sveumrules

Soto has big edges in OBP (423 to 362 since 2021), playing time (an extra 1,527 career PAs), and age (hit FA at 26 vs 29 for Tucker). Tucker’s gonna break the bank no doubt, but he’s still gonna end up hundreds of millions shy of what Soto got.

Would guess if the White Sox deal Robert they are going to be looking for guys with zero service time like they got back for Crochet.

McMahon's defense would be a definite fit with +50 DRS (2nd) | +28 FRV (3rd) since 2021. Would probably need to be platooned though with a 101 wRC+ vs RHP | 71 wRC+ vs LHP split since 2021. 3/44 (12 - 16 - 16) remaining is probably a little rich for the Brewers though and I'd guess COL would want something like Boeve and Wichrowski coming back? Projections are Steamer (91 wRC+ | 1.9 WAR) and ZiPS (97 OPS+ | 2.6 WAR) If Eugenio Suarez is really out there he could be a nice one year stopgap. I wouldn't expect another 132 wRC+ like he put up in 2022, but last two years he is at a 109 wRC+ and 7.3 WAR. Defense has mixed reviews over that stretch (-6 DRS but +11 FRV) so that could be a factor. At 1/15 remaining he'd probably be a strain on the books, but its only one year so shouldn't require a huge prospect outlay. Steamer (104 wRC+ | 2.2 WAR) and ZiPS (101 OPS+ | 2.3 WAR) are both forecasting a win and a half dip from last year heading into his age 33 season. Best "proven bat" out there might be Brandon Lowe with a 120 wRC+ and 5.1 WAR over 861 PA's the last two years. Has 2/22 left on his contract with a Steamer of 117 wRC+ and 2.9 WAR. Downsides are he would slot into more of a 1B/DH/2B timeshare kind of role than an everyday 3B that would be a more natural fit and would also require a couple prospects that would hurt. Could see the Rays asking for something like Knoth plus one of Yophery or Bitonti? For whatever it is or isn't worth, since his name comes up all the time Yoan Moncada has a Steamer of 94 wRC+ over 416 PAs for 1.2 WAR. His deal is all going to hinge on the medicals, but I personally wouldn't go anymore than a minor league deal with an invite to camp. Steamer likes Ha-Seong Kim for 548 PAs of 106 wRC+ and 2.9 WAR. I'd take the under on those PAs (and probably the wRC+ too coming off a shoulder) but if the market turns into a Hoskins one plus one kind of situation he could maybe be an option. How about Jake Cronenworth? Has 6/71 left on his contract and Padres need to cut money. Has that all around versatile game the Brewers love. Steamer says 104 wRC+ and 2.2 WAR next year. Like stalled out former top prospects from down under for a change of scenery? Curtis Mead has a 292/371/499 (122 wRC+) line over 787 PAs in AAA with a 9.5 BB% and 16.8 K% under the hood, but has struggled in sporadic MLB run with 224 PAs of 244/300/312 (78 wRC+). Steamer still likes him to the tune of a 109 wRC+ projection for 2025 though.

Betts with Dodgers in 2020 for 12/365 and Lindor with Mets for 10/341 in 2021 were the last two.

Monasterio AA (771 PAs) Age 22-25 269/348/393 (106 wRC+) 10.0 BB% | 20.6 K% 20 SB / 12 CS Monasterio AAA (604 PAs) Age 24-27 256/364/365 (97 wRC+) 13.9 BB% | 23.2 K% 24 SB / 5 CS Durbin AA (224 PAs) Age 23-24 271/353/412 (114 wRC+) 8.0 BB% | 5.4 K% 23 SB / 8 CS Durbin AAA (375 PAs) Age 24 287/396/471 (129 wRC+) 12.5 BB% | 9.9 K% 29 SB / 3 CS Durbin has out hit, out run and made contact at a significantly higher rate than Monasterio ever did in the high minors and hasn't lingered at each level for three plus seasons like Andruw did either.

The Cubs can afford anyone they want, but haven’t really ever ponied up at the top of the market. If they want to extend or re-sign Tucker it could approach doubling the largest contract in franchise history. How “good” the deal ends up being for the Cubs will come down to if they can get back to the playoffs for the first time in the last six full seasons in 2025 and if the Ricketts finally decide to spend on a superstar.

If I counted right it looks like the 40 Man is now full up with 22 pitchers and 18 positionals. Any future additions would require an accompanying subtraction. Jay, Capra and Hicklen would be my best guesses as the guys whose spots are most tenuous.

If you click the Forums tab there is a link for Prospect Rankings under the Brewers Resources header. Here is a direct link. Voting results thread can be found here.

The defensive metrics are almost unanimously negative on Rengifo… 2B (2,460 inn.) -9 DRS | -12 FRV 3B (850 inn.) +1 DRS | -8 FRV SS (625 inn.) -5 DRS | -9 FRV With how much emphasis the Brewers put on run prevention I don’t think they’d have much interest in Luis.

Sounds a lot like his reports on Scooter Gennett (who went on to put up 1,135 PAs of 124 wRC+ from ages 27-28).

Paredes whole game is pulling flyballs down the line for HRs. He could hit 40 in HOU with the Crawford Boxes.

