cvollbrecht

Okay here is a hypothetical questions: If we are out of it at the trade deadline and become sellers (more likely if Braun is suspended), which players would you like to see traded/who would bring back the most value? I'm of the mind that only Braun and Yo are untouchable so: Hart Weeks Morgan Marcum Narveson KRod Those are guys I think could bring us back the most in return and be of value to other teams as well, while still having someone who could replace then in the system. The toughest one for me to lose would be Weeks, but I think that Green could hold the fort down until Gennett was ready. I think Greinke, Lucroy, and Axford are extension candidates so I doubt they would be moved. Thoughts??

A link with Victor Conte's take on Braun via deadspin: http://deadspin.com/5869473/

With Rollins reportedly gettting 3/33 from the Phillies I was wondering if you guys think our money would have been better spent there as opposed to Ramirez/Gonzalez. We would have been able to keep McGehee to platoon with Green/Gamel and hope for a bounceback year and maybe been able to get a better FA reliever than Veras. So I guess the questions is, for the same money would you rather have and infield of: Gamel Weeks Gonzalez Ramirez or Gamel/McGehee Weeks Rollins Green/McGehee

With the moves the team made the past two days the more Morales would look better in a Brewers uni. W/o Braun Hart RF Morgan CF Ramirez 3B Morales 1B Weeks 2B Gamel LF Gonzalez SS Lucroy C W/ Braun Hart RF Morgan CF Braun LF Ramirez 3B Weeks 2B Morales/Gamel 1B Gonzalez SS Lucroy C That's a damn good lineup. The only question would be what the Angels would be asking for. Green + Scarpetta?

Time to revisit due to Reyes signing?

@Haudricourt LaTroy Hawkins' agent, Larry Reynolds, said #Brewers have displayed no interest at this point in bringing Hawkins back in 2012.

Bill Hall as a replacement? Rosenthal tweeted tonight that he has lost 15 lbs to gain back some foot speed. Not a bad option for a minor league deal or a Kotsay-esque <1m deal. Realistically he could still play 3b, 2b, Lf, Rf and MAYBE SS in a pinch. Heck he couldn't be worse than Yuni at SS. *Awaits the pitchforks*

Apparently the Brewers would be willing to up their offer to 6/120 if needed. @Buster_ESPN MILW last formal offer to Prince Fielder was 5/100, but as part of current talks, they've let it be known that they could stretch to 6/120. followed by.... @Buster_ESPN Keep in mind MILW/Fielder talks -- it's a fluid situation, and MILW is probably in play unless somebody offers in the 170-200 range.

He's been suprisingly accurate so far. He has undervalued the MI market but he just about nailed the Papelbon which a lot of people thought was overpriced.

I'd rather have Furcal at 15-18M/2 years than Barmes at 11M/2.

Whoa I think you would be really overpaying with that package. I doubt it would take more than just McGehee and a middling prospect. They are practically going to be giving him away. That being said I will would rather have McGehee and hope for a bounceback year.

No way that Thornburg is in our rotation by 2013. He barely pitched above A+ ball this year. With the Brewers track record he will probably not get a shot til 2014. Other than Gallardo there haven't been that many pitchers who flew through the system. 2012 - AA 2013 - AAA 2014 - AAA/MLB Fiers and Peralta are definitely ahead of him and I doubt that they don't sign a pitcher next offseason (or resign Greinke/Marcum).

^^^ I'd much rather misspell Mark Rogers' name than Aaron Rodgers' name :P

Headleys Career splits: Away: .303/.364/.441 with a BAbip of .374 Home:.229/.319/.336 witha a BAbip of .297 For comparison McGehee career splits: Away: .258 .305 .400 BAbip of .279 Home: .273 .335 .453 BAbip of .303 More specifically @ Miller Park: Headley - .278/.361/.463 BAbip of .293 (Also the stadium he has the most HR in outside of PETCO) I just think if you take him out of PETCO and you have at very least the player that Casey has been before this year with much improved defense. Add in the fact that he is a switch hitter to better balance out our lineup as well. Lineup RF - Hart R $9M CF - Morgan L $1.6M LF - Braun R $6M 2B - Weeks R $10M 3B - Headley S $3M 1B - Gamel L $.4M C - Lucroy R $.4M SS - Barmes? R $3.5M Pitcher Bench Green - 2B/3B $.4M McGehee 3B/1B $3M JHJ - Utility $2.5M Gomez - OF $2M Malnado - C $.4M Total = $42.2M Pitchers Gallardo $5.5M Greinke $13.5M Marcum $6M Wolf $9.5M Narveson $.4M Axford $.4M Saito $2.5M (resign) Kinztler $.4M Loe $1.25M Estrada $.4M Parra/Stetter $1M Rodgers? Braddock? $.4M Total = $41.25M Total Payroll = $83.45M I think that is a 90 win team and could contend next year. If you can do if for just Thorburg who is 22 and barely made it out of A+ ball then I would. Peralta and Gennet are the on "Untouchables" to me.

