3and2Fastball

His 2011 season with the Crew was really memorable, including a 1.86 ERA with Milwaukee in the regular season that year. The 1-2 punch with Axford that year really shortened games and in some ways was a forerunner to the Elite multi-inning bullpens we are seeing nowadays, especially from teams like the Royals. Similar to Trevor Hoffman, it was fun having a famous and legendary closer pitching for the Brewers. K-Rod's 200 ERA+ from years 2004-2008 was certainly one of the best 5 year spans in history, and he has done a great job adjusting his game as he ages.

Could potentially be in MLB when Scooter is in his arbitration years of 2018 or 2019. As a RH hitter could platoon with Scooter. Segura is a free agent in the 2019 season. I could see Segura platooning with Scooter once Arcia is MLB ready Obviously all of these things are just possibilities, but in my opinion could reveal Stearns' type of thinking. Betancourt is exactly the type of prospect that the Brewers should be bringing in..... a great trade in my opinion, for a declining closer who we just saved millions of dollars not having to pay

Awesome, thanks for that. I like this trade, alot, from the perspective of the salary dump but also because Javi-B has real potential. From the above linked article: "Betancourt is an above-average defender who makes routine plays with ease. He has great reactions off the bat, a quick first step and impressive instincts that allow him to make the occasional spectacular play. Betancourt has soft hands and smooth transfers from glove to hand. The defense isn't flashy or loud by any means, but it's polished. Betancourt always seems to be in the right place at the right time. He's undoubtedly an asset, defensively." "Once again this season Betancourt finds himself in an aggressive assignment playing against competition that is several years older. He's currently the sixth-youngest player in the Florida State League, where average age is 22-23. Betancourt lacks a specific loud carrying tool that you prefer to see, but he is extremely sound across the board. His impeccable instincts and high baseball IQ help his tools appear stronger, and they should continue to advance. Betancourt lacks serious impact talent because of his well-below-average power. But he undoubtedly has realistic potential as a second-division, big-league regular."

Tremendous veteran leadership, and he was a great player in his prime and in the postseason (.294/.368/.588 in the 2010 World Series). Hard to imagine he has much left in the tank. There is plenty he could teach younger players though. If his 2011 season was due to mental issues (.306 OBP) and not just about declining skills, he's certainly worth taking a look at in Spring Training. I think he'll make an excellent coach someday

Thought I would return to this because it was 3 years ago and I've learned a thing or three since then (!) First of all, in terms of Honus Wagner, if you adjust Wagner's numbers from his 5 year peak to the 1950 Brooklyn Dodgers, his slash line is .394/.470/.575 all while playing Gold Glove defense at SS and stealing 65-70 bases a year and hitting 45-50 Doubles a year. So, no Jackie wasn't anywhere close to Wagner Secondly, while I compared the career numbers of Morgan & Robinson, it was Joe Morgan's peak of 1972-1976 that cemented his legendary status: .303/.431 with a 163 OPS+, 2 World Series Championships all while stealing 60 bases a year and hitting 20+ bombs. Adjust those numbers to the 1950 Dodgers and it is closer to a .335/.465/.555 slash line Jackie's 5 year peak from 1949-1953 was .329/.430/.505 Morgan at his best was a little better than Robinson at his best. Adjusting for era is essential in making such comparisons. It isn't perfect but it allows deeper insight

Only if they still have some of that Mark McGwire "special sauce" around. They may be running low on it by now.....

A .391 SLG % vs LHPs is, indeed, dreadful for a 1B For reference, Yuniesky Betancourt had a .402 SLG % vs LHP. Elian Herrera has a .375 SLG % vs LHPs. Allowing Freeman to get significant at-bats vs LHPs is a misuse of a roster

In my opinion the smartest thing to do is search out and find incredible young affordable pitching (obviously easier said than done). At this stage of a rebuild, Freeman is a luxury the Brewers cannot afford

If you're platooning a 1B, I don't think you can call him elite. That is certainly a valid opinion. I think maximizing production based on platoon advantages is pretty solid, especially when you factor in less & wear & tear over the course of a 162 game season. Freeman's career splits vs LHP is .253/.337/.391 .... the OBP is OK but the SLG % is below replacement level, especially considering how many big right hand hitting 1B's out there crush LHP's

Freeman is not yet an Elite player. If you platoon him and start him only vs RHP and lift him anytime a lefty specialist comes in and adjust his stats to a better hitting era then maybe maybe he can be looked at as an elite player. His OPS+ in the last 3 years has been 140. If he was platooned that could be higher. Playing in Miller Park and being platooned it could be really higher. And he has only just completed his age 25 season It is an intriguing subject.

Yes, me too! My post was very poorly worded. What I meant was that since 2014 the Red Sox have seemed stuck in the old paradigm of MLB while other teams are passing them by.

