RollieTime

Might as well trade Yelich while we’re at it Yes, because cashing in on a reliever is the same as trading a MVP. I think his point was that if we aren’t competing in 2020 (like you mentioned), then why hold onto Yelich? Which is a fair point. If we actually aren’t trying, then it could be something to consider. But trading Hader absolutely doesn’t mean we aren’t competing in my opinion. I see a trade of Hader opening up $5 million to be spent somewhere else. Obviously you’re not going to totally replace his production, but getting Knebel back, hopefully a healthy Wahl, Suter all season in the pen who looked fantastic, D. Guerra, D. Williams, Black, Feyereisen, Peralta, Claudio, and Yardley. Burnes is a candidate who could find his footing again and be dominant out of the pen too. Plus whoever they sign for that ~$5 million to replace him in the pen. I think they would actually still be an above average pen with a ton of upside there. A couple of those guys outside of Knebel and Suter will step up and be big time contributors. In my hypothetical trade with the Angels, Canning slots into our rotation right away, rounding out our rotation and allowing money to be spent elsewhere (bullpen, first, or third). Plus, Canning isn’t a slouch anyway. He was as highly regarded as Burnes was. We also get a top prospect (Adell) that could be making an impact mid season 2020 with another good looking outfielder right behind him in Marsh. Soriano is only in A ball, but brings a ton of upside. A trade like this would help us enough now by giving us a rotation arm, saving money to be spent elsewhere, and giving us a couple guys on the cusp of MLB that could see time for us this season, where it would make sense for us to pull off a trade like this.

I don’t think they ever consider that again. Don’t want to risk messing him up by trying to get him used to 5+ inning starts, have that not work, and then try transitioning back. Starting is a totally different regimen that they go through and would be something he would need to have implemented for a while. It is just too risky to do with someone like Hader. If it was almost anyone else, yeah I could see it. But the 2 time relief pitcher of the year? No I don’t see that as even a possibility.

https://theathletic.com/1456983/2019/12/12/rosenthal-with-market-for-third-basemen-heating-up-multiple-teams-showing-interest-in-kyle-seager/ Perhaps the easiest path to a trade would be for the Mariners to pay down Seager’s remaining obligation by including cash in the transaction. The Mariners also could make Seager more attractive by including a well-regarded prospect as part of their offer. The team’s farm system has risen from 30th in the majors in 2018 to 11th in ‘19, according to Baseball America, creating a greater number of trade options. Thanks. The issue I see with this is that I don’t think the Mariners are trying to compete quite yet. I don’t think having Seager on their payroll for the next two years will be such an issue that they attach a prospect to rid themselves of him. But if they are willing to attach something of value to move him, fine by me!

He's mentioned as being another candidate for a Cosart-type trade where the Mariners attach a prospect to Seager to get his contract off their hands. That would be an interesting idea. Do you have a link? I’m interested on where that came from.

Thank you. The Brewers will be getting a haul for Hader if he is moved. I think it basically starts with a top 10 prospect. Or a couple guys in the top 30 or so. Plus a couple other high end talents. How about this: Angels Receive: LHP Josh Hader Brewers Receive: OF Jo Adell OF Brandon Marsh RHP Jose Soriano RHP Griffin Canning Adell is a top 5 prospect that could realistically be Braun’s replacement after 2020. Marsh has shown well in AA and could be looking at starting in AAA and possibly making an MLB impact in 2020. Soriano dominated in A ball this season and throws upper 90’s with room to grow. He has the makings of being a nice rotation arm in a few years. Canning performed fairly well in his first taste of MLB this season and was a former top 100 prospect (in the 70 range). He will slot into our rotation right away and give us the upside of being a high end #2 pitcher that we will control for 6 years. Looking at the trade simulator (which I think greatly undervalues Hader), Hader for Canning, Soriano, and Marsh comes out pretty close to even with the Brewers getting a slight edge in value. Adell obviously tips it wayyy in the Brewers’ favor, but again Hader is definitely undervalued on there. Maybe the Brewers could add a piece to make it more enticing for the Angels like Peralta.

