HiAndTight

Yeah, I can't imagine they'd bother again this year. But now next year what's your limit with him? Given as careful as they've been with him, are you only going to let him go 130 next year? What if you're in a race? If a guy's going to be a Mark Prior, he's going to be Mark Prior. Obviously you don't want to exacerbate any issues by throwing him out there for an obscene amount of innings and abusing him like the Cubs and Dusty did Prior, but they only get this guy for 6 years. Nats fans have to be getting worried about him moving forward.

If he could walked 10% of the time, .260 would be alright for him given his defense. However if he could walk 10% of the time I think most would agree he'd likely start getting more pitches to hit, start hitting for more power and his entire game may well come around. The problem is it's this general attitude that leads most to also believe that he just isn't going to figure it out here. He's going to have to be closer to being out of the game in my opinion, having to actually worry about making a team, or going into ST'ing with only a minor league contract before he actually slows the hell down and starts taking some pitchers. If we could play him in AAA next year and force him to take pitches, he may well be alright and develop for us, but I see almost no chance he's accept a demotion and less chance he's going to figure it out at this level. Too bad. He's just got amazing pure tools. I always thought Weeks had the most talent of anyone on the Brewers...until Gomez came there. But the comments about baseball being the sport in which pure athletic ability means the least.

I don't see why they would be idiotic at all. At what point do you start to let him pitch? He had a stiff shoulder, something any other guy in the game has and they may skip a start, the Nats threw him on the DL instantly and got him an MRI. They gave him ample time to come back, he said he had absolutely no soreness throwing last time, he was at less than 110 innings, so they let him pitch. What are they suppose to do? Anytime the guy has anything shut him down for the year? What about next year? He has 95 Innings in, and he gets a sore elbow. Shut him down for the rest of the year to be safe? I get he's the future of the franchise, but you can't just go from young phenom to grizzled vet without actually throwing those pitches and starting those games. And I'd agree if there was any reason whatsoever to believe he wasn't healthy, but there wasn't as far as I know, and the injury tonight seems unrelated.

I wonder if we'll hear something a couple years down the road as to why he was released or if it was just as simple as the Brewers just blowing it. We're really just beating our head into the wall trying to figure out why they'd possibly show such little patience with this guy when they've shown so much with others and there was seemingly no reason to rush to just a drastic decision. Hindsight's 20-20....which is why you usually seem teams exhaust every opportunity with a prospect before releasing them.

Not on a contender. Contenders want to win now. Contenders trade future talent for now talent all the time. This isn't a discussion of who has more trade value. If we were a contender and we had both players, Escobar would be in AAA. Also, Hardy has an OPS of 855 since the all-star break. He's always been streaky, but his 2nd half resurgance is a big reason why the Twins have pulled back in front of the Sox. Escobar has yet to have a single 700 OPS month. I find it surprising I have to defend Hardy. I used to take the other side of the fence in discussions when posters stated "Hardy can flat out hit", "Hardy is becoming a good OBA hitter", and "Hardy is a perfect fit for the #2 spot". Turns out none of those things are true. What is true is that he's a very valuable SS because he is a strong defender with some pop in his bat. You're using 92 AB's for Hardy to justify this argument? Anyway, given the negligible difference between the two this year, the age difference between the two and the difference in cost, I disagree that most contenders would rather have Escobar. It's not like we're comparing two guys who are having vastly different seasons, and one is younger, cheaper and likely to see substantial improvements, we're comparing two guys with .305 OBP's, a .251 to .263 BA and .654 to .699 OPS. So I doubt many contenders would take the menial difference from Hardy to Escobar and forgo the 5 extra years of service time and potential from the 23 year old Escobar.

I'm aware that's an opinion and not really a "fact". You can reduce every discussion about numbers to say, "well, this is a better way to judge him". But "adjusted" isn't a real number, OPS is, although obviously there is a Coors park factor to the discussion. Though Coors is hardly unique in that perspective. You would also then have to adjust his defensive numbers IMO. Regardless, I was obviously wrong and the Rockie's did in fact release him. I'm still surprised they did it. OPS last 3 years 2007 Home-1.017 Away-.831 2008 Home-.894 Away-.864 2009 Home-.917 Away-.890 So he's not strictly a product of Coors field. The guy's a pretty good hitter. Just surprised one year of struggling at the plate, and the Rockie's dumped a guy who's been such a big part of the team on the field, and such a respected member in the clubhouse and community. I'm guessing there won't be a lack of interest in him going down the stretch.