How many did McGehee have last year? About half of that number.

He talks about Wood being the setup man, and Saito in a similar role to this year. Peralta and Estrada would be SP 6/7. Parra and Kinzler are added to the bullpen. All of your point are addressed in the article?

Hopefully he Marlins do get him be cause that makes LoMo more available!!

While I agree that it would take more, I don't think I would take TOO much more. Narveson has 4 more years of control and would be a needed lefty in their rotation. Even if we included Gamel & Merklinger I would still be in favor of it. If we offered Narveson, Gamel and Merklinger the Marlins would keep laughing. It would take a package around a Wily Peralta - LoMo might not be their favorite player but top 20 hitting prospects are more valuable than a 5th starter, below average 1B and organizational player/middle reliever. I think you are really undervaluing Narveson. He is only a 5th starter on our team. I see him as a 3/4 pitcher who is relatively cheap for the next 4 years. Also as a lefty he hold a good value for a team the competes with the Phillies(lefty dominant hitters) in their division. All that being said Marlins love cheap and i think that would hold great value to them.

While I agree that it would take more, I don't think I would take TOO much more. Narveson has 4 more years of control and would be a needed lefty in their rotation. Even if we included Gamel & Merklinger I would still be in favor of it.

http://www.jsonline.mobi/...one&dc=smart&c=y Offseasons with Doug Melvin at the helm can often be unpredictable, and this winter should prove no different. The Brewers are in position to contend for an NL Central pennant once again in 2012. Melvin has some obvious holes to fill -- most notably shortstop and first base -- and it will likely be a mixture of trades and free agent signings that do so. Over the past few weeks, I have often been asked what I would do if I were the GM of the Milwaukee Brewers. Would I re-sign Prince Fielder? Would I seriously pursue Jose Reyes? Would I trade some pitching depth to acquire infield help? Instead of answering those questions one at a time, I thought I would simply outline my ideal offseason moves and acquisitions. Of course, this would take place in a bubble without any competition for services on the FA or trade market, but this at least gives a benchmark for what I believe would be wise for the organization. Trades: (1) Trade LHP Chris Narveson to Florida for 1B Logan Morrison. (2) Trade 3B Casey McGehee, RHP Tyler Thornburg, and OF Caleb Gindl to San Diego for 3B Chase Headley. (3) Trade C George Kottaras to Unknown Team for Low-A Pitcher Free Agent Signings: (4) Sign SS Rafael Furcal to one-year deal with vesting option for 2013 based upon games played. (5) Sign INF Jerry Hairston to one-year deal. (6) Sign RHP Takashi Saito to one-year deal. (7) Sign RHP Kerry Wood to two-year deal. (8) Sign OF Scott Hairston to one-year deal. Explanations: (1) Morrison is a talented, young hitter who may have worn out his welcome in Florida this season with his eccentric personality. He was sent down to Triple-A mid-season by the organization to make a statement, and even in a down season, he still hit .247/.330/.468 with a .344 wOBA. First base could conceivably be locked up for the next handful of seasons. Narveson is a steep price to pay for Morrison, as he is a left-handed pitcher with four more years of team control, but the Marlins are seeking big-league ready pitching to round out their rotation. May take Narveson and a mid-level prospect -- such as Dan Merklinger -- to get this deal done. (2) Headley is a solid-fielding third baseman with good on-base skills. His power production has been extremely limited by PETCO, but he has hit .303/.364/.441 away from home. That suggests his numbers could skyrocket in a better stadium and division. Of course, the 27-year-old will not come cheaply. He has two years of team control remaining on his contract and was an above-average third baseman in the NL this season. McGehee could give them a third baseman with similar cost-control, while acquiring a high-upside arm in Tyler Thornburg -- a flyball pitcher who could ultimately thrive in San Diego -- and an underrated corner outfield (more likely 4th OF) prospect in Caleb Gindl. (3) With Martin Maldonado proving in 2011 that he has enough of a bat to pair with his plus-defense, George Kottaras does not have much of a place in Milwaukee any longer. His defensive skills are sub-par, and he does not play enough to maximize his power potential at the plate. Kottaras is also a Super Two player, meaning he will get four years of arbitration, rather than the standard three years. Though his salary will not cripple the organization by any