Madhawk23

First I've heard of these guys (granted, I don't follow the international leagues). Are these guys definitely trying to come over to MLB this winter? Do we know if they are coming over highly regarded, as guys that have skills to translate into big league baseball? I just always get a bit concerned with spending money on these Japanese/Korean league players, as it just feels like the "hit" rate isn't always very high. I know Nori Aoki was a solid player for us back in the day, but it just feels like there have been far more "misses" with guys that came over that many thought were guys that were going to continue to play at a high level when coming over, but just never lived up to the hype.

Yeah, I'm starting to think as well that there is going to be very little chance of us bringing back Grandal. I think I'd only be interested in a 3 year offer to him, and something tells me that one of the bigger market teams will give him a 4 year deal with a higher AAV than what we could offer. If that's the case, then we'll be stuck looking for another option through either F/A or a trade. I know the F/A catching market is very weak this winter, but outside of a trade with the Dodgers - are there any other teams that have multiple younger C's that we might be able to partner up with on a trade? Anyone worth targeting?

Problem is the Brewers then have perhaps the weakest defensive infield in MLB. Who plays third in 2021? The pen is extremely weakened for 2020 and no money to add a starting pitcher. Gray is a year or two away. It's like you're throwing 2020 away and banking on Turner's and Braun's salaries coming off the books for 2021. In this scenario though - aren't you basically replacing Grandal's one year salary with Turner's? I think the original idea then included re-signing Moose and either playing Moose or Turner at 1B next year (not sure if that's a viable option though?) - and then not picking up Thames's option. So, in the grand scheme of things you might actually save a bit of money - if you look at Turner replacing both Grandal and Thames's contracts? Again though - a lot of moving parts there, and I think this is one of those trade ideas that is fun to think about in our own "fantasy land," but probably not one that would actually ever happen.

There’s no way the Dodgers do this trade[/quote I think the only way the Dodgers do a trade like this is if they really do make a run at signing Rendon. Then, they probably would be looking to shed Turner's salary. In either case though - I'm guessing they'd want to substitute Ruiz in as the C coming back to the Brewers in this deal - instead of Will Smith, who at least already established himself at the big league level this year. Still though - highly unlikely that a deal like this would take place. Fun to think about though!

Yeah, I guess that's my main concern with Lux. If he's not at least an above-average player defensively at SS, then you really are turning yourself into a very poor defensive team. We already saw the issues that Hiura's defense caused us at 2B at times this year, and if you also have that over at SS - it would be a BIG problem. So, the more I think of this - the more that I'm thinking Lux may not be the good match that I was hoping he'd be for us.

I too love the idea of working out a trade with the Dodgers this winter. Just seems like a perfect match in so many ways. Do we know if the Dodgers view Lux as their 2B of the future though? Or, is he really more of a SS defensively? I'm hoping he's an above-average SS defensively - in which case they would clearly have a logjam with Seager already filling that spot. Also, would the Dodgers be more willing to part with Smith or Ruiz at the C position? If it's Ruiz - is he the type of guy that you could turn the keys over to next year and have him be your #1 guy at C, or is he still a year or so away from taking on that type of a role for a contending MLB team? I'd love to make a big deal this winter (such as the one you've outlined above) with the Dodgers, as it seems like these two teams could match up pretty well with each other as far as "need" are concerned.

Ah, the old "I don't like it so I'm going to project my opinion on the entire fanbase" argument. It would take about 5 minutes for even the most casual fans to learn that Lux is one the game's top prospects and be OK with the trade. Then 5 minutes later upon learning he's from Wisconsin, they'd be saying "Hader who". Ummm….is there anyone here that would like a Hader for Lux - straight up 1-for-1 type trade? I realize there is a lot of upside with Lux, but we've also seen plenty of big time prospects come up to the big leagues and just not pan out for whatever reason. Hader is now a 2-time all-star and one of the filthiest late inning relievers in all of baseball. Some of the K numbers he's put up these past couple of seasons are literally historic. So, while I'd love the idea of getting Lux - I can't imagine anyone being thrilled with just getting one prospect in return for a proven talent like Hader.

