BrewBalls

Based on his overall track record, I can't figure out why no one wants to sign him. Especially at the salaries we signed him for the st few years. I'm all for this move if the price is right (i.e. $6M or less).

Depending on what the Brewers are on the hook for in 2015 I would still like to add another reliever like Joba for around $2-3M. This would provide us with enough depth to not have to rely on Henderson or Thornburg being a solid contributor. I would still also look to sign a swingman type on a minor league deal to add depth to our rotation. Maholm, Ogando, Hernandez, Saunders, Chen and C. Young all fit the bill. 9th - Papelbon 8th - Broxton 8th - Smith (L) 7th - Chamberlain 7th - Jeffress MR - Kintzler MR - Henderson/Thornburg Long - Maholm (L)

Don't forget Blazek!

Roache or Goforth should be enough unless the Phillies are paying $10M+ of the remaining $26M he is owed through 2016.

I would be honored.

I have nothing against Broxton's overall production, its his salary compared to his production which bothers me. We cannot afford to pay our set up guy $9M while paying our closer similar money.

My first thought was if the Phillies would be willing to take Broxton back if we took on Papelbon's entire contract. I cannot see spending even $17M for two past thier prime relievers. I personally would prefer to sign K-Rod or Soriano for say $6M AAV.

It would be a typical backloaded or deferred salary contract similar to the one Ramirez signed. If he is willing to play the first year for say $9M then it wouldmake the remaining a 3 yr/$51-56M deal ($17M-18.6M AAV).

The bigger question is would you prefer to sign K-Rod or Joba? I highly doubt DM will sign both since we still need to sign another lefty.

The Brewers currently have a ton of high upside, power arms who are coming back from injuries and could contribute in the bullpen this season (Henderson, Thornburg, Knebel, Pena and Hellweg). If one or two can produce it will be a huge boost for the pen.

At this price he would be worth bringing back. I would also like to see Chamberlain and another proven lefty like Thatcher or Cotts signed. IMO this would make the Gallardo trade even better.

Cabrera's court date has been pushed back to March 23rd. Not sure he signs until after this is all cleared up. No team will sign him to a major league deal with the possibility of him spending the entire season in jail.

Soriano will eat up most of the $9M we saved by trading Gallardo. I would prefer adding multiple players such as Chamberlain ($3M), Ogando ($2M), Thatcher ($1M) and Beachy ($3M) instead of placing all of our eggs in one basket.

Considering Diplan recieved a $1.3M signing bonus, Knebel was a supplemental first round pick and likely received a signing bonus north of $1M. Signing players of this caliber would have easily cost the Brewers $4M. Receiving three solid prospects on top of saving $9M this season is more than I thought we would receive for Gallardo. Depending on how the Brewers decide to allocate the saving will just add more icing on this already frosted cake.

What about allocating $2-3M this season to sign Brandon Beachy? We could add one or two team options to the deal to keep him around if he comes back strong from TJ surgery. Might not be a bad way to spend some of the savings from trading Gallardo.

We both know Mark A will not go this route. The closest we can hope for is to be completely out of contention by July so they can unload Lohse, Ramirez, Broxton and Parra for prospects. I would even consider covering a good portion of their remaining salaries to get better returns. All four are decent deadline trade chips and should net some solid prospects.

Since Will Smith is slated to be our set up guy, we will need another lefthander to hold down the LOOGY role. Maholm makes sense since he adds a veteran who can spot start when needed. Chen and Morales would be some additional left handed options who could fill the swingman role. I know that Smith got tired last year and was good against both hands early, but making him the "8th inning guy" is more backwards 1970s baseball strategy from our manager. A guy that allowed right-handed hitters collectively to be better than Jonathan Lucroy on the whole (.872 OPS (Lucroy was .837)) should not blindly be placed in just because it's the 8th inning so that we can find out in June that he just doesn't belong pitching against a large sample of RH hitters. We should take note from well-managed teams like the Rays and A's. Don't try to wish away a player's weaknesses, utilize his strengths and find somebody else to play at his weak points. I agree Smith should not be counted on to handle the set up role this season but that doesn't mean DM and RR believe the same. Chamberlain would be the perfect addition to solidify the back end of our bullpen.

