Harold Hutchison

I agree. In an ideal world Attanasio wouldn't be such a cheapskate. If you look at how fortunate we were with Carlos Gomez, a lottery ticket that cashed in, and what Lucroy blossomed into, I mean, it's exactly what you would hope a young group of prospects would become. You would hope for better than what we've gotten from Segura & you'd hope for better pitching prospects... Although, Odorizzi's been pretty nice, and all you had to do there was just keep him (which I'm going to get flamed for saying that because how could you not deal for Greinke with the 2011 team?)... Anyways, where the Brewers are at now, you're forced to play for 2018 & beyond. You kind of have to suspend belief that Attanasio will ever spend any money to retain productive players too. Disagree on the cheapskate portion. Attanasio's been willing to lay down cash to try to win. The problem is that the team needed a retooling after 2013, and it got put off for two years. The good news is that Crew has some prospects that will start coming up in 2016, and others up in 2017/2018. The young starters now in the system (Suter, Davies, Cravy, Jungmann, Johnson, Hader, Wagner) will fit nicely with Nelson and Peralta. Tyler Thornburg might even fit in somewhere, too. That doesn't count some young arms lower in the system. 2016 may be a forlorn hope, but in 2017, the Brewers could make the playffs if things come together, and 2018-2021 could be a good run.

I'n excited, too. I think Reed's the Brewers' Opening Day 2016 center fielder.

It makes more sense to trade Khris Davis this off-season and put Santana in left. Davis will have 2016 cheap, and three arby years. Think about it... what would a team be willing to pay for a hitter who can deliver a lot of power, and comes cheap/under club control for FOUR YEARS? It makes more sense to trade Davis, put Braun back in left, and put Santana in right. I think his arm is stronger than Braun's, and Braun was a pretty decent left fielder while he was there. The four years of club control - one of which will be close to league minimum - ought to fetch a nice return. You just gotta make fetch happen sometimes...

If Lucroy is notching an extra four wins a season - and he makes the pitching staff better, I'm inclined to fork over the cash to keep him. Furthermore, with the infusion of young pitching into the AA/AAA levels of the minors, and the young rotation the Brewers currently have - maybe spending the cash to keep Lucroy is a good investment. I think that Lucroy is probably shaving about .25 points of ERA off the Brewers pitchers... which could entice another team to overpay for a pitcher or two.

I'm inclined to keep Lucroy - even if his bat falters - because his ability to frame pitches has made the Brewers starters much better. If he can get more out of the pitchers than an average catcher, he may be worth keeping around. Should his bat rebound, it is a bonus.

This winter is when I'd think of moving Davis, either on his own or as part of a package that includes Tyrone Taylor and Jake Gatewood. That could help fill some holes in the farm system. Or maybe see if the Mets'll take him... Davis for Wheeler.

Is Khris Davis now a significant trade asset for the Brewers? Santana will likely take over for him in left field. Career OPS of .785, cheap for 2016, club control from 2017-2019... Could he net some prospects, or help fill a hole in the lineup?

I'm liking the OBP skills he has. Lot of triples, so there is some speed. Seems to flash some power in that BP video... For Broxton, a nice bit of a return, especially if he can handle second base.

Hope Mike Ohlman is coming back to the Crew... Could be a replacement for Lucroy.

I liked Tanner Scott a lot better. LHP, hit triple digits - granted he was a reliever, but if he could've been stretched out...

Why not make that some other team's problem? Davis has four years of club control after 2015. He's probably one of the most undervalued trade assets the Brewers have now.

It makes more sense to trade Khris Davis this off-season and put Santana in left. Davis will have 2016 cheap, and three arby years. Think about it... what would a team be willing to pay for a hitter who can deliver a lot of power, and comes cheap/under club control for FOUR YEARS?

Santana's already at AAA. Roache and Phillips are at AA. That's three corner OFs for two slots by Opening Day 2017, assuming Reed takes over CF and Tyrone Taylor becomes the 5th OF, barring a trade.

You have that backwards, Santana is headed to AAA, and Phillips to AA. My bad. I'll fix in the post, but I think the general point still stands.

Braun is a Brewer for life. IMHO, that is a good thing. That said... with the glut of OF prospects... a move to a corner IF slot is in the cards by 2017.

