rcon14

Umm, Strasburg is probably the most untouchable player in the history of MLB right now.

There isn't any reason to keep him, but I don't think the market for him is worth anything more than a fringe prospect.

I think you are probably right and I think it would also be a huge mistake.I have to agree with Logan. This is exactly what happened last season, and is why we got nothing in return for players like Cameron, and instead gave up Gillespie for Lopez... all to end up with a few more wins, but well out of the race. If we are at all "in it," you are correct that Melvin will probably tinker a bit and trade some prospects to add a piece, when he should be selling some pieces to get more prospects. After I wrote my previous post, I looked at it and thought that other than trading Fielder, many of the other "sell" moves wouldn't really lessen our chances of winning games this season as the replacements could perform as well as the players being traded. My only problem with your post, is what was Gillespie gonna really do for this organization? We have Braun in LF, had Cain as a prospect in the OF, (obviously the Gomez thing was not done), and had Cutter Dykstra in the OF picture. Plus Gillespie wasn't an impact player regarless.

That's what I was thinking. Ozzie is a much more entertaining, and more "crack-down" manager than Macha. This team has a lot of young talent and Ozzie likes to enjoy the game so he'll let them be kids, but when the situation calls for it he'll be the kinda guy that will draw the line. Macha is a real drag as a manager. He had a veteran team in OAK and that's about all he can coach. If we hire Ozzie I'm going to assume that Rick Peterson gets fired, so who'd be our next option as pitching coach?

Just a thought... If Kenny Williams actually fires Ozzie Guillen, would you be interested in bringing in Ozzie "$#%*" Guillen? I would.

1B to pursue if we trade Prince (FA after 2010 seasons): Russell Branyan Jorge Cantu Aubrey Huff Fernando Tatis Xavier Nady Jim Thome Jason Kubel (has option with MIN) I don't neccesarily think we would bring in Thome, or would have the oppurtunity to bring in Kubel or Cantu, but Branyan seems like a logical stopgap solution for a year, maybe two. And he's no slouch (.260, 30 HR)

I thought Cain was a legitimate 5-tool guy, but I could be wrong.

I agree. But he's a stopgap for the moment. There's the possibility that we could work a deal with the Dodgers to acquire Mitchell who's a good 1B prospect. They're aren't a whole lot of them on contending teams that we could acquire. Maybe this...after the season Brewers get: 1B Russ Mitchell PTBNL (probably a MR arm) Dodgers get: 3B Mat Gamel SP Randy Wolf I don't know, but we'd need another 1B.

So you wouldn't take one really good AAA pitcher who is on the cusp of getting called up, but is perhaps blocked?No way. How many 'really good AAA pitchers' flame out? I would guess that most do. If the value of pitching is so high that you can not get a young, above average starter with some MLB experience for a guy who can hit 50 homers in a season, I'd prefer to just let Fielder walk.Umm, obviously the kid would have to be a top prospect in an organization and I'd much rather take the AAA guy who's proven himself in the pro ranks (plus we'll get more than one kid) than two draft picks who have proven nothing beyond the amateur ranks.

...what moves would you like to see be made? Personally, I've been supporting the Fielder and Hart to Rays for some of their kids (namely Jennings and Hellickson). But what other moves or changes in management, roles, or the lineup would you like to see? Personally, I'd like to see the Fielder+Hart for Jennings, Hellickson, and another pitching prospect deal go down. Don Money promoted to manage the big league team. Lorenzo Cain brought up to play RF. Amaury Rivas brought up to be in the rotation. Lineup: 1 CF Jennings 2 RF Cain 3 LF Braun 4 3B McGehee 5 2B Weeks 6 1B Gamel 7 C Lucroy 8 P Picher Slot 9 SS Escobar Rotation: 1 Gallardo 2 Hellickson 3 Wolf 4 Rivas 5 Narveson/Capuano/Parra/a minor leaguer Bullpen: CP Axford SU Villanueva/Braddock MR Loe, Coffey, Smith, Kintzler, Mike Jones, Bennett LR Loser of the 5th spot

Not proffesionally, but... In high school ball, our LF Nick Holtz got hit in 4 consecutive at bats.

I agree on the Cain front. We need to get someone we'll have for a longer period. The only reason we're contemplating trading Fielder is that he's headed to free agency. We'd be in the same situation with Cain. As far as Tampa, I've had some hard core baseball fans that've been there tell me it's the worst stadium they've ever seen, and they would not go back to watch a game there. I don't know what could possibly be so bad about a stadium, but I think that's part of the reason the attendance is so low. Agree completely with the Cain thing. Aside from what everyone wants, there is no way we're getting a proven MLB pitcher in return for Prince. Mostly because of money, but partially because we could get 3-4 prospects instead of one MLB guy.

So you wouldn't take one really good AAA pitcher who is on the cusp of getting called up, but is perhaps blocked?ala Jeremy Hellickson. Would love to get him in a package of prosepects from TB for Prince.

