JohnBriggs12

Wish he had been back sooner, given that the White Sox are absorbing roughly what Garza is owed in salary to take Shields. It's June now, trade market for starters is going to heat up. Hopefully Garza can start heating up as well. Shields is a much, much better pitcher than Garza, with much better recent performance and San Diego got little back even after eating over half his remaining salary. How is a month of average Garza going to parlay into anything but minor salary relief assuming any interest at all? Teams won't be convinced after 5 or 6 mediocre starts (and is anybody expecting better than that?) I'm guessing the Brewers will be stuck with Garza the rest of the year, and hope he strings together enough decent starts to have a market this winter. Even that's fairly remote, but worst case is they eat one year.

Shields is not a back end starter. He's still a solid #3. His ERA prior to his last start was 3.06. Sox may covet Braun and Lucroy, but they don't have nearly enough in their system to get either. They would prefer a lefty bat and would much prefer Carlos Gonzales over Braun, but again it's doubtful they can come up with a strong enough package. My guess is they end up with Jay Bruce. Reds will get back Garcia and a couple minor league arms. They have some decent arms other than Fulmer, enough to get a Bruce probably but not a Braun. They've already dealt with the Reds so their is rapport there.

It's a good deal for the White Sox. They gave up virtually nothing. Shields' numbers this year are deceiving. Eight of his eleven starts have been quality starts. They're getting a solid experienced number 3 starter for below market value. If things work great, if not, they'll be able to move him quite easily down the road. Sox rotation of Sale, Quintana, Shields, Rodon, and Latos is a very good one. Their lineup isn't terrible if Abreu were close to the player he was 2 years ago and the bullpen is average. They are going through tough month with the tough part of their schedule. It's not like anyone is running away with their division.

Good for him. He brought the Brewers a 25 year old who's putting up the best offensive numbers of any SS in the NL not named Diaz through a third of the season and given hope to some of us that they'll rethink the timing and extent of the rebuild. It's a perfect example that it's never a bad time to consider dealing a prospect here and there, even in the midst of a rebuild, when the return is a young emerging talented player.

I think Briggs hacked your account. Not me. I never made that suggestion. I did say Hill was not over the hill and was useful this year. He's proven me right. Once teams like Mets and Royals see their internal options are lacking, Brewers could take calls from multiple teams increasing his trade value.

Lucroy, Braun, and Villar are deserving. With a great June, Nelson could at least get considered. It saddens me that with 3 deserving All-Stars, that two could be gone within weeks of the All Star game. I just will never understand how a team can't both build for the future and compete in the present when it has 3 All Star caliber players in its lineup.

Could explain Blazek getting smoked in his last appearance? Imagine Smith will take over 7th inning duties. I would have been okay with either Barnes or Magnifico, but hard to argue with a 1.21 ERA and a WHIP under 1 at Colo. Springs.

He did this to the Cubs last September when they were clubbing everybody. Shut them out over 6 IP on 2 hits. Was a steal for Gerardo Parra. Hitters think they are facing pitcher from local high school JV team. He appears to be a seasoned pitcher! The kid could be the next Maddux....as if there isn't enough crazy lights out starters around nowadays. Buck Showalter reportedly was very upset to learn the O's had traded him last year for a rental.

He did this to the Cubs last September when they were clubbing everybody. Shut them out over 6 IP on 2 hits. Was a steal for Gerardo Parra. Hitters think they are facing pitcher from local high school JV team.

Davies making a statement today and it's "whoever's spot you are planning to give to Garza, it's not going to be mine".

I don't see Goforth coming off the 40 man just yet. His option makes him valuable. But Presley or and Capuano, absolutely. They've got Presley clones in AAA in Peterson and Young ready if they need them so even if Presley ended up elsewhere, no big deal. Capuano simply isn't needed. I would hardly say Broxton's "hitting his stride" though. He had a nice two hit game against an awful Red pitching staff last week, but he's 0 for 7 with 3 more K's since. When he gets his BA up to say .150, and reduces his K's to one every 3 AB's then he's making progress.

Guys Walsh's age and experience level have a short leash. Even rebuilding teams like Brewers can't keep unproductive players on a hope they'll turn it around.

If I had to guess, Capuano gets released (they can always bring him back if nobody else wants him), and Goforth is sent down. Kind of remarkable that Ramirez wasn't claimed by Reds. I'm guessing like their other claims, Ramirez is on short leash himself. They may decide to pull the plug on Walsh experiment, and go with 8 relievers when Smith returns.

It's not hard to imagine that teams covet a player of Braun's ability, so it's no surprise there is interest in him. But lets examine the what would motivate the Brewers to make a deal for Braun. 1. Pure salary relief. The speculation is that teams willing to take on his entire contract will not part with top of the line or even close to top of the line prospects. With the Brewer payroll already way down, I don't see that as enough to motivate Stearns to move Braun. 2. Quality prospect (s) with some salary relief. That's a more plausible motivation, as it holds promise for future payoff down the road, but still not all that attractive. 3. Getting the tank back into tanking. Lets face it, this year's team isn't all that bad as presently constituted (it would be better if they had held on to Davis but that's a different issue). In fact, it's pretty competitive to the point where a case could be made by any GM or owner who's not publically told it's fans to be patient, would make an effort to fill the holes on the current roster and make a run for 2017. But what does that do to the plans to be bad for the next 3-5 years and accumulate high draft picks? That's right it destroys those plans. So if Braun is dealt, it'll be because the Brewers are too good with Braun. Oh they'll sell it as a move necessary for the "future", but the reality is it will mean more suffering for the present and near future. The real return for dealing Braun will be higher picks from 2017 to 2020.

