Boomer5

Definately a good deal for Milwaukee.

This guy gets it. A low quality bullpen equals very few wins.

If the Indians think they can contend, I'd be more inclined to trade off our major league roster than a prospect. Say a Blazek plus.

The loss of KRod already started the domino effect. The Smith and Knebel injuries just exasperated the situation. Bullpens are very unpredictable year to year. It will be interesting to see if Torres, Blazek, and Jeffries can pitch high leverage innings.

I'd actually like to see them give Villars as much of a chance as possible. He is one of the few major league guys we acquired that has some upside and maybe that can be realized? I'm wondering if maybe he should be at 3B , his metrics say he is not a SS. I know it's a long shot but we aren't playing for the pennant so why not?

The bullpen was not selected for talent, it was selected to protect service time on the kids. If you're trying to win games, you don't put a Boyer and a Cappy on your team in 2016. Torres has actually been a decent reliever the last few years but if he can't make the Braves, and could arguably become our 8th inning guy, there is a problem.

When the Indians are demoting him, he is getting closer to take a flyer on him status than trading for the third pick in the draft upside.

I wouldnt give up much of anything for Bauer. Yes he throws hard but has command issues. There is a reason the Indians are moving him to the pen. He has a tremendous arm but obviously there is something seriously wrong with the guy. I dont think the Brewers need to trade much of anything for him IF they have any interest.

The top 4 is pretty darn competitive, especially if Santana takes the leap to the next level and can handle the lead off spot. Like a Dave Parker lite. The bottom 4, uh, wow. I had high hopes for Villars but so far he doesn't look like much.

Yes it does, they've already punted. And that's not including a Lucroy trade that's still possible, and Ryan Braun's back acting up before the season even started. There is no chance at any magic. Scooter has a better chance of being in the All Star Game than the Brewers have of making the playoffs. We are definitely on the same page as far as the Brewers plans this year. This season will about giving young guys some reps and building the farm in the form of trades and the draft. Personally I like Scooter for exactly what he is; a really nice platoon 2nd baseman. Its not a crime that he cant hit lefties and he cant play SS/3B. He is a nice player to have and should have a good 400 AB season. Nothing more, nothing less.

I thought it was Ramirez but yeah thats right. Neither is a "prospect" though so I suppose Montero wouldnt be blocking anyone the Brewers like a lot. I am not sure he is a upgrade over either though.

Thank you for this information!!!

Does Braun start the season on the DL? Seems like he has been day to day for a while.

If Carter is on a 35 HR pace he will be traded in July.

Who is the projected AAA 1B? He seems more like a DH type to me but I havent seen him catch or play 1B and my view is skewed when he was first traded as an elite bat and the reports suggested he wouldn't stay at catcher.

He can prove that he is this season by staying healthy and producing. Let's not forget how horrible he was to begin the year. While we can remember the mvp finalist year, we also have to take all of it in account, including injuries. He's done well in ST so far so hopefully he will be a top catcher once again so we can continue to stack young talent. In April he was brutal, no doubt. But in the 2nd half of 2015 he OPS'd 808. The only question in ST was is healthy and he has certainly proved that.

Luc is one of the top 5 catchers in baseball. To say otherwise is not backed up in facts.

Exactly. Don't mess around with a Luc deal. Unless we have all misread his value surely there are multiple good offers for him. Get serious about adding a sweetener and move on. Smith can come back from this just fine but I would assume he could have been a heck of a trade chip prior to this.

Key trade chip Smith with fluid build up in his knee. This is classic Brewers luck. Let's not mess around with Luc.