The problem is, it has to be difficult to convince Gomez to forgo the power aspect of that dynamic when he's 6'4 220 pounds and ripped. He's got every bit the physical tools that Beltran had, but without the ability to take pitches and draw walks, it's exceedingly difficult to get much out of them. If you're going to go after everything, you'd better at least try and change your approach and try to make more consistent contact so that you can try and carry a higher BABIP. Correct me if I'm wrong, but starting next year he would have to accept a demotion to AAA, and clear waivers(provided we offer arbitration and bring him back on anything other than a minor league deal). As such, I don't think we're going to see him playing in Nashville anytime soon. Which is a shame as I think that's the only way he can become the type of player his tools suggest.

CF Ruben Sanchez (stats) just turned 19 years old this week. Here was the team's one offensive "star" all season -- he should fill out his current 6'2", 180 lb. frame, and he's a LH bat that plays a premium position. Well done, young man, and nice signing, Brewers' management. That .422 OBP and 21-19 BB/K ratio definitely looks good. Obviously little power, but with a 18 year old kid, that's to be expected(turned 19 on the 20th).

Good point, even in arguing for the trade I'm still of the mind that we blew those two picks, but you're absolutely right, Dykstra's definitely looking more and more like he may be a legitimate big league prospect. He's actually had a remarkable turnaround and when you look at the situation he was in, I suppose it's not that unexpected that a 18 year old kid would be as effected as he was by his fathers troubles in his first full season in the minor leagues, but I certainly wasn't confident last year at this time.

I look at it the opposite way - not how many extra wins he will give you, but how many wins would it have cost the team to keep going with the current players they had. Setup men don't win games so much as they keep you from losing them. Turnbow, Spurling, Dessens, Wise, Aquino, Capellan, Villanueva, and Balfour (before he learned how to throw strikes) were their other options. And Balfour was 29 at the time, so despite hindsight being 20/20 I don't think many people would have advocated keeping a 29-year-old who couldn't throw strikes at the time, especially in a playoff chase. I agree 100 pct. There's a difference between assigning value on a player using WAR, and actually trying to quantify how many wins getting or not getting a pitcher can cost you. Nobody's going to argue that Linebrink was going to put up a 4.0 WAR the last 3 months of the season, but the way the team was going, and how important adding a viable SU man was at the time, it was easy to envision that it could have had a significant impact on 3-4, even 5 games. You have to remember back to just how terrible that group was at getting to Cordero back then. As for Balfour, had we run him out there....even once more, I think the fans would have stormed Miller Park in absolute disgust. And you can't gauge the validity of it strictly by going by the response on this board. Most fans aren't as concerned with how well a guy has performed in the minors when they look as bad as Balfour did for us and in such pivotal situations.

Farris was sent to Nashville because he didn't have a starting spot at Huntesville. Farris has been a little overmatched at AAA. Farris might be a great basestealer, but you can't steal 1st. If the Brewers didn't think anything of Farris, and agreed with your assessment that "he wasn't a prospect", they easily could have kept him in HiA rather than go with the likes of Sergio Miranda, and Steve Braun at 2nd base. And Farris was playing well to start the season at AAA before he got hurt. He's also certainly bounced back from it better than Cain did last year. So I think you're overlooking the impact a knee injury has on a guy who relies on speed as Farris(and Cain) do.

Nobody's suggesting we make him a everyday starting SS, and we certainly don't need him to with Alcides Escobar playing everyday there. And Zealous Wheeler certainly isn't a big league SS defensively, but again, when you need a guy to play very limited innings out there, you can certainly get by with less. I'm simply saying Green isn't likely to jump over Lawrie, Gamel and McGehee at 3rd base anytime soon, but is a good enough player I'd like to see the Brewers try to work him into the equation. As for him being "short and squatty", he's an inch shorter than Loretta. He's definitly thicker coming in about 10 pounds heavier, but "short and squatty" at 5'11" 195 is an exaggeration IMO. Not to mention Houston was 6'2 210. So his measurements are far closer to Loretta than Houston. With regard to Farris, we're talking about guys who may develop into utility players, so I don't know how you can possibly dismiss him as a utility prospect at this point based on his offensive numbers. I'm not nearly as concerned with a utility players OPS if he can put up the numbers he's put up thus far. A .295/.335/.385 type line is absolutely fine from me for a guy who is as effective a base stealer as Farris is. You're not going to have every guy in the lineup slug .500+.

