paul253

Two guys I'm really going to follow are Gennett and Kentrail Davis. I think they are going to be the cream of the position player crop for the next year, or until we draft some more high ceiling position players. Pitcher wise it's still nice to have a lot of names to follow: Rogers, Peralta, Heckathorn, Scarpetta, and Rivas top my list. Oh and Logan Schaefer too. Hopefully he can rebound from his injuries last season.

I'm sorry if this has been addressed already but I don't have time to read thru 15 pages of material. In TH's article in the JS which was posted about 4 hours ago he still mentions "player to be named later" instead of Jeffress. Do we know it is Jeffress for sure? Maybe they are just waiting on a drug test to announce him?

If this deal for Greinke is true, I really think McGehee needs to be traded for a center fielder. Right now we have two third basemen and no center fielders (Gomez and Dickerson don't count).

My hope is that the Brewers trade McGehee for at least mid to high ceiling minor league position player then hand Gamel third base. The guy has nothing left to prove in Nashville and needs to be given a shot to play in Milwaukee on a full time basis.

Would any deal with Greinke be dependent on a contract extension? I certainly hope so. I'd have to imagine Cain and either Rogers or Jeffress are two of the players involved. Maybe Zach Braddock as well?

Closers are almost a dime a dozen. They can be found a lot easier than starters. We have two pitchers we could put there now (Loe and Braddock) and I'd be willing to guess we could sign another reliever who could do it if necessary. If trading Axford significantly lowers the cost in prospects you have to do it.

You don't consider Shields as a legit #1/#2? I'd be ok with Shields but I'd much rather have Garza. Shields had a terrible year last year. He should be able to be gotten for less than it would take to get Garza. Shields, in my opinion, is not a 1 or 2. If you're willing to give up what it takes to get Shields, you may as well add a little more and get Garza.

I didn't realize Pavano was a Type A free agent. If we sign him we'd have to give up our second round pick. I realize we may have three picks before that but it just makes me want Pavano even less than I already do. We need to restock our farm system and giving up a second round pick to sign aging starters isn't a good way to do that. Not unless we can sign him to a one year deal and hope he stays a Type A free agent.

And no way do I trade both Cain and Jeffress for Beachy or Minor. Colby would you trade Cain and Jeffress for Beachy and Minor?

Baseball America listed the Braves top 10 prospects today. 8 of them are pitchers. It's hard to imagine that we couldn't work something out with them if they really wanted Cain.

In the old days pennants were won with pitching and defense Yeah but I think pitching is more important than defense now. Not that defense isn't important, as I am sure everyone who has been banging their heads on the wall the past few years watching Milwaukee already knows, but I think it all starts with pitching. One of those guys is replaceable though, at least defensively. I think Gomez is just as good defensively as Cain is. Keep in mind the Brewers don't need one more pitcher, they actually need at least four. For various reasons, injuries, effectiveness, dropping from contention, etc., major league teams use 8-9 different starters during the year They may need 8-9 starters throughout the year, but they don't need to go out and get four more pitchers. Yes every team needs a spot starter every now and then, and you may even have a season ending injury too. But in that case, you already have guys like Rogers and Rivas, maybe even Parra and hopefully Capuano you can throw into the rotation. Getting Greinke would immediately put Milwaukee in the front position to win the division, assuming they don't give up too much offense in the deal. So maybe the $10M for Pavano or all the money and players for Greinke would leave the Brewers short of pitchers anyway. See I disagree here. You don't need six pitchers capable of being a number two or number three starter. You just need enough guys that are capable of getting by. That's where guys like Rogers and Capuano come in. If you have Gallardo, Greinke, Marcum, Wolf, Narveson, Rogers, Capuano, Parra, and even Butler and Rivas, you'll be fine barring a major disaster.

I think if Melvin made the Cain for Beachy trade he could pretty much be done with pitching moves for the year. You could start the year with a rotation of Gallardo, Marcum, Wolf and Narveson 1-4. Then let Parra, Beachy, Rogers, hopefully Capuano and whoever else compete for the number 5. If necessary, you could then trade either Fielder or McGehee for a center field prospect. Or, if you are desperate, you could move Hart to center for a year and play Mat Gamel in right. The defense would be atrocious, but the pitching would probably be a little better than last year. And the offense would be pretty darn good. You'd really have to hope you hit on your high draft picks in the next two drafts though. 1) Weeks 2) Hart 3) Braun 4) Fielder 5) McGehee 6) Gamel 7) Lucroy 8) Escobar 1) Gallardo 2) Marcum 3) Wolf 4) Narveson 5) Capuano

So Melvin turned down Beachy for Cain? Unbelievable and a sign that Melvin does not get it. I was thinking the same thing. His control is much better than Rogers and Jeffress, and his strikeout numbers seem to be just as high. He only started three games in Atlanta, but he held is own there too. I like Cain a lot, but he is a lot more replaceable then a good young starter. Beachy could have competed for the number 5 spot right away, or he could have gone to Nashville and led a heckuva rotation with Rogers, Rivas, and maybe Butler. We could have survived with Gomez and Dickerson in center for a year, then by 2012 we'd have all sorts of options in the rotation.