Thank you. The Brewers will be getting a haul for Hader if he is moved. I think it basically starts with a top 10 prospect. Or a couple guys in the top 30 or so. Plus a couple other high end talents. How about this: Angels Receive: LHP Josh Hader Brewers Receive: OF Jo Adell OF Brandon Marsh RHP Jose Soriano RHP Griffin Canning Adell is a top 5 prospect that could realistically be Braun’s replacement after 2020. Marsh has shown well in AA and could be looking at starting in AAA and possibly making an MLB impact in 2020. Soriano dominated in A ball this season and throws upper 90’s with room to grow. He has the makings of being a nice rotation arm in a few years. Canning performed fairly well in his first taste of MLB this season and was a former top 100 prospect (in the 70 range). He will slot into our rotation right away and give us the upside of being a high end #2 pitcher that we will control for 6 years.

Castellanos is one of those guys that the Brewers could make a strong push for and I think is a very realistic target. I am sure that Boras is looking for a 7 or 8 year deal for him based on his age, but I think a 6 year deal could get it done. That takes him through his age 33 season. The only thing is how expensive will he be? Is a 6/$90 million (AAV $15 million) enough? In this market, it’s tough to know how much he will go for. I do think this might be close to what he’s going to actually get. He did seem to improve his defense some last year as well. And with the DH (in my opinion) coming to the NL after the 2021 season, and if his defense doesn’t improve, he could end up as the DH. I do think he is going to breakout and be a .290 hitter with 30-35 homers and 40+ doubles possibly as early as this season. It would be awesome to have a legit right handed threat behind Yelich to protect him and make pitchers not be able to pitch around him. Heck, Yelich could become a 50 home run hitter if he has to be pitched to and can’t be pitched around! Pair those two with Hiura and Urias who I believe is going to be a .275/.350 hitter with 20 homers possibly as early as this season, and we have a nice young core to put around Yelich.

Here is an updated list for anybody interested. If I am missing anyone, let me know! Position Players Braun $17 million Cain $16 million Yelich $12.5 million Hiura $500K Arcia $2.2 million Urias $500K Pina $1.8 million Gamel $1.4 million Narvaez (Arb. $2.9 million) Total $54.8 Rotation Woodruff $500K Houser $500K Lauer $500K Lindblom $3 million Total $4.5 million Bullpen Hader $5 million Knebel (Arb. $5.2 million) Claudio $1.8 million Suter $1 million Peralta $500K Feyereisen $500K Wahl $500K Total $14.5 million Other Options (not included on payroll list) D. Guerra $500K D. Williams $500K Faria $500K Burnes $500K Buyouts/Deferred Payments Thames $1 million Moustakas $3 million Grandal $2.25 million Garza $2 million Total $8.25 million $54.8 + $4.5 + $14.5 + $8.25 = $82.05 Million Current Payroll Roughly $46 million below last year’s payroll

I think there is a very good chance Hader gets moved this offseason. I would put it above a 50/50 chance that he is traded. Relievers are just too volatile to hold onto when you could move him now and bring back enough talent to move our window from 3 years to 5+ years even if Yelich were to move on. I really don’t see the Yankees having enough to get a deal done. The Mets and Dodgers have enough to pull it off. One team that hasn’t been linked to them, but I think could be a dark horse candidate is the Angels. They are going for it and have Jo Adell to headline a package. When you have a top 5 prospect to headline a package, you have the pieces to work out a trade. It’s just a matter of if they are willing to part with him. If we could get Jo Adell and their second best outfield prospect Brandon Marsh, it would be a very strong foundation for a Hader trade. Adell would be a fantastic get. He would be the perfect fit to take over when Braun is gone after the 2020 season. If the Angels would have any interest in actually moving him, who knows. But they would lock in the best relief pitcher in the game for 4 years.

Brewers also lost Nate Griep, Bryan Torres and Jordan Brink in the AAA phase. 2 Thing: 1) It kind of shocks me how Stearns is all about finding value, but seems to have no interest in taking a Rule 5 guy. These guys are proven minor league talents that haven’t been given a shot. It’s a much safer pick than paying some 8th round draft pick or whatever $100,000. You get a guy already proven in the minors who could be on the cusp of the MLB. And if he doesn’t work, you get half of that back. Honestly it’s surprising he’s not involved. Even for a bullpen arm or SOMETHING! I really wanted Roberto Ramos and felt that he could of been the lefty platoon option at first base. I’ll be interested to see what he does the next year or two. 2) Extremely disappointed we lost Griep. The guy has posted very good numbers throughout his minor league career. I don’t see how you can let a relief pitcher go who would be in AAA that has shown promise all throughout the minor leagues. For being an organization that has a tough time developing pitching and also wanting to have cheap controllable talent at the MLB roster, it’s hard seeing that Griep couldn’t be a last guy in the bullpen option at the league minimum at some point even during the 2020 season.

