Playing Catch

Yeah, even at the time, I thought Edman was about the most perfect piece that was available for the Dodgers. We often casually eschew the value of a proven big leaguer in favor of the shiny, controllable prospect. This is true when considering a Devin Williams trade as well. For a team that is competing, putting a good player on the field is always a good thing, and it may be preferable to taking on the development risk of the unproven player. Edit to add: This is not to say that for the Cardinals, giving up Edman wasn't preferable to giving up a prospect. Every situation is different.

I love the idea of taking a couple of these guys if the Brewers were doing a soft rebuild, but as a team trying to compete, I'm not sure how much patience they can have to watch post-hype prospect try to find big league relevance. If these guys are really, really cheap, then I love them as minor league free agent/spring training invite kind of players, but the Brewers are too good to just give ABs to these guys hoping they can be competent and competitive. I think that is the reason they may go with the quad-A, 28-year-old rookies. Guys that simply put together competent, competitive ABs, even though their sticks don't have a lot of juice. I'm thinking guys like Blake Perkins, Monasterio to a lesser degree, and hopefully, Isaac Collins.

Blackwell - 36 Klesmit - 34 Tonje - 30 Winter - 25 Crowl - 30 McGee - 18 Amos - 12 Gilmore - 10 Bench - 5

Black?!? But he's one of our TOP PROSPECTS! Admittedly, I am not a Black believer, and not only because of his glove. I don't trust his bat; I don't love prospects that derive a lot of value from walking a ton --- particularly guys with modest power, and a weird looking swing*. Baty's big-league BABIPs are low, but maybe they represent an issue with the quality of his batted balls or a lack of speed. The Fangraphs team doesn't like the lack of loft in his profile (but then again, they tend to believe more loft is the answer to every flawed prospect). I think it would be fine to give up Black for Baty. It looks like you'd be trading a future bench lefty UTL-pinch hit/run guy, for a bench corner IF/OF with some pop. That seems like a fair trade based on the Brewers needs. He'll be 25 next season, so I guess there's more hope that he'll figure it out more than similarly skilled, but older Oliver Dunn or Isaac Collins. But if I was a betting man, I would bet even odds that in a hypothetical 2025 season of 400 PAs, Isaac Collins would outproduce Baty, Black, or Dunn. *(I reserve the right to keep loving Luke Adams until he stops producing).

All phases clicking in the last 3 games. Special teams, aside from fielding punts has been good. Defense has those of us that have been pining for Leonhard relax a little bit. Those of us that felt that Chryst could conduct an offense just as poorly as Longo, are feeling better. I didn't disagree with the decision to fire Chryst/hire Fickell, but I also felt that Fickell didn't need a long leash. He was brought in to maximize the program quickly. He kind of came into this season on my own personal hot seat that was just waiting to get plugged in. These last three weeks have looked so much better, that I may even give him till 2026. It's not results, per se, that I've been judging on, but on all the little things that make a program hum. Identity, consistency, discipline. The identity of this coaching staff seems to be finally coming around to results on the field. The trenches have grown leaps and bounds. Their recruits are beginning to bear fruit. They can run the ball and stop the run. They're one of the least penalized teams in football. Things seem to have stabilized, anyway. Now Fickell has a foundation to keep growing.

I think Klesmit and Blackwell will start. I think the question about who the point guard is won't matter, because the rest of the candidates will have limited bench minutes.

I wonder about this too, especially with the metrics that only consider the plays they make. If Perkins or Mitchell range over to a gap and make a great catch, that doesn't mean that Frelick or Chourio weren't in a position to make an equal (or better!) catch. In an interview with a OAA guy and a DRS guy, they were talking about Elly De La Cruz. The OAA guy said he didn't care about errors at all because EDLC makes so many incredible plays to make up for them. But it made me wonder, if EDLC played next to Joey Ortiz, wouldn't Ortiz make A LOT of those plays before EDLC is ABLE to make an incredible play?

I agree with this. With that said, guys with options are also more valuable to OTHER teams that employ similar roster maneuvering.

I'm a little surprised at the strong feelings shared here. BA has been a great Brewers announcer for a long time. So good, that he's quickly earning a lot of national sports broadcasts. I, too, have noticed that his calls are a little more out-of-touch with the team than in earlier seasons. I think this makes sense considering his schedule, so it doesn't offend me. I wish him well, and I will always think of him as "one of ours," but I think the time has come for all parties to move on. A fresh, young team calls for a fresh, young play-by-play announcer (so long as they are excellent :) I'm one of those that likes the variety. And I will always prefer color commentators to err on the side of goofy and humorous to the side of serious and dour. One of the great announcers of the era, Jason Benetti, is incredible for the Tigers --- and he HAS to be, because Kirk Gibson has to be the worst commentator of the era.

A little weird, but not unprecedented.

It seems like there are a lot of different opinions as to Devin's trade value. Using our own prospects as a measure, which prospect of the Brewers would Williams be worth? 1 top prospect plus (Pratt+Wichrowski+Juan Baez+KC Hunt) 1 top prospect (MIz, Quero, Made) 2 mid-tier prospects (Lara+Wichrowski, Bitoni+Letson) 1 mid-tier plus 2 or more lottos (Lara+Manuel Rodriguez+Adamczewski+Jose Anderson) 2 lottos (Manuel Rodriguez+Jose Anderson) As for myself, I think for a contending team, that wants a closer, Devin is worth 2 mid-tier prospects. I don't believe any team would offer more unless it was a Williams package. I think the Brewers would accept even less. What this exercise makes me think about is that if the Brewers want MLB-ready, they will need to accept a low-ceiling guy.

I believe that the Rays and the Brewers have an unstated symbiotic partnership. They are in opposing leagues, opposing coasts. They trust each other's development. I think this is how they swung the Rasmussen/Adames trade. But I think the Rays hold onto Lowe. I think that they think they're gunna compete next season with that healthy rotation. Lowe would certainly help the Adames-sized hole on the infield, though.

It often comes from the position, and one can argue that losing Adames means they definitely should look for a power bat to put at third, but there is no "supposed to," anymore. Not with shortstops hitting dingers, and Aaron Judge playing centerfield.

You won't believe this, but DeJong has reverse splits for his career.

It kind of goes without saying that if they don't get an offer better than a comp pick, you roll with him next season. Unless the Brewers are so confident in their depth, that they just trade him this offseason to mitigate injury risk.

My tea leaves tell me that the Brewers convinced him that he was part of their plans. Probably starting out in Nashville, and being a phone-call away from games for the big club. perhaps a 40-man add deadline in May or something.

I, too, do not believe he will live up to whatever contract he gets. We're a year removed from his batting .217, for a wRC+ of 94. I really really like Adames, and would happily take him back, but I don't see him being worth more than about $12-$18M a year for any year of his next contract.

Hahaha, you are probably right! Initially, I was thinking the thread would be much more practical, like many of the suggestions here, but I got carried away, and my post became a bit ridiculous. I stand by my comments, but they were NOT in line with how baseball could practically "fix" the playoffs. My commentary was more fantasy than practical. I'm not sure what MLB's timetable is for expansion, but I strongly suspect that when they add two teams, they will also split into 8 divisions... 8 playoff teams per league. OR, they will do away with divisions altogether and reimagining the playoffs with seeds, with or without byes.

I decided to start a thread due to your thought, here. As you can see in my OP, I actually think that wouldn't be the worst idea.

Naturally, there have been a lot of posts about the [stupid] playoff format. I'll be the first to say that I think the current format is the best they can do at this point in time for the game of baseball. I think MLB knows that they have to give fans in all 30 cities hope every spring in order to remain consistently relevant on the sports landscape. There are thousands of iterations that could no doubt be posted in this thread, many of which would require massive changes to the entire baseball landscape --- which is fine! Hypothesize away! To prevent TOO much insanity, though, let's assume there will always be around 80-90 home games. My suggestion will be an anathema for many, but as a fan of soccer, I appreciate that the most important trophy for the English Premier League is their regular season championship. In a home-and-home round robin schedule, the cream rises to the top. There is little to dispute as to which team has performed the best in any given season. This "regular season" champion should be deemed WORLD CHAMPIONS, and should be bestowed the current World Championship trophy. It is sad to me that the 2001 Mariners are a mere footnote in baseball history with 116 wins. They should be considered one of the best teams of all-time. Maybe in order for ANY team to win the trophy in a season, they must win 100 games, making it possible that there is not a champion in a particular season. In soccer, they have other competitions as well. Competitions that are often a traditional tournament bracket style. Having a separate tournament or two that overlap parts of the baseball season can present new trophy opportunities to celebrate. These could merely mimic the current system of rewarding the best teams, or they could put payroll limitations, or market-size limitations on a tournament to reward the "Small-market Championship," or there could be divisional all-star teams that compete throughout the year in a six-team "league". I'm curious of your thoughts.

God is a Rays fan. Who knew?

Jacob MisiorowskiRobert GasserCooper PrattJeferson QueroMike BoeveBrock WilkenLogan HendersonLuis LaraCraig YohoTyler BlackJesus MadeCarlos F RodriguezYophery RodriguezLuke AdamsEric BitontiK.C. HuntBraylon PayneErnesto MartinezLuis PenaJose Anderson I feel like even though this continues to be an incredibly deep system, the different issues that the top prospects have are all big red flags for me. Misiorowski's command, Gasser and Quero's injuries, Wilken's developmental stall at AA, Black's lack of a position. All of those prospects took a big step back for me. I still have tremendous confidence that Miz and Gasser will be solid contributors in future years, and I feel like Quero will still have a long career as a backup if he never hits. But these concerns pushed Pratt and Boeve up the list further than I expected. After those question marks, however, this list is filled with UP arrows. I love the defense and athleticism of the guys in A-ball -- not just Lara and Rodriguez, but the other guys I left off, like Areinamo and Guilarte. Just like the current young Brewers, this gives them a high floor, which I am a sucker for. I am loathe to tier guys before A-ball --- We saw Di Turi ascendent in Arizona before cratering in Carolina (and shouldn't Adamczewski be an option to list?), but the scouting community has convinced me Made is gunna hit, and Pena and Anderson were too good to ignore. The pitching depth is stupid. There are 20 guys that "belong" on this list that won't make it. And the Brewers' magic ability to create pitchers out of thin air has me trying to instead highlight the bats. I'm sure everyone could have gone 30 or 40 deep, myself included. Star Tier - zero players Tier 1 - Misiorowski, Gasser Tier 2 - Pratt, Quero, Boeve, Wiken, Henderson Tier 3 - Lara, Yoho, Black, Made, Rodriguez, Rodriguez, Adams, Bitoni Tier 4 - The rest of the list, including an additional 20 guys or so. There will be several of these guys that could shoot up the list next season. They just need to prove themselves again, and at a higher level.

I respectfully disagree... In March Madness the team that plays better wins nearly every game. In baseball, the team that plays better STILL LOSES 4 out of 10 games.

I'm not necessarily putting you in this category, but I think many fans believe that free agents and spending significant money will inherently improve the product on the field, when that strategy has been demonstrably flawed. There's no doubt that signing the tippy-top players, like Ohtani, or for this upcoming season, Burnes, will, aside from long-term injury, improve the team. But the 2nd and 3rd tier free agents OFTEN become guys that are "too expensive," to just DFA when their performance is left wanting. In fact, I think most of those types of players are signed because teams have ZERO in-house options. But the Brewers have shown that they are often able to replicate or improve on that production with rookies, or 28-year-old castoffs, with something to prove. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I think the big money teams are beginning to wise-up to this reality, squeezing out many established veterans in their 30's from getting their 2nd or 3rd big-league contracts.

Do we really care about penciling in guys in the traditional 1-5 (or six!) way anymore, after the last few seasons of MLB baseball? Between injuries, flops (Jordan Montgomery anyone?), breakouts like Myers, semi-surprises like Flaherty, the SUPER-talented Misiorowskis, the UN-talented performers like Chad Patrick... The Brewers have proven that depth trumps all. At any point in the season, the Brewers count on different players to step up at different times, and they are also willing to move on pretty quickly from pitchers that aren't performing. They are creative about maximizing the out-getting ability of every pitcher on the roster, whether they're one-inning only guys, two-times through the order guys, openers, 6 inning starters, whatever. The Brewers don't use a 5, or 6-man rotation. They use a 15-man rotation. And I'm here for it.