If so, it will be the biggest bullet this team has dodged since the Giants 'stole' Dave Roberts from the Brewers. I agree. At least Melvin learned his lesson from aging vets and only offered him two years, but I could really do without Carl Pavano. He would just cost too much money.

I know I started the Zack Greinke thread and I would love to get him still, but I think Matt Garza would be a much more likely get. Tampa has an excess of major league starters and can afford to trade one, whereas KC is only going to trade Greinke if they get they want. Matt Garza wouldn't take as much to get, and I think we could get him while still holding onto Rogers and Odorizzi, which is my biggest concern. If I were Melvin I'd work on getting Garza while everyone else is still focuses on Lee and Greinke. Jeffress would have to be the main piece, and probably Peralta or Heckathorn would have to be included. But that's not nearly as much as you'd need to give up to get Greinke.

I keep forgetting about Eric Komatsu. In my mind he is the most under the radar prospect in the system.

Well if Logan Schaefer can come back from his injury last season he'd certainly be a possibility. Probably not until the 2013 season. Kentrail Davis I think would be a possibility as well. Maybe even Caleb Gindl? I know none of them would be ready until at least 2012 but you can always find a one or two year replacement.

Apparently Atlanta offered Brandon Beachy. I know nothing about him, but a quick look at his stats and it looks like he dominated the minors last season. Between AA and AAA: 5-1 1.73 ERA 119.1 IP 148 K's and only 28 walks. A WHIP of a shade over 1. He pitched mostly out of relief but started 13 out of 35 games. Then he started 3 games for the Braves going 0-2 with an ERA of 3.00 15 IP with 15 K's and 7 walks. According to CNNSI Milwaukee shot down this offer rather quickly. What do people know about Brandon Beachy? With numbers like that it seems like if he can stick to starting you'd have to consider trading Cain for him, but numbers I know can be deceiving. I can't find the article I read but it said something like this....."Atlanta asks Milwaukee about Cain. Milwaukee asks for Minor. Atlanta responds with Beachy. Talks over".

http://sportsillustrated....nke/index.html?eref=sihp According to this article five teams, including the Brewers, are still interested in Greinke. It says "The Royals have received some serious offers in discussions with these ballclubs." I would actually be a little worried about what Milwaukee would have to give up to get him now that Lawrie is gone. I'm assuming at least two of Rogers, Jeffress and Odorizzi plus some. I am not excited about giving either Rogers or Odorizzi away but getting Greinke would be a coup. Our rotation would go from huge liability to major strength.

I'm starting to think the Brewers should go all in for Garza. I'm not suggesting they make a stupid deal just to get him, but something like Jeffress and maybe Peralta should be a good start. I absolutely do not want Milwaukee to sign Carl Pavano to a three year deal. A rotation with Gallardo, Marcum, and Garza would surely make Milwaukee at least a co-favorite to win the division. And unlike the year they got Sabathia, they'd be set up to continue to have success for a few years after that, even when they lose Fielder. A rotation of Gallardo, Marcum, Garza, Wolf, and Narveson looks pretty good.

I'd be fine with Fielder for Britton straight up. The rotation could start to get really good in 2012, and it could continue to be really good if they can extend Marcum. On top of Gallardo, Marcum, and Wolf, you have Rogers, Rivas, and Britton as options with Heckathorn, Peralta, Odorizzi, and Scarpetta not far behind.

Well if Chicago is planning on making a move for Prince after this year, we'd all better hope they don't finish in the bottom half of the standings. This is a good move by them. If Pena has a good year, they can sign him long term or offer him arby knowing he'll likely walk looking for a multi year contract. They can then get some comp picks for him and sign Prince. If he has a bad year, they let him go and make a play on Prince anyway. Seems like a no lose situation.

Cain, Gamel, and Jeffress for Garza and Upton is a deal I would do. The farm system would be absolutely devoid of position prospects though. Who would our top positional prospects be? Kentrail Davis and Scooter Gennett? Not that that is something that would prevent me from making the deal, I'm just saying.

Apparently the trade for Gonzalez has fallen through. If I were Melvin I'd make a call right away and offer Fielder to Boston as a consolation prize. If they were ready to offer Kelly, Rizzo, Fuentes, and another guy for Gonzalez, perhaps Melvin could convince them to offer Rizzo and Ranuado for Fielder. Or even Ranaudo and Lars Anderson.

The only way I would even CONSIDER that would be if Greinke agrees to an extension of at least three more years plus the two left on his contract. Even then....I think I'd rather take my chances with the prospects we could get for Braun. Consider what SD got for one year of Gonzalez then think what Milwaukee could get for Braun. I'm not advocating it, just saying if I had to pick one, I'd rather pick multiple high ceiling prospects.