Harold Hutchison

Or he moves to first, and Thames/Aguilar are on the move...

If Braun returns to his 2016 form, then those three starting with Phillips as 4th OF is something the Brewers should gladly be willing to roll with.

My problem is, I question whether Arcia is going to progress past being a good field-no hit SS. His walk rate regressed from 2016 to 2017. Playing half his games in one of the most hitter-friendly parks in professional baseball (Colorado Springs), he posted a .723 OPS. His 2017 numbers were bouyed by an OPS of .848 in the month of June. His OPS never cracked .760 in any of the other months of that season. Diaz could play short, had a good bat... and was an insurance policy if Arcia's bat doesn't improve.

I'd like to see Broxton go for some prospects. Braun in left, Yelich in center, Santana in right. Or Santana in center and Yelich in right. Phillips as 4th OF.

Agreed. My big worry is this: On a team that struggles to get players on base, two of the three players with the best OBP skills in the system are now gone. Michael Reed went to Atlanta as a six-year free agent and Isan Diaz has been dealt for Yelich. That leaves Trent Grisham, who led the entire system in walks. Stokes is a close second, and I think his track record of staying healthy and his "almost Harrison" numbers last year made Harrison a "sell high" candidate. Hopefully, the June draft will see the Crew get more, or some players will develop that skill better. But that skill in the system has taken a big hit now.

I can't believe they put Yamamoto in the package. I'd rather have seen Ortiz go - Yamamoto was looking a little like another Burnes.

Miller Park will bring some huge benefits for Yelich, and I think we will be happy to have him for three years. maybe four on the outside (I assume he will be flipped later). That said... the price tag is way high. Brinson - I expected him to go, wasn't as high on him as some others here. Diaz - I really liked his OBP skills. Trent Clark/Grisham or Michael Reed were the only two who were clearly better. Harrison - In some ways, I am OK with this. He'd been hurt a lot before 2017, but I felt Stokes, Phillips, and Santana were all better. Stokes could very well be starting out in AAA this year. Yamamoto - This one really stings. I had him ranked far above Ortiz, Peralta, and Ponce. He looked like a Davies type. Honestly, I wish the Crew had taken Starlin Castro off the Marlins' hands and tried to use that to swap out Yamamoto for Bickford. They are also banking that Hirua's elbow doesn't go south on them.

Davies/Arcia>>>>>>>>>>>Greinke at this point in his career. That would be a scary bad trade even if Arizona paid all of Greinke's salary. Plus, why in the world would we trade a starter going into his age 25 season who is cost-controlled for several more seasons and already profiles as a strong #3? This is one of the more "out there" scenarios I've seen. If Arizona paid Greinke to pitch for Milwaukee, I'd do that. But I'd rather take salary on and get some prospects in return for doing Arizona that favor. The trades I postulated still leave the Brewers with Ortiz, Burnes, Derby, Ventura, Ponse, Supak, Yamamoto, and Perrin. Not one of the Brewers' pitching prospects are dealt. Plus, they get some lottery tickets for the low minors. Short-term, the Brewers would have Greinke, Nelson, Anderson, Chacin, and Woodruff/Suter in the rotation.

If we take Yelich and Castro, with the Marlins not chipping anything in money-wise, why not get a discount on the price tag? Brinson, Dubon, and Bickford would still give them a blue-chip CF, a young 2B/SS, and a RHP, but also reflects the Crew taking the Castro headache off their hands. Once you have Castro, who played a fair bit of SS about 90 miles south of Milwaukee, you now use Davies and Arcia to snag Greinke, and if the crew takes on most of the salary, they can get some lottery tickets back.

Huh? Care to elaborate? It's nothing against Yelich. It's just not going to be a significant enough improvement over what we have that I don't see the upgrade as significant enough to give up good prospects for. Yelich can play center but reportedly not very well. So his offensive boost there would be offset by his downgrade on D. He isn't replacing Braun so that leaves Santana. I just don't see Santana as so much worse overall than Yelich to give up prime prospects for. So if they want to just get rid of him fine, give them the proverbial bag of balls. If not, there are better ways to marginally improve our roster than trading top 100 prospects and displacing Santana in the process. I agree. I think what I posted at the start of this was a good way to do that. The big risk is banking on Villar returning to his 2016 form. That said... the rotation and bullpen is very good.

