Harold Hutchison

Go For Youth Or Trade Prospects For One Big Run In `23?

The only way to pull something like this off, IMO, is to go full Bobby Bonilla. I went 8 years, $250 million, deferred $90 million to be paid out over 30 years. Then was able to extend Woodruff/Adames, and went a bit Bonilla there, too.

The only way to pull something like this off, IMO, is to go full Bobby Bonilla. I went 8 years, $250 million, deferred $90 million to be paid out over 30 years. Then was able to extend Woodruff/Adames, and went a bit Bonilla there, too.

Do you do Burnes-Tellez for Ohtani straight up in that scenario? Then go for that extension - even if they have to go full Bobby Bonilla. Give Yelich a 1B glove...

Garcia is young enough to put it together, His floor is an Arcia type. Great glove, iffy bat. And to be honest, Urias, Perez and Garica are probably sweeteners to get the long-term pieces. Baltimore is a safe option to deal Burnes to. They are in a tough division (so, maybe they don't make the playoffs, but they potentially could if everything breaks right for them). They have prospects the Brewers would want/could use, including a potential Burnes replacement, a potential Hader replacement, a long-term answer at third, and a down-the-road franchise cornerstone for when Yelich is in the last years of his deal. And if I'm Matt Arnold, I probably insist on an overpay for a perennial Cy Young contender from anyone.

Trade with Orioles - Brewrrs get RHP Grayson Rodriguez, LHP DL Hall, IF Jordan Westburg, IF Jackson Holliday for RHP Corbin Burnes, IF Luis Urias, SS Eduardo Garcia, OF Hedbert Perez https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trades/trade-106422/ Trade with Mariners - Brewers get OF Jonathan Clase, 3B Joe Rizzo, 2B Kaden Polcovich for OF Hunter Renfroe https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trades/trade-106423/ Woodruff - signed to 6 year, $120 million deal, with $30 million deferred (paid out over 15 years) Willy Adames - signed to 6-year, $90 million deal, with $15 million deferred (paid out over 15 years) Eric Lauer - signed to 5-year $30 million deal Adrian Houser, signed to 4-year, $18 million deal (two team options at $6 million each, $2 million buyout for first option, $1 million buyout for second option). C: Victor Caratini ($2.80M) 1B: Rowdy Tellez ($5.30M) 2B: Brice Turang ($.7M) 3B: Jordan Westburg ($.7M) SS: Willy Adames ($12.5M) LF: Sal Frelick ($.7M) CF: Garrett Mitchell ($0.70M) RF: Tyrone Taylor ($.7M) DH: Christian Yelich ($22.00M) Bench OF: Jace Peterson ($2.5M) Utility: Keston Hiura ($2M) Utility: Cam Devanney ($0.70M) Backup C: Mario Feliciano ($0.70M) SP1: Brandon Woodruff ($15M) SP2: Freddy Peralta ($3.5M) SP3: Eric Lauer ($6M) SP4: Adrian Hauser ($4.5M) SP5: Grayson Rodriguez ($.7M) CL: Devin Williams ($3.20M) RP: DL Hall ($.7M) RP: Jason Alexander ($.7M) RP: Jake Cousins ($.7M) RP: Hoby Milner ($1.10M) RP: Brent Suter ($3.10M) RP: Aaron Ashby ($1.00M) RP: Justin Topa ($.7M) Payroll is 28.54% under budget

I purposely went AL, mostly because I'd rather avoid facing Burnes in the playoffs. World Series is a different matter. Me? I can take two arms, two high-end position prospects. The final iteration - Rodriguez, Hall, Westburg and Holliday for Burnes, Urias, Eduardo Garcia, and Hedbert Perez delivers that. Yeah, I rushed Holliday in my payroll projection, but that can be altered.

