yoshii8

Would it be possible that the deal could be centered around Jeffress, he has to be considered one of the top pitching prospects in baseball after this season? Maybe a Jeffress, Braddock/Periard, and hopefully Gwynn instead of Cain deal? That probably wouldn't be enough they would probably have to throw in another top 15 prospect.

I didn't create the thread to say the Brewers should go after him as much as to find out where others think he will end up, and if you think that somebody will risk giving him a long term deal. I remember hearing how much he's changed at the all-star game, and how great of a teammate he is from guys like Michael Young and Josh Hamilton, and now I'm curious to see if things like that and him staying problem but not injury free for a year will help teams focus less on Milton Bradley the headcase, and more on how great of a baseball player he is.

I just brought his name up because of his free agent status, and our bad situation at 3rd base. Being from Minnesota, I'm guessing you've been able to see him play a lot, so how would you feel if he was signed to a 1 or 2 year deal?

I noticed that Milton Bradley had a .999 OPS last season, and over a .400 OBP for the second season in a row. I also noticed that he missed 36 games due to injury and was used primarily as a DH last season for the first time in his career. From what I hear he is a great teammate, but seems to lose his mind on occasion. He plays w/ a ton of intensity, and would be a very good middle of the order guy on any team, but due to his personality and injury issues is a giant question mark. I know he would be a huge risk, but I think that someone will give him a long term deal. The Brewers don't really have a spot for him, unless we don't pick up Cameron's option, and then play Hart or Bradley in CF, but where do you think he will end up, and how much will he get? I will guess that he goes to an AL club and gets a 3 year 40 million dollar deal w/ and option.

What about signing Joe Crede to be our 3b this year? I'm not sure if his back will hold up, but he had a .910 OPS against righties last season in over 250 Ab's, doesn't strike out, and is a good 3rd baseman. I realize he has a low OBP, but this would allow us to try to acquire a switch hitter second baseman like Brian Roberts or Orlando Hudson to help with OBP and make our infield D a lot better. He probably could be signed to a 1-2 year deal w/ mostly incentives because of his injury issues. Would he be worth the gamble of signing a 1 year 6 million dollar deal w/ an option for '2010?

I'd like to acquire Kouzmanoff also, his road OPS is .818 w/ a .330 OBP, so I think his numbers would improve if he got out of Petco. I think w/ a switch to Miller Park he could potentially hit 30+ home runs. It would be nice to have some consistency from the 3b spot.

The Marlins seem to target high ceiling prospects that are almost ready when trading there high salary or arby guys. I would think that we would have to offer a nice group of prospects in the Cain, Green, Gillespe range. I think it would be worth it to add Uggla to our lineup, he hits righties very well. I would also like to somehow sign Orlando Hudson, or trade for Brian Roberts to solve our leadoff woes.

What about working out a trade with the Marlins? I would be interested in Scott Olsen, Kevin Gregg and Dan Uggla. Olsen could be a good #3 starter, even though his K rate was down this year. I really liked Gregg when I saw him pitch last season, and I think he could be a closer or at least a setup option. I think Uggla would look very good as the #5 hitter protecting Prince and starting at 2nd or 3rd. I'm not sure if he would switch positions, but he played more 3rd than 2nd in the minors.

Yes, I think you are very much underestimating Youkillis, the Red Sox will not be looking to trade him.

Sorry, that was meant for Nate as he listed Gamel as the starting rightfielder.

Diggr14, I think he doesn't want to move because he's played SS his whole life, and that is his best position, also the fact that he will get paid more as a shortstop. Why do you think he's going to end up playing 2nd or 3rd?

Brad Nelson would be a huge downgrade from Prince Fielder offensively. I don't want to see the Braun, Fielder combo get broken up unless we absolutely know for sure that Fielder won't resign in 2 seasons, they are a very good middle of the order. If anything, I think we should be looking to upgrade the #5 spot in the order to give Prince some protection.

Aubrey Huff is not a very good 3b, is better suited as a DH, and will probably cost a lot to acquire, I don't think that the Brewers will be looking to make our infield D even worse. I'd rather see the Brewers acquire somebody who will provide good defense and can hit a little bit like Beltre, Kouzmanoff or Rolen. LouisEly, Gamel has never played in the outfield, so I think it might be a bit of a stretch to pencil him in as the starting rightfielder in his rookie season.

Just because he is mentioned in trade rumors, doesn't mean he's available. A lot of times it is just media speculation.

Even though he is probably going to be a type B free agent, I'm pretty sure that the Brewers won't offer Gagne arbitration because he would probably accept. Also, Shouse is likely to be a type B free agent, I'd like to see the Brewers re-sign him. HOF4canrake, I'm not sure that the Royals have ever really had Dejesus "out there", I think a lot of people are just guessing that he is available because he plays for the Royals and is a good player.

