Boomer5

We traded our 2015 first round pick to acquire a guy so we no longer have to play our 2016 first round pick.

Very true. Zellers minutes >>>>>> Thons minutes and Zeller makes $2M. Not a huge move but pretty solid considering our garbage isn't getting DAJ.

Why does a team that drafts so well in the second round love to get rid of our 2nd round picks?

Lol. We always get the worst brothers. The Bucks never get rebounders.

More of that young controllable talent. I'd rather roll with Suter.

His buddy Jason Kidd got him paid him to work out with Thon. Of course he's going to say great things, so they bring him back again. Thon's work ethic is legendary, but if 2 years of working like that gets you to the point of being one of the worst players in the NBA at age 24 (like most front offices believed https://www.theringer.com/2016/6/29/16042548/thon-makers-age-controversy-could-change-the-draft-as-we-know-it-eb82d46c2273 ), can you really expect some huge amount of growth going forward? People don't still believe he is 19 right? I thought he would be a heck of a defender who would eventually develop a 3 game to go with clean up points. Boy was I wrong. The guy looks lost out there. We have two guys that we give a ton of minutes to in Snell and Thon and their stat sheet looks like they played half a quarter.

If I were a GM teams like the Os and Red Sox would be on constant speed dial. They are so dumb they will say yes eventually to anything.

Point is well taken. Archer is a strike out machine but he really isn't a terribly effective pitcher when put in context of trading for a TOR type. I still believe we will trade for Archer or Fulmer and we will pay whatever TB or Det wants. We really don't have much choice because our pitching staff isn't good enough to win a WS even with a Cobb or a Lynn and we just added two starting OFers at a plus plus cost to a team that already had extra starting OFers.

They didn't give away $80M and 5 prospects so they could put together a team that might challenge for the wildcard if everything fell correctly. Patience. Big move or moves are coming.

Thon is worthless. If the Bucks think they are going to accomplish anything with him playing key minutes they are kidding themselves.

They should just switch which league has the DH every other year. That would be as silly as the current situation now. Pick one rule and stick to it for all leagues including the minors.

Literally any back up center who current plays 12-15 minutes a night would help the Bucks over Thon.

The way you can tell a GM is lying is by seeing if their lips are moving. Same goes with ex wives.

Just a side note on the Arizona situation - I believe the catcher that was really sounding off on Bauer was Miguel Montero. Wasn't he the same guy that spouted off to the media last season in the Cubs locker room about trying to catch certain Cubs pitchers and holding opposing base runners in check?? Sometimes you have to consider all aspects. Something the follies of youth will cause people to mature and realize they have to approach the situation differently moving forward. Does Bauer do things that could infuriate you as a fan? Yes. Case in point the drone incident during the 2016 playoffs. Does Bauer do things that could impress you as a fan? Yes. Does Bauer want the ball on every chance he can get? Yes. He would prefer being part of a 4 man rotation & not coming out of a game until @ 150 pitches. I tried locating a video clip on youtube for you (no luck), but Bauer was interviewed on the field after the Tribe won a then franchise record 14 games in a row in Toronto on 7/1/16. The interview won over many fans for Bauer. Bauer, the scheduled starter for the next game, came out of the pen & tossed 5+ IP in a 19 inning game to earn the victory in the 2-1 decision. To paraphrase off my memory: He was asked about how he felt and what might happen with the scheduled start the next day. Bauer having thrown 80+ pitches said he would do whatever was asked of him by Tito. If he could weigh in on the situation for who starts the next game, he would want the ball. He wants to pitch but would follow whatever was asked of him by the team. I recall some Tribe chat boards changing their tune on Bauer after that. Went from "who does this guy think he is" to "he's our guy, will back him to the end". We have all heard the mantra of 'Next Man Up' and appreciate the mindset of teamwork & togetherness. But every so often you need that person who voices the belief 'This is it. The opposition advances no further. I will stem this advance.' It wasn't just Montero. The entire organization bailed on him, so there's something there whether we know what it is or not. He's not a guy I'm interested in rooting for, which would be more of a dilemma if his pitching talent weren't roughly equivalent to Zach Davies.. Bauer and Davies are two completely different pitchers.

Dunno, but the more I see, the more I like, especially when the Brewers coaches DO get the most out of folks. His BB/9, ERA+, FIP, and K/BB ratios are all going in the right direction over the last three years. He is controlled through 2021. The attitude after he threw those five innings in relief is a good one, too. In a way, I think Bauer could be a good addition and obviate the need for an expensive free agent. Deal Aguilar and Bickford for him. Bauer is a 3 WAR pitcher. Guys like Aguilar and Bickford aren't guys who will get you his crashed drones.

Solid post. You're right, that guy is really into pitching. I've never seen anything like it.

What makes the Cubs the benchmark for free agent decisions? Well they did see the guy up close and desperately need starting pitching and clearly don't want the guy back. You don't think that's a giant red flag?

Oh I agree completely that the players are not being treated fairly when they should be at their peak earning years and are artificially held down their first 6 MLB years. But the data says that only foolish teams sign players to 5 plus year deals to players over 30 and that has been proven time and again. So we are essentially looking at two different problems.

Brilliant post. You could have bolded number 3. Teams pretty much all have the same data and they know that FA in general and especially to players over 30 is insane.

Why would we want Arrieta if the Cubs don't?

And if it does work out, the vast majority of the team is controlled for the next three to five years, which means lots of prospects aren't really needed. And that means three to five years of drafting prospects pretty much knowing when they will be needed to replace the players in the majors. That's assuming we actually want all of these guys under control for 3-5 years. It was only a year ago when Stearns tried to give Villar $22M to be our controlled 2B for example. Broxton was a budding Mike Cameron. By April 30th, Thames was a legitimate MVP candidate. Junior was our opening day starter. Times change rapidly in baseball and sports in general. It's not just the Brewers. Look at the Cubs who had a lineup that was the envy of the game in spring of 2017 that is now down to Rizzo and Bryant as the only guys they can truly count on . I think it's a very safe bet that Yelich will be a good to great player for the next 4-5 years. Ditto Arcia and Hader. Braun obviously won't be. Shaw and Thames are iffy to repeat 2017. The catchers are stop gaps. Cain won't be a star for the life of his deal. I'm assuming Hiura will take over by 2019 and will be one of our key players. I like Knebel a lot but his 2017 was almost impossible to top. That's why this is a short term plan. We will hope for the best in 18 and 19 and realize that 20 will be whatever the baseball Gods decide.

If they win a WS no price is too high. The Cubs definitely don't mind giving up Torres. But they were a WS team prior to that move. The Chapman trade put them over the top. Are we a WS team ?

I'm not in any way suggesting these are smart moves. They are not. They are however designed to speed up the time table on the rebuild and make us more competitive this year and next. That will most likely happen with these moves.

Bauer has a spectacular arm. I've seen him pitch many times and he has that easy heat thing going. The ball just jumps of his wrist. Still he is supposed to be a head case and his production is more in line with a decent guy to have on the back end and is in no way a Santana plus prospects kind of trade target.

I definitely side with building the farm vs the sugar rush of free agency but different strokes for different folks I guess. I found myself justifying any possible trade with the Bucks for example. Somehow I could talk myself into Kidd taking MCW instead of a lottery pick because he is supposed to know what he is doing, especially with point guards. As for the Yelich trade, the Cain deal, and the supposed Archer deal, no I don't think they are smart and I don't think those guys, while definitely good, are headliners for a legitimate WS team. But at the end of the day I will cheer them on because they are Brewers and we will be a good team the next few years and we can worry about 2020 in 2020.