Since Will Smith is slated to be our set up guy, we will need another lefthander to hold down the LOOGY role. Maholm makes sense since he adds a veteran who can spot start when needed. Chen and Morales would be some additional left handed options who could fill the swingman role.

Joba would also be my first choice for all relievers. He shouldn't cost more than 2yrs/$6-7M. We need more guys who can handle high pressure situations to take away some innings from Smith, Broxton and Jeffress.

These are the left handed relievers still available. Joe Beimel (38) Sean Burnett (32) Phil Coke (32) Neal Cotts (35) David Huff (30) Franklin Morales (29) Joe Thatcher (33) Burnett, if healthy, would be my top choice followed by Cotts and Beimel. Morales would be a good swingman option. I would also like them to add another back end starter for depth. Maholm, Hernandez, Chen, Correia and Saunders all come to mind. If we are looking for more of a low risk, high reward guy, Beachy, Ogando and Billingsley are all options.

This still frees up $9M to spend on adding depth to our bullpen and bench. I wonder if DM is targeting K-Rod. Personally I would prefer spending on Chamberlain and a lefty like Cotts or Morales.

So we added a late inning bullpen arm, utility INF and a young pitching prospect. Not a bad haul for one year of Yovanni.

Scouting reports on Knebel: Scouting grades: Fastball: 70 | Curveball: 65 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50 Like Huston Street had done a decade earlier, Knebel went from an unheralded Texas prepster to an instant star as University of Texas closer to a supplemental first-round pick to a big leaguer less than a year after the Draft. Signed for $1,433,400 by the Tigers as the 39th overall choice in 2013, he became the second player from that draft -- behind only Kyle Crockett of the Indians -- when he made his debut on May 24. Two months later, Detroit traded him to the Rangers along with prospect Jake Thompson in exchange for Joakim Soria. Knebel definitely has the weapons and competitive makeup with which to close games. His fastball ranges from 91-98 mph with tailing action, and he uses his height to throw it on a downhill plane. When he stays on top of his curveball, it can be just as nasty as his heater, arriving in the low 80s with sharp downward break. There's some funkiness to Knebel's delivery, but it adds more deception than it detracts from his ability to throw strikes. He flashes a decent changeup, which had the Tigers initially considering trying him as a starter, but his future definitely is as a reliever. Scouting report for Diplan: Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45 Small right-handers usually don't command $1.3 million bonuses on the international market. But Diplan did exactly that last July as part of the Rangers' aggressive international push, because he combined stuff and polish like few 16-year-olds. The Dominican was the consensus top pitching prospect in the 2013 July 2 class. Diplan has a loose quick arm that can deliver fastballs as hot as 96 mph, and he usually pitches around 90-91 mph at this point. Though he's not big, he has room to add strength and should have a consistently above-average heater once he fills out. Diplan has a pair of promising secondary pitches, with his curveball showing more upside than his changeup. Though there's some effort in his delivery, he does a good job of throwing strikes. While he'll have to show he has the durability to remain a starter, he has the repertoire to succeed in that role.

I'm also not a fan of the idea of trading for Zimmerman. I would prefer holding onto our players and just sign a top tier pitcher next offseason. There are plenty of options available. Price, Cueto, Zimmerman, Fister, Porcello, Samardzija, Latos and Kennedy all come to mind. Some will be to expensive for the Brewers to pursue (i.e. Price and Cueto) but their are plenty of solid top of the rotation starters left to pick from. My personal choice would be Zimmerman or Porcello since both would still be relatively young (27 and 30 respectively) come 2016.

I would love to see a package of Jackson or Gonzalez and Rua. This gives us another young pitcher who can slot into either the rotation or back end of the bullpen and is cost controlled. Rua would be a good fit as a platoon mate for Scooter who can also spell A-Ram this season while becoming our starting 3B in 2016 and beyond.