Vina was 24. Victorino was 22. Walsh will be 27 in September. It's quite possible that Oakland will pass on taking him back. With Villar and Perez both younger, no reason to carry a guy heading into his later 20's who hasn't given any indication he can hit major league pitching.through more than 60 plate appearances.

Did I miss something? Has Hill announced his retirement after this year? Like Ramirez, he's on the final year of his deal, so their trade values are similar, but he's got a lot more left in the tank than A-Ram did and he can play both 2b and 3b. Counsell hinted at Perez' ultimate role comparing him to a young Zobrist. Ultimately, Villar could end up at 2b and Perez at 3b with Scooter being dealt but I think they like having essentially 3 starting caliber players for 2 positions. It gives the manager flexibility to maneuver during games.

But unfortunately it is what all the GMs think and Braun's value isn't even in the same universe as Lucroy's to them(according to many rumors). These so-called "rumors" are all coming from media in places where Braun fits a need for that particular team. Writers/bloggers see him doing well, know the Brewers are in rebuilding mode and a small market franchise and just assume they will give him away for little return and might even pay some of his remaining contract. Problem is they miss key points. They don't factor in that relative to his production, Braun is not a burden to a Brewer team that's already cut it's payroll way down and that he's under control long enough to be of value when the team is again competitive. Brewers would be fools to deal him just to get out from under a reasonable contract, because there's no way they'd get anything in return of the impact that Braun provides on the field. He's going nowhere. As for Luc, where is this notion coming from that he's old? Lets assume his next contract is for 4 years with an option beginning in 2018. His first year will be his age 31-32 season. His last guaranteed year will be his age 34-35 season. My gosh, Damian Miller was 35 when the Brewers signed him to a 3 year deal a decade or so ago. Miller's production didn't drop noticeably until his age 37 season. That's he's not 28 at the start of his next deal, and there is some risk of a drop in production will be factored into his deal certainly, but he'll get a nice contract and should.

How about Brett Eibner? Aren't Brewers auditioning OF this year? Why not another older minor leaguer who's never had a shot? Brewers aren't getting much out of their OF other than from Braun and this guy looks like he's found something the last couple years. Send KC back either Presley, Nieuwenhuis, or Flores along with Hill.

He's got a WHIP of 1.583 and a FIP of 6.63, and he turns 38 in August. He's been marginally serviceable but he himself knows he's on borrowed time anywhere he goes.. I'm sure he'll try and hook on somewhere if released assuming he's healthy. Either way he's eminently expendable.

Moustakas is officially out for the year for the Royals. With the defending champs in need of a 3B, isn't this a time to give them a call and see what they'd offer for Aaron Hill?

I'd rather see him get regular at bats instead of Flores who has a fly swatter bat. I'm with Danzig. Broxton is 26, looks like he could pass for 19, and hits like Michael Jordan. 15 K's in 23 AB's? Really?? If the Brewers had any kind of major league caliber OF talent other than Braun, there'd be at least a remote scenario where they could hang in a wild card race. That sort of ended when they dealt Davis and got no major league talent back. That was the plan so nobody should be surprised I suppose.

Early this morning on the Score670 in Chicago, co-host Brian Hanley expressed the opinion that the Brewers could catch and pass the Cardinals. His theory is the Brewers are not burdened by expectations and are able to play loose and hard, while Cards have major problems especially in their rotation. That's the first time in two seasons that I've heard anyone not being paid by the Brewers express even the slightest positive thought about the current Brewer team. Mostly it's been what Brewer can we grab off their roster. Hanley has no connection to Milwaukee other than being a Marquette grad, so it caught my attention immediately.

Brewers are pulling away from Reds and are still within striking distance of Pittsburgh and St. Louis, even after a week facing two of the better staffs in baseball. Oh yeah, and this guy Hernan Perez is pretty good even if I'm the only one that will acknowledge it.

You answered your own question, he doesn't hit for enough power, or last doesn't project to in MLB. He's not a guy you're going to dream on developing more power since he's 25 and has never hit more than 8 HRs in any season. He'd basically have to double that HR total to maintain his current .870 OPS since he's not going to carry a .400 OBP or AVE north of .300 at MLB. He might have some seasons where he eclipses 15 HRs, but I'd be shocked if he's perennially above that number. I don't recall being taken aback by any horrible flaws in his swing when he was in WI, but he wasn't there very long either, somewhere around 25-30 games at the end of the season. Basically, I only saw him play 1 or 2 times in person before the season was over and he moved up, not anywhere near enough to dissect his swing. Who knows though, all it takes is a little work in the weight room every off season and you go from the Brewer's version of Michael Brantley to Cleveland's version who peaked at 20 HRs. It's very difficult to judge how much work of that type baseball players are going to put in, it's not like the NFL or NBA where there's a culture of maximizing athletic potential, historically baseball hasn't had that approach though more and more teams are heading that direction now. In 49 games at AA between 2015 and 2016, he's hitting a cool .352/.429/.490. That's nothing to sneeze at even with the lack of HR. He does have 14 doubles and a triple this year, so he's not just a singles hitter. Besides, he's 6'6" 230, not exactly a little guy. Love too that he's very hard to strike out. He's certainly now on my radar and methinks, the Brewer brass' as well. I would suspect he'll get a promotion to AAA fairly soon and I wouldn't rule out a September call up especially if Carter is dealt at some point.

Mets are wanting help replacing Duda now. Try and see what it takes beyond Carter to land Dominic Smith. Maybe somebody like Wang or Roache? Sure, Carter alone probably doesn't get him but Brewers have options at positions of strength that can sweeten that deal. That would solve the "no 1B of the future in the system" issue. Brewers could play Perez/Flores at 1B in the meantime.