First of all, I wasn't really being serious with my Yo or Braun ideas....although....given that they were so over the top I'm not sure I'd say no to either trade. However, I don't see Axford as being the least bit untouchable. It's very nice he's come up and had a nice little run, but he's Turnbow waiting to happen. I have no confidence his newfound control can be sustained. Braddock I love, and I don't know what his value is, but again, relievers with the issues he has are NOT untouchable. They simply have a lot of value. And Casey McGehee.....Casey is the MOST touchable to me. Offer us a good-GOOD pitching prospect and I'd be glad to move him. In fact, Bill Hall, and Chris Capuano would have likely been on this list a few years ago. And hell, lets take this a step further, so would have Derrick Turnbow. The only players you label as "untouchable" and even that's never the case as there are always players you would trade, but the only close to that are the young superstars who are controlled for long periods of time. Such as Yo and Braun. Beyond that, give me an upper level flame throwing top prospect? I'll give up anyone on this team and any two players not named Prince. Axe isn't Turnbow waiting to happen. Turnbow had 1 pitch, and had a decent slurve that he couldn't throw near the zone. Axe has 3 pitches (fastball, 12-6 curve, slider) and has solid control of all of them.

Untouchables: Ryan Braun Yovani Gallardo Casey McGehee Zach Braddock John Axford Difficult to Depart With: 2B Rickie Weeks Other than that I wouldn't mind seeing others traded, but Yo looks like he's developing into that ace we've been waiting for. If Braun and/or Gallardo are traded I'll become a Nationals fan (STRASBURG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...and Harper). But I'd like to see these guys traded: Prince~at least 3 top prospects, maybe a bullpen arm also Corey~I like a deal where we package him and Prince to TB for Desmond Jennings, Jeremy Hellickson, Matt Moore, Alex Torres, and Tim Beckham Wolf~If some contending team is interested we should dump his contract and pick up some kids Hoffman~Maybe he'll just retire, but we wouldn't get much from him anyways Edmonds~Not getting much in return Gomez (if TB trade goes through)~sub .300 OBP is crappy! I'd like to see these trades go down: TB gets: Prince and Corey MIL gets: OF Desmond Jennings, SP Jeremy Hellickson, SP Matt Moore, SP Alex Torres LAA get: Wolf MIL gets: SP Trevor Reckling This completely restocks our upper level pitching. I know that neither of these is probably going to happen, but I'd be estatic.

The Angels don't have the ace-potential pitching prospect that I think they're looking for in return for Fielder. Their best guy is a #3 type prospect in Trevor Reckling, he could be a 2, but I want more for Prince.

If Prince starts to contribute more, is it possible we could get Casey Kelly from BOS?

Over a third of his ABs are K's. Is it time to give Hart another opportunity at playing everyday? He's got an OPS over .800, and he's already taken 10 walks thus far which is really encouraging.I agree that Hart should get more playing time than he's getting. Signing Edmonds still is a positive even if he just spot starts and is a left-handed bench hitter.

As I have said in the past the Yankees will not trade for Fielder there is no spot for Fielder to play for the Yankees. 1B/DH will be occupied by someone already so there is no spot for Fielder to play at if Fielder was at 3B then yes he would have a spot to play at. Jeter or Rodriguez figure to be the future DH for the Yankees and with Teixeira at first bast that leaves Fielder without a spot to play for the Yankees. The same can be said about the Angels also with no spot for Fielder to play at with 1B and DH being taken up by players already on the team so you can realistically eliminate the Yankees and the Angels for a Fielder trade. There are a few teams left for a Fielder trade and that would be the Mariners, Red Sox, Rangers, and Braves with both the Braves and the Rangers being long shots as possible landing spots for Fielder. I really don't see the Dodgers as an option anymore along with the Yankees, Angels, and Orioles. With the Orioles I believe they would rather just try and sign Fielder as a free agent than trade for him and give up prospects in that deal. The Orioles realistically don't have all that much of a chance between now and 2011. The Rays would be a very very very long shot to trade for Fielder but possible but I don't see how it would fit financially for them. As for Hart being another trade chip you are looking at a player from a teams 30-50th best prospect in return for Hart at this time. Hart has nearly lost all of his value the best that you are looking at getting in a return for Hart is someone who has been repeating AAA three or four times now probably a AAAA type player. If Cain wouldn't have went down with an injury last year I really do believe the Brewers would have non tendered Hart this off season in favor of Cain over Hart. As of right now Hoffman probably has more value than Hart does in the trade market as closers can bring in some premium players. The only other two players that have a lot of value are Gamel and Weeks and maybe Bush. I could see Bush being traded if a team needs a #4 or #5 pitcher the Phillies and Mets come to mind for a possible trade for Bush. The Brewers really can't trade Weeks since there is no one who could place Weeks at 2B right now Lawrie is more than likely is not going to be a 2B in the majors he will probably play either RF or LF for the Brewers. A trade that I like the most is B.J. Upton and Jeremy Helickson for Prince Fielder and Todd Coffey. I'm not sure the Rays would go for that with both Helickson and Upton in the deal the Brewers would have to throw in another player to get that deal done but I am not sure on that. The Rays really do need a pitcher who can close out games and Coffey would be that pitcher who would be a low cost controlled bullpen arm that they have been looking for. Other than that hurdle the Brewers may have to throw in some money in order to get the deal done because I believe the Rays will not be looking to add onto their payroll after this year and Prince would be a hefty price for them to pay after this year. You are looking at a raise for Fielder in arbitration at about $15-18m. This would make Prince the highest paid player on the Rays team and assuming the Rays do cut their payroll down like has been rumored that would be about 25% of their roster being paid out to Prince. I was thinking about the White Sox as a possibility also but their farm system was is dry right now after trading for Peavy and their payroll maybe at its limit right now. I don't want BJ Upton, he seems to have completely lost his ability to hit. While I like Hellickson quite a bit, those two combined don't replace the production of Fielder let alone one of the game's best relievers.

