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JohnBriggs12

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Everything posted by JohnBriggs12

  1. JohnBriggs12
    It's more than Morneau, it has to do with catchers specifically. Mauer had to move. Matheny retired early. Concern over Lucroy can't be discounted. Still as good as Lucroy might be, it'll take a team that sees him as the missing piece to really fetch a great return. He'll need to be having a great season. Even then, like they did by including Fiers with Gomez, it might take adding another quality player because that lessons the risk for a team that's giving up 2 or 3 of their top prospects.
  2. JohnBriggs12
    With the Nolin injury that is my guess what happens now. Morales and Pena get the last two spots but Pena better produce if he wants to keep his job. It's pretty likely that Pena would clear waivers. Relievers with his track record are a dime a dozen and with teams trying to get down to 25, I doubt his name on the waiver wire will make a GM stand up and take notice.
  3. JohnBriggs12
    article xx(b) free agents that sign minor league deals are automatically granted opt-out clauses. to be an article xx(b) free agent, one must have at least six years of major league service time. will middlebrooks does not have sufficient service time, so if there's an opt-out clause, it wasn't mandated by the collective bargaining agreement. middlebrooks would have had to negotiate for an opt-out clause when he signed his contract. Appreciate the clarification. That would cover Boyer, Capuano and Morales. Looks likely that 2 of those 3 will be added to the roster this weekend. I'd give the edge to proven relievers Boyer and Morales but Capuano can't be counted out and it's possible they'll find a deal with a team looking for bullpen help.
  4. JohnBriggs12
    Opening day last year they had 5 OF, Davis, Gomez, Braun, Parra and Schafer, who was later replaced by Peterson. When have they not had a 5th OF or an IF who also played OF, other than those instances where they went with 13 pitchers temporarily. Based on spring production only, Presley would have the clear edge at this point. Overall career numbers factor in, but none of Presley, Nieuwenhuis, or EY Jr. is really above the other two. By the way, Flores can play some 1B. I don't get the Middlebrooks love. He's been awful this spring (.444 OPS), was awful in the majors in 2014 and 2015 and not very good at AAA those two years either. He's had two good seasons as a professional, in 2011 and 2012. That's it. Because he was in Boston system, he got extra hype. His career numbers in the minors are very ordinary. I don't know if he has an opt-out clause that kicks in, but if he does, I suspect he'll be gone one way or the other in a few days.
  5. JohnBriggs12
    1. Orlando Arcia 2. Josh Hader 3. Brett Phillips 4. Trent Clark 5. Jorge Lopez 6. Jake Nottingham 7. Zach Davies 8. Gilbert Lara 9. Isan Diaz 10. Demi Orimolye 11. Kodie Medierios 12. Devin Williams 13. Monte Harrison 14. Michael Reed 15. Cody Ponce 16. Adrian Houser 17. Jorge Ortega 18, Tyrone Taylor 19. Clint Coulter 20. Keon Broxton 21. Yadiel Rivera 22. Victor Roache 23. Damien Magnifico 24. Hobbs Johnson 25. Marcos Diplan
  6. JohnBriggs12
    Just read on MLB trade rumors that David Murphy, currently in Red Sox camp, will likely opt out of his minor league deal if he doesn't make the team. Murphy's certainly a superior bat to the group vying for the 5th OF spot on the Brewers.
  7. JohnBriggs12
    Segura has been tearing up the Cactus League to the tune of .541/.553/.811. I watched the D-Backs broadcast last night and they love him though they were quick to point out that last night was the first time he'd walked all spring. While I thought Brewers got a decent deal for him, I was never in the camp that he's not a major league caliber starting SS. In fact they might have sold low on him.
  8. JohnBriggs12
    Good point. Young has some value as a PR too. I think the 5th OF battle goes down to the final weekend between Nieuwenhuis, Presley and Young. Shane Peterson certainly appears to be odd man out at this point. I suspect we'll see some more trimming on the off day tomorrow since there are no more split squad games and they'll want starters to start seeing regular time.