Trade with Orioles - Brewrrs get RHP Grayson Rodriguez, LHP DL Hall, IF Jordan Westburg, IF Jackson Holliday for RHP Corbin Burnes, IF Luis Urias, SS Eduardo Garcia, OF Hedbert Perez https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trades/trade-106422/ Trade with Mariners - Brewers get OF Jonathan Clase, 3B Joe Rizzo, 2B Kaden Polcovich for OF Hunter Renfroe https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trades/trade-106423/ Woodruff - signed to 6 year, $120 million deal, with $30 million deferred (paid out over 15 years) Willy Adames - signed to 6-year, $90 million deal, with $15 million deferred (paid out over 15 years) Eric Lauer - signed to 5-year $30 million deal Adrian Houser, signed to 4-year, $18 million deal (two team options at $6 million each, $2 million buyout for first option, $1 million buyout for second option). C: Victor Caratini ($2.80M) 1B: Rowdy Tellez ($5.30M) 2B: Jordan Westburg ($.7M) 3B: Jackson Holliday ($.7M) SS: Willy Adames ($12.5M) LF: Sal Frelick ($.7M) CF: Garrett Mitchell ($0.70M) RF: Tyrone Taylor ($.7M) DH: Christian Yelich ($22M) Bench OF: Jace Peterson ($2.5M) Utility: Brice Turang ($.7M) Utility: Mike Broussard ($1.5M) Backup C: Mario Feliciano ($0.70M) SP1: Brandon Woodruff ($15M) SP2: Freddy Peralta ($3.5M) SP3: Eric Lauer ($6M) SP4: Adrian Houser ($4.5M) SP5: Grayson Rodriguez ($.70M) CL: Devin Williams ($3.20M) RP: DL Hall ($.7M) RP: Matt Bush ($2.00M) RP: Jake Cousins ($0.7M) RP: Hoby Milner ($1.10M) RP: Brent Suter ($3.10M) RP: Aaron Ashby ($1.00M) RP: Justin Topa ($.7M) Payroll is 27.92% under budget

https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trades/trade-106422/ Brewers get: LHP DL Hall RHP Grayson Rodriguez SS/3B Jordan Westburg SS Jackson Holliday Orioles get: RHP Corbin Burnes IF Luis Urias SS Eduardo Garcia OF Hedbert Perez

Now, here is another Burnes-to-Baltimore deal: https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trades/trade-106416/ Brewers get: RHP Grayson Rodriguez SS Jackson Holliday 3B/SS Jordan Westburg Orioles get: RHP Corbin Burnes OF Hedbert Perez SS Eduardo Garcia IF Luis Urias

Baseball Trade Values rejects if the deal is just Burnes.

Hall becomes a key bullpen piece. Cool. Ortiz and Mayo look real good. Grenier has very good walk skills and versatility. https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trades/trade-106415/ I go for Rodriguez, Hall, Ortiz and Westburg in this other option. At that point, we boom or bust on Rodriguez. OTOH, Bradish, Hall, and Westburg all slot into a 26-man roster, and you have Ortiz, Mayo and Grenier as solid bets to contribute.

DL Hall and Bradish - 2/5th of a rotation - aren't enough? Plus a long-term 3B, a SS option should Adames prove too expensive, and an eventual replacement for Tellez at 1B?

https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trades/trade-106412/ Brewers Get: RHP Kyle Bradish LHP DL Hall 3B/SS Jordan Westburg SS Cadyn Grenier 3B/1B Coby Mayo SS Joseph Ortiz Orioles get: RHP Corbin Burnes SS Eduardo Garcia OF Hedbert Perez

Weeks was arguably the best second baseman the Brewers ever had. Shorted career due to injuries, but despite that, nobody even comes close - and that's even if you count Molitor's 1978-1980 at second base.

Stearns really did an incredible job with the Brewers with the rebuild. Do I think he wanted something else? At 37, why not make a move - there could be plenty of options. Or, maybe, he wants a break from things. Being the top guy is a LOT of hard work, and sometimes, people could just burn out. Perhaps the Hader trade was the wrong move, and it tipped things over. He built an incredible team in difficult circumstances, and he doesn't want to be the guy who tears it all down. It's like asking Picasso to tear up one of his paintings. As for Arnold, I think he does have that expertise in the next step - but I also would hope that he doesn't feel compelled to fix what ain't broke. Maybe it is time to try the Rays approach - which seems to work.

