nate82

Barmes probably not available to some teams according to Brian Mctaggart. Doesn't mean much though.

He also makes their offense better which if the Brewers were to play them in the playoffs I would rather see the Phillies without added improvements to that offense which hasn't been all that great this year.

Guys that hit .260 and are better than Pence. Really? Who are these mystery players then? Pence is a good to great OF definitely better offensively and defensively than Hart and better defensively than Braun. Pence is one of the top 15 OF's in the majors and one of the top OF's in the NL. How is he overrated again? You would tell me that you would take Hart over Pence in RF?

They may have over paid but Pence is really good maybe overrated but what player isn't overrated by the media and fans?

Well the Phillies have better prospects than the Brewers that the Astros like. It would have taken Gamel+ to get Pence from Houston and I just don't see Melvin doing that kind of a deal maybe if Hart was traded for a SS maybe but no way without something like that happening.

Pence is just the last major piece to fall in the trade market. I really wish Atlanta would have gotten Pence over Philadelphia. Just speculation on my part but I believe the Brewers get Furcal at some point in this season. I hope it happens this weekend rather than later.

Lopez must love Milwaukee.

What's holding things up right now on the Furcal/Carroll thing is Furcal's health reports as the Brewers are still looking into that and the other teams that are interested in Carroll also. Once a couple of bigger trades go down like Pence to the Braves/Phillies, I hope he goes to the Braves, gets done we should start to see some more movement. Furcal may also be a waiver wire type of a trade. I believe the Brewers will either get Furcal, Carroll, or Barmes who they are most recently interested in. The Brewers will get one of those players and maybe one other later probably Furcal.

If you would go by the instant replay rules of the NFL the call still would have stood this morning. In each replay it looked as though the tag may not have been made there really wasn't any evidence in the replay that it was an obvious miss call. Even with slow motion it is hard to tell if there was a tag or not even with expanded replay if you go by the NFL rule set for replay this wouldn't have been something that would have been overturned.

Your first part maybe true but point number two is false. Beltran can't be offered arbitration so no compensation picks for Beltran.

Does anyone actually go play in the independent leagues? Would the Astros still retain his rights since he'd be playing professionally? I believe J.D. Drew did this when he was drafted. He had to wait until the next draft to be drafted again.

There any reason for this other than...he's Japenese and it's Milwaukee? Ie, just a guess? During free agency Kuroda wouldn't even consider any of the teams that were not on the west coast specifically in Los Angeles. There are rumors he may waive his no trade but I don't see him waiving it to go to Milwaukee it is basically New York or Boston he would do it for. I don't see him waiving it for the teams interested in him like the Indians, Tigers, or Rangers.

Kuroda would have to waive his no trade. Plus Kuroda doesn't like the east coast at least that is what has been reported. I don't believe Kuroda would accept a deal to Milwaukee. Would be nice to get him but I just don't see why he would accept to be traded to Milwaukee the Angels are probably the only destination he would want to go to. The Dodgers are also not just going to be dumping Kuroda for nothing it will take someone like Thornburg/Peralta to get him.

Again though, this supposes that Greinke and Shields had equal value this off-season. I don't think they had anywhere near the same value coming into the year. I think you could have gotten Shields for say Odorizzi, Cain and Jeffress for instance. Greinke and Shields had equal value in the off-season. Just because a player has a bad year previously does not mean their value drops. Nearly everyone thinks this and this is mostly a knee jerk reaction as fans to state that a player has lost value when they have not. You have to look at more than what the player did the past year you have to look at the contract, the value the player adds to the team, and what the players potential is. With all of that being said Shields value may have dropped a small amount but it wasn't enough for Shields value to be lower than that of Greinke's. A more realistic trade would be Odorizzi, Jeffress, Gamel, and Rogers. That would have been the asking price for Shields.

I would rather have Furcal as I see this being like a Ray Durham type of trade that Melvin did. Furcal is the best SS available on the trade market if he can stay healthy that is. The biggest risk is Furcal getting injured but I would rather take that risk than betting on someone like Ryan or Carroll. But then again I would rather see the Brewers trade for B.J. Upton and then go with someone like Valbuena who is blocked in Cleveland. I wonder what it would take to get Valbuena. I wonder if the Brewers could do a three team deal that involved the Rays and the Indians. I know the Indians are looking to add an OF and the Rays are looking for bullpen help. Maybe a trade like this would work though I wouldn't be comfortable in doing this: Brewers get Upton and Valbuena, Rays get Braddock, and a PTBNL, Indians get Hart. I am not sure that is enough for Upton would need another piece I just can't think of the piece that is missing for the Rays. Hart is overpaying for Valbuena which may mean that another player would be coming over from the Indians that would go to the Rays.

