least this take was from a couple weeks ago - seems like the AS break and taking part in some of those festivities with the futures game may have gotten him going just a smidge. As others have said, his hitting approach at the plate is unicorn-like for a kid in AA. Given his 'meh' 1st half based on the standards he set for himself across 3 minor league levels last year, if Chourio winds up anywhere close to an 0.800 OPS at the end of this season as a teenager his lofty prospect status isn't going anywhere. My gut tells me by year end his OPS will be well above 0.800.

I'm surprised 5 other posters got a word in before this showed up on a Rockies trade rumor thread here. Count me out on a Raptor reunion

This can all be true, but it's not as cut and dry anymore. With the reduced total in minor league teams organizations have under their wing and slight changes to the length of minor league control teams have over signees before they have to add to 40 man rosters, there has been a shift to improved prospect talent playing a full year or more in AAA and it not being mostly a haven for AAAA players. The combination of the lost minor league development seasons due to the COVID year and these rule changes are both improving the overall talent level across AAA. Pitching-wise, I'd still agree that AA has more talented arms organizations are trying to develop into starters, but AAA bullpens tend to resemble what hitters will face in MLB because organizations keep their veteran reliever backup options there. Factors like the league and competition organization's affiliates face, state of a team's farm system overall, etc. currently determine if AA or AAA currently has more MLB-caliber prospects playing in it. I also think there's value for just about every prospect to get some experience at the AAA level to get accustomed to playing in stadiums with at least a bit larger fan attendance and "brighter lights" than alot of high A and AA ballparks that at times resemble regular season college baseball crowds. Specific to Black, I don't think it matters what level he's in provided he's playing everyday defensively to see if he can develop into a viable MLB thirdbaseman - right now AA is perfect for him because of that.

I believe he also recently got HBP in the head, luckily avoiding some serious damage but something of note. K rate for the year right at 24%. Even through his recent scuffling it's not like he's going ofer with 3-4 K's a night. If he's healthy, Hiura should already be in Milwaukee compared to what they have taking those DH at bats currently. Winker sits at 66 wRC+ at present with zero indication he's regained any power potential post- offseason surgery to justify counting on him to return to anything like he was offensively 2021 and earlier. Unfortunately for him as a player, he's washed.

I don't ever expect Turang to be a middle of the order bat or be a better offensive player than Adames was in 2022 or 2021 for the Brewers - he wont ever have enough pop to raise his slugging high enough...but he doesn't have to be in order to be a valuable everyday SS as soon as next season when you also factor in him not yet reaching arbitration. Turang's AAA numbers last season for a 22 yr old are plenty to expect more from him at the MLB level moving forward as he settles in. This is also by far Turang's worst offensive output as a professional, and he has a track record of adjusting to the jump at each level.

Compared to what Turang will make next season, yes Adames is making a ton of money. Turang will become a better offensive player than he is now, while Adames is what he is. Having a #3 hitter doing what Adames is doing this year at the plate is what can sink a season.

Yep, and he has time to develop and improve as a hitter while making peanuts at the MLB level. Adames is in his prime and making a ton of money to flirt with the mendoza line, getting hot for a couple weeks 3-4x a year to wind up with 20 or so homers, and doing nothing offensively in between from the heart of the order. At least I think all the talk of giving Adames an extension has gone away from even the most ardent supporters of throwing piles of cash at marginally decent players to watch them regress past their prime.

Teheran not the reason they lost...hitting, hitting, and more hitting is needed

Mostly due to defense...something Turang can also provide at short for league minimum next season.

Have you seen the starting DH on this team?

And he stunk offensively - he was the wrong guy to bring in for this roster. How did his DH numbers rate compared to the 8 guys with more PAs in 2022?

The Brewers philosophy has been to rotate a few different bat first players into the DH role. There's a big difference between bat first options that produce a low 0.700's OPS AT BEST even when attempting to rotate them in platoon advantages, and having a premium offensive player taking those ABs consistently. I get that the Brewers can't have players at every position making $10M+ in salary as part of their payroll limitations and that's going to always limit quality veteran offensive depth - but I actually think the Brewers SHOULD be one of the teams paying a professional hitter like JD Martinez a decent chunk of $ to be a lineup centerpiece that the Brewers can then fill in with platoon options at defensive positions to try and maximize offense out of those other spots. They paid Cutch almost $9M to be 2022 DH and he had one of his worst statistical seasons offensively with the Brewers, in large part because he was leaned on too heavily against RHP and wound up playing half the season in the field as a 35 yr old. They're paying Winker a similar amount to perform even worse offensively after the offseason trade. The problem is that the Brewers are picking the wrong bat-first veteran players in the offseason and wind up being stuck with them too far into the season before cutting bait and giving other options extended opportunities. As the rest of their roster construction leans heavily on defensive flexibility, the Brewers aren't in the same boat as other teams who might collectively have better (and more expensive) offensive players across their MLB rosters that would be viewed as decent everyday DH options if they weren't also considered starting caliber defensive players.

If you want to score more runs, having an everyday DH deserving of everyday at bats is better - if a regular position player starter needs to be off their feet to stay fresh, they should get a few extra games off compared to what they already get while also being a quasi DH. I get that a guy like Yeli needs time out of the OF to stay healthier - and yeah giving him a couple dozen plate appearances at DH makes sense over the course of a season. However, giving him substantially more than that then gives a 5th OF option like Taylor substantially more plate appearances as a corner OF, which in the long run negates any positive offensive impact keeping Yelich in the lineup when he's not in the field and probably makes the lineup worse in the long run. Now, if the Brewers were to consider moving Yelich into the fulltime DH role while improving their other outfield options if and when Frelick leaves no doubt he's ready in the next 1-2 seasons or Mitchell can stay healthy enough to start in center and shift Wiemer to a corner OF spot, I'd be all for it. That isn't a good option for the rest of this year, though.

Disagree strongly to this assessment, simply because Cutch wound up OPS-ing 0.700 and also played alot of OF last season, Yelich is a borderline GG leftfielder this season, Tellez is considered to be a good defensive 1B but is best suited with a platoon mate even at that position so he doesn't face LHP too much, Contreras is an offensive catcher but that doesn't make him an everyday DH option at this stage of his career (he's DH'd this season a decent amount because their primary DH option sucks), Renfroe is a good RF, and the other players you listed were either picked up off the scrap heap for peanuts or frankly not given enough of an extended shot as the team's primary DH (Hiura specifically). If they just don't want anything to do with giving Hiura an extended shot (like another full season, not a month) to be their DH, then they need to acquire someone who would fill that role on an everyday basis because they're an established MLB hitter who doesn't require a platoon mate. Then, if plus offensive contributors to their positions like Yelich and Contreras need a day off in the field but can still hit, that's when you have them fill in as DH if there's a platoon advantage or your regular option needs a day for whatever reason. The fact that there are 10 players who have gotten at least 20 DH PA for the Brewers in less than 2 regular seasons is the problem - if the Brewers prioritized that position there should be just a handful, because their production would preclude any other players from getting put in the order with much of any frequency. Bringing in Winker was a marginal attempt at this, but he appears to be damaged goods and frankly shouldn't be on this roster anymore.

While this is a very likely scenario that could happen based on the Brewers' m.o., I think it's also a point of significant frustration with alot of fans/posters in the Brewers viewing the DH as more of a role filled on a platoon-lite basis by position players who commonly are on the roster to begin with due to defensive flexibility/veteran 40 man depth compared to being bat first/glove optional players. I think it leaves an offensive black hole in the everyday lineup that could be more readily filled by the Brewers identifying 1 hitter to be their DH fulltime, which shouldn't be too hard to accomplish with a 26 man roster.

From a pitching standpoint, one thing that stands out with the Brewers is they seem to be aggressive in getting MLB-caliber arms up to MLB - particularly if they entered pro ball after college. Woodruff, Burnes, Ashby, heck even Peralta wasn't down in AAA too long before his callup in 2018 as a 22 yr old. They gave Small a similar shot last year and he fizzled...but guys like Gasser and Misiorowski probably aren't going to log a ton more minor league innings before their initial call up, and Uribe is already getting broken into the bullpen. Conversely, the Brewers have largely been hesitant to bring up hitting/position player prospects quickly at the expense of DFA-ing marginal MLB veterans. The offseason moves to pave the way for Turang, Mitchell, and Wiemer to see regular MLB playing time this season were largely financial ones but also solid baseball decisions - frankly all 3 had earned their shot through steady progression through the upper minors. This organizational approach is good for 40 man roster planning in the offseason and headed into opening day, but I think it makes things very difficult to make in-season changes internally in hopes of improving MLB offensive production. Once minor injuries inevitably show up at the MLB level, the Brewers quickly cycle into having bottom of the 40 man veterans getting a ton of starts in the majors while they wait on guys to heal up on uncertain timelines because adding any talented prospects or other minor leaguers whose onfield performance deserves a MLB opportunity means losing the veteran roster filler. I'm guessing there's going to be substantial roster churn at the trade deadline depending on any trades and/or MLB promotions that require prospects to be added to the 40 man.

Wondering what the Brewers' innings goal is for Misiorowski this season....would be ecstatic seeing him getting a handful of AA starts and winding up with about 75IP across three minor league levels for the year. Thinking there's a legit chance he's in Milwaukee at some point in 2024 as a reliever after getting some innings logged as a starter between AA-AAA to start next season, ala Burnes and Woodruff

well, that's a bit more exciting than his 0-12, 5K, 0BB series right after the AS Break to drop his BA back below 0.300.

yep - I don't see any team in the NL Central getting hot enough to run away with the division, so having as many tiebreakers in your favor in your pocket is a pretty big deal when it's likely either winning the division or not making the playoffs for the Brewers.

that's not what he said in the article at all, but you do you