Hard pass on that sort of deal. Rather ride with Feliciano/Caratini.

I'd probably be okay with moving an outfielder, but very picky as to who goes. Wiemer may be the best trade option, given that Churio is knocking at the door. But I'd also look to move Renfroe in any deal. Renfroe+Wiemer for Murphy? Yelich in LF, Mitchell on CF, Taylor in RF with Frelick as 4th OF? Then again, why not give Feliciano a chance to show what he has? We've had him on the 40-man for multiple years.

Caratini/Feliciano was my pick. His bat rebounded in AAA, and he comes cheap.

If it nets a World Series appearance or a championship, is it a bad idea? The chances of the Brewers getting those are higher with Burnes/Woodruff/Adames than without them. Trades for prospects don't always work out. How well did the prospects the Marlins got for Yelich pan out for them?

The Brewers get a Cy Young-caliber pitcher for eight years at the top of the rotation. Even if you don't keep Woodruff, you have Burnes-Peralta-Lauer-Houser-Ashby as the top 5. Still a superb rotation. Maybe Burnes doesn't go for it. But maybe he does, Is $3 million a year starting in 2031 really going to break the franchise? I'd argue it wouldn't.

Buying out free agency and getting cost certainty is worth it, I think. Keeping Burnes, Adames, and Woodruff also worth it, with $6 million in deferred money for 15 years - not horrible. More importantly, the plan would be to flip Lauer/Houser if enough young starters push their way up through the minors. Turang and Frelick are better options, and cheaper, I think. Plus, Wiemer could force his way up. In that case, we move on from Tellez. Renfroe should net some prospects in a deal.

Went to a 2.0 version. Burnes - signed to 8-year, $250 million deal, with $90 million deferred (paid out over 30 years - going full Bobby Bonilla). Woodruff - signed to 6 year, $120 million deal, with $30 million deferred (paid out over 15 years) Willy Adames - signed to 6-year, $90 million deal, with $15 million deferred (paid out over 15 years) Eric Lauer - signed to 5-year $30 million deal Adrian Houser, signed to 4-year, $18 million deal (two team options at $6 million each, $2 million buyout for first option, $1 million buyout for second option). C: Victor Caratini ($2.80M) 1B: Rowdy Tellez ($5.30M) 2B: Brice Turang ($0.7M) 3B: Luis Urias ($4.30M) SS: Willy Adames ($12.5M) LF: Christian Yelich ($22M) CF: Garrett Mitchell ($0.70M) RF: Tyrone Taylor ($1.25M) DH: Keston Hiura ($2.00M) Bench OF: Sal Frelick ($0.70M) Utility: Jace Peterson ($2.5M) Utility: Mike Broussard ($1.25M) Backup C: Mario Feliciano ($0.70M) SP1: Corbin Burnes ($20M) SP2: Brandon Woodruff ($15M) SP3: Freddy Peralta ($3.50M) SP4: Eric Lauer ($6M) SP5: Adrian Houser ($4.5M) CL: Devin Williams ($3.20M) RP: Jake Cousins ($0.7M) RP: Matt Bush ($2.00M) RP: Ethan Small ($0.70M) RP: Hoby Milner ($1.10M) RP: Brent Suter ($3.10M) RP: Aaron Ashby ($1.00M) RP: Justin Topa ($0.7M) Payroll is 9.08% under budget

I agree, Houser is valuable. I put him on roughly the same tier as Lauer. That said, I guarantee him four years - so, after 2024, if we have a lot of options in the rotation, Houser - signed at a relative bargain ($11 million guaranteed through 2026) - can also fetch prospects. Houser's skillset, like Brent Suter's isn't going to just fade out, so teams know they get some consistent performance from him.

I agree. Burnes and Woodruff are the top priorities to extend. But it doesn't hurt to make some plans for Lauer/Houser as a backup, just in case. It never hurts to have a Plan B if Plan A doesn't work out.