Apparently the Mets are looking at Zack Wheeler, Brandon Belt, and Gary Brown from the Giants. None of those players should even be mentioned in a trade for Beltran as in any one of those players is a sever over pay. The Mets better get serious or they are going to be stuck with Beltran. If I am a GM I would just hang up on the Mets GM and start laughing at him in the process of hanging up the phone. No way Beltran is worth any of those players.

Umm... Where's Peralta? I'm not a big fan of Peralta.

My top 10: 1. Thornburg: Obviously one of the better pitchers in the Brewers system and really the only big prospect the Brewers have at this time. Possible top 100 prospect but will be more than likely just miss getting on the top 100.2. Scarpetta: While not completely dominating his ceiling is that of a #3 or #4 type pitcher but will probably be more of a #5 type pitcher if he can not spot accurately. 3. Gennett: Small, could be a Pedroia like player or he could be just another Counsell like player.4. Komatsu: Again under sized but I love his bat if he can't play CF he is really limited as he doesn't have all that much power probably a 4th or 5th OF if he can not play CF.5. Schafer: The Brewers really love Schafer but injuries are becoming a concern here defense in CF is the only plus he has. He needs to draw more walks to be an everyday player but his defense will allow him to be a starter in CF Brady Clark type of a player but with better defense.6. Green: Injuries in the past have derailed him but he is finally coming around. If it wasn't for the injuries he would be the #2 or #1 prospect and would be in the top 75 in terms of a prospect around the league. Reminds me of Jeff Cirillo.7. Gindl: Another small player who reminds me of a younger Matt Stairs. Matt Stairs first year in AAA at age 24 .267/.351/.426 and Gindl's first year at AAA at age 22 .290/.364/.473. While Stairs is older Gindl is putting up a similar line at a younger age.8. Khris Davis: Can the Brewers please challenge him already? If the Brewers would move him up a little bit faster I would be more confident in his status as a prospect.9. Richardson: Tools, Tools, Tools, Tools, and oh yeah more Tools. Richardson has to be the most toolsy player in the Brewers system. If he ever gets it together he will be a great player maybe not an All-Star caliber player but rather close to that caliber of a player.10. Osmel Perez: Only 17 years old and probably the best international talent the Brewers have had in a long time. Gamel would be #1 but he is not even eligible to be a rookie so he is not a prospect anymore. Others that I like are Nelson, Garfield, Hall, and Rogers all of whom are rather close to the top 10 but just not there yet or have had injury concerns or are under performing.

If the Brewers are going to give up a good prospect they should trade for B.J. Upton and not Beltran. Upton actually has some good numbers against lefties this year and he actually should be in a platoon. This would be the perfect platoon option with Morgan. Plus it gives the Brewers another versatile bat on the bench. I am just not sure what the Rays would want in return for Upton supposedly they are looking for relief pitching help but I think the Rays could do better than what the Brewers have right now in terms of options for relief help. Drew Storen comes to mind here for a trade for Upton but that is more than likely overpaying for Upton on the Nationals part. I wonder if the Blue Jays would be willing to listen on Rajai Davis as he would be a good platoon option with Morgan.

David DeJesus trade speculations again.

Beltran in CF would be a nightmare. Defensively in CF he would make Betancourt look good defensively at SS right now.

Gomez and Morgan do fine with Hart and Braun in the corners. You can't really get any worse than Braun and Hart in the OF.

Cameron for Melky Cabrera would have been a great deal long term. Cabrera's still only 26, and he's hitting .295/.333/453. He's on pace for about 18 HR, 80 RBI, and 40 doubles. Cabrera is having a fluky year I expect him to drop back down to what he did for the Braves last year which is nothing special or Gomez bad without the good defense.

You can forget trading Gomez as the Nationals would have very little interest in him.

Swisher was never even on the table for the Brewers only the Brewers taking on all of Cameron's salary and taking junk back AKA Melky Cabrera.