Also - while I know this isn't an apples to apples comparison, what would the surplus value have been for the package that we gave up for Yelich a couple of winters ago? Brinson, Diaz, Harrison and Yamamoto had to have had good surplus value at that time, right? We're talking about three guys who were all Top 100 prospects, and Yelich wasn't nearly the player that he is right now with us. Yet, we had to give up a lot to get multiple years of a guy in Yelich, that was a proven guy (albeit not the MVP he is right now). I think Stearns would be run out of town by the fanbase if he traded one of the faces of the franchise in Hader in a 1 for 1 deal for a prospect. No way that happens.

Well, if the Dodgers are so good at developing hitters, why don't we send them Hader and Ray for Lux and Ruiz? They can then work their magic on Corey Ray. Personally, If I'm Stearns - I'm going to need Lux and either Will Smith or Keibert Ruiz in return for 4 years of Josh Hader - one of the best late inning arms in all of baseball. If the Dodgers don't want to do that, then you say "good luck" and watch their pen blow another opportunity next year to win a title.

Point well taken. The current Dodgers front office has not been willing to give up their top prospects to this point, but I do wonder at what stage in their process do they start to show a bit more desperation? Clearly, what they have been doing thus far has clearly worked in getting them into the postseason each year, but they have not been able to get over the hump for a championship. You'd have to figure that some frustration has to be starting to settle in there now, wouldn't you? Also, by trading away someone like Lux and Ruiz - they are at least trading from positions of depth - SS and C. With that said - I agree, that a deal like this is probably a huge longshot. But, I do think that it at least makes some sense from both sides - so maybe it's not as crazy as we might think?

I commend you for your aggressive trade idea here, but there's just no way this deal gets done on either side. No way the Astros give up three young (relatively young at least) studs in Spring, Correa and Whitley (especially when they are at risk to lose Gerrit Cole this winter). And, there's just no way the Brewers could survive the PR nightmare of trading away the franchise in Yelich.

Yeah but Dodgers haven't won it all in more than 30 years and the frustration is palpable for a franchise with extremely high expectations. It doesn't have to be a straight up Hader for Lux deal. Brewers have a lot of guys who fall in the "sweetener" category. I think this is the "wild card" in all of this. The Dodgers are going to be DESPERATE to win it all next season, after falling short 7 straight years now. Especially after this past season where they had the best record in the NL and one of the best records in all of baseball, and didn't even make it to the NLCS. AND, it was their late inning bullpen that eventually let them down. So, while a deal like this will probably never happen - I think there is a lot that makes sense here. And, if 3 months of Chapman nets the Yankees Torres, how can 4 years of Hader not be worth more than just Gavin Lux? If I'm Stearns, I'm asking for Lux and Ruiz for Hader, and I honestly wouldn't rule out asking for another prospect in the deal as well.

This is actually a very interesting trade idea (without Braun included of course). When I first saw the title, I thought "Oh boy, one of these crazy/unrealistic" trade suggestions. But, I could see this working for both teams. Yes, losing a guy like Hader would hurt - but as other's have said, you have to give something to get something. The Dodgers appear to have a depth in their organization at the SS position, so Lux might be a guy that would be expendable? And, you have to figure that LAD is going to be a bit more desperate this offseason to fill their holes. This is a team that needs a championship next year, after failing to win the ultimate prize 7 years in a row. And, they really need some late inning bullpen help with Kenley Jansen falling off the past year or so. If 3 months of Chapman nets the Yankees Torres (Cubs were also in a desperate mode to win a championship), then I'd have to think Hader is worth Lux +, right? How about Lux and Ruiz for Hader? Is that simply too much to expect in a return for Hader? Personally, I think 4 years of Hader should be worth a lot right now. I know he had some bumps in the road this year, but he's still as elite of a late inning reliever as you'll find - and relatively cheap for another 4 years. That should be worth a lot in my opinion. We've got Knebel and Wahl hopefully coming back next year, and perhaps this would also allow us to make a stronger push at bringing Pomeranz back. If Freddy can develop a bit more consistency, and Burnes can re-find himself, you've got other good late pen options there.

Yep...as much as you don't want to load the bases in that situation, I was completely fine with them pitching around Rendon there and pitching to 20 year old Soto - lefty on lefty. I figured that Soto would be too amped up for that situation and that Hader had a good chance at getting the strikeout to end the inning. Unfortunately, I guess we just have to tip our cap to Soto - because he came up huge in that situation. That's baseball. Sucks for us, but I'm sure CC would handle that situation the exact same way if he had to do it all over again.