FanGraphs has their trade write up posted, some nuggets... "He succeeds in roughly the way you’d expect. He makes a ton of contact, particularly in the zone, thanks to a compact swing that punishes pitches up in the zone. There’s a ton of lift and pull to his game, and his excellent bat control helps him stay out in front, even against good opposing pitches. The exit velo numbers weren’t great in 2024, but wrist injuries often sap power for a while even after players return from them, so it’s reasonable to project some improvement in that area next year. That kind of approach has its limits. It would be wildly irresponsible to project above-average power production at the major league level from a 5’6” batter until we’ve seen far more evidence that he can keep it up. But he checks enough boxes offensively that I’d be very interested in finding out how it works in the big leagues, because he has a lot of skills you can’t teach: bat control, command of the strike zone, and an ability to identify and attack pitches that he can damage." "In summary, this is the most win-win trade between contenders I’ve seen in quite a while. Everyone gets what they’re looking for here. Both teams improve their chances for 2025. Both rosters look better in their new configuration. All the players are fun. The only thing I don’t like about this trade is that I didn’t think it up myself. What a delight."

Tucker is going to want $300M plus to forego FA. Biggest contracts in Cubs history are Heyward (8/184) and Dansby (7/177). Swanson has at least earned his money with his glove so far, but Heyward was a pretty huge bust for them. Not sure the Ricketts will be willing to pony up that kind of cash.

McCalvy already reported Cortes passed the physical and has had a "fully healthy offseason".

Everyone knew that the Cubs "overpaid" at the time to try to break a hundred year curse. The Chapman trade had as much affect on the reliever market as the Counsell contract had on the manager market.

No one needs to talk themselves into anything. The most Devin can be realistically expected to contribute is around four wins in one season, career high of +4.09 WPA. The odds of one year of Cortes (who's averaged 3 WAR / 150 IP the last three years) plus six years of Durbin adding up to fewer than four wins is extremely low. It's just math.

Yeah, looking at Steamer they have Tucker tops at 148 wRC+ and 5.5 WAR, though Contreras isn't far behind at 128 wRC+ | 5.2 WAR. Somewhat interestingly Matt McClain is 3rd among NLC position players per Steamer at 117 wRC+ | 4.0 WAR just fractions ahead of Elly De La Cruz at 111 wRC+ | 3.9 WAR. Chourio is 5th at 119 wRC+ | 3.6 WAR but assuming he picks up where he left off the last four months he should add a couple two tree wins on top of that pretty easily.

MLBTR saying it's Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wesneski and Cam Smith heading back to HOU.

Sal was in AA/AAA at age 22 and AAA/MLB at age 23, versus Durbin in A+/AA at age 23 and AA/AAA at age 24 so the age difference has to be taken into account. Also would have to check the park factors for their respective AA/AAA parks for a little more insight. Believe BA or BPro does them every so often, but I'm not a subscriber. Just from a visual standpoint Durbin looks stockier/stronger than Sal so hopefully that bodes well for his future power production.

Durbin is a five foot six inch 14th round pick out of a D-III school, those guys don't make prospect lists. Most recently he won breakout player of the year in the Arizona Fall League after hitting 312/427/548 with a league record 29 SB against only 1 CS and 17 walks compared to 6 strikeouts. Over 375 PAs in AAA this past year he hit 287/396/471 with 29 SB/3 CS and 47 BB to 37 K. He has an excellent performance record and the Brewers scouts obviously see something they like, even if internet prospectors have been slow to take note.

Last two years Durbin put up a 127 wRC+ over 697 PAs with an 11.3 BB% and 8.3 K%. Also managed a .153 ISO over that stretch so there is some pop in there despite the stature. 67 SB / 12 CS so he's got some wheels too. Defensively versatile I'd guess he is primarily 3B and playing 2B versus LHP. Devin's max season was +4.06 WPA. Durbin should have no problem beating that value over the next six years, not to mention the one year of Cortes could do it too (5.3 rWAR in 2022).

Abner is a Wild Card in the truest sense of the word...as it pertains to his impact on the Brewers 2025 season, as it pertains to where any given pitch might end up, as it pertains to the mental side of the game, and even moreso than most pitchers as it pertains to staying healthy with only one season over 50 IP and a grand total of 141 IP over six seasons. I agree the arm talent is too tantalizing to give up on at this point, but a lot of moving pieces are going to need to click together for it to ever be realized for a full 162 game season (plus hopefully some playoffs).

Yelich, Adames, Contreras...the current iteration of the Brewers have made multiple big trades for players under long term control and they've combined for over 50 WAR and counting. Trading for Garrett Crochet would still be a couple two tree big moves short of going "all in".

All gonna come down to the medicals. Sounds like Kim is targeting late April early May to be ready but that could easily spill into June and then you're missing a couple two tree months waiting on him and presumably riding an Oliver Dunn / Andruw Monasterio platoon in the meantime? And there's a decent possibility Kim will need the rest of this year to get back up to speed before maybe being in a position to return to peak form in 2026? Too much uncertainty for my tastes, but if the market settles around a Hoskins one plus one kind of deal I could see the Brewers getting involved.

Ahem, that's INF/OF/pitcher Miguel Briceno.