I'm to lazy right now to research those players you wanted compared to what the Brewers actually got, but in real baseball trade discussions, one side doesn't get to decide on whoever they want and the other team will just say sure, pick who you want. One frustrating thing to me on many sports forums being it baseball, basketball, or football, often a number of fans will post stuff like "we should have gotten X player/players instead"or if one seller got what seems like an especially good return for a veteran player traded, fans on forums of other sellers will start screaming stuff like "our GM is an idiot for not getting that prospect for a player our team was shopping", just totally assuming that the buying team would have wanted our player instead. With so much media today and social media, so many "rumors" get thrown out there about supposedly teams talking and over certain players, but then when actual trades do or don't happen, a big chunk of those rumors were mostly something for claimed insiders to put out there so they themselves get noticed. Unfortunately for hardcore sports fans who absolutely love stuff like trades, the draft, and/or the offseason with free agency, team front offices talk with others a ton when it comes to just feeling things out for maybe a trade later or when trade discussions get very serious, but we fans only hear a sliver at best about 1. What teams really talked with each other. 2. When talking, were the trade discussions serious. 3. If serious, what players were involved on both sides. 4. What team/GM said no and why did they say no which could involve a variety of factors. 5. Did ownership get involved and block a deal over money or say not wanting to rebuild seriously. Nothing brings traffic to sports forums like trade deadlines/rumored trades in general, drafts, free agency, etc, yet sadly we only get to hear a tiny fraction of what teams talked out with others. That's frustrating, but at the same time exciting and leads to people constantly checking online to see if something went down or any new rumor, regardless if it's likely based on little to no substance. This stuff is the crack/meth for sports junkies. I get all that. That being said, I think you are being a little dismissive. I have mixed emotions about the return the Brewers got. While the prospects are good - including two top 100 prospects - and I think it's a far better deal than the Mets were offering, I think the Brewers bought themselves a little difficulty. Take a look at the outfield picture in the wake of this trade. From my perspective, the Brewers have a logjam: * Santana is in Colorado Springs (AAA) * Phillips is joining Victor Roache, Tyrone Taylor, and Michael Reed in Biloxi (AA) * Clint Coulter is in Brevard County (A+) * Trent Clark ®, Demi Orimoloye ®, Monte Harrison (R+), Omar Cotto (A), Joangtel Segovia (R+), and Marcos Pinero (DSL) are at the lower rungs of the system. Even if the Brewers trade Khris Davis in the offseason, there's two outfield spots to fill, three if you move Braun. The NL doesn't have the DH (it needs to get with the times), so that's going to get... interesting. The players at A and below are still a longer roll of the dice, so let's just look at the six players in AA or higher. The good news is that Taylor (.649 OPS) is probably going to be a 4th/5th OF, so he's on the bench. That means that between Coulter, Phillips, Reed, Santana, and Roache, I need to put two players with Braun in the outfield. So, which two of the rookies sit? Reed, the OBP/speed machine whose offensive skill set is strong where the Brewers have been the weakest? Phillips and/or Santana, the guys we gave up Carlos Gomez for? Roache, who's looking like a huge offensive threat? Or is it Coulter, who may be undervalued due to playing in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League, and whose home games are in Brevard County, which depresses offensive numbers even more? The only way to get all six in the lineup is to put one of Phillips, Santana, and Roache at first base while the other two patrol the corner OF slots, have Coulter take over for Lucroy/Maldonado behind the plate, and to move Braun to you-know-where. The other option is to trade one or two of those prospects at a later date to fill a hole the Brewer have... and some Brewers pitcher will have to face them. That's not terribly appealing to me, either. EDIT: Furthermore, if you were to look up the players I wanted instead, I think you'd have been less dismissive of my complaints.

I mourned the trade of JJ Hardy. Honestly, I thought the Brewers had made a BIG mistake. But Gomez proved me wrong - he became one of the best center fielders in the game. I'm gonna miss having him patrolling center in Miller Park.

I'm pretty sure we didn't give up a draft pick. We gave up some money in the international signing pool. Not the same thing. Per espn: The Astros also acquire the 76th international signing slot for the 2015-16 signing period. So how does that work? Not that I like giving up a slot of anything to re-stock a farm system.

In some ways, the deal is a good haul. I mean, to get two top 100 prospects and two good arms... who couldn't like that? That said, I'd rather have gone with ONE of Phillips or Santana (and I am torn between them - Phillips is a left-handed bat, while Santana looks like a 3TO player), and instead get 3B Colin Moran and one of Tony Kemp or Nolan Fontana instead. Moran would be a young 3B prospect, and Kemp and Fontana are versatile players who are OBP machines. And giving up the competitive balance pick doesn't sit very well with me, either. I'd rather be acquiring such picks, not giving them up.

How about going big with Cleveland? CLE gets: OF Carlos Gomez 1B Adam Lind MIL gets: LHP Rob Kaminsky OF Clint Frazier RHP Cody Anderson 3B Yandy Diaz

Agreed. I mean, I'd have had no trouble covering some of Gomez's salary, but the Mets would have had to give up a prospect for that consideration.

Not bad... the #1 and #3 prospects in their system. But I think that Clint Frazier, Cody Anderson, and Yandy Diaz would be a better package.

Flores, I didn't mind... but Wheeler would have made the deal a no-go. I'd have wanted Michael Fulmer and Gabriel Ynoa instead.

Remember when Melvin's theory was to strike early before the market was set? I remember he did that with Damian Miller signing and he got him for what was a relative bargain that off season. Maybe the Brewers should pull a Texas/Cleveland and add players. Im not serious, but thats probably where the value will be in the next 36 hours. No... mortgaging the future is not a good idea at this point. I'd rather muddle at .500, and wait for the offseason to make some deals. A bad deal is worse than standing pat.

It wouldn't have been a bad return... I liked Kaminsky. Hmmm... could the Indians still want Gomez?