Arcia could develop into a very good shortstop and post an OPS like he did at Biloxi in 2015. Or he could remain good-field, no-hit, as he has been for his major-league career. I'm thinking about that .723 OPS at Colorado Springs... it was a red flag when Arcia was called up, and he hasn't dispelled it in 2017. Greinke, though, is a TOR starter. He's liked it here in the past. Greinke, Nelson, Anderson, Chacin, Suter/Woodruff in the rotation, PLUS the Knebel/Hader/Jeffress/T. Williams nasty boys bullpen, PLUS the improved offense from getting Yelich in center and Castro at short? I think it equals the Brewers hauling up NL Central Division, National League, and World Series championship pennants in April 2019, maybe even repeating that process in 2020.

Let's put this in a separate thread for some discussion. How would you lay out your cards if you were the GM of the Brewers, and were acquiring Yelich? Lay out your trade with the Marlins that involves Yelich coming to Milwaukee. It may include other players or just Yelich. Then lay out any follow-on moves. Bonus for s 25-man roster at the end. Here's mine to lead it off. Yelich Trade Brewers get OF Christian Yelich SS/2B Starlin Castro Marlins get OF Lewis Brinson RHP PHil Bickford SS/2B Maurico Dubon Follow-up trade Arizona Brewers get RHP Zach Greinke $38.5 million (D-Backs pay $9 million in 2018, $9.5 million in 2019, and $10 million in 2020-2021) OF Marcus Wilson 1B Pavin Smith RHP Sam McWilliams Diamondbacks get RHP Zach Davies SS Orlando Arcia Trade with San Francisco Brewers get LHP Marco Gonzalez OF Alexander Caranio Giants get OF Keon Broxton Brewers 25-man 2b: Villar ss: Castro rf: Santana 3b: Shaw cf: Yelich 1b: Thames/Aguilar lf: Braun c: Pina bench: Vogt, Phillips, Sogard, Perez, Aguilar/Thames rotation: Greinke, Anderson, Chacin, Woodruff, Suter bullpen: Knebel, Hader, Jeffress, T. Williams, Logan, Gallardo, Guerra DL: Nelson When Nelson returns, whichever of Suter/Woodruff is performing better stays in the rotation. If Nelson bumps Woodruff, Woodruff optioned to AAA. If Nelson bumps Suter, Suter goes to the pen, and one of Gallardo/Guerra is sent down or DFA. Dealing Arcia is a hard move to make, but Castro can handle short through 2020, by which time, Isan Diaz can take over. In addition, while there is a bigger payroll, the Brewers have only lost one major prospect (Brinson), and have acquired five lottery tickets.

We don't have to deal Villar if we take Castro. I'm OK with dealing Villar later, or flipping Castro, or even listening to other offers (Castro can play SS, too, just something to think about...).

I'd say that's probably about accurate with what the actual proposal is. We might need to throw in another guy or two but they would be much lower level prospects (#20-#30 type guys). I can't see Stearns giving up more than that for just Yelich at this point... It seems too steep for me. Brinson/Woodruff alone is fine. I'd rather do Brinson, Bickford, and Dubon for Yelich and taking the disgruntled Castro off their hands. I'll go Ortiz, but then, they need to throw in a couple of lottery-ticket guys from full-season A.

You would be OK with Brinson + Burnes? Wow, that's crazy to me. Losing Burnes would be tough, but I've got a feeling the Brewers don't get Yelich without two from that group of six, and of the other five (assuming Brinson is dealt), I think I'd rather deal Burnes than Hiura, Harrison and Woodruff. I'd prefer it be Ortiz (the upside is still there, but he seems to have the most obstacles to achieving it of the pitching trio), but that is dependent on what the Marlins think of Ortiz. I'd go Brinson, Bickford, and Dubon for Yelich and Castro. Castro wants out of Miami, and I'm perfectly happy to take him off their hands for a discount in the prospects offered.

