Warning Track Power

The comparison may not be 100% accurate but the construction of the current lineup for the Brewers team is starting to feel quite similar to those of the mid 90s Brewers teams to me. Going around the horn... Catcher 90s Nilsson 10s Lucroy Solid offensive catchers. Love Lucroy but also loved Nilsson offensive production behind the plate. 1B 90s Jaha 10s Hart (likely) Similar in build (Scratch this). Similar in production. Hart walks less 2B 90s Vina/Loretta 10s Gennett I think we all hope that Gennett could be the second coming of Loretta with the leadoff abilities of a Vina. SS 90s Valentin/Loretta 10s Segura While we pray that Segura is not the second coming of Jose Valentin. 3B 90s Cirillo 10s Ramirez Not as much of a similarity here given they are two completely different type of players with Cirillo being the high AVG, good glove and Ramirez being the high power, less glove 3B. OF 90s Vaughn, Jenkins, Burnitz, Newfield, Mieske 10s Braun, Gomez, Davis, Gindl, Schafer This is what got me thinking about the topic. Vaughn and Braun the anchors of the lineup, Gomez and Jenkins were the high risers, and Davis/Gindl remind me so much of the Newfield/Mieske combination. I remember thinking Newfield was going to replace Vaughn and flashed so well after that deal, similar to what Davis did in the 2nd half of 2013. Davis profiles to me as a Burnitz type of hitter as well and I for one hope he is more Burnitz than Newfield. I also remember thinking Mieske could fill the role we are hoping Gindl fills now as the 4th OF. Like I said, it may not be the same feeling for everyone, but I really see a lot of similarities in terms of where the Brewers are currently in their roster construction and where they were in the mid-90s with their roster construction.

@RoCo: I agree with your premise though that a one deal will not move the Brewers farm system into the Top 10. I was just pointing out the path that the Brewers would have to take to get back into the top 10 farm systems.

Breen summed it up well on Twitter: "Will Smith is a nice reliever, but if the Brewers utilized one of their prime trade chips to acquire a left handed specialist, I'm lost" I am underwhelmed by this right now.

Gennett or Weeks. Like it or not, on December 5, I see a platoon for 2014.

My initial reaction is...is Smith a RP or SP? And if he is an RP, is that really what we should be trading Aoki for? http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=smith-058wil

Glad to hear that Invader...Can only hope the talks with the Westworld site (or something similar) as mentioned earlier in this thread, can be renewed and the Brewers get out of Maryvale. On a further note, looking at the Blue Jays Dunedin site on Google Earth would not entice me to move out of Maryvale. The stadium looks old and the training facility is almost 3 miles away as the crow flies

Honestly, this is the DM secret move that I have been anticipating for this offseason. I could see him offering Garza a 5 year $75 million deal and slotting him in at #3 in the rotation behind Gallardo and Lohse.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2013/12/04/milwaukee-brewers-may-opt-out-of.html UGH...Living in Southern California I barely get to see the Brewers much other than in March. Having said that, I doubt Mark A, who is based in LA, is seriously thinking about moving this team out of Arizona, across the country to Florida and losing the easy 1 hour flight from LA to Phoenix to see his team. I hope I am right.

Correct. However, a Gomez trade now coupled with a Winter Meetings Gallardo and Lohse deal, followed by a mid-season Ryan Braun trade, assuming he is the old Braun, could arguably have them in the top 10.

I think this is merely a fall back option in the event Hart isn't re-signed. While Morrison may not be an all star, I know I would rather have him on the roster and playing 1B than Francisco.

I said this in my original post: If Aoki is dealt, I am fully expecting it to be in a package for a Hellickson type What I meant is the Brewers would package Aoki with either another MLBer or prospect/s for a Hellickson-type. I don't believe Aoki alone gets Hellickson.

If Aoki is dealt, I am fully expecting it to be in a package for a Hellickson type (first year or second year arby eligible player that is getting too expensive for a smaller market) as I think the Brewers FO believes a rotation of the following will put them in the thick of the playoff race: Gallardo Lohse Peralta Estrada Hellickson-type I am still holding out hope for a Ramirez-Aoki for a Ryan Dempster and Will Middlebrooks deal

This is more informational than advocating the Brewers trade/not trade him: Does everyone realize Gomez was an 8.4 WAR player last year?! Wow... http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gomezca01.shtml To put in perspective, Braun's highest was 7.8 in 2011 and Fielder's highest was 6.3 in 2009.

If Hart is being honest when he says he owes something to the Brewers and would take a pay cut to stay in Milwaukee, I think he should offer to sign an identical contract to this immediately. 2 years and $13 million is $6.5m per, down from $10m, and right around the pay cut that feels right. I am guessing though that in Corey's mind 2 years $16 million is the extent of the pay cut.

There'd be no downside in picking him up... you'd rather continue on the 'Juan Francisco is terrible' merry-go-round? That's quite the leap, TLB. I would rather see the Brewers re-sign Corey Hart, and/or give Hunter Morris the opportunity. Gamel had more than enough chances in Milwaukee. I'm not saying it's his fault he repeatedly got hurt, but that was the situation. Corey Hart is the best option in my opinion as well. I would also make a deal for Logan Morrison to have as a fallback option as I think Morris could use one more full season in MiLB before coming up. While I wouldn't mind Gamel coming back, I sure want no part of Juan Francisco at 1B in 2014.

Wow...that is a TERRIBLE contract. For a player whose 162 game average is .297/.350/.439 15 HR, 71 RBI, 55 SB that sure does seem like an enormous overpay. If he is the player he was in 2011, then maybe but that season sure does look like the outlier in his career.

Exactly. While Braun is certainly no saint in the situation, the self-righteousness of baseball writers and other baseball players regarding the situation is intolerable to me.

Combining his MLB and MiLB numbers last season he hit 9 HR, the same number he hit in 2010 and 2011. Scooter doesn't need to be a 10-15 HR guy to be successful. My fear with Scooter isn't the power, its the lack of walks. I don't know if he can keep up a AVG of .297 (his MiLB AVG) in the majors and if he doesn't that will drop his .337 OBP. Scooter's value will really be seen if he can somehow develop his eye and have an Aoki-type slash (Aoki career slash of .286/.356).

If you take out Axford's 1st 3 1/3 IP of 2013, his line was 3.16 ERA in 51.1 IP. His WHIP is still enormously high though. After thinking about it for an hour, I think I would rescind my earlier wish for him to come back. I can't handle his high wire act again.

My thought on Scooter is that if he could just be a similar hitter to Mark Loretta than he would be rock solid as our 2B moving forward. To your point, I don't think Loretta ever appeared on a Top 100 list and had a nice career. Minor League Career Scooter 2010-2013: .297 AVG/.337 OBP/.409 SLG Loretta 1993-1996: .289 AVG/.350 OBP/.381 SLG (Loretta had 74 additional MiLB ABs in 2000-2001, 2005)

I'd give Ax one more shot at a substantial discount. He just should not be allowed anywhere near the 9th inning.

Considering his MiLB numbers that is a big if. His defense is also a big if. Having a lack of power will make it tougher to translate his skills to the MLB level on a consistent basis. Huh? Over his 4 seasons in the minors and his BA/OBP line are: 2010: .309/.354 2011: .300/.334 2012: .293/.330 2013: .280/.327 http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=gennet001rya

Honestly, I would bring him back. I know I would rather see Gamel than Francisco.

Agreed. I don't think the Brewers are solid enough overall as a team to sustain a .200 hitting catcher. With Rickie Weeks still listed as the 2B (subject to change) and not showing any signs of ever returning to being even a .250 hitter, I think having Weeks and Maldonado at #7 & #8 in the lineup would cause for a ton of quick innings.

A Logan Schafer for Logan Morrison deal has to happen right? I mean it makes sense, Schafer is 27 and blocked in Milwaukee. He is what you should expect for a guy who you were about to non-tender. Given his defense, Schafer has a shot to be a league average player who is cheap and the Marlins can flip him next year. I would do this deal. Braun, Gomez, Aoki, Davis, Gindl remain and Aoki could still be dealt to fill additional holes. Assuming a follow-up Aoki deal, a heart of the lineup of 3. Braun 4. Ramirez 5. Lucroy 6. Gomez 7. Morrison 8. Davis/Gindl is pretty solid.