Here's how I see it... We'll trade Prince this off-season, we have next to ZERO chance of re-signing him. He unlike Braun is looking for a garganchuan (if that's how you spell it) amount of coin. No player not named Albert Pujols or Joe Mauer is worth the money he'll be looking for and get from the Yanks to DH. I say we try to pull off a trade with one of the big market teams (NYY, BOS, LAA). NYY: Prince Fielder MIL: Jesus Montero Zach McAllister Dave Robertson BOS: Prince Fielder MIL: Ryan Westmorland Lars Anderson Casey Kelly LAA: Prince Fielder MIL: Garrett Richards Trevor Reckling Trevor Bell I like the Yankees deal the best personally, I don't know about you guys. If Fielder is traded to NY, we'll move Montero to 1B and I'd move Lawrie to RF, because I'm not sold on Gamel being a good RF from a hitting standpoint since he's extremely succeptible to the inside fastball. If he's traded to BOS, Anderson will play 1B and Westmorland will be in RF which allows us to decide between Anderson and Lawrie at 1B, or if we want Lawrie at 3B. If he's traded to LAA it's a little unclear. They didn't have a lot to offer in terms of 1B prospects so Lawrie would play 1B in that situation. Definately the best pitching prospects come in the Angels deal. Aside from Fielder some other deals could be pulled in the next year... SP Dave Bush, SP Doug Davis, CP Trevor Hoffman, C Greg Zaun, 3B Casey McGehee/Mat Gamel, OF Jim Edmonds, OF Corey Hart. Our best load of players would come from Bush, McGehee/Gamel, and Hart. Hoffman isn't worth a lot in terms of prospects even if he does figure to get back to his old ways because he has 2 yrs left max. What do you guys think we could get from Bush? Who in particular and from what teams? Same with McGehee/Gamel or Corey?

If that is the lineup it sucks. I know lineups don't' amount to much over the course of a season so any one game is pretty meaningless but why the heck is Gomez #2 and Counsell #6 when Macha somehow thought Counsell should be #2 with Edmonds #6 just a couple days ago? I guess #2 is the fast guy who can bunt spot in the order. Ugh. Uh, actually the #2 spot is often the fast guy who can bunt spot. The leadoff guy gets on, the #2 guy bunts him over, occasionally getting a basehit.

I'm not ready yet, I want to see a half season of him not getting hurt first then we can talk extension. I wanna see Prince get an extension before Weeks thought. Weeks' production is replacable, but you don't see many guys with .300 BA, 45 HRs and a high walk rate in MLB like Fielder.

I really hope you're kidding, which I'm assuming you are. I'm not worried about Wolf, his outing wasn't brutal and it was only one start. Gallardo's wasn't great either but again I'm not worried. Davis' doesn't really worry me, but if anything it caught my attention. The hitting doesn't mean much 3 games in, in terms of BA and HRs.

Bah, you got me all excited. I rushed to mlbtraderumors to try and find it and didn't find anything... Damn.

I'm hoping for... Weeks Escobar Braun Fielder McGehee Edmonds/Hart (LH/RH platton) Zaun Gomez PITCHER SLOT Weeks is gonna be the leadoff guy. Gomez can't get on base enough, even though he's almost a cinch SB every time he gets on, he doesn't get on enough. Escobar has a high BA which is more than Gomez can say and Escobar can steal quite a few bases as well. Braun/Fielder 3-4 is obvious. I say Edmonds 5th if McGehee struggles when it's a righty, but if McGehee hits .280 with 22-25 HRs I'll be ok with him in the 5-hole. The Edmonds/Hart platton would get us the best of both worlds. Zaun in the 7-hole, because he has been lighting it up this spring and is a better pure hitter than Gomez at this point. Gomez in the 8-spot to hide his low OBP, we could hit him 9th as well and I'd be good with that, but I think that's less likely to happen, maybe when Yo pitches.