Madhawk23

Is it known yet what direction the Orioles are moving towards? I know they've wanted to move Machado this off season, and now are without their closer for the year due to injury. Are they in tear down/rebuild mode yet? If so - would we have any interest in making a run at either Gausman or Bundy? I know Gausman had a really bad year last year, but perhaps he's the type of guy that might be due for a rebound. And, I think Bundy has 4 years of control left, right (which might make him an untouchable)? If we can't get Archer (or don't want to pay the demands for Archer), I'm trying to find other good SP trade candidates - ideally guys with 3-4 years left of control.

I guess the assumption here is that Odorizzi is better than Guerra/Yo/Suter or anyone else that we might slot into that 5th spot in the rotation right now? And, he's certainly proved himself more than Woodruff at this point in their careers of course.

OK, if Archer is off the table - how about this for an offer to TB: Brewers get: Odorizzi Colome Rays get: Santana Ortiz Dubon Do the Rays need more? Would Burnes need to be included in a deal that also would include Colome? This would solidify our pen (although you'd have to figure out which guy is going to be your closer and which one would be OK stepping down to a setup role), while also improving the rotation. I haven't figured out the exact numbers, but I'm guessing this would take the payroll up to around 100M. If so, I guess we could still go out and target one of the 4 big FA pitchers as well to fill out the rotation and really make a run at this thing. Odorizzi doesn't really move the needle for me, and is only on contract for this year and next - so not sure if that's really the type of guy that DS is out targeting right now though? Thoughts on this idea? Is it completely dumb, or would you consider it?

HH19 has gone noticeably quiet here over the past few days.

OK, I'm sure Stearns didn't want to take the spotlight away from the NFL this weekend which is why he didn't pull the trigger on anything during Super Bowl weekend. Maybe he's even an Eagles fan and is out rioting in the streets of Milwaukee tonight? HH19 - can you confirm?

Sure, it works from our end. But we have absolutely no idea how the Indians value Santana, or what kind of value the Brewers place on Salazar. And if HH's speculation is right, and teams are placing a premium on solid pitching, then it is likely the Brewers would need to add a high-ranking prospect to Santana to acquire Salazar alone, let alone Salazar and Kipnis. Perhaps if they take on all of Kipnis's salary, that prospect wouldn't be as high, but I'm still guessing it would be something like Santana and Peralta/Ortiz for Salazar, or Santana and Diplan for Salazar/Kipnis, with the Brewers taking on most if not all of Kipnis's salary. The cost for solid pitching is otherworldly right now. I'm not as high on Ortiz as others are on this board, so I could certainly get behind a Santana/Ortiz package for Salazar/Kipnis return. I agree though - it's hard to know how much value Cleveland would place on either of Santana and Ortiz? But, we do know that they could use a RH power bat in their lineup, and Santana would certainly qualify as that. I'd be completely fine with a rotation to start the year of: Arrieta or Cobb (sounds like we'll probably get one of them), Anderson, Davis, Salazar and Chacin. Then, you'll hopefully have a month or two before the deadline to evaluate Jimmy Nelson and how healthy his shoulder is. If he returns to 2017 form, then you may not even need to make another SP move at the deadline. If he's not though, then you'd still have guys like Burnes, Peralta, etc. available to make another big move for one of the top available SP's at the deadline.

If what HH19 is saying is true, and we're still looking to pick up both a SP in a trade and one of the big FA pitchers, I think I'm more inclined to push harder for Salazar with Cleveland than I am with TB for Archer. I know that Archer has more of a track record of success (although not really in the past two years), more durability and more years of control. But, adding an Arrieta or Cobb to he rotation along with Salazar would certainly make for a solid rotation to start the year. Then, you could hold onto guys like Burnes, Phillips and Peralta which would still give you some flexibility to make a deal a the deadline this July to solidify the team even more. Could a Santana to Cleveland for Salazar and Kipnis work - with us eating most of the Kipnis salary? Would Cleveland be looking to rid themselves of that Kipnis contract enough to not ask more more prospects in that deal?

I thought there were reports this year that Burnes was topping out at 96-97 fairly routinely in games? If so, what separates Archer from Burnes (outside of the obvious that Archer's been in the big leagues and proven himself already)? Is it the secondary stuff that makes Archer more attractive? I guess I don't know how all of their secondary pitches compare to each other.

HH19 - is there a gut feeling on when some of these dominoes could fall? I realize nothing is set in stone with any of this yet, but boy it would be great to get some news this weekend. Is everything contingent on Darvish and where he ends up going (if he ever actually makes a decision), or is it possible that an Archer deal could happen before Darvish decides?

Man, no way I'm giving up Hiura and Burnes in a deal for Archer. It's hard enough to stomach the idea of a Santana, Burnes, Phillips (or Erceg) and Peralta package, but I'd want Santana to be in the deal instead of Hiura.

HH19 - how imminent do you feel another move is at this point? Are the Brewers waiting on Yu's decision then before they do any other moves?

HH19 - don't listen to the haters. Most on here appreciate the inside knowledge that you provide. Please keep posting what you hear and what you are able to share with us.

It's not that I don't think things are in the works, I just thing everything remains stalled until Darvish signs...and I don't think that happens in the next day or so. I'm expecting end of the weekend at the earliest before significant moves happen. I hope I'm wrong. Unfortunately, I think you're probably right. Seemed like things might have been heating up this morning, but I feel like it's gone very quiet this afternoon. Guessing we need to wait for the Darvish domino to fall before anything significant happens.

