Oldcity

MU is really impressive. They have to be one of the deepest teams in the country. Sleeper for Big East title?

Haha. Nickel and diming 'em to death.

Huh? Polanco was much better than McGehee last year.

McGehee needs to be non-tendered. There isn't a team in the league who would pay him the 3 mil or whatever it is he'll make in arby.

Ramirez manages to do something difficult: make the infield defense worse. At 10-12 mil a year. I want no part of him.

What they truly need is a new shortstop. Third base isn't even a need. They have to see what they've got in Green.

I have the growing feeling that I'm going to hate this off-season.

If it's Rollins or Ramirez for similar price/length, I'd take Rollins in a heartbeat, and I don't want Rollins at all. Shortstop is a much bigger need. There really isn't any need at third. Give it to Green. They need more left-handed hitters, anyway. I'd much rather see their only free agent infield signing be someone like Alex Gonzalez than spend this kind of money on infielders who are well past their prime. They shouldn't sign a third baseman at all, and no free agent shortstop should get more than two years. They're all too old.

What are you really saving then if it's Garland at 5 mil vs. Wolf at 9?

Reyes is a more valuable player than Fielder but has been much less durable. Reyes' contract will likely be a better deal though, because Fielder will probably get a lot more money and maybe another year.

The problem I'd have with your plan, while it's pretty creative, is that it leaves them very thin in the rotation. Narveson/Fiers/Peralta not very dependable for a 4-5-6 in a rotation. I think they need to keep Wolf, hand third base to Green, first base to Gamel, and use their money to get a shortstop upgrade. Green and Gamel are cheap for three years. The Brewers need to give them a shot, because if they produce, they'll be very valuable.

How on Earth could they afford A-Ram and Furcal? That would put them well above last year's payroll before adding utility infielders or like three relievers.

They probably can't even afford one of A-Ram or Rollins, much less both. Go with Green and Gamel, get Furcal and some relievers and call it an off-season.

His OBP goes up, which helps the team.

These refs are awful. Ticky tack calls for both teams.

They're in rebuilding mode, which would mean not paying for short term fixes. Fielder would be a long term investment, meaning there's no reason not to go after him.

If Smoak even ends up being an upgrade over Gamel, that is.

Eh. Sometimes shots don't fall. They played well overall. Too bad, but this isn't a bad loss or anything. UNC was impressive defensively in the second half.

Two free throw attempts all game is terrible. UNC has turned up the defense, but Wisconsin has helped them out with some bad shots.

Wisconsin down only one at halftime despite some poor shooting. They're playing really well otherwise. I have a good feeling here.

KenPom has Wisconsin number 2 (!) and has them favored AT UNC on Wednesday. Crazy. Looking forward to that game for sure.

It's not a mentality. The Brewers payroll has skyrocketed since Mark A has taken over, and he's raised it every year. They were middle of the pack in payroll this year, and I imagine it will go up to around 90 or so. There's nothing wrong with the payroll here at all.

They aren't waiting on Fielder. It's lip service. And yeah, they really need to non-tender McGehee.

It was 85 last year. Maybe 90 is realistic, but jumping 10-15 million dollars isn't, really.

Ok, let's work under your hypothetical of trading Wolf and signing both of those guys for 10 mil each. MLBTR has estimations for arby-eligible players. Of course, that isn't perfect, but it's better than nothing for now. With those estimations, they see the Brewers adding $16.4 mil to the already guaranteed $58.58 mil in player contracts next year. So that's already 75 mil. -Non-tendering McGehee, which they absolutely need to do, should save around 3 million bucks--72 mil. -Wolf's salary next year is actually $9.5 million, not 11. I'm skeptical you'd find someone to take him without having to kick in some money, but I'll play along for the sake of this scenario. Now we're down to 62.5 mil. -Add 10 mil for Rollins and 10 mil for Ramirez. 82.5 mil That's $2.5 million below last year's final team payroll, and we haven't even filled a fifth starter, a backup infielder (assuming one is Green), and at least three relievers. This is all before even mentioning that Ramirez and Rollins are aging players who should not be expected to play full seasons, and whose performances should be expected to drop by the end of their four-year deals you propose. Or before mentioning the fact that signing them long term would probably kill a chance at a Greinke extension. The Brewers truly don't have much money to spend. They have enough to fill shortstop, bring back Hairston, and add a couple relievers. They'll make up the value of Fielder with a new shortstop upgrade over Yuni, Green's upgrade over McGehee, and Hairston's upgrade over Counsell. The team would be as good as last year with Gamel at first, Green at third, an upgrade at short, and Hairston at number one utility.