And it's signings like this that make me embarrassed for factions of our fan base. LOOK AROUND! Roark got 12 mil AAV. Lyles got 8 mil AAV. Gausman got 9-10. Treinen got 10 coming off an awful year. Would any of those guys make you feel warm and fuzzy? Are any of those sure things? It's like a huge number of people have never had to be strategic about anything in their lives. MKE can't afford to be strong everywhere and pitching is often highly inflated in cost. MKE can not afford top end ace pitchers. Can not. I've pointed to the .9 to 1.1 run diff for well over a year now and that there is an easy way to achieve it if you can simply find 1 starting pitcher solidly sub 4 (3.5 range) and then keep the rest under 4.2. Nothing world beating. If your 5 starters can sit at a 4 ERA the pen can drop you dramatically under 4. That's a great staff. There are 30 teams in this league. 6... SIX... were sub 4 era. What's the cheapest way to do that? Guys like this! Guys like Miley, Gio, Chacin, Anderson, Davies and trading next to nothing for a nobody like Lyles. How many times have they pulled serviceable out of thin air. This team was 1 game from the WS one season ago. ONE. In the last 2 years they were in the playoffs twice and NLCS 1 time. I mean I'd understand if you never saw it work but you just watched it work to the tune of 1 game from the WS. I somehow remember they were leading the team that won the WS this year. Leading in an elimination game, without Yelich. Who was on MKE's staff? Strasburg Cole Verlander Kershaw and Darvish right? RIGHT? 3 mil a year. 6 mil if he pitches as a starter. Cheaper than all the other nobodies we've seen sign deals. Low risk, upside, and a guy who can be a 3mil pen piece if it doesn't pan out. Will Roark give back half his money if he flops? Guy started 30 games last year and was at 6.5 IP per start. This is a brilliant signing. It might not work out, but the idea is brilliant. Yet, factions of this fan base complain. There is nothing to complain about with this signing. Welcome the KBO Cy Young to the roster and hope DS did it again. This is the perfect post. This is why I have been an advocate of Anderson and Davies the last couple years because they are those solid mid rotation arms that keep you in games and don’t break the bank. If you had a staff of 5 Davies, you would be in the postseason every single year. Davies isn’t a world beater, but he keeps you in the game more times than not and has an ERA under 4. There are so many worse options out there that staffs are trotting out there and the numbers show that. I will always find a 4 ERA guy valuable as long as he’s not breaking the bank. I still would love to add a second arm at the top of the rotation with Woodruff to really give us a strong rotation though. Fill in the rest with those middle of the road guys and we will be just fine. I really like this signing and think that Lindblom will be a solid rotation piece similar to Davies, but with a higher ceiling. With the prices of these below average starting pitchers getting $10+ million per year right now, we got an absolute steal. Looking forward to seeing what he can do in the rotation.

My dream of Rendon in our lineup with Hiura and Yelich has ended. What a sad sad day. I think Rendon will be one of the few massive contracts that works out well for the entirety of the contract. He can flat out hit and I see a guy like him aging well into his mid thirties.

I would be very disappointed if we signed him. I think his best days are behind him and don’t see him improving on his numbers moving away from Oracle. If we spend ~$20 million per year on a guy that has numbers similar to Chase Anderson or Davies and we moved them (although Davies was in a nice trade), then I don’t see why we would spend that much on a guy who has been trending in the wrong direction the last few years.

How many players can one team select? I though it was one? I believe there are 2 rounds in the Rule 5 Draft, but I am also not 100% positive about that.

Would love to bring Smith in. Get a strong young core of Urias, Hiura, Smith, Woodruff, Lauer, Hader, Peralta, Burnes, and Narvaez to a point. It would be a lot of fun to see what the young guys could do while also competing for a playoff spot.

It’s been pretty quiet on the Brewers’ front for a little while. I totally expect Stearns to come out now and make a move at some point today. It’s the Stearns Way! On a separate note, Rendon balked at the Dodgers offer of 7 years, $210-$215 million, but it had deferrals. I’m going to keep dreaming on Rendon in our lineup until it’s no longer a possibility or until the dream turns into reality! How about a 7 year, $225 million for Rendon? Our lineup would be absolutely filthy if we added him! Cain Hiura Yelich Rendon Narvaez Braun 1B Urias P Good luck opposing staffs! This would put our payroll only at about $110 million or slightly higher if Rendon signed for that much.

White Sox are making some nice moves this offseason. Bringing in Mazara, signing Grandal, and retaining Abreu. Their offense just got a whole lot better. If they bring in a rotation arm like Keuchel, Bumgarner, or Ryu, they are going to be a very interesting team to watch. I could see them having a 20 game swing from 72 to 92 wins next season. Having Giolito and Cease all year, adding a big name rotation arm, and bringing in a back end starter to round it out, they could make a real run at the postseason in 2020.

I would not do it. If you want someone, pay Rendon $35 million per year for 7 years instead of giving away prospects for a guy on a similar deal.

This is what I’m thinking too. If you could get his AAV down in the $16-$20 million range, it is definitely manageable. With the prices guys are getting in free agency, it wouldn’t surprise me if Price would get around $20 million per year if he was a free agent this offseason. And especially if he continues to pitch like a high end #2 like he has the last 4 years with the Red Sox, he would be well worth it for us. Woodruff, Price, Houser, and Lauer is not a bad start to a rotation at all. Bring in someone like Taijuan Walker or Michael Wacha to slot in behind Price and we would have a very solid rotation.

Ramos is my choice as well. If he pans out, you get him for 6 years. If he flops, you get half your money back anyway. It’s a great way to possibly add talent to your system while giving a guy an opportunity at the big leagues who deserves it right now with how he’s performed in the minors. With the rosters at 26 this season, I don’t see why he couldn’t slot into the backup 1B role or possibly starter role if he performs. He would be a cheap option that would provide some pop off the bench as well. He has raked everywhere he’s been in the minors. He’s definitely worth a shot.

Boy, that's a really depressing list of names, isn't it! I know we've won with similar guys in our rotation the past couple of years, but if we were to just add a couple of guys from this grouping it would feel pretty bleak heading into the 2020 season. Especially when you consider that it's very likely that our offensive production takes a hit after losing two of our key cogs from '19 in Grandal and Moose (and it's not looking very optimistic that we will be able to make up near that production with the way the F/A market is shaping out for us this winter). No, it's not depressing. Not at all. There is a lot of potential there. It's really hard for me to understand this doom and gloom stuff on Dec. 11. This team has made the playoffs two years in a row, and was one game away the year before that, by following the same philosophy they are now ... finding underappreciated value. I expect them to do that again this offseason. Might the bottom fall out? Yes, of course. But this front office has done absolutely nothing to make me not trust them when they say they are committed to putting a competitive team on the field. Give me two of Taijuan Walker, Michael Wacha, and Alex Wood and I think we would have a solid rotation as long as they stay healthy. Walker and Wood have had injury concerns. Wacha has been a very good starting pitcher for 5 years, but had a down year last year. I would take Walker and Wacha right now to pair with Woodruff and go to work!

With the prices in free agency being much higher than most people thought, the Brewers may need to trade for a quality starting pitcher to fill out their rotation. With the Red Sox open time moving Price, would the Brewers have any interest in him? Even last year, Price had a solid year. His FIP of 3.62 is over a half a run lower than his ERA of 4.28 His FIP the last four seasons are 3.60, 3.64, 4.02, and 3.62. He still has very good numbers and would be a nice addition to our rotation. If the Red Sox pay $45 million of his remaining $96 million, with the Brewers picking up the remaining $51 million ($17 million AAV), would you consider it? If the Red Sox are paying down that much money, I’m not sure if they would include someone like Benintendi, but if you could get Price and Benintendi, I would have real interest in making the trade. Benintendi is arbitration eligible for the first time, projected to get $4.9 million, and has 3 years of control remaining. If the Brewers receive Price, $45 million, and Benintendi, what would the Brewers be looking at giving up to bring these two guys in?

That’s a lot of dollar bills... Good for him. If he dips at all in his performance, that is going to be one long contract. If anybody deserves a contract like this though, it’s Gerrit Cole. His numbers are absolutely absurd.

One part of the quote is very interesting. “Based on talks with other teams”. Sounds like he’s definitely looking at making a trade to fill the holes at first or third or possibly both.

The Angels might be looking at Braun for 3B in 2021 Unlikely, heard they were looking to acquire Hiura to man 3B for the next 6 years. Impossible, the rumor is they are looking to acquire Arcia as their third baseman and giving him a lifetime contract.