Harold Hutchison

Kuntz is pretty old for the Southern League - he's 26, I think.

You didn't mention Jeff Pickler and that makes me sad. Pickler was one of the first OBP/speed guys I liked at second base. Hated that he never got his shot.

I'd re-do that 2012 first round: 27. OF Lewis Brinson vice C Clint Coulter 28. LHP Brian Johnson vice OF Victor Roache 38. 3B/1B Joey Gallo vice OF Mitch Haniger

Even if Hiura is deemed ready to be the primary MLB 2B (which is a pretty sizable jump), it makes less than zero sense for him to be starting there from day 1. That would basically be giving away a year of control. His AFL performance is speaking a lot in my call to make him the OD 2019 2B... I know it's a year of control, but on the flip side, it's making an immense, zero-cost upgrade over the jumble that was there in 2018. Now, Dietrich is someone who could be that short-term bridge... and I'll be honest, part of me sees him as a flip candidate. He does well, get an Adam Lind-type of return for him. I saw Stearns answer the question, but I also think Hiura could definitely force the front office's hand if he is good enough in spring training.

Some numbers for the last two years: Player A: .242, 153 R, 39 HR, 132 RBI, 128 BB, 258 K, 49 SB Player B: .239, 142 R, 34 HR, 122 RBI, 108 BB, 332 K, 61 SB Player A is Troy Stokes Player B is Corey Ray I think a lot of people look at Stokes being all of five feet and eight inches tall, and underestimate him, but over the last two years... over his career, in fact, I think he has performed. His K numbers are high, but Ray's are about 33 percent higher.

If the Yankees do get Corbin as well... How do you beat that lefty-heavy rotation?

Brian Passini... Caught my eye with a 2.91 ERA with the El Paso Diablos (who had a notorious hitter's park - even made the Washington Post in the 1980s) back in the 1990s. Figured he'd be a mainstay of the rotation... https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=passin001bri Probably one of the first lefty starters that I grew to love as a hidden gem of one sort or another... from Passini to Nance to Suter to Roegner/Sunitch...

Owenby, who I had rated highly, seemed to have vanished. Ortega missed a lot of time with TJ, and 2019 is a bit of a "prove it" year for him. His control was still there, but he got hammered. I see the minor-league Rule 5 as a way to find some gems. The Crew had a lot of unsigned picks in the 2018 draft... this could help fill their minor-league rosters.

Given Yelich's jump in offense after moving from Miami to Milwaukee, Dietrich is worth a look. An OPS+ of 114 over the last four years... I'd say grab him, and say sayonara to Schoop. Hiura as the Opening Day 2019 2B, Dietrich and Perez anchoring the bench.

Mazeika is unprotected?? I'd like to see the Crew grab him.

Pina is an elite #2 catcher... ask him to be the #1, and he is average.

One high-contact catcher I've liked isn't on the Mets' 40-man roster, though...

Hook is pitching coach because the Brewers are gonna primarily ride with their young guns. Suter, Burnes, Woodruff, Peralta, Brown, Supak, Roegner, and others are the future of this team.

Mark my words, I bet it will be Taylor, not Stokes, who is dealt. Interestingly, they have an open 40-man space...

Clancy, I remember you were in on Stokes years ago when no one was talking about him, good call Stokes has managed to exceed my expectations. I had him pegged as a Brady Clark type, a 4th OF who could bring OBP skills, some speed, and doubles power. I didn't expect him to develop the power he has.

My thoughts as well. I can definitely see him hitting 35 homeruns, driving in 110, and hitting .320 the next 4 years. Man is it nice to have a bat like his that can match Braun’s production when he was in his prime. We are one big bat away from a very potent offense. Did you watch the AFL this year? Some guy named Hiura may just be that big bat... at NO cost.

After Hiura's AFL season... do we really need a bridge to Hiura, or just to plug him in on Opening Day?

True. Still, it is worth noting that that money was still potentially tied up. Either way... it's still a good deal, especially if they commit to Hiura as the Opening Day 2019 2B.

Gray has shown some OBP skills (18 BB vs. 77 ABs), but there's obviously holes in the swing (25 K in 77 AB).

I will agree with others in saying the the deal is not unreasonable when you look at exchanging value. The big issue is taking on $35M a year in salary for Milwaukee. Would the team even raise payroll that high? And maintain it for three years? And as noted, I think it removes any payroll flexibility for the club - at least for the two years of Braun's remaining deal. It probably means letting go of Schoop - or having the ability to add a decent 2B in FA. It means living with Pina/Nottingham/Kratz or some other low level catcher. That might be okay - but just pointing it out. I'd love Greinke on our team, but I also think payroll flexibility is a huge advantage for us right now. This would shoot all of that with one bullet And again, if we could even get our payroll raised to a level to take on Greinke is questionable. At second base, there is this guy named Keston Hiura... so that isn't as big an issue for me. He'd be cheap for the three years in question. Chase Anderson's deal, though, was back-loaded. Per Baseball-Reference, he gets $6.5 million in 2019, $8.5 million in 2020, and $9.5 million in 2021. That means Greinke costs a net of $28.5 million, $26.5 million, and $25.5 million over those three years. If the Crew can get the D-Backs to also take Thames, then that drops to $22.5 million and $19 million over the next two years. Plus, as for pitching... the Crew has Brown, Supak, and Roegner as the next wave after Woodruff, Peralta, and Burnes. Beyond that, there's Ashby, Sunitsch, Andrews, and Lemons. The young guns could be very good - good enough to win. Why not make the deal?

Based on some off-season events, I am revising my plan: ARBITRATION Jimmy Nelson - TENDER Zach Davies - TENDER Stephen Vogt - NON-TENDER (minor-league deal with NRI) Hernan Perez - TENDER (sign to five-year, $20 million extension) Corey Knebel - TENDER (sign to five-year, $30 million extension) Travis Shaw - TENDER (sign to six-year, $36 million extension) Domingo Santana - TENDER Jonathan Schoop - TENDER Dan Jennings - NON-TENDER Xavier Cedeno - TENDER Erik Kratz - NON-TENDER Tyler Saladino - NON-TENDER FREE AGENCY OPTIONS Mike Moustakas - (Declined his side of option, allowed to walk) Joakim Soria - Decline Jeremy Jeffress - Exercise Jordan Lyles - Decline Wade Miley - Re-sign to 4-year, $40 million deal Gio Gonzales - Walk Curtis Granderson - Walk RELEASE Matt Albers Total spots taken on 40-man: 31 RULE 5 PROTECTION OF Troy Stokes Jr., IF Jake Hager, RHPs Cody Ponce, Jon Olczak, Bubba Derby, Trey Supak, and Conor Harber to 40-man. Total spots taken on 40-man: 38 RULE 5 DRAFT Select C Patrick Mazieka from Mets Total spots taken on 40-man: 39 TRADES Minnesota Twins Twins get: 2B/SS Jonathan Schoop 1B/OF/DH Eric Thames Brewers get: UT Willians Astudillo - to 40-man RHP Bailey Ober LHP Erik Cha Detroit Tigers Tigers get: RHP Chase Anderson OF Keon Broxton RHP Aaron Wilkerson Brewers get: IF Kody Clemens LHP Trent Szkutnik Total spots taken on 40-man: 36 FREE AGENTS LHP Tony Sipp (2 years/$10 million) LHP Andrew Miller (3 years/$24 million) LHP Yusei Kikuchi (5 years/$50 million - plus $10 million posting fee) 40-man Roster addition IF Keston Hiura Final 25-man roster: cf: Cain 2b: Hiura rf: Yelich 1b: Aguilar 3b: Shaw lf: Braun c: Pina ss: Arcia bench: Mazieka, Perez, Astudillo, Santana rotation: Chacin, Miley, Burnes, Woodruff, Kikuchi bullpen: Knebel, Sipp, Hader, Jeffress, Miller, Cedeno, Peralta, Guerra Other notes: Jimmy Nelson, Zach Davies, Jake Hager, Tyrone Taylor, Troy Stokes among those optioned to minors. The big changes: After Hiura's AFL performance, there is NO justification for signing Cabrera or keeping Moustakas - it's time to let the Keston Hiura era begin at second base. I instead add Miller to Sipp in bolstering the bullpen, and get Kikuchi to bolster the rotation. Peralta ends up in the pen after the September/October shutdown.

Someone earlier noted that Stokes to the A's might be a match... in a way, Stokes is arguably a Khris Davis who can play defense. The big difference: Stokes was drafted by the Brewers out of high school, and developed his power later in his professional career (years three and four). If anything, he is a legit OF bench option... and I like him over Taylor for his OBP skills.

OK, I see you, Troy Stokes Stokes is someone they need to protect, even if they have to DFA someone to do it.

One other thought: Imagine, if you will, this deal: Diamondbacks get: RHP Chase Anderson Brewers get: RHP Zack Greinke C Daulton Varsho OF Kristian Robinson IF Domingo Leyba Brewers take on ALL Greinke's salary.

My picks from that draft to be big-time steals are Andrews and Sunitsch. And I know it's a very small sample size, but Kekai Rios looks very intriguing, but 60 plate appearances, even if he posted an OBP of over .500, is just too small to bank on.