I think the Yelich trade broke right around 5:00 last Thursday night. I wouldn't mind getting reports on another big move or two at 5:00 this Thursday night as well. C'mon slingin Stearns!

I agree - TB isn't going to take that package for Odorizzi. If Santana isn't in the deal (which I'd hope he wouldn't be for Jake), then I would guess it would take something along the lines of Broxton, Ortiz, and Dubon.

Brewers were in a lot different place when they traded Lind for those rookie leaguers. Much more a "win now" philosophy. That said, we have no idea if Broxton for Corbin is even an option. If it were truly a case of either/or, considering where the team is at currently, I'm taking the lower upside sure thing over the potential, but very unlikely high upside But - aren't we trying to get more of a TOR starter right now? Do we really want to go into this season with a rotation of Anderson, Davies, Chacin, Woodruff and Corbin? I'm sorry, but that doesn't scream playoffs to me. Unless if you plan to use Woodruff in a Santana package to TB for Archer - in which case I guess you could go Archer, Anderson, Davies, Chacin and Corbin (and then hope that Nelson comes back healthy mid-year). But, I wouldn't be happy at all if Corbin is the final missing piece to our opening day rotation.

I would agree with this statement as well. While I think it is possible to get to the playoffs with a rotation of Anderson, Nelson (if healthy), Davies, Chacin - assuming that our lineup is better and our pen pitches great. However, I wouldn't want to take my chances (especially if we finish 2nd to the Cubs and have to play the WC game) with any of those guys leading off a series against someone else's "ace." So, I do think it is imperative that we go out and find that TOR starter - either right now or at the deadline in July.

Looks like I'm in the minority here, but I guess I'd prefer we trade Broxton for a couple of "lottery ticket" prospects - similar to what we did with Adam Lind a couple of years ago. 1 year of Corbin just doesn't push the needle for me.

I think this is a very good point. I think most would say that Kershaw has been the best SP in the game for years now, and he's yet to get the Dodgers the championship that they've been yearning for - and that's even with a really good team around him. You need a good rotation, pen and lineup to win your division, and then in the playoffs it many times comes down to which team gets hot at the right time.

I think that idea is bogus. Any prospect is attainable for the right price. If a team says a prospect is untouchable, they are just trying to drive up his cost. They are lying. Maybe...but if I were the Marlins I would have taken Buehler over any of Brinson, Harrison, Diaz and Yamamoto. Or, maybe the Dodgers just offered Buehler and one other lower-level prospect? The Marlins may have liked having three top-to-mid tier prospects from the Brewers instead. If it was just Buehler, then the deal immediately becomes terrible if he ends up being a "bust." If Brinson fails, then you at least still have Diaz and Harrison (and Jordan Y) to fall back on - and hopefully one of them at least becomes a good MLB player for you down the road.

HH19 - honest question for you: Clearly, your source with the Brewers must know that you are posting this information on this Brewers fan forum (maybe he/she is even requesting that you share this information). I'm curious though what the motivation is on the team's part? Do they just want to keep the fans informed (in a less formal way than announcing this stuff themselves), or is this all a part of the posturing game - knowing that some of this information will eventually get leaked to the other teams, and they feel that this might help them in negotiations? Again - I'm just curious as to know why this source on the team is so willing to share all of these details. I certainly am glad that they are though, and I appreciate the nuggets that you provide us.

It would take more than Domingo and Burnes! I might be crazy for saying this, but I'm just not thrilled with the idea of dealing away another huge prospect haul for a guy like Archer. I know he's controllable and cheap, and thus seemingly fits well into our now 4-5 window here where we are trying to go for it. But, I'm just not impressed enough with his numbers for TB to give up a package that would start with Domingo and Burnes (and then 1-2 other good prospects).

Buehler being untouchable was one of the rumored reasons why the Dodgers didn't get heavily involved in Yelich. No way they offer Buehler for Santana straight up. I figured that was probably the case with Buehler, since he blew up last year. I wonder if they still consider Alvarez an "untouchable?"

Good to have you back HH19. Thanks for the update. From the sound of it, doesn't appear that anything is real imminent now on the Domingo front.

Do the Dodgers have any need for Domingo? I'm assuming probably not, since Puig is in RF already - but it wasn't that long ago that they had a big need for a RH power bat in their lineup. Dodgers get: Domingo Santana Brewers get: Hyun Ji-Ryu Walker Buehler or Yadier Alvarez Will Smith Dodgers get to clear the Ryu contract, which would help them with the money needed to then go sign Darvish (and it keeps him away from the Cubs, which benefits us). And, they also get a RH hitting power bat in Santana that can fit somewhere in the middle of their lineup. They are in a "win now" window, which means that this year is going to be more important to them than ever. Ryu would at least help give us some rotation depth, although he certainly isn't the TOR starter that we are looking for. We'd only have him for one year though, so we're not on the hook for a ton of money there. Buehler might be an "untouchable" for the Dodgers, but if they would be willing to part with him, he'd be a huge get for us and might be ready to contribute this year already. If they don't want to give Buehler up in this deal, then Alvarez wouldn't be a bad option B. Since we are doing them a favor by taking Ryu and we are giving them a cheap, controllable big bat in Santana, I think we deserve something additional in this deal - so I think Will Smith would give us another good looking catching prospect in our system. Thoughts? Probably not going to happen, but I personally think this could be a good trading partner for Domingo.