Well, yeah. If you sign a lease, you're on the hook for it, so he could be out quite a bit of money since it sounds like he's looking for a place for his family, and not just getting a place with several of his teammates. If he assumed he'd be traded, why throw away thousands of dollars for nothing? There's a reason many pro athletes end up broke shortly after they retire... he probably doesn't want to be one of them. He could easily ask to go month to month on rent, even offering to put down a higher security deposit for the chance to go month to month. It's not like he's going to have to pay a full year's rent up front. He has a wife and a kid. That means he needs a two bedroom. You can find a pretty good two bedroom anywhere you want in the metro area for around $800. All he would have to do is tell the landlord I'll double the security deposit if you let me go month to month on rent because I don't know if I'm going to be traded. For 6 months, that's like $6,400 including the doubled security deposit. If he gets traded before the season starts, he can tell them they can keep the security deposit for holding the apartment for him. Yeah you're out $1,600 at that point but that's not going to cause him to go broke. I doubt the reason he hasn't set up a residence is because he couldn't figure out logistics. It's more to his mindset that he only plans on looking for any kind of residence in his new city and obviously he feels that is a highly likely scenario sooner rather than later.

Right now there is certainly a good deal on the table now for Luc. Stearns is holding out for a great deal I would assume and he has 11 days to do it. Past that he is just being reckless with his number 1 trade chip.

I agree. I am not sure how 82 wins can even be a discussion point. 68-94 and losing Lind, KRod, Davis with Luc on the way and adding waiver wire guys, most of which so far look like guys even we should cut, will get us to 82 wins? Wow For what its worth, Fangraphs has the roster as the 3rd worst in the game, with Philly knocking it out of the park and Atlanta and Milwaukee a distant 2nd and 3rd worst. http://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=ALL&teamid=23 As for the 2015 team I need to pull up this nugget written in early Feb 2016 and that was WITH Lind and Davis who have been essentially replaced with Broxton and Carter. Batters It represents an instance of damning with faint praise to observe that, in 2015, Milwaukee batters outproduced Bryce Harper by roughly a win. On the one hand, that’s better than not outproducing Bryce Harper. On the other, the phrase “Milwaukee batters” denotes a group of professional ballplayers, while “Bryce Harper” is just one person by himself. In light of how baseball works, a group of players should basically always outperform a single guy. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2016-zips-projections-milwaukee-brewers/

Yes, and why wouldn't I? They lost 94 games last year, and actually played worse the 2nd half of 2014. Since July 2015, the major league roster has subtracted, not added talent. That is before the assumed Luc trade. Right now: 1.) The Rotation which we all like, doesn't look like its made much of a leap and in the case of Wily and Anderson looks downright horrible. I can easily seeing Anderson or Wily traded if they look solid to good. 2.) KRod was a roller coaster at times but his loss is huge. The notion that any pitcher can replace him is wishful thinking at best. Jeffries has an electric arm but has never even sniffed a closer role and is a wild card. Smith I do think could handle it but I also think he will be traded this year. Even if either is up to the task, the domino effect will be at play for the 7th and 8th inning roles. I also doubt the Brewers want to put him in the closer role and have to pay closer money to him next year. Bullpens go up and down year to year so I guess anything can happen but thinking losing KRod is a plus to the bullpen is homerism at its finest. 3.) The infield is worse with Hill and Carter than Lind and ARam. I still like Villars but he hasnt looked like a major leaguer so far, let alone an upgrade over a very low bar in Segura. i know its spring, but Segura and Sardinas look like Honus Wagner right now. 4.) The outfield of Davis-Santana-Braun to Braun-Broxton- Santana is the same if you assume Broxton can be a full time CF. I do like Santana a lot. Broxton is intriguing. Braun is certainly on the block and could be traded if the right deal comes along. I will never get the Flores love and his zenith is a left handed Kevin Mensch without the power. 5.) Assuming Luc is traded, his loss to the major league roster is self explanatory. This is going to be a very bad baseball team this year. Some here take things SO literally so if the team "only" loses 98 games Im sure I will get some flack but 82 wins? Come on now, thats not in the cards.

This is a team that has been horrible for a year and a half and none of the scrap heap brigade is going to change that. Losing KRod, Davis, and Lind for nothing on the major league roster is not going to make the team better. People are entitled to their opinion but there is nothing but a prayer that says this is a 82 win team.

Why is Hill the consensus started at 3B? The guy has been brutal so far. Based on performance, had Hill (445 ops), Villars (495) and for that matter Flores (648 including 315 slugging) not been traded for, they would barely be in the conversation to make the team let alone start or play key roles.