Yeah, if you want to speak in general terms, then I would agree with you about a SU guy. However looking at THAT team where we were prior to making that move, that was a guy who I thought could potentially come in and help you win several games down the stretch. We were desperate to try to get from the Starter to the closer that year, and enter the best SU man in the game from the year before? I absolutely think it was a "go for it" type move as that was without a doubt our biggest weakness at the time. So obviously it didn't work out, and generally speaking a SU man isn't going to make a huge difference, but at the time where that team was, I think it was absolutely a "go for it" type move.

With a big league team that seemingly has very few openings over the next few years for guys trying to earn starting as a result of having so many young kids already entrenched, or ticketed for Milwaukee; Gamel 1st/3rd or RF Braun LF Cain CF Hart RF/1B Weeks 2B Lucroy C Escobar SS And Brett Lawrie at one of the remaining positions accounting for all 8 positions, I'm wondering why the Brewers seem reluctant to start trying to develop a couple of these younger guys who look to be solid big league prospects as utility players? Eric Farris is obviously the first one that comes to mind. As a exceptional Base Stealer, and a young kid who was on his way to putting together a very impressive season for a guy who skipped right over AA in order to accommodate Brett Lawrie before a knee injury interrupted his season. Still, he's come back and is hitting for a nice Batting Average, and despite paltry OBP numbers at the moment and a less than impressive OPS, he does at least look like a kid who could be a very useful reserve. A guy who could come in off the bench and pinch run, a contact hitter with very good speed, and a guy who last year at BC put together a .298/.351 line with 70 SB's. Another and the most important one to my way of thinking if Taylor Green. I've been a huge, huge Green fan for a while, not because he's going to be a star, but because he's the type of player that I think it's very important to have. He profiles as a near ideal #2 hitter, and in my opinion, a very, very similar player to Mark Loretta, except for a LH'ed version with a little bit more power. He obviously was initially a 2nd basemen before moving over to 3rd, and while I realize he does not project to have the requisite quickness to be an everyday SS at the big league level, I don't see the harm in playing him there at least occasionally to get him used to it. He's a guy I'd love to see getting 350 AB's for the Brewers in a couple years(provided he continues to develop, and I see no reason why he wouldn't) playing all over the place for the Brewers. 2B, 3B, LF, RF, 1B and in case of injury, even playing SS. Being able to pocket the 2-3 million dollars spent on guys like Craig Counsell by developing your own utility guys is just another way(along with all the BP arms we've got) to save money for more important area's on the team. So, being a LH'ed bat who has sensational K/BB ratio's, who draws walks(11% for career), who hits for some power, but who's almost certainly blocked in the big picture with Rickie Weeks, Mat Gamel, and Brett Lawrie covering 2nd and 3rd base, it doesn't make sense that he isn't moved around quite a bit more. Other guys moving forward who look like they could be very good utility guys would be Cutter Dykstra and Scooter Gennett, though I like Scooter as a big league regular, Luis Cruz in AAA, although he's a bit older, Zealous Wheeler(the one guy they actually ARE moving around).

Agreed, I always look forward to these coming out as most on here do. They're truly fascinating. I also agree on Gennett AND Rogers. Gennett was a guy I was hoping we'd pull the trigger on last year as early as the 3rd, so when we got him in the 16 AND signed him I was positively giddy. Rogers return to the starting rotation and 100 pitches has been nothing short of remarkable. If he can improve his command a bit, he's a potential ace. That's a helluva comeback from a guy who I think made everyone hold their breath with each pitch for fear that he may injury that cannon for a right arm. This has been a weird year for the Brewers. We were certainly hit with the injury bug early on and have had some disappointing situations, but between Jeffress and Rogers bringing upper 90's heat, the influx of relievers who are seemingly coming out of the woodwork to put themselves into the conversation moving forward with our BP, and Cain, Escobar and Lucroy stealing everyday starting gigs in the big leagues, I think you'd have to be pretty happy about the farm system at this point. Of course a very ugly draft does a bit to temper that enthusiasm, but when you figure next year we'll have at least 2 early to mid 1st rounders, that certainly helps quell that disappointment significantly.