Getting Burnes figured out has to be one of the top priorities of the off-season, doesn't it? The guy has just too much talent to pitch the way he did this year. I'm no pitching guru, but hopefully they can pinpoint some of his command issues and get him back on track. Would be just gigantic if you could get a young, strong nucleus of Woody, Burnes and Houser in this rotation for the next few years. Then, fill in with guys like Davies, Suter, Nelson, Lyles, etc.

I think Pomeranz, coming off a horrible year, singed with the Giants for about $3 million. I would expect him to double that as a reliever. My bad - yeah, he clearly mentioned Pomeranz. Not sure why I thought he was talking about Lyles in that situation? But, I guess my argument still holds - is Pomeranz really going to go from a 1 yr 1.5M deal with the Giants to all of a sudden getting 6-6.5M per? That seems like an awfully big raise for a guy that had a couple of good months out of the pen this year? I'd probably be on board for 2 yr 8-9M type deal for him, but 12-13M seems a bit high to me.

I think you have to at least double the AAV here. Is Lyles really going to go from a 1-yr 2M deal to a 2 yr 12M deal this offseason? You might be right, but I guess that feels awfully steep for a guy that doesn't have a long track record of success. And, honestly - at that rate, I'm not sure if he'd be worth the risk?

Isn't Fiers signed through 2020 with the A's? Unless if I'm missing something, I don't think he's a free agent this winter.

So, can someone with more knowledge on returning contracts, tell me where our total payroll would be if we did the following this offseason: Sign Yaz for a 3 year, 54M deal (18M per) Sign Moose for a 3 year, 33M deal (11M per) Sign Lyles for a 2 year, 8M deal (4M per) Sign Pomeranz for a 2 year 6M deal (3M per) Decline Chase Anderson's option Pick up Eric Thames option Trade Travis Shaw for a lower level prospect or two I know other deals would probably happen along the way, but I'm just curious where our payroll would fall compared to this past season - if we made the moves mentioned above?

Would a 3-year 54M deal get it done with Yaz? Is that worth it to everyone here, or do you think that's just too much for the Brewers to pay a catcher for the next few seasons? We've got Feliciano and Henry coming through the system, but those two guys are at least 2-3 years out still, and our current window to win is now. I'd love to get Yaz on a 2 year deal, but I doubt that gets it done. If we don't sign Yaz, what are the backup options? And, please don't tell me it's Pina/Nottingham. What else will be out there on the F/A market at the C position this winter? Obviously, none of the options will be as good as Grandal.

I would absolutely be on board with a 2 yr 7M type deal for Iglesias - if that's what it would take to get a deal done with him. That would at least buy us a couple of years to figure out what we have with Turang. Then, could we go out and find someone that might be willing to give us something in return for Arcia? Maybe someone that thinks they can get his offensive game turned around to go along with the glove? He's obviously still young enough to take a chance on. I guess I'm thinking of a trade more in line with what we got for Broxton last winter?

Thanks again for everyone's feedback on all of this. I think I might play it safe then and just purchase whatever tickets I know that I'll need for any of these potential playoff games. I certainly don't want to get stuck with a bunch of extra tickets that I can't at least make my money back on - so it just feels to risky to go down that road.

For the first time this year, I bought into one of the "season seat holder" packages - and I'm trying to determine if it's worth buying tickets to all of the available home games that I can purchase tickets for (if I'm unable to use all of them). So, my question for anyone here that had experience selling some of their postseason tickets last year: did you have success selling them through Stubhub or any other outlet? Did you lose money on buying them through the ticket office and then selling them through a 3rd party ticket site? Or, did you make a little money off of them? Again - just trying to determine if it's worth buying as many tickets as I can, and then trying to sell the one's that I cannot use. Thanks in advance.

There's no doubt that the final week of the '08 season is one that none of us will soon forget. But, couldn't you make the argument that what this team is doing over these last 2.5 weeks is just as remarkable - if not even more so? 7.5 behind the Nats and 5 games behind the Cubs in early September, and we may just catch and pass both of them for the top WC spot? Oh, and by the way - we lost our best player and the MVP of the league during the first week of September! I might agree that it feels a bit "loser-ish" to hang flags for Wild Card seasons, but if we did it for the '08 run - I think you could make the argument that this '19 is equal in amazement. Only difference of course is that the WC was a 5 game series back then, and now it is just a 1 game "play-in" game - so it might feel awkward celebrating that if we lose the WC game.