1. I'd have ten: Yelich, Arcia, Hader, Davies (third arby year, probably #4 starter), Braun (if that close to the Series, I don't see the Brewers buying out his 2021 year), Woodruff (#5 starter/long relief guy), Suter (would be in his second arby year, and would be a bullpen piece or back of the rotation), Knebel (third arby year), Phillips (outfielder), Perez (bench). Furthermore, from the Brewerfan Top 25, I'd see these players on that team: Burnes (rotation), Stokes (outfield), Hiura (2B), Peralta (bullpen), Erceg (3B). I think this roster is closer than people think, especially looking at the Brewerfan Top 25. Think about how many players there you could see on the 2021 World Series Champion Milwaukee Brewers. 2. That info on Yelich is interesting... I've always felt that if you know the park effects, you may be able to project some improvement OR find a player worth a much closer look. 3. That is a good approach. I'd like to see Stearns go further, and decline having a team pay art of a salary. "We'll take on ALL of the bad contract, but you give us a Top 20 prospect or two in return for that." 4. I think that the farm system needs to always be stocked. Always be prospect hunting. Depending on where the Brewers are at, it could take the form of moving a Keon Broxton to give Phillips/Brinson playing time, it could be moving a star to get prospects, it could be getting that Rookie-level throw-in (or two) for an established player, it could even be dealing a Thames or Aguilar and being willing to take a step back to be more competitive in the future.

My inclination is longer-term value. I don't think they are mutually exclusive. Maybe the Brewers pick up ALL of Jean Segura's salary, but in exchange for that, it limits either the payout, lands another player/prospect package, or both. The Brewers have the space to pull that off once or twice. Take what I proposed with Seattle earlier in the thread: Mariners get: OF Lewis Brinson 1B Jesus Aguilar Brewers get: 2B Jean Segura LHP James Pazos LHP JP Sears RHP Robert Dugger OF Anthony Jiminez C Joe DeCarlo This helps long-term (Pazos is controllable for four years, plus four more prospects for the farm system), and onekey to doing it is taking Segura's contract on. All of it.

Segura would intrigue me on this list. Yes, there is the history, but he's had two good years (one inflated by Arizona). Mariners get: OF Lewis Brinson 1B Jesus Aguilar Brewers get: 2B Jean Segura LHP James Pazos LHP JP Sears RHP Robert Dugger OF Anthony Jiminez C Joe DeCarlo Brewers take on all of Segura's salary, and it becomes two deals: 1. Brinson for Segura and Pazos. Seattle gets $14 million a year in salary relief, plus a five-took prospect. Brewers get an upgrade at second, and help for the pen (Pazos is a poor man's Hader). 2. Aguilar for four lottery tickets: LHP JP Sears (who could be a future Hader-type reliever), RHP Robert Dugger (who has put up some good numbers in 2017 as a 21-year-old), OF Anthony Jiminez (hits for average, has speed, and some pop), and C Joe DeCarlo (an OBP/power bat combo). Then sign Lucroy to be the #1 catcher to catch 95 to 100 games. Let Pina catch 60 to 70. Lucroy can also handle first base against tough lefties.

If that’s the case, I hope it works. I think Darvish is the best pitcher available in free agency this year, and likely the best possible FA pitcher the Brewers could realistically add over the next two free agency periods. I'd agree. He comes at the lowest price tag in terms of long-term cost. It's not just the money. The other big pitchers would cost draft picks. A trade costs the Crew some young players.

what in the hell? I think Lucroy/Pina beats Pina/Vogt/Bandy/Susac by a wide margin. Plus, I think he helps the pitchers. He'd also be familiar with Darvish, having caught him in Texas in 2016 and part of 2017.

Plus there's Troy Stokes and Monte Harrison further down as CF options for the Crew. I'm okay with: White Sox get: 1B Jesus Aguilar OF Lewis Brinson Brewers get: 1B Jose Abreu LHP Kyle Kubat RHP Danny Dopico OF Jameson Fisher

The Brewers may not be the only ones thinking the Cubs are vulnerable. Why hasn't Arietta re-signed with them? With their 2016 World Series win, the cachet of helping the Cubs end a championship drought doesn't exist any more. Darvish's emoji would seem to indicate he is seriously considering the Crew's offer.

Darvish would be a better fit, simply because he doesn't cost the Crew a draft pick. Plus, this isn't just getting Darvish. If he is signed, and Nelson is ahead of schedule on his recovery. then one of Davies or Woodruff becomes part of a trade package - and that leads to a haul of prospects or a new second baseman.

How likely is A to NOT happen? If it were not likely, would they go through the trouble of lining up multiple other moves based on that first move? If the Brewers sign Darvish, he takes the #1 spot in the rotation. Nelson comes back by end of May, he'd get a spot. Chase Anderson's extension means he gets a spot, and Chacin's going to have a spot. That means it is between Davies, Woodruff, and Suter for the #5 spot unless someone is dealt - and one of those three could end up on the move if Darvish is signed. Davies/Broxton/Aguilar becomes a very interesting package in a trade...

The significant acquisition could be the signing of Darvish...