Agreed on the last part. I think he could very well just start out in AA next year. His numbers would likely be similar as BC is obviously where HR's go to die. With regard to the hamstring, I thought he said there was a partial tear in it that would need to be addressed in the off-season? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that was a very limiting injury that's slowed him down significantly and won't be healthy until he has an off-season of rest to help it recover. I don't know about anyone else, but if this is Kentrail Davis injured, I'm salivating at Kentrail Davis healthy. I think we've got a lot more talent in this farm system than meets the eye. Are we lacking in elite, can't miss prospects, sure. Beyond Lawrie and Gamel(whom I believe belongs in that list, but generally is not) we're limited, but we've got more potential solid big leaguers and talented 5 tool guys who've already refined their games at least a little bit(not just of the Brent Brewer ilk) than I can remember us having, even when we had the top farm system in the game.

Yeah, I actually like the bumping of these old threads to kinda get an idea of what the feelings were at the time and how the trade looks now. As for being wrong, I remember saying at the time of this trades, "we just won the division". I thought this was a great move, not because I thought Linebrink was going to be the pitcher he was the year prior, but because I thought he was still a very good SU man, and that was by far our biggest problem that year, and yet we were still about 10 games over .500 and 1' games back at the time I believe? But even looking back on it, I agree, those guys were relatively mundane prospects. The proof is in the way the Padres have handled them. They went to a 40 million dollar payroll last year and were terrible and yet only Thatcher really made an impact on last years team. Thatcher's been fantastic, but at the time he was the 3rd biggest prospect in the trade. Garrison's looking at an 8.00+ ERA in AAA this year, 6.50 overall, and a 5.56 ERA last year. So he's nothing special. And Inman's putting up a solid season, and would be nice to have, but....meh. I certainly don't see it as a "terrible trade''. Linebrink+Supp 1st+2nd round pick and a chance to go to the playoffs? I'd make that trade every day.

Well, I suppose he may rub some people the wrong way. He seems to be an incredibly driven kid, and has very "Braun-like" confidence. The "lacking in Social Graces"....well, he was a 19 year old kid away from home for the first time, was the highest profile player on that team, signed a big contract. I don't think it's the kiss of death(not that you suggested it was) for a kid that age to be a bit immature, or what have you. As for the stats vs winning comment, it's the minor leagues. You get promoted by putting up numbers. Not to mention baseball's a series of individual matchup's, so his success is the team's success save for a very few situations. However if you come into the clubhouse thrilled when a 3-4 2 DBL night during a 8-2 loss, that's a significant problem. I would suspect that many of the Brewers, outside of perhaps Weeks, are right now more concerned with their own personal numbers than the teams success. At least at this point in the season. Prince would likely rather go 4-5 with 2 HR's and lose 10-6 than go 0-4 with 2 K's and a game winning sac fly. That's just my opinion. The doldrums of minor league baseball, and losing big league baseball can make a player more consumed with their own stats and how it impacts their contract/promotions than trying to get back to 5 games under .500 or what have you. But, with respect to you having not spoken with these people, not knowing who they are, I don't place a whole lot of stock into the 3rd, 4th person commentary on him. Not that it's not entirely possible that he rubs people the wrong way or that you're not 100 pct right about him,(Though I have always heard he's a very intense and exceptionally hard worker, there have been scouts who's said he looks dis-interested defensively, and I can say I've seen glimpses of the same thing from watching him on several occasions last year) but I'm simply not sold that these are character issues and not just age issues, or that there truly as large as suggested.

I wonder if the D-backs would still receive the compensatory pick if they sign him after he becomes a Free Agent? I'm guessing given how unique this situation is, the commissioners office would step in and do something as they can't get the #6 pick for a guy they eventually ended up signing, but the D-backs could argue, "hey, this isn't the kid we thought we were getting with the 6th overall pick". I could see a compromise being made giving them the 1st supplemental 1st round pick, but that's really just a guess as I have no idea. In fact, it's possible they're not allowed to sign him. Anyone know for certain? And I'd gladly offer him 800K and have him have the surgeries right now. Count on him as a developmental pick and look at him as a '11 draft pick almost. When you're throwing out 30 million for Randy Wolf's, it really does show how much more sense it makes to take the risks in the draft than to keep doling out that money. Which is why I wish we'd cut our payroll 10 million, at least while we're not expected to win like this year and next, and just grab all the Scooter Gennett's, Del Howell's, Gibson's, we can. I would think 2-3 years of doing that, going after guys like Stetson Allie in the 2nd, and the aforementioned guys later on in the draft could potentially give us a windfall of talented young prospects. Of course that will never happen, but I still maintain that if small market teams truly want to compete with the big boy's, the draft is the place to spend as the discrepancy between the Yankee's and Sox vs the small market teams is relative peanuts compared with the discrepancy in the Free Agent market.