I really like the idea of going after Javier Vazquez, he would be an outstanding pick up. I think Corey Hart, Rickie Weeks and possibly Bill Hall could all be of interest to the White Sox, they will need a 2b or SS, depends on where they play Alexei Ramirez, and a third baseman w/ Crede leaving. I've also heard they want more team speed. I'm not sure what Vazquez is worth right now, but would a Weeks, Hall for Vazquez deal be equal value? You could slot Vazquez as the #2 starter, and our rotation looks a lot better. His numbers will likely look a lot better in the NL, and pitching in less of a hitters park. The only problem I have w/ this trade is that we now don't have a 2b or 3b, and we would be giving up on Weeks. If we could somehow sign Orlando Hudson, and trade for a decent lefty 3b (Blaylock, Figgins), I would like this a lot better. As for Suppan, I don't see a team trading for him w/out us having to pick up some salary. Although Millwood would be interesting.

If it is out of the question for Escobar to play 2nd, do you think the Brewers will trade Hardy or Escobar? I could see a scenario of having Escobar spend 09' in AAA and then trading Hardy after next season. I think the Brewers are going to have a tough time trading Hardy, and he is one of the most important guys on the team.

I can't see Hardy being traded, I think that he will be signed long term this off-season, from what I've heard he is a great clubhouse leader, and from what I've seen he is a great young player that is getting better each season, and it doesn't hurt that he's a fan favorite. With Alcides Escobar, I think he will enter '09 in AAA, and maybe they will see how he looks at 2b and 3b every now and then. If he proves to be ready for the major leagues I don't think they would hesitate to bring him up as a 2B, it would make our middle infield defense very good. Also, Jose Reyes was used as a 2b in his first season, so its not that crazy of a thought. I would also love to see the Brewers trade for Adrian Beltre. I think an infield defense of Escobar, Hardy, Beltre would be amazing, and would help offset the fact that Prince is a bad 1st baseman, and might rub off on him a little bit.

I've been thinking a lot about how our bullpen is going to look in 09', and I think we will be ok using the players we already have, here is what I project. I would like to see Mitch Stetter as the first lefty in the pen, I think it showed how much they think of him by using him so often in the playoffs. I like him because he has a high k rate, and is also very effective against righties, allowing us to use him in more than a loogy role. I would like to see Brian Shouse brought back and used strictly as the loogy, he absolutely dominated this season vs lefties, but for some reason was used heavily against righties also. I want David Riske and Solomon Torres used as 6th and 7th inning guys. I guess these two are the biggest question marks, but if Riske is healthy, and Torres doesn't retire they will play important roles I'd like Carlos Villanueva as the closer or at the very least as the setup guy, as he looks so comfortable in pressure situations, and had a 2.12 era in 59 innings w/ 62k's and only 14 BB's in 08' as a reliever. The guy just knows how to pitch. I'd like to see Seth McClung have an important role as the setup guy next season. The good part is if he pitches like he did at the end of last season, we ride him, but if he's struggling w/ command we have Torres that could easily move to the setup role. I liked him as a starter, but I think he is better suited to be a bullpen guy. For the last spot I would like to see Dillard and Coffey battle it out in spring training. I really liked what I saw from Dillard when he first came up, and from Coffey at the end of the season. I think Dillard will be a very good major league reliever, as he was very good in AAA last season after being converted from being a starter. If they don't trust either of those guys, I would like to see the Brewers sign a veteran reliever like Braden Looper (who could also start), David Weathers, Kyle Farnsworth (maybe too expensive ) or Bob Howry to fill that role. So here is my final bullpen prediction: Villanueva - Closer McClung- Setup Torres- 7th inning Riske- 6th inning Stetter- loogy/middle reliever Shouse- loogy Coffey/Dillard- final spot

I think it would take a lot to acquire Polanco too, but I wouldn't mind seeing Durham back if we can sign him cheaply, and let him platoon w/ Weeks. Then we could shift our focus to getting an everyday 3rd baseman. But I still think that Uggla would help out our lineup a lot more than any of the 2b you mentioned, and if it wouldn't be too costly I would love to get him.

Yes he does strike out a lot, but that doesn't mean he isn't a very productive player. He walked 77 times in 08, and his walk rate has gone up a lot each season, he will give you 30 HR's and 90 RBI's w/ a .500 slugging percentage, even if he goes back to the .330 OBP he had in his first 2 seasons, he still would be a major upgrade . He also plays better defense than Weeks, and has a career .852 OPS vs. righties. The only thing that would concern me is how much it would cost to acquire him.

Lodi, they already have Adrian Gonzalez at first base, so they would have no interest in Prince. Also, I'm not sure if Gwynn has any trade value at this point w/ his .659 OPS in AAA as a 25 year old. I believe that we have the players and prospects to get it done, but IMO it would take way too many of them to get Peavy, but I would love to see him as the ace of the Brewers. I would guess we could get them interested by offering Hart, Parra and including a couple of top 5-10 prospects. I'm not even sure if that would be enough.

Wow, 19 minutes until first pitch, I am more anxious than I've ever been about a game. I still can't believe we are about to play in the playoffs, wow. Go Brewers!

Paul, I'm pretty sure he is sharing inside information by telling us that the Indians haven't made their choice yet because if they did, he or one of the players would have heard by now. I don't understand what else you want him to say. Its not like he can just openly tell us everything, this is his profession, and I think its very cool that he shares as much as he does now.

Why would the Padres make him available? Hes signed to a reasonable contract and is one of the best pitchers in baseball. I don't believe Buster Olney.