Warning Track Power

An interesting thought would be if we could flip K-Rod + prospects to the Marlins for HanRam. Not sure what they would want, given they have talent everywhere and are simply underachieving, or if they would be interested, given Nunez's presence. Not sure there would be a match but is fun to ponder especially given HanRam's deal runs through 2014. Sure would be dynamic with a 1-4 of Weeks, Hart, Braun, HanRam.

I think this is posturing to appease K-Rod. Axford will close 4 of every 5.

I agree that Hardy's price hasn't gone down, especially given that I believe he still is profiling as a Type A FA. As mentioned previously, I bet MacPhail sees it as I need two 1st round type talents to trade JJ. Perhaps the most interesting thing here is how many teams out there would forfeit their 1st round pick next season for JJ? I would if I were the Brewers, because we likely will have an additional 2 with Prince and K-Rod leaving and 2 supplemental. But I'm not sure I would see too many teams so anxious to part with a 1st round pick to sign JJ as a FA.

If we can use KRod to directly get Hardy then it would be good but otherwise we would be better off keeping him because we will get 2 nice draft picks when he leaves via free agency. He will not accept a 1 year arbitration deal to be a setup manThe best thing in my opinion about the K-Rod deal is that while we could trade him to get a SS, we don't have too. His salary is paid by the Mets and the prospects we gave up won't inhibit our ability to pick up JJ.

TLB, you're probably right. However, based on Rasmus' issues in the past with TLR, I wouldn't be shocked.

Good point. If they were to upgrade the SS position now though with a JJ or Furcal, you could very easily live with Gomez's bat in the everyday lineup in the #8 hole. I know it won't happen with Nyjer here, but it is worth mentioning.

This is such a win deal. Let's sum it up... For 2011: 1. We essentially get K-Rod for free for the next few months. 2. We didn't give up any propsects like Thornburg or Gamel. 3. We gave up 2 meh prospects. For 2012: 1. Assuming we offer arby and K-Rod leaves, we have the 1st round pick and the supplemental (hopefully). With Fielder leaving as well, we should be guaranteed 3 1st round picks and 2 supplemental. Re-built system pretty quickly. 2. Essentially traded 2 meh prospects for a 1st rounder and a supplemental. That is a win alone minus anything K-Rod contributes. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop but it doesn't seem like it is going to happen. What a deal.

As mentioned in the K-Rod trade thread, I'm guessing that the price for Bell went up substantially for the Cards. While I would rather have Bell than K-Rod, I wouldn't have wanted to pay the price to acquire Bell. I'd love to see them have to trade a Rasmus now for Bell because I think Rasmus is going to be a stud.

I can't help but wonder what DM is doing behind the scenes to acquire an SS. I will say that DM really does know how to pull off some very unforeseen deals that we never expect (Greinke, Sabathia, K-Rod). I wouldn't be surprised if he was kicking the tires on some serious SS talent like a Hanley. Not saying he is available at all, especially with the Marlins moving into a new stadium next year. But something along those lines would not surprise me in the least anymore. Realistically though, I'll still hold out hope we can wrestle JJ from the O's.

Just out of curiosity, if the Brewers did acquire JJ, how interested would you be in re-signing him? I think he will likely get a 3 year deal around $21-$24MM ($7-$8MM/AAV). I for one have zero problems with both trading for him and signing him to that deal but I have a feeling a majority of you would not like to give JJ that much money. I however think a lineup that looks like: Morgan, Hart, Braun, Weeks, Gamel, JJ, McGehee, Lucroy with Greinke, Gallardo, Marcum etc... in 2012 looks pretty darn good.

This would be an extreme waste of resources in my opinion. I cannot see any realistic deal in which we receive more than what it will take to acquire. Unless this is truly about stockpiling 1st round picks in next years draft, I think this does not help much. Crazy though if we do trade for Bell and him and Fielder both walk. Likely 3 1st round picks, and 2 supplemental picks would go a long way to re-building the system.

I second this. If I am a fan of Balitmore right now, my thoughts would be: 1. Why would we re-sign JJ to a deal that is likely to reach at least $7MM/year when we most likely won't be contending in the next 2 years? I'd rather add prospects at another position who likely will be part of a core when we can compete in 2013 and sign a decent SS for a couple million until machado is ready. 2. His trade value won't ever be higher than it is right now. We could add MLB-ready prospects that can play now and be entering into Year 3 when we are a contending team in 2013. Let's see if we can add some talent in the OF to compliment A. Jones. 3. Can we free up enough $ to get Prince in FA? If so, why encumber those dollars to JJ. A middle of the lineup with Markakis, Jones, Fielder, Reynolds is a nice start to a lineup that could really compliment our young SP in 2 years. Trading JJ now would allow for those propsects to develop and not make Manny Machado have to produce everyday in 2013 when he is called up. If I was a fan of Baltimore, a re-signed JJ does nothing more than keep us close to the status quo, which isn't good enough. Freeing up dollars to chase big bats like Prince's will make a significant difference. To me this is akin to a Richie Sexson situation. The Brewers weren't going to be good enough with Richie, so they needed to deal him for players who would be around when they became good enough to compete and maybe contend. Baltimore would be smarter to deal JJ. I just hope it is to Milwaukee.

Speaking of Barmes. Second story talks about his defense. Definitely would be worth bringing in over YuBet.

As a side to this topic, I'd like to gauge everyone's interest level what you would be willing to part with for an upgrade at SS. We 100% need to make some type of move to upgrade the position. However, the extent of what we give up will limit interest in certain players. So let's start with the so to speak big three SS currently available: Reyes For Reyes, I wouldn't give up much because I think he would be gone after 2011. This tempers my lust for him even though he would be the best upgrade we could possibly make. I wouldn't give up anything for him to be honest. The Mets would have to make a ridiculous/unrealistic offer for me to do this so it isn't even worth mentioning. Hardy For Hardy...I struggle with this one because I think we could re-sign him and be set at SS for a few years. I would be hard pressed to not part with 2 or 3 of the Top 10 on the Power 50. I'd probably be wrong here, but I think he would provide that much of a difference in 2011 over Betancourt and with the potential to re-sign, it would be worth it to me. Furcal For Furcal, I think a Farris type will get it done. I like Farris and think he should be a decent option as a utility IF down the line, but for an immediate upgrade in 2011, I'd give him up. I also think this is the type of player the Dodgers would look to acquire as he is cheap, major league ready and at a position of weakness for the Dodgers right now. I'd say one player from the 10s-20s or two players from the 20s-30s on the Power 50. This is a discount if Furcal can prove to be healthy enough to be the player he is still capable of being. Additionally, I think we'd be able to re-sign him as well to a relatively inexpensive deal after the season. Anything lower than the Big 3 of available SS is probably not even worth mentioning as a bag of balls would likely get a Jason Bartlett, Jack Wilson, Brendan Ryan. My real fear of the upcoming weeks is DM trading a Top 10 Power 50 guy for the Bartlett-Wilson-Ryan type. Of the Top 10, Scooter Gennett may be the only one I'd be willing to move for in a deal for one of these guys. Maybe Schafer given his age and injury past.

This is an interesting read. The author seems to come to the same conclusion as most of us. Furcal is the best and most realistic target for the Brewers to upgrade SS. I remain curious about the JJ situation though. If the Orioles do not complete the long term deal with him prior to July 31, what will they do with him? I would be hard pressed if I were them to not at least explore the trade market, because honestly, the O's aren't going anywhere in the next year or two, so why put a significant contract on the books?

I think the real upshot here is that anything from Furcal would mean less from Betancourt. For an average prospect, I think you do this every time. The rewards of less Betancourt/Furcal returning to form far outpace the risk of a Furcal injury/average prospect turning into a superstar. If Hardy is truly unavailable, we need to get this done.

I just don't think there is anything that will make 3B a priority for DM this season given we have Taylor Green and Gamel to a certain extent in the Minors. SS is the obvious need and unless something truly creative comes about, like a Reynolds AND Hardy trade, I just don't see DM going outside the organization to fill a need at 3B.

I'd guess somewhere around 3 years/$24MM. Pricey, but probably what it will take given that the Orioles most likely won't contend during that time period. If I were JJ, I would go to free agency because lots of teams need a SS like him.

This is funny...My friend, who is a San Diego Padre fan, has Corey Hart on his Fantasy team and has taken to calling him "Captain Caveman" for his resemblance to the Geico cavemen. Playing RF for the Milwaukee Brewers, so easy a Caveman can do it.

I'd be curious to see DMs interest level in moving McGehee. Based on people's knowledge of and affinity for Taylor Green on this website, you would have to believe there are people in the Brewers front office who feel the same way. In the event they do and firmly believe he could be successful at the MLB level in 2011, DM may be able to be convinced to move McGehee and go with Green at 3B. Given that Green, based on a number of posters insights, has a better glove than McGehee, and would almost surely produce offense at least equal to McGehee in 2011, there may be an opportunity to deal McGehee in a Furcal deal. With Casey Blake hurt and the Dodger financial situation as is, a straight up deal of McGehee for Furcal may be worth investigating for both sides. In the event something like this was amenable to both teams, I believe this may answer a lot of the concerns for the Brewers in the second half in one deal. They become infinitely better on D with a left side of Furcal and Green and become more dynamic on O as well. This deal would seem to make sense long term for both teams, given Furcal's willingness to stay in Milwaukee past 2011.

In all honesty, DMs main job should be a SS. I would feel pretty comfortable with the pen if it is used properly. Loe, Saito, Hawkins are all good when used correctly. Axford has been outstanding. A lefty would be nice as Braddock has been terrible, but I have hopes he turns it around. My main concern is where a significant upgrade at SS could come from. I was all for JJ but that looks like it is dead witht he extension talks. Furcal is good when healthy but can he be counted on to stay healthy? Reyes isn't going to happen. After those three, I feel any deal for a SS is going to be a marginal upgrade at best. I'm as down on YuBet as anyone but nobody else out there gives me that feeling of a significant boost to this team. Maybe I am all wrong, but I don't get too excited about adding a Jack Wilson, Brendan Ryan, Clint Barmes, Jeff Keppinger type as the everyday starter. Absoultely an upgrade on D and probably close to a push on O, but what is that worth? Is it worth the prospect we will likely have to deal? This is where I am uncertain as to my feelings on an SS upgrade after JJ, Furcal or Reyes.

I couldn't disagree more. Even though Counsell hasn't hit in a month, Braun hasn't faced live pitching in a week and has a bad wheel. Worse case scenario in that situation is Braun hitting is a slow groundball where he inevitably pushes himself to beat it out to avoid the DP and re-injures himself. Keep in mind the game was tied at that point. I'd gladly have taken my chances in extra innings then run an injury risk with Braun. RR was 100% right. As for PH for Gomez...I think we all agree that Counsell was less of a threat to strike out in that situation and putting the ball in play period was key.

START OF JULY: 44-38 3 @ MIN: 2-1 3 v. AZ: 2-1 4 v. CIN: 2-2 4 @ AZ: 3-1 4 @ COL: 2-2 3 @ SF: 1-2 3 v. CHC: 3-0 3 v. HOU: 2-1 JULY RECORD: 17-10 END OF JULY RECORD: 61-48

Kotsay hasn't played all that much recently. I think the writing is on the wall.

Yes please. Kotsay goes out for Saito and Cameron replaces Gamel when Interleague ends. Cameron becomes the backup in LF & RF with Gomez and Morgan only in CF. Additionally, Cameron becomes the right handed bat with pop on the bench. And don't forget about his verteran leadership which was so high with this team in 2008 and 2009. Then just pick up JJ and reunite the 2008 team. EDIT: Yuku issues remain. PEM you basically posted the same except it wasn't there. I second your post!