  9. JohnBriggs12
    Middlebrooks isn't making much of a case. My guess is he'll be gone or sent to minor league camp by this weekend.
  10. JohnBriggs12
    Hill's spring hasn't been good but he's only fanned twice. Villar has fanned 11 times. I wouldn't rule out Perez completely if they want Rivera playing everyday. Everyone forgets Perez is only 25 which isn't exactly old.
  11. JohnBriggs12
    Hader very impressive tonight against mostly regulars in Arizona lineup. The kid has top of the rotation stuff. Like with Davies it's going to be tough to keep him down in AAA if starters in Milwaukee aren't at least average. By the way, Scooter with 2 hits off Patrick Corbin tonight.
  12. JohnBriggs12
    I just don't get the thinking that it's a disaster if Lucroy isn't traded now, or even at the deadline or if he plays out his contract with the Brewers. First, the farm system is now a consensus top 10 system and that's before a draft where they have the 5th overall pick and the very likely scenario they are drafting in a similarly attractive spot in 2017 whether Lucroy is here or not. My guess is teams would offer players who are somewhat attractive, but difference making type prospects? Probably not. Lucroy remains very cost effective and should help a young pitching staff, assuming they dump some of the veterans at some point. Finally even if Lucroy completes his current deal and declares FA after 2017, the Brewers undoubtedly will have extended him a QO, assuring a draft pick when he signs elsewhere. Further, Lucroy is not the only player under their control who will have trade value in the next year or two. Other players with good years, will have a market. I'm referring of course to Smith, Gennett, Villar, Jeffress, Peralta, Nelson, Carter, etc.
  13. JohnBriggs12
    The order should be 1. Nelson 2. Jungmann 3. Peralta 4. Anderson 5. Garza Nelson was their best starter in 2015. In fact, he was the only guy still around that managed to stay healthy enough and pitch well enough to stay in the rotation all season. That should be the criteria for opening day starter. Jungmann tailed off in September, but there was a significant stretch where he pitched well enough to be on some ROY ballots and he's been the sharpest so far this spring. Peralta's the "dean" of the staff but he's coming off an injury riddled subpar year, hasn't looked sharp this spring and is closer to a number 5 than a number 1. Garza is coming off a year where he was arguably the second worst starting pitcher in the NL, behind only Lohse who still hasn't found a job. Anderson could be by default #3, but being the new face and not all that sharp this spring either, its hard to justify moving him up the pecking order any further.
  14. JohnBriggs12
    Niewenhuis has fanned 15 times in 32 ABs this spring. He had inside track but that kind of performance in Arizona doesn't bode well for his chances. I think the 4 OF locks look to be Braun, Santana, Broxton and Flores. The 5th spot is up for grabs. It could be someone in someone else's camp right now. Broxton with more BB than K is very impressive. I was quite skeptical but with not great options, he might deserve a look in the leadoff spot.
  15. JohnBriggs12
    I don't think the old regime would have viewed him any differently. Wilkins is this year's version of Matt Clark and old regime never went overboard to keep him in the big leagues.
  16. JohnBriggs12
    That's the really the issue but I maintain, what would they really get for Garza, even if he's a respectable 6-8 with a 3.85 ERA in the middle of July with peripherals to match? What team out there would take on the remaining $16-17 million and give up anything of value for essentially a #4 starter on a good team? None of course. Sure the Brewers could eat $8-10 million of that to get a slightly better return, but aren't teams in serious contention going to prefer better options in the trade market? It's not like his horrible 2015 can be erased from the record book either. So they may end up thinking they can deal him, find out they can't and end up keeping him the entire season and trying their luck after the year. Again keeping in mind that middling starters had trouble finding jobs when teams didn't have to give up any talent to sign them.