Again though, without trying to belabor the point, you say it's not "just here on BF.bet". I honestly just don't see where you get "utter contempt" from, or venting. I just don't see it whatsoever. And as others have said, WSSP loves McGehee. Truthfully, this is the only place I've seen other than Brewerscubs.com in which most posters are in favor of shopping him, and that's got nothing to do with not liking McGehee, it's got to do with having a position of depth, having players that are younger, far more athletic, and talented coming up behind him, and desperately needing to address your pitching situation. And you may very well be right that Gamel/Hart handle 1B/RF next year. I believe Gamel will be playing 3B however as he's played very few games elsewhere even after they said they were going to get him more playing time in RF and at 1B. I think they're seeing the improvements he's shown, and they saw last year a guy who's much, much better than advertised, who may make some errors on throws, but is going to get to quite a few balls and has a rocket. And I may be biased, because when I look at Gamel's swing, I see the prettiest swing that I think I've seen from a Brewer in the last 10-15 years. At least since Molitor. And that may sound like Hyperbole, but he's just got such a beautiful, short compact stroke, he's quick to the ball without any wasted movement, and he keeps the bat in the zone for a long time. I believe he's capable of being a guy who routinely hits .300/.375/.500 and who could very well put up some .325-ish seasons with that stroke and his incredible patience at the plate. And beyond that, we've got Taylor Green whom I'm also a big fan of and have compared to a Mark Loretta with a little more power, Lawrie who I think is better suited for 3rd, as well as a few others who can play 3rd, or who could easily transition over there. So as you can see, I'm not placing any of the blame for our season on Casey in the least bit, I'm not venting, I'm not showing any utter contempt for him. I like the guy and think what he does for the community is great and the situation with his son is heartbreaking. HOWEVER, I don't think he's going to be able to continue producing as he has, I see a guy where the evidence is mounting that he's simply not the defender he was thought to be, and who some team may look at as filling a big void and cheap and give us back a young, talented pitcher.

Yeah, perhaps, but it's also very likely that the little nagging injuries he's dealt with this year are the reason he's struggled a little bit relative to his past seasons. Again, I want to reiterate this again, but he's got a .776 OPS. Not what you expect of him, but it's not like he just fell off the map. Honestly, I'd gladly take him, bring him in next year in RF, move Hart to 1st and hope he has a big 1st half, and then trade him at the break/trade deadline. I want Gamel playing 3rd and I'd like to see McGehee moved for pitching, so you could prepare Lawrie next year by playing him in RF, and either leave him down all year and stick with Hawpe and get the compensation picks if he has a big year, or as I said earlier, deal him and bring up Lawrie after he gets a good 80 games in AAA. I don't expect this to happen, and I certainly don't believe he WILL be released. I just think he's got far, far too much value for that yet, but in this rhetorical scenario, I think this would be a very good risk to take.

Well, I disagree. They're a contending team, he's been a consistent as can be. 4 year splits of .288/.384/.518 with a .902 OPS and a 125 OPS+. And now he's "struggling" to a .776 OPS and you wouldn't be shocked if a team in the middle of a playoff race cuts him? I'd be completely shocked and think it's a ridiculously terrible idea. And if you believe that they COULD trade him, even for a "low level warm body", then it would make it even dumber to trade him. A-You get a player back. B-You save money. What sense does it make to trade him just because you're not getting enough when you're going to dump him? Anyway, I'm not buying it. This is just FAR too illogical IMO.

