MadThinker88

Agreed. Trust me when I say that the 2016 World Series appearance was a windfall to the Tribe organization and the NE Ohio area and fanbase. The Cubs fans were paying crazy dollars to get a seat (any seat) for games 1, 2, and 6. Those payments went into orbit for game 7.

Agreed. IMHO the Brewers made a mis-step when they selected Corey Ray #5 in the 2016 draft when Puk was still on the board. Puk went #6 to Oakland.

I don't think Thornburg would unless it was as a second or third piece. I'd guess the starting pitchers would be interesting but I'm not sure Boston would be interested in moving those guys now. I agree that Thornburg wouldn't be a primary target, but as extra piece he might help out getting something put together. Let's put a pin in that idea (Boston).. As I head to bowling league tonight I will be catching up on a few baseball podcasts. Perhaps some creative juices will get flowing..

I'm curious, would players like Rick Porcello or Drew Pomeranz or even a reunion with Tyler Thornburg interest the Brewers??

Anglo, I hear what you are saying and for another team, Pina (or others) might make some sense. Cleveland isn't that team (for a catcher coming back or a reunion w/ Jesus Aguilar or a INF like Villar or Perez). I feel half the fun in trying to think up a trade is finding that other club that could be a match. Its part of the reason I have bookmarks with RosterResource & BaseballReference...

Well, Mejia started in AA last season, and I think he hasn't played in AAA, so they might expect him to start the season in AAA. Pina seems like an upgrade over what Cleveland have on the roster, so in a trade for Salazar and Kipnis (as an example) I could easily see them viewing Pina as a nice, cheap stopgap (and upgrade) for a year and insurance in case Mejia doesn't stick at catcher. No. Pina not sought after or needed in Cleveland (even if Mejia was dealt). Both Gomes & Perez have multi yr contracts with control (or options) for another 3 to 5 seasons each. Mejia & Eric Haase both started last season in AA. Mejia got a Sept call up since he was already on the 40 man. Haase got a week or so in AAA. Haase was added to the 40 man in October so he wasn't lost in minor league free agency or the R5 draft. Hitting 27 bombs from the C/ DH role (when Mejia caught) will tend to make someone stand out in AA. Unless a move if made, the pair likely splits time in AAA during 2018. Having Mejia learn another spot helps to get his bat into the lineup beyond just catching or DH.

There is zero harm attending the workout, watching & evaluating. From there - make a pure baseball decision. If not, move along. If he can help, can it be done at a reasonable contract? Other factors/ variables would need to be considered as well. Not saying the Brewers should be in front of everyone & signing him. Just do the due diligence.

Has he been heard or seen since the end of the season??

I agree, well stated. But here is the larger question for the player side: what items are they willing to either give up or give in to? A CBA is full of give & take and each one is built upon the one preceding it. They do not go back to a blank sheet of paper & start over each time. Yes the Players needs to approach certain areas and try to make changes but the Owners will need to get something in return for each of those items. The International draft - that will cause even larger headaches due to the large Latin American contingent (& their groups not wanting it). Pace of Play - a large aspect of that will be in place before the next negotiations & if its helpful for the fans, the players will not want to be seen as against the fans Where can the Players give up something (something of value in the owner's eyes) to get changes in other areas?

I believe the Cleveland FO & Tito Francona disagrees with you. Otherwise they would not have picked up the $3M option for Tomlin this season. Saving a few million could have made a difference on other moves getting completed already this off season. The goal of each FO & Manager isn't to please the fan base & have the fans agree with them. Its to win games, achieve the playoffs and after making the playoffs, winning the title. Winning the title will please a vast majority of the fans.

If Tribe deals Kipnis, JRam goes to 2B.. Yandy Diaz (or Urshela or someone else already in Tribe system not named Chisenhall) plays 3B. Villar, Perez, Jesus Aguilar hold no value for Cleveland I wrote it before, Chisenhall makes Braun look like a gold glover at 3B. He is not heading back there. BTW - a healthy Kipnis is batting leadoff or 2nd (in MKE or in CLE). He is misplaced lower in the batting order.

you ask & I will respond... The average Indian fan would go nuts with the idea of Santana only for Kipnis & Salazar. Every fan (even those not thrilled with Salazar over the past 1.5 seasons) would expect more than 1 piece back for him alone. The question becomes what is the other piece. Kipnis is still a fan favorite so they would expect something for him alone. So I would echo A Swing & a Drive (Tom Hamilton's catch phrase by the way): Santana & Ponce would not be sufficient. Part of my reasoning on that is I don't believe Ponce would be a target for the Tribe. They have a handful of other pitchers being crowded at the AA level pitching wise (the group at high a Lynchburg was very good last season- McKenzie, Bieber, & Civale among them). So if the prospect piece (or pieces) was different, there might be a chance. IMHO if it was Freddy Peralta & a lotto ticket, there might be a chance because the deal could help in the 2018 push (Peralta might be able to assist the 2018 club in the bullpen & the change having Santana). The average Tribe fan would enter a 'wait & see' mode thinking 1) the Tribe got ok value in the trade (everyone wants more) and 2) wondering what would be done with the Tribe salary savings - is there another (non-MKE) deal being made or an extension being signed by someone like Lindor/ Cody Allen/ etc.

Yes Bernie is a decent baseball guy but your taking a quote from Dec 2017 when (in absence of other options) the cost to get a player like Domingo Santana would have been higher. Now people have looked at Santana in greater detail & the Brewers impacted (lowered) his value by geting Yelich & Cain. It comes down this: Both players are with risks & flaws. Both are under team control for the same length of time (2018 plus 3 more seasons). The value of pitching is higher than the value of hitting/ power as we just had a record number of home runs hit & 117 players hit 20 or more homers (41 hit for 30+ homers) in the 2017 regular season.

Then I predict a deal will not get done. Consider a post from the DSantana thread last week From the MLBTR live chat today https://www.jotcast.com/chat/mlbtr-live ... -2968.html Steve 5:19 Brewers trade Domingo Santana and a prospect to Indians for Danny Salazar..fair trade? Jason Martinez 5:22 Depends on the prospect, I guess. I've been curious about corner OFs being connected to the Indians. Brantley is back. He'll be in LF. Chisenhall missed half the season, but had an .881 OPS and 12 HR. He's the RF. Santana might be an upgrade, but he also might not be. So why trade Salazar for him? So Jason Martinez a 3rd party non-fan of Brewers or Indians is confirming that it takes Santana plus to get Salazar. Now we look to add in Kipnis. Even if his entire contract is picked up by the Brewers, he is not a negative value. Yes, his value decreases the more the Brewers take on, but in the end it doesn't enter the negative area. Hence the Brewer prospect is either upgraded (to a higher/ better level) or a 2nd prospect gets added. Now HH19 yesterday had noted a sizable trade was stuck due to one player & neither side was budging. I could easily see that being a deal with Cleveland. Many fans expressed happiness that DS was sticking to his guns & being a tough negotiator. I'm fine with DS holding his ground. He is looking to make the best deal possible for the Brewers. I expect every GM is looking to make the best deal for his team. DS is valuing at one level. Cleveland (or the other team) is valuing at a different level. Eventually a deal gets made or the sides walk away & look for other trade partners. The biggest concern is that a relationship is not completely ripped up so the sides can work together in the future.

While many clubs have noted the blocked path of Profar, the Rangers asking price (so far) has been reported as much higher than expected. I noticed on MLB Network last night there was speculation that the Rangers might be a dealing away team at the trade deadline. If so, Profar might be a guy that slots into a created vacancy or a part expected to bring back necessary pieces as part of rebuild...

Ok, so items are cooking with Toronto. Will be interesting to see what is finalized.

Saw a photo within the past few weeks where Todd interacted with the bearded 'thumbs down' Mets fan. This should be interesting to watch now that Todd is on the Mets..

First....are you an Indians fan or a Brewer's fan? Shouldn't matter. Baseball Fan, raised on the Tribe in the 70s & 80s. Spent nearly 4 yrs in NW WI during this decade..

Hey HH19, In your opinion - what is the player most sought after/ targeted/ desired from the Indians by the Brewers - Kipnis, Salazar, Mejia, someone else??

Salazar has been mentioned. Not surprising at all..

Capone's lack of gold!

enjoy!!

Dilly Dilly!

LOL

I'm thinking it will be something else that "will sting".. time will tell.