  17. JohnBriggs12
    I think Broxton appears to be the guy who'll get a good look. He's the best defender in the mix, and has speed on the bases they like. But he's probably not a guy who's ready to start 150+ games in the majors. I believe Flores has the inside track as an extra OF too. He's going to get work spelling Braun and Santana who's likely going to have some slumps. I'd favor a veteran, either Nieuwenhuis or Presley as the 5th OF and a bench PH and somebody who'll get some some starts in CF if just to take some pressure off of Broxton.
  18. JohnBriggs12
    Looking at the Wang situation as the "model for a rule 5" pick is mistaken. Wang was a special case. Brewers considered him an actual prospect. Jones is more typical. They aren't going to try and hide a 25 year old with barely any experience above A ball. They've added relief arms with realistic roster chances since they took him. He hasn't pitched at all in Arizona. Could they extend the trial with a DL stint? Sure. But if they really like him, they'll simply work out a minor deal with Twins. The last 2 spots (or 3 if they go with 13 pitchers) are down to these 4: Boyer, Pena, Nolin, and Capuano. There's still time for somebody else to step up into contention too.
  19. JohnBriggs12
    I'd love to see them go hard after Myrtle Beach but I'm guessing Cub affiliates are prized. Would be nice to combine a golf trip with seeing Brewer affiliate in action.
  20. JohnBriggs12
    After seeing Baites' totals I figured it had to be a bad appearance or two. Then I clicked on the game log. Wow. Every time he took the mound was a disaster. I didn't think it was possible for a professional pitcher to pitch so bad consistently. It's one thing if a guy gets hit around or can't find the zone, but he somehow did both giving up gobs of hit while walking everyone and hitting everyone else. Reminds me of the book I read about 20-25 years ago named "A False Spring" by one time Milwaukee Brave farmhand turned author, Pat Jordan. It's a must read for any hard core baseball fan and main theme is total loss of control and the mental anguish he felt as a mere 20 year old going through it. Jordan's numbers while not quite as ugly were certainly interesting. As a stunt he pitched an inning at age 56 in an indy league in 1997.
  21. JohnBriggs12
    I wouldn't completely count out Alex Presley who looks to have an edge right now over Shane Peterson among non-roster LH bats. I really think Liriano has to clearly beat out Broxton and so far he's not doing that. Broxton's the better glove. They might be able to sneak Liriano through waivers if his overall spring isn't very good because claiming teams would have same issue with him out of options and most teams will have set their opening day rosters.
  22. JohnBriggs12
    He has been pretty effective as a starter in the minors. He's likely to be the only 2016 return on the Davis trade even though he was only indirectly involved. Sooner or later the Brewers are going to start a lefty. Don't know the record for consecutive games starting a RHP, but I'm sure the Brewers have it, not having started a lefty since 2013 (Gorzelanny). That's 354 games and counting. My guess is Nolin's performance in Arizona isn't great news for Capuano. I doubt they'd keep both. It would be great to have a lefty long man though in today's game, you rarely see managers pull starters before the 4th or 5th innings even if they are getting hammered. But my money is still on Davies as Garza's replacement if he's traded or released. Could see a spot start though for Nolin and who knows? If the rotation falls apart, a lot of guys will get looks, Nolin included.
  23. JohnBriggs12
    Mets waived Ruben Tejada yesterday. If Villar continues to struggle, wouldn't Tejada be a better stopgap SS option? It's not like he's old (26), and he does have a career OBP of .330. I realize Tejada never was in Houston, so chances are Stearns has zero interest but one would think if Tejada performed reasonably well, he might have some trade value down the line.
  24. JohnBriggs12
    After assigning him initially to AAA, White Sox have now released Olt.
  25. JohnBriggs12
    It's early but if Rivera continues outperforming Villar in camp, maybe he'll claim opening day SS job. Alex Presley was kind of an afterthought in the OF competition heading into camp, but he's far outperformed Peterson and Nieuwenhuis, and might find himself in soft platoon in CF with Broxton come opening day. Guys who need to pick it up: Peterson, Nieuwenhuis, Liriano, Walsh, Middlebrooks. Still time, but next 7-10 days critical for those guys.
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