Wow. I'd for one would be shocked if they release him. I guess "bad season" has different meanings in different cities. In Milwaukee we put up with a couple of Hall's sup .300 OBP seasons, Hart's terrible year(for much cheaper and with service time remaining), Jenkins struggling, etc..etc... So when I look at a .255/.343/432 season with a .776 OPS for a guy who's been as consistently good as he's been, I don't look at it as a reason to dump the guy in a playoff race. By the way, he's got an absolute cannon for an arm. And while he's a bad defender, I believe playing in Coors with that ridiculously spacious OF and the altitude has impacted his defensive metrics to the point where they make him appear worse than he truly is. This year he's a little bit closer to just "poor" than a couple of his previous seasons standards of "atrocious", but I believe playing in RF for instance in Milwaukee, he'd look to be much better than he has been. Again, not an argument that he's good, merely not AS bad. Colorado's got the right idea though with Fowler, and Gonzalez teaming up in the OF. If they could add another player of their ilk, that would really serve them well in that OF.

And I'm confused where this idea is coming from? Who's venting or blaming McGehee for anything? I think to a man, everyone's blaming the Brewers lack of pitching and defense. Also, you guys keep talking about his salary, well, we've got Gamel who's going to be making the same salary, PLUS, his salary is also one of the things that makes him desirable to other teams. But perhaps you and Briggs could show us all this "contempt" and "venting" about McGehee as I don't see it. I see fans who realize their next top prospect ready to come up is a 3rd basemen, who see our Major League 3B as having a lower ceiling and having some trade value and wanting to utilize that. Nothing more. Nobody's saying we have to get Casey out of here, much less we dislike him. I just can't even fathom where that idea came from.

I continue to be amazed with the utter contempt many keep expressing for Casey McGehee. Here you have a great guy and model citizen who's done nothing but produce since he's been here for mininum salary no less but yet some here can't wait until he's gone. What on Earth are you talking about? Utter contempt? Exaggerate much? First of all, it's great that he's a "model citizen", but I'm more concerned with building our baseball team. He does seem like a great guy, but that isn't the first thing I'm looking for in building a baseball team. Second, I sure can wait till he's gone. I do however want to see him traded while his value is still high as we have a better prospect waiting in the wings, and he can be used to improve our pitching. Last season it was all about his being a fluke. Nobody with such modest minor league stats could possibly be this good. Let's trade him before he turns into a pumpkin. So this year he comes back and completely validates what he did in 2009. He's on pace for a 25HR, 100 RBI season, a solid .285 BA, close to average defense, and the same people want to run him out of town. Again, there's no useful discussion to be had when you're so over the top. "Run him out of town"? How about "trade him for pitching as we have a 3rd base prospect most consider to be better and left handed. And while I believe he may provide "close to average" defense in the future, and isn't AS bad as the metrics have shown, they most assuredly do not have him close to average. But again, the ridiculous, "run him out of town" and "utter contempt" are the parts I take issue with. They're just so over the top. Talking about trading a guy when his value is high and you have a good replacement waiting in the wings is a touch different than having contempt and wanting to run him out of town. In one breath, they'll say you have to trade him because he'll bring back this great return, while in the same paragraph they are disparaging his game. What is it? Again, tone down the hyperbole. "He'll bring back this GREAT return"? No, don't recall anyone ever saying that. Oh he's blocking a better player they'll say? He's not blocking anyone. He beat out Gamel in 2009, and he'd likely beat him out again. Not very difficult to beat out an injured player. As for the second part, complete conjecture on your part, and that's all it is. He is a better fielder than Gamel. That's not saying a lot, but it's the truth. It may be your opinion, but until you can prove that to me, I will continue to disagree. I'm not disparaging Gamel, but the reality is that Gamel struggled against AAA pitching until July this year. You're "disparaging him" a helluva lot more than anyone's disparaging McGehee. And again you're just not representing the facts here. Nobody has ever questioned Gamel's bat, and he didn't struggle, so to take these tiny sample sizes is simply not the least bit productive. To assume, he's better than a guy that's a proven major league run producer is a big leap I disagree. I also think it's a big leap that McGehee will continue to do this. Gamel will have a major league career. But it's more likely to look something like Adam LaRoche's that it is Albert Pujols'. Nobody's EVER suggested he's going to be Albert Pujols, and by the way, Casey McGehee's a LOT closer to Adam LaRoche than Albert Pujols, so that statement tells us virtually nothing. All that being said, of course McGehee is not untouchable, but neither is Gamel. But you better get a boatload in return because guys like Casey don't grow on trees. A boatload? 4.4 WAR over his MLB career thus far at 28 years old does not demand a boatload. But hopefully someone will give us something decent for him.