Eye Black

Sort of interesting to compare Hader’s rolling wOBA for his career with Rogers. Hader’s current issues may prove to just be a blip, but his recent performance has been easily the worst stretch of his career. Rogers has been trending the wrong direction as well, but if you look at their expected wOBA it appears more of Rogers troubles can be attributed to bad luck. And for good measure just take a look at how phenomenal Devin Williams has been recently…

Ngl, giving up Antonie Kelly in this deal is disappointing.

While I realize it likely won't remain intact for long, the Brewers updated top ten prospects list is looking quite solid.

Keith Law's trade recap was pretty complementary of the trade all the way around. Article Link: https://theathletic.com/3467887/2022/08/01/trade-report-josh-hader-padres-brewers/ Opening paragraph: "The Padres have been linked to everyone in the trade market, as usual, but their deal for Josh Hader feels like a surprise twice over, as it’s not the kind of player I expected them to go after, and they did it without giving up any of their top-tier prospects. This feels like a very strong trade for both sides – the Padres got a clear upgrade in their bullpen; the Brewers probably sold high on Hader, while getting a significant return that shouldn’t affect their playoff odds for 2022, and perhaps even acquired players they could use in a second trade." Prospects involved: "Ruiz came over from Kansas City in a trade back in 2017, never quite hit up to the expectations of his time in rookie ball, then broke out this year in Double and Triple A, hitting .333/.467/.560 with 60 steals in 69 attempts. He’s a high-contact, line-drive hitter; perhaps never a 20-homer guy but someone who could get to 40 doubles (and triples). He’s also finally found a defensive home, putting his plus speed to good use in center after he tried to play second base his first four years in the minors. He looks like an everyday guy out there." "Gasser was San Diego’s second-round pick out of the University of Houston last year and has pitched well as a starter in High A this year, sitting 92-94 mph with a slider that flashes plus and a fringy changeup that’s too close to the fastball, resulting in some platoon split (all eight of his homers allowed have been hit by righties). He’s always been a strike-thrower and competes like a starter, so if the Brewers can help him improve the changeup or, again, find a different weapon, he has mid-rotation upside." Synopsis: "This seems like a very strong return for a year-plus of Hader, whether the Brewers keep all four guys or use any of them in a subsequent trade before Tuesday’s trade deadline."

The big winner in this trade might be LHP Robert Gasser. He goes from an organization that's really struggled to develop starting pitching to arguably one of the very best at it.

Brewers about to turn over their major league roster in a pennant chase? Interesting...

Yes, I am sure. Esteury Ruiz is listed as a 2B in their system.

That's not even the correct Ruiz! Esteury Ruiz is listed at 4.7 surplus value in their system.

I am sad to see Hader go, but a team that is confident in their ability to develop pitching should be willing to sell off current arms to build toward improving future value.

One other thing to keep in mind is the Brewers used Hader solely as the closer/9th inning role the past couple of years and my speculative reason is that it had something to do with a request from Hader and/or his agent. I'm curious to see if they go away from having a set closer/9th inning guy moving forward.

Scouting reports on Ruiz and Gasser from Baseball America (both ranked inside the Padres updated top ten): 8. Esteury Ruiz | OF Track Record: Ruiz signed with the Royals for $100,000 and broke out when he won the 2017 Arizona League MVP award. The Padres acquired him in the middle of that season in the trade that sent Trevor Cahill and Brandon Maurer to Kansas City. Ruiz struggled with strikeouts and moved from second base to the outfield over three difficult seasons following the trade, but he re-emerged as a prospect at Double-A San Antonio in 2022. Scouting Report: Ruiz is a sleek, athletic player with plenty of tools. He has surprising plus raw power for his frame and possesses elite instincts that make him a prolific basestealer despite average speed. Ruiz’s power-speed combination is enticing, but he long struggled to make contact with a long, uphill swing and poor strike-zone discipline. He overhauled his approach in 2022 and improved his pitch selection, cut down his chases and increased the number of pitches he was seeing, resulting in a rebound campaign. Ruiz is still learning to play center field after his hard hands made him unplayable in the infield. His reads and jumps are only fair but could improve with more experience. His arm is below-average. The Future: Ruiz’s improved approach has made him an unexpected callup option. If his improvements hold, he may hit enough to play every day. Scouting Grades: Hit: 45. Power: 55. Speed: 60. Fielding: 40. Arm: 45. 9. Robert Gasser | LHP Track Record: A lefty with an 88-91 mph fastball in Houston’s bullpen in 2020, Gasser hit the weights hard during the coronavirus shutdown and returned in 2021 throwing harder to emerge as the Cougars’ staff ace. He logged a 2.63 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 85.2 innings to transform himself from a draft afterthought into a fast-riser, and the Padres drafted him 71st overall and signed him for $884,200. Gasser quickly moved to Low-A Lake Elsinore after signing and hit the ground running with a 1.20 ERA in 15 innings pitched. Scouting Report: Gasser’s weight room gains improved his entire arsenal. His fastball now sits 90-93 mph with late run and can bump up to 95 when needed. His newly-sharpened slider is now an above-average pitch he can bury for swings and misses and he spots his average changeup well to give him a third quality offering. He is also developing a curveball, but it’s more of a show-me pitch at this point. Gasser’s best attribute is his plus control. He’s able to spot his four-seam fastball up in the zone and can put his secondary pitches where he needs to get swings and misses. His stuff further plays up with a pause in his delivery he devised to throw off hitters’ timing. The Future: Without overwhelming velocity or an imposing stature, Gasser could be a No. 4 or No. 5 starter. Because he’s a polished lefty with pitchability, he’s also a fair bet to reach that ceiling. He is set to open the 2022 season at High-A Fort Wayne and could pitch his way to Double-A San Antonio. Scouting Grades: Fastball: 50. Slider: 55. Curveball: 30. Changeup: 50. Control: 60.

Esteury Ruiz is a legit prospect, but I also wonder if he's in danger of being flipped as part of another trade prior to tomorrow's deadline.

Taylor Rogers and prospects coming back to Milwaukee per Ken Rosenthal.

Heading to the T-Rats game this morning so if someone could post the lineups that would be appreciated.

Have seen some people compare this move by the Mariners to the Brewers acquiring CC Sabathia in 2008. Obviously not apples-to-apples since CC was more highly regarded and was a true rental versus Castillo having another year of team control remaining, but from a standpoint of trying to end a playoff drought and give a franchise with up-and-coming talent a boost it certainly does have some similarities.

Pedro Severino’s career line versus Nick Pivetta is 0-for-13 with 7 strikeouts. On the other hand Yelich has two career hits off Pivetta and both were home runs. Most of the Red Sox lineup will be facing Eric Lauer for the first time in their careers.

Pretty great post-game interview from Woody…

So the Brewers only had to face Luis Castillo once this season (his first outing of the year on May 9th) and they remain the only team Castillo didn’t make it to 5.0+ IP against this year.

Agreed, I was just being silly. Even if he was completely healthy right now I still don’t think the Red Sox would be likely to move him.

Between the Reds already having shortstop Elly De La Cruz, and now adding two more shortstop prospects in both Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo, I’ll go out on a limb and say the Reds will have a perennial All-Star shortstop at some point a little later this decade.

Tired: Unload the farm system for Juan Soto Wired: Unload the farm system for Rafael Devers