The Red Sox are a great example of a large market team stuck in the old paradigm of the MLB while smarter teams have passed them by. The signings of Hanley Ramirez & Pablo Sandoval were abysmal. That team is getting older and worse. Money can't buy them out of the hole they've dug for themselves, although they do still have some good young talent coming up.

Not at all, Doug Melvin has been our GM What I find unbelievable is that Melvin didn't persuade Dennis Eckersley to come out of retirement and pitch out of the pen for Milwaukee The joke I've often said to my friends is: "don't worry, Mike Trout will become a Brewer.... when he's 39 years old" If we get similar value for old guys as we've had with K-Rod I'd be all for signing more of them. There's a lot of ways to look at that. To a degree I can see your point. But he's tieing up a roster spot and an increasingly significant role (in terms of MLB trends) on a team that isn't a contender. He is no longer Elite, although he has shown flashes of being Elite (the WHIP in 2015, the way he played in the 1st half w/ the Brewers in 2013, and his play in most of 2011.) The contract isn't even that bad However it seems like an unnecessary use of funds, that when added with other unnecessary use of funds (the Aramis Ramirez contract, Garza) really adds up to be significant money that could have (in my opinion should have) been spent on International Free Agents. Build a great bullpen in-house. K-Rod as a setup man on a contender is a great use of his talents. K-Rod as a closer on a rebuilding team seems like a misuse of a roster spot and a misuse of the limited funds of a small market team. He seems to me to be a remnant from the old regime of Melvin, a regime that got passed by and lapped by smarter front offices in MLB. I would not at all be surprised to see K-Rod traded this offseason. Just a pure guess on my part though is that Stearns is not going to just give players away. He'll hold tight to his trade chips in order to maximize value back. I hope that is the case.

Not at all, Doug Melvin has been our GM What I find unbelievable is that Melvin didn't persuade Dennis Eckersley to come out of retirement and pitch out of the pen for Milwaukee The joke I've often said to my friends is: "don't worry, Mike Trout will become a Brewer.... when he's 39 years old"

Makes sense, thanks. I just wouldn't be in a hurry to trade Smith though, and would hold out for a good deal. He could be a big part of somebody's bullpen. His previous value was Nori Aoki, and I would think that with the changing trends in Baseball, that Smith's value might have gone up. Yes! This is a fascinating trend to me. As the Royals have shown, if you have 3 great relievers and a couple of them can go 2 innings in a big game, the game can be over in the 5th inning if you have a lead, as 95% of the time when you can bring in your ace relievers to finish the game they will do just that.

For the precise reasons that you laid out so well above, that is exactly why I would prefer the Brewers keep Will Smith so that he can be part of a great bullpen once the rebuild is completed

Wow! Kimbrel just had the worst year of his career and he brings back 4 prospects?!

Is Coulter still a Top Prospect? Asking sincerely as I don't follow MiLB as closely as I should but I see: A Ball: .287/.410/.520 at age 20 A+ Ball: .246/.329/.397 at age 21 Kinda looks like the bottom fell out. Was he playing hurt? Before we get too concerned about what position he might play, we have to see if he can even hit AA pitching first, right?

Thank you. Exactly. Why would the Brewers want Ben Revere for 2 years of rebuilding? Is this mostly about getting rid of Garza? I suppose if there was an additional trade of Davis or Braun maybe?

Yes please on trading Braun It certainly seems like he likes Milwaukee and wouldn't waive his No Trade to just anybody What we don't know is how important winning is to him (i.e. does he want to stick around through the rebuild)

I'm very excited and optimistic about the future of the Milwaukee Brewers. We are finally getting the rebuilding phase that many of us have wanted for a few years now. I'm very happy to have a new GM in place and players in the system like Arcia & Phillips that are worth really looking forward to. I will be fascinated to see how Stearns builds his team

I think the Angels will get him turned around. He'll now be surrounded by Trout, Pujols, Calhoun and others day in & day out plus a great hitting coach and a very strong overall hitting environment. I think of this as a huge trade for the Angels. If they can bring in free agent pitching they should be a postseason team

Simmons in the 2nd Half of 2015 hit .283/.336 It is funny the perceptions we have of hitters these days that are often skewed by the extreme pitcher's era that we are in. Neutralize Simmon's stats to a hitting era like the 2000 AL or 1936 AL and Simmons is a career .295/.347 hitter who is just coming off of a .309/.369 season I sincerely think he is one the greatest SS talents of All-Time

I think Andrelton Simmons is woefully underrated. Doesn't hit enough? He just finished a season hitting .265/.321 and he's the best defensive player in Baseball

Is Segura really that mediocre defensively at SS? I would think his bat or lack thereof would negate his defense at 2B