stretch of the imagination, it is yet another reason as to why he has worn out his welcome with the Brewers. (4) This offseason’s lottery ticket at shortstop. After a disappointing and injury-riddled season that saw him hit .231/.298/.348, Furcal should be affordable on a one-year deal to re-establish his value. Do not be fooled by his lackluster season. He is only one year removed from a .366 wOBA in 2010 and suffered from a .240 BABIP in 2011. Furcal is a potential game-changer atop a big league lineup and provides plus-defense from the shortstop position. Of course, Furcal could simply struggle with injuries yet again and prove pedestrian at the plate. The potential reward, though, is simply too great to pass up. He is very likely to re-sign with St. Louis after explicitly stating how much he enjoyed his stint with the Cardinals, but perhaps the Brewers could sweeten the deal with a vesting option for 2013 based upon games played. If healthy, the Brewers would get a guy who compiled +9.9 WAR between 2008-2010 in the difficult NL West. (5) As with any risk-laden signing (Furcal), the organization would need to have a Plan B in place. Jerry Hairston can play shortstop in a pinch and made quite the impression while in Milwaukee, even taking over the everyday third baseman role in the postseason. Hairston is simply a versatile veteran who can adequately play every non-pitcher position on the diamond, other than catcher. He hit .274/.348/.379 with the Brewers and established himself as a leader in the clubhouse, despite only playing 45 games with the club. Consider him your Craig Counsell replacement for 2012 … just with more talent at the plate. (6) The club has outwardly expressed an interest in retaining Saito for the 2012 season, after he posted a 2.03 ERA in 30 appearances. Durability will always be an issue for Saito, but the right-hander is very effective when healthy and on the mound. His slider needs a bit more work for the 2013 season -- but as long as the club does not rely upon him to be the primary set-up man, he should thrive once again. (7) The one-two punch of K-Rod and Axford was so successful that I imagine Melvin and Roenicke plan on recreating that success next year. Plenty of closers exist on the free agent market this winter, but Kerry Wood should have a lower price tag and the same high-strikeout stuff. Wood did have a mediocre 3.35 ERA, but possessed a strikeout rate of 10.06 K/9 and has begun to show consistency out of the bullpen. While not an awe-inspiring move, it should plug the set-up man problem without breaking the bank. (8) This is more than signing Scott Hairston because of his brother, Jerry Hairston. Scott fills the veteran outfielder position on the bench and also provides some much-needed pop. He has a career .193 ISO and has hit double-digit home runs in four of the past five seasons. This club provides some long-term solutions to current problem areas, while not sacrificing the current effectiveness of the club. The pitching staff certainly loses some certainty without Narveson, but between Mike Fiers, Marco Estrada, and Wily Peralta, the Brewers should still have a Top 5 starting rotation in the National League. The lineup does not have the same star-studded pop without the combination of Braun and Fielder. The overall effectiveness, however, is much more appealing than the 2011 version that featured McGehee and Betancourt throughout the year. 1) SS Furcal 2) CF Morgan 3) LF Braun 4) RF Hart 5) 2B Weeks 6) 3B Headley 7) 1B Morrison 8) C Lucroy 9) Pitcher Cannot complain. The bullpen is the potential sticking point of this group. John Axford was tremendous in 2011, but that repeat performance should not be expected. Wood is not a shutdown guy like K-Rod. Saito is aging. The addition of Kintzler and Parra, though, could also turn this bullpen into a huge strength. It’s simply a toss up in many ways. And although that is uncomfortable, a bullpen is much easier to improve mid-season than a starting rotation or a batting order. Overall, this is a 44-48 WAR club -- or roughly an 89-91 win club, if you subscribe to Tom Tango’s methodologies -- with a payroll that should hover around the $90M mark. It’s not a repeat of the franchise-record 96-win season, but this blueprint would give the Brewers another legitimate shot at the postseason and back-to-back NL Central pennants. And at this point, that’s all one can ask. Pretty good outline in my opinion.

was regarded in the last 4 months of the year as one of the tp defensive ss, by his manager, Davey Johnson, at least. In a related note Yuni really wasnt that bad this past year!! (According to Doug Melvin) Just messing with you, but you get the point. No manager is going to say that his starting SS for the next few years is a hack.

Clippard is a very nice bullpen piece, but over his MLB career Desmond has a -1.7 dWAR and a -6.8 UZR/150 in 2+ seasons. For comparison sake I looked at Yuni's career dWAR and it was also -1.7 with a -8.1 UZR/150 , but that is in 6+ years. Now I know that these stats aren't always the most practical, but the fact that Desmond has very similar defensive values to Yuni I don't see the benefit of the trade for us.

I totally agree. I think the most interesting part of the article is Fielders contract. I just really cant see a team giving him that much over that many years. Also, if Reyes is going to get 18/year then the only way I could see that happening for the Brewers is if we unload one of Marcum or Wolf and we don't tender McGehee. Without losing one of those contracts there would be very little money left over to shape the bullpen again other the minimum guys.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7182272/putting-price-albert-pujols-prince-fielder-other-top-free-agents This is an Insider article but I'll post the Brewer related figures. Rank numbers are based on his predicted annual salary. #2 Prince Fielder 8/$192M Analysis: Scott Boras, who represents Fielder, is all about passing milestones, and he is going to make sure Fielder gets north of the eight-year, $180 million deal he negotiated for Mark Teixeira with the Yankees back in 2009. If the Dodgers' ownership transfer is timely, they could shock the baseball world with Fielder joining Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier in the middle of their lineup. Best fits: Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers #3 Jose Reyes 6/$108M Analysis: Carl Crawford's poor performance on the seven-year, $142 million deal he signed with Boston last winter will hurt Reyes' value since the two have very similar offensive profiles. Another issue for Reyes is his nagging hamstring problems. However, that won't stop him from getting six years, because he's the best shortstop and leadoff hitter on the free-agent market. Best fits: San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers #17 Carlos Pena 2/$17MAnalysis: He'll make less per year than the $10 million he earned in 2011, but he'll get at least a two-year pact. He is a good defender who can crush righties, and is a relatively cheap alternative to Fielder and Pujols. Best fits: Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers #18 Francisco Rodriguez 2/$17MAnalysis: K-Rod turned off some GMs back in September when he complained about the Brewers' not using him as their closer. His most likely destination is Florida under new Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen. Best fits: Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins #32 Joel Pineiro 1/$5M Analysis: The Brewers and Royals need back-of-the-rotation starters, and Pineiro could fit in nicely with either club at the right price. Best fits: Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals #40 Casey Kotchman 1/$4MAnalysis: Kotchman is one of the best defensive first basemen in baseball and had a career year at the plate. Not enough power or run production to get paid, but he is a useful player. However, the Rays would prefer to get more offensive production from first. Best fits: Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers #44 Jeff Francis 1/$4M Analysis: Another year distanced from an injury, Francis is a winner. The left-hander is worth a gamble for someone willing to give a low base salary with incentives. Best fits: Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals #50 Mike Gonzalez 2/$7M Analysis: Gonzalez did a solid job in the Rangers' bullpen and should want to re-sign with them with a chance for another postseason appearance next year. He'll be used more as a left-handed specialist rather than his previous roles as a setup man and closer. Best fits: Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers I have no idea why he thinks we need a back of the rotation starter, unless he thinks we should move Narveson to the BP? Rotation is the least of our offseason concerns IMO. Thoughts?

I mean all of this stuff is speculation and pipe dreams as far as trades go. That doesn't mean its not fun to think about. Hart & Thornburg? for Prado & Jurrjens Sign Sizemore to an incentive deal Marcum for Lowrie & Reynaudo Prado Sizemore Braun Weeks Gamel Lucroy Lowrie Morgan/Gomez P Gallardo Greinke Wolf Jurrjens Narverson You would obviously be hoping that the healthy Sizemore and the 2010 Jurrjens and Prado show up. Either way that is a pretty balanced lineup and rotation.