RollieTime

On the trade simulator site, Narvaez for Corey Ray is just about even. His surplus value is listed as only 5.1. For 3 years of a very good hitting catcher, I would do that. His bat is good enough to see some time at first as well to keep him in the lineup.

Stop pouting and people won't do that. I know you're the only one sulking because the Packers got their clock cleaned and acting like the season is over. You spent the night arguing this straw man that the Packers aren't going to win the Super Bowl. Something I think a very small minority of people think they will do this year. Don't think I ever told you to grow up or stop sulking when you've beaten the horse to death on how bad instant replay is and how you want it gone, or any other time you've stood alone on something. Things like that don't help anyone. No one in the history of the Internet has ever responded to "Grow up" with a positive, open reaction. I have a right to express my disappointment, particularly in an IGT, as long as it falls within the rules of this board. You don't have to like it, but it doesn't need approval, either. I don't think the season is over, I'm disappointed because I had to really lower expectations for the remainder of the season after last night because I just now see too big of a gap between the Packers and the top tier teams in the conference. I also don't think more than a small minority of people probably expected to win the Super Bowl, but up until last night, I think there were a growing number of people that at least figured we had as good of chance as any to come out of the NFC. You mean “fed the horse to plumpness” I assume?

Plus he doesn't have anywhere close to the injury risk. If the Brewers don't see a logical replacement for Grandal, I'm down with rolling with Pina and Nottingham, and using that saved $$$ to improve elsewhere. By rolling with Pina, they could spend that $16 million or so they save on retaining Pomeranz, bringing back Lyles, and signing someone like Iglesias. It might cost a couple million more beyond that, but that’s about all it would take. Heck, bring in Castellanos and Iglesias for that money for that matter (once you include savings from Arcia). If Pina gets 450 at bats this year and they keep the juiced ball, I bet he will hit between 18-20 homers and hit .250-.260. Not bad at all for under $2 million.

I hate King on this team so much. Seems like every big play this year is his guy. He’s just bad.

That TD pass to Samuel shows exactly what speed does for your offense.

I don't believe I've heard a second of hype regarding the O-line this year, personally. The broadcasters were saying how this is arguably the top offensive line in the game.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. People hype this O Line all the time. If you think this O Line is good and it’s not from Rodgers being a absolute magician to dodge defenders, throw balls away, avoid taking sacks, and making something out of nothing because of his vision and ability to escape the pocket, then I’m not sure what to tell you. They get credit for his time to throw the ball when in reality they should get almost none of the credit. They get exposed all the time and Rodgers avoids 2-3 guys on almost every play. He can’t do that every single time.

Yeah, it’s probably not smart to run it right at their front 7. I prefer putting the ball in Rodgers’ hands most of the time. Gotta trust him. Seems like any time it’s a 4th and 1 or end of half playcall down by the goal line (okay, it happened only once), it’s a run play right up the gut. Switch it up.

So is that three 3 and outs and a fumble on our first 4 possessions?? Coming out of the bye week??

Merrifield would take over the Perez role, but be a legit top of the order bat. He can play in the outfield or any of the infield spots except maybe SS. He could even possibly be a passable SS option, but hasn’t played there in the majors. He would play 150+ games. It would just be at a bunch of different positions filling in for guys needing time off.

Position Players LF/1B Ryan Braun $17 million CF Lorenzo Cain $16 million RF/LF Christian Yelich $12.5 million 3B/2B/1B Mike Moustakas $11 million (2/$22 million contract) SS Jose Iglesias $5 million (2/$10 million contract) 2B Keston Hiura ~ $500K 1B/2B/3B/LF Howie Kendrick $7 million (1/$7 million contract) C Manny Pina $1.8 million SS/2B Orlando Arcia $2.7 million 1B Roberto Ramos ~ $500K (Rule 5, $500K) 1B/2B/3B Wilmer Flores $5 million (1/$5 million contract) OF Trent Grisham ~ $500K C Matt Wieters $1.5 million (1/$1.5 million contract) Big downgrade at C, but Pina and Wieters will hit .240 with 25 homers between the two. SS gets a big upgrade while keeping Arcia around to give him one final year to show something. Moose is retained, Hiura is up all season, and a very good veteran bat in Kendrick is signed, who doesn’t strike out a lot, is brought in for 1B. 2020 could be a very good offensive season for the Brewers. Flores is brought in as well as Rule 5 pick Roberto Ramos is given a chance after destroying AAA pitching in 2019. If he pans out, 6 years of control for a lefty power hitting first baseman making minimum for a while would be beneficial in keeping financial flexibility the next few years to address other needs. ~ $81 million Starting Pitchers Stephen Strasburg $25 million (6/$165 million contract, increases $1 million per year) Brandon Woodruff ~ $500K Zach Davies $5 million Freddy Peralta ~$500K Adrian Houser ~ $500K Strasburg is the get of the offseason. Putting him at the top of the rotation with Woodruff would give the Brewers a great 1-2 punch. Peralta is given a chance as a starter again as you can’t give up on him and Burnes as rotation arms completely this early into their careers. Peralta is the one given his shot again to start 2020 in the rotation. ~ $31.5 million Bullpen Josh Hader $5 million Corey Knebel $5.2 million Drew Pomeranz $6 million (2/$12 million contract) