SRB

The Houston one is sort of intriguing, though I don't see why we really need Marisnick. Max Stassi could be an interesting gamble as Lucroy's replacement, good on defense and catching prospects sometimes take a while to develop offensively. I really like Francis Martes.

1) Orlando Arcia 2) Jonathan Lucroy 3) Khris Davis 4) Jimmy Nelson 5) Will Smith 6) Jorge Lopez 7) Ryan Braun 8) Taylor Jungmann 9) Domingo Santana 10) Jean Segura Kind of difficult to do the rankings, but I just based on what I could see the Brewers getting in a 1-for-1 trade. I think Arcia would only be traded for a top-15, top-20 prospect, and I don't see us getting one of those for Lucroy at this point. Lopez might be a bit high, but again if you think of him as a top-50 prospect, would we get a better return for any of the players below him? Segura has to be on this list because even though he stinks, he's a major-league-quality shortstop and those have inherent value. Braun is ranked based on us not taking on any of his contract.

The Angels farm is terrible. I think for Khris Davis you would need to get C Taylor Ward and have someone like LHP Hector Santiago going to a third team (with prospects coming to the Brewers).

96 followers = not a real rumor. R.E.L.A.X. Chill out everyone. This forum is to discuss rumors ors which is exactly what the poster brought to the table. At least this person is bringing a rumor to the discussion rather ongoing banter about whether it was right or wrong for Lucroy to say the crap he did. That discussion should be brought to a different thread entirely. This thread is about trade rumors revolving around our catcher. Period! Hey, I'm not censoring anybody. I enjoy reading people's takes on a possible Pittsburgh trade, even if it's not something that makes sense or will ever happen. I just wanted to clarify to people reading the thread who may not have clicked through that this is not an actual rumor, but is just a troll account making something up. It's not even an issue of credibility (there is a discussion in another thread about a Braun trade to Houston based on a forum user's post that is most likely baseless, but at least it's a rumor), these twitter things are just patently made up.

Sure he does, he's said similar things in the past. I knew he was going to have a bad attitude about the rebuild before his latest comments were even reported. Quotes? For example, last July:

96 followers = not a real rumor.

Sure he does, he's said similar things in the past. I knew he was going to have a bad attitude about the rebuild before his latest comments were even reported.

Braun and some $ for 1B Jon Singleton, RHP Frances Martes, and 3B Colin Moran.

Obviously you need to bargain with other teams as if you are going with B, but personally I would prefer A. I think there is enormous risk that Lucroy's value will dramatically decrease if he has an injury or poor first half, and I also think he has a somewhat bad attitude about remaining in Milwaukee and playing through the rebuild. I'd prefer they trade him sooner rather than latter, and even if it isn't the greatest possible return, there should be enough teams bidding on him that we get a huge haul either way.

I hate when TH just posts his personal opinion on something and it is reported (e.g. on MLBTR) as actual news. TH is usually the least informed about what's going on in the front office, so that probably means a trade is imminent.

I find it hard to believe a team would offer him something like 10/$500M. However, given his age I could see him getting something like a 15-year $525M contract (possibly with opt-outs so he could hit the open market and make more down the line)

Tate is not a bad centerpiece though. The Rangers also have some other potential front-of-the-rotation pitching prospects in the low minors who would fit well with the Brewers in RHP Luis Ortiz and LHP Yohander Mendez (who might even be ranked higher than Tate at this point, I don't know). I would trade Lucroy for RHP Donovan Tate, RHP Luis Ortiz, and LHP Yohander Mendez. Maybe throw in a useful lottery ticket like 1B Ronald Guzman (big international prospect signed at the same time as Guzman, but still a project)

I think you just answered your own question. My question is what evidence do you have of this other than accusations? The MLB HR rate/AB 2013-2015: 2.77% The MLB HR rate/AB 1955-1960 (pre-1961/62 expansion): 2.64% Now factor in advances in strength training, nutrition, video analysis of pitchers, pitchers throwing harder, ballparks in thinner/higher altitudes (Colorado, Arizona), smaller ballparks (Cincinnati, RF in the new Yankee stadium), lowering the mound, ballparks with retractable roofs (less playing in adverse weather conditions), playing with fewer hangovers because of not going on as many benders the night before... Just citing HR rate is totally irrelevant. If you had actually read my post history you would know that (1) I don't think steroids actually improve baseball performance all that much, (2) I don't personally care one way or the other who is or who is not taking banned substances. I was one of a handful of people on this web forum who consistently defended Ryan Braun since day 1, who does not care whatsoever what Ryan Braun did or not do, and who hates the mainstream baseball press for their ridiculous crusade, so your original accusation is a little confusing. That said, anyone who has any contact with modern athletics, weight training, etc., knows that the use of substances banned by MLB rules is widespread. Testing is an absolute joke because it is only a test for finding which player is stupid enough to screw up his routine for evading the tests (which is what apparently happened with Braun). I don't think modern athletes' physiques are natural, and I find it hard to believe that the majority of them are achieved through above board training alone. Sorry if that shatters any illusions about us still living in a world where baseball players are normal guys who work as mechanics in the offseason.

Hope you're right. I'm a little concerned about his power given that it completely disappeared when he moved up a level, but I'm excited to see what he does in 2016.

I'm not sure if you're talking to me. I don't know if Howard/Zimmerman did or did not obtain PED's. But the story is so poorly supported I'm not going to assume they did. It's actually not poorly supported at all if you look into it further than how the ESPN machine has been ignoring it. Peyton Manning more or less admitted that he received drugs from this guy, he just hid behind his "wife's privacy". And the Al Jazeera source is not some random crazy, but is a business partner of a trainer in Florida who is specifically linked to most of the (randomly selected) players that were named. I'm not sure what you're basing this on? But in any event, I do think a very large number of professional athletes and MLB players are routinely taking banned substances. I find it hard to believe that many players in the NFL are not on banned substances. Drug testing (to the extent it is even consistently applied) is just a charade to reassure an uneducated public.

I can't believe there are people who actually believe Howard/Zimmerman in this whole thing.

The thing with Lucroy is that there's a wide range for his possible valuations. Prior to last year (which was admittedly a down season), it seemed like there were some executives who considered him the best catcher in baseball. And his remaining contract is obviously ridiculous. It's not a stretch to say he is the most valuable trade asset in franchise history (assuming a team values him based on peak talent rather than his 2015 stats), so I don't think 3 top-100 prospects is remotely out of the question. Not holding my breath, but also wouldn't be surprised.

I could see something along these lines happening. I think Kepler is going to be very good, very soon.

Why would we want another corner OF, other than uniting him with his brother? Oswaldo is just a worse version of Santana. If we're talking Smith and Lucroy, I would want Berrios and Kepler and some low-minors lottery tickets.

See my post above...

Bonds admitted to taking steroids. Not entirely correct. He admitted to using a substance that he did not know to be steroids. Sanctimonious lunatics attempted to convict him of perjury for lying about that, and failed.

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2008/0521/mlb_g_mpiazza_300.jpg Just a normal looking guy, full of character and fitness.

So the greatest player of all time (Barry Bonds) gets shut out again because everyone suspects he took PEDs, but Mike Piazza gets voted in? Oh brother. This entire exercise if just an embarrassment at this point.

I like the Chris Carter signing, but I'm annoyed that they dumped Pinto. Wilkins is beyond useless, especially now that we have another 1B...

Why would we not trade him before the season starts? I don't see any possibility of him raising his value, only downside.