JohnBriggs12

Have to be encouraged by Arcia with just 10 K's in 70 AAA ABs, matching his walk total. He's probably no more than a couple more weeks away from a return if he keeps up this pace.

Nothing like trying to chase a hot streak in which the guy has a higher batting average than OBP. The one thing I'll agree on is that while I don't value him that highly, his July numbers do at least show that he's not dead in the water...but that Avg/OBP is right in line with his extremely streaky zero-walk mentality. Brewers need RBI punch in the 6th spot in their order. That's an RBI spot, not an OBP spot. This is a guy who drove in 105 runs last year. Who's going to drive him in if he walks? Kratz? Broxton?

.368/.362/.579 so far in July. Controlled through 2019, plus unlike Dozier, you could convince O's to deal him now, rather than wait until last minute. I'd take a shot. At least you could use Schoop as leverage to get Twins to act now rather than later.

Problem is timing. Twins will likely wait to last minute, and Brewers can't wait given their schedule the remainder of July.

Schwarber hit .343/.477/.714 with 4 HR in 44 AB's at AAA last year. How in any was does Santana's performance at CS compare with that? Santana's arby eligible this winter. Will be interesting to see what he can get coming off this season.

Stearns is what he is, a new age GM, who is still learning. The July deadline requires ability to think fast and understand the other's teams needs well enough to make an offer that will get his target. He's failed the last two July's to get his number one target. I don't know how else you can spin it other than to say he failed. It was pretty clear to me back in May that Machado was the missing link for this team. We don't know when Stearns came to that realization, but he clearly wasn't prepared to do what it took. The Dodgers didn't give up all that much. They got their man. Stearns is left going over the scraps.

They were good moves, but acquiring players in the winter is like hitting home runs in the third inning. They're good but not decisive. He has yet to show in back to back years that he can finish the job and get the man he wants in the 9th inning with the season on the line. And there's that releasing Scooter Gennett move too. Say what you want about Doug Melvin, but when he set his sights on the playoffs, he got his man. Twice in fact. The scariest part of this is that there are people that actually believe this stuff. I've been called a lot of things, but scary isn't one of them, then again Millennials are easily scared.

They were good moves, but acquiring players in the winter is like hitting home runs in the third inning. They're good but not decisive. He has yet to show in back to back years that he can finish the job and get the man he wants in the 9th inning with the season on the line. And there's that releasing Scooter Gennett move too. Say what you want about Doug Melvin, but when he set his sights on the playoffs, he got his man. Twice in fact.

Brewers have a swing and miss offense and now they have a swing and miss GM to go along with it.

Dozier will be a Twin right up until the deadline. The Brewers have their hands full until then. That reduces his value.

That's no satisfaction to Brewer fans who'll be watching the carnage this weekend.

Hiura maybe but Peralta and even Burnes? Next season for starting pitching option we have: Chacin. Guerra. Davies. Anderson. Nelson. Woodruff. Peralta. Burnes. Suter. Trading away a Peralta or a Woodruff would not create a hole. It was actually ease a logjam a bit, especially if they are traded for a pitcher. Ideally in the next year or two there would be a spot for Peralta, Burnes AND Woodruff but I don’t see that happening. So trading one of them now isn’t the end of the world. Obviously they have to be part of the right deal. I’m glad Burnes wasn’t traded for Machado. But if we’re going for Syndergaard or Degrom heck yeah I’d include two of Peralta Burnes Ortiz or Woodruff. I look at more than just 2018 and 2019 though. Having 9 SPs, when I believe 6 of them have minor league options remaining (And at least 3 of them have experience working in relief), isn't a log jam. We've already used 9 starters this year, and at a minimum you'd want 7 competent starters to get through a season. But it's about more than the numbers. You only quoted one sentence of the post, the rest of the paragraph goes into more about the reasoning behind it. As does the previous one. It's not only about this one trade, but what follows it as well. It was about which prospects you trade or don't trade. Current major league contributing prospects with 6 years of cheap control and fairly high ceilings (Like Peralta and Burnes) are not the type of prospects we should be looking at trading if we're looking to contend. Filling two (Or potentially more) rotation spots with good players who cost the league minimum helps set up other moves as well, whether that be free agents or taking on salaries in trades. All good points, however the real world of baseball today is that the real contenders use their assets to build a powerhouse for the final couple months and into the postseason and worry about future years later. The Brewers can be competitive for a number of years by holding on to prospects, and making some good moves in the winter, but to cross into championship contention category, they have to be willing to part with unproven talent and boost their roster for August through October.

Which duo is better? Bandy and Bethancourt or Kratz and Nottingham? I vote for the B and B boys.

This. Dialogue has become so broken. Polarization of many issues has become so severe that once a person espouses a view that is aligned with one "side" it is as if there can't be any nuance. I can be mad at Hader for his thoughts and words. I can also believe that MLB doesn't really have ground to stand on for a suspension or fine. People have a right to think whatever they want, right or wrong. It's called freedom. Thought is not a crime. Hader wrote some things that come across as offensive before he became a public figure. People who work with him consider him a good teammate. This is a total non-story.

While Escobar and Dozier would be significant improvements, the Twins are likely to hold off till the last minute to see if their recent surge continues. By then, it might be too late.

Brilliantly put! The fact he was attacking top bat in trade market & just fell in a close 2nd in pretty competitive race shows he has the stones to go after it & stones to stick to what he believes is the true value. No, all it shows is that he thrives on getting praise for getting close. "I'm trying really, really hard" doesn't cut it. The team will be out of it after they get blasted by the Dodgers the next couple weeks.

No matter if a team is a one year wonder or built for the long term, you still have to sell out to win. The Cubs sold out for Chapman. The Astros sold out for Verlander. Stearns hasn't proved he has the stones to do it

The last thing this reeling team needs is to head into the post All Star break part of the schedule having to face a Dodger team not only without Machado in the Brewer lineup but with him in a Dodger uniform. If the Phillies got him, no problem, but Brewers play the Dodgers 7 out of their next 14 games. Losing him to the Dodgers might end their season unless DS comes up with something big as a alternative. DS apparently lacks stones just as he did last year.

He'll get chances but likely his days as a Brewer are over. I can't see them offering him arbitration after this lost season.

Sometimes guys coming off a breakout season like Santana's 2017 tweak things thinking they can get even better and mess up their swings or approaches. I don't think that's what happened to Santana though. I think he felt pressure coming into spring training (and perhaps some resentment) after Cain and Yelich were acquired. He was awful in spring training (.185/ .224/278) with just one HR and striking out a an alarming rate even for Santana (25Ks in 54 ABs). My guess is once the regular season started, he focused more on putting the ball in play, and in the process lost his power stroke. He's been messed up ever since.

Agree. They'll get run over without at least one significant move.

Teams usually can live with the K's if the power's there and he projects as a 30+ HR hitter in the majors.

I don't think Merrifield will cost significantly more than Machado if at all. He'd be a significant upgrade and have control to boot. If they get Machado, then Saladino/Miller rotate at 2B. If they get Merrifield, then Saladino/Miller rotate at SS. Either way they add a significant bat. So my plan B is Merrifield with Dozier (who's getting hot recently) a close 2nd.

When you become a slave to the book, it's almost as if you stop watching the game. Williams might have the best stuff in the pen. When he has his command, it's closer type stuff and it doesn't matter if he's facing RH or LH batters. Williams looked to me that he had his command after coming back from a 3-0 count to get the leadoff hitter. Instead of letting him finish, Counsell stops the game, lets the Pirates regroup and he brings in Jennings, who's done a solid job but isn't a guy who's got lock down stuff. My guess is Pirates were happy to see Williams go. Leave Williams in there, get the game over and get the heck out of town. The longer that game went time wise, the more the weight of a losing streak starts to factor in.

We need to see guys on the field. These days guys don't want to play at anything less than 100%. It's kind of sad really.