Lathund

Feels like Feliz always walks the first batter he faces...

Brewers have the highest OPS (And most runs scored) in the majors in the 1st 6 innings. We have the lowest OPS (Second fewest runs scored) in innings 7-9. So a lot riding on the bottom of the 6th!

First of all we'll have to see how many of these guys manage to make the step up, or in the case of Broxton/Santana, keep producing. I have pretty high hopes for all the AAA guys, but not all prospects make it, so there's a chance that the logjam won't be quite as bad as it looks right now. I agree with you on the versatility part, and that we should value having a lot (potential) CF types on the roster. The fact that Brinson, Phillips, Cordell (And Wren for that matter) are good defensively, can play multiple positions, as well as be a threat to steal is something I really like. I find that a lot more valuable than a pure slugger with poor defense. That's also why I think Santana is the one most likely to be traded when the outfield gets crowded. If he keeps hitting well, he'd be a valuable trade piece to teams who don't particularly have a need for defense or versatility (AL teams in particular), while not being a big loss to us. I also agree with the notion of keeping depth. As long as we have outfielders with options remaining, we should keep as many as we can around both in the majors and at AAA. Should be in no hurry to trade any of them away, and only do so if we get offers that well exceed our valuations. Best case scenario, we have a surplus of MLB-level talent and can use 1-2 of them to improve our pitching. Worse case scenario, several of these guys don't make it, but in keeping many of them around we don't need a high success rate to at least get 1 MLB-level starter. To make room for them we should utilize any positional flexibility we have. Cordell has played some at 3B/1B IIRC. Maybe attempt to try out our poorer defenders (Santana/Braun) at 1B? If we have a versatile infield backup like Perez on the roster, we can afford to carry 5 outfielders, with regular rotations.

Particularly interesting how a player making the league minimum (Perez) can be overpaid. I mean sure, if he was performing at a sub-replacement player level. Hernan might not be an all star, but he's producing a .800+ OPS right now, is pretty good on the basepaths, can play every position and be solid defensively in most of them and seems to be handling that role well. All that together creates value above what the raw numbers (Who by themselves aren't bad) shows.

Milone claimed by the Mets

I'd be happy to eat most, or even all, of Garzas salary if it gets us something in return. I'd prefer not to of course, but the money isn't the issue; we gave him that contract four years ago, it's a sunk cost. This season will be his last with the team, whether he ends up traded, released after the season, released during it, or retires. He won't be part of our (hopefully) contending team in the years to come. So if we can get anything at all that might contribute to that team, that's worth paying some of his salary for the next six months. Mind you, I think it would take excellent performances by Garza combined with a really desperate team in order to make a trade happen.

And a good portion of the bullpen. Maybe the bullpen isn't that bad and it only just seems that way to me. Our team ERA is 16th in the majors, so at least statistically we are average. Our WHIP and OBP are the second highest in the league. If we keep giving up that many base runners, the ERA will go up accordingly I should think. So we're getting rather lucky so far.

6th or 7th inning he hit a grounder, just Sunday jogging it down the line. Might have made it a close play. Santana doesn't have a secure enough roster spot at the MLB level to do that. Broxton and Arcia are struggling just as badly as Santana but I never get the impression that either isn't trying. Agreed. And Broxton and Arcia have good defense to go with it, which makes up for some of the struggles at the plate. Santana is such a poor defender that he needs to be significantly above average offensively to justify being an everyday player.

Really good job of hitting to the opposite field, beating the shift, by the whole lineup. Getting opponents to shift less in the future opens up possibilities. Fun game!

His spot won't come up this inning, so they'll probably try to squeeze one more inning out of him. Not saying they won't pay for it, but they'll probably try. Oh I don't for even a second actually expect him to get pulled, just saying it's surely our best chance of getting a win, without being forced to score another 4-5 runs.

Got out of the 4th without giving up any more runs. Top of the lineup coming up now though; surely our best chance of a win tonight is pulling Milone now? Bullpen is relatively fresh after good starts the last few days.

I'm worried about his hitting, but he's young and still has a lot of time to improve. His excellent defense makes it less of a liability to carry him while that happens. If there's no improvement towards the end of the season, one might need to reconsider his approach and maybe time in instructional league/AAA.

I'm on the fence when it comes to trading Braun. I think he'll still be a productive player over the remainder of his contract, and we're in a rebuild where we won't need to accomodate any (or at least not many) free agent extensions during that time. So we can afford it. And we're not exactly blessed with veterans in the club house, so makes sense keeping him from that standpoint as well. On the other hand, we're not going to be competitive this year or next. World Series-level competitive is even further along. Is Braun really going to be contributing to that? And if not, it makes sense to trade for players who will be. Outfield is also an area where we're stacked, with Brinson, Broxton, Santana, Cordell and Philips already. Ray, Clarke and others in the low minors. And perhaps a Wren or a Reed or some other unheralded prospect will make forward strides. I guess it just, as always, comes down to what kind of offers we're receiving. Not sold on Puig tbh. I don't doubt his natural talent, but I don't know if he'll ever get the most out of it. OF is our least urgent area we need to improve in, and I'd be wary of the fact that the Dodgers want rid. We should identify the players we want, in areas where we need them, and hold out for that. If we get it, great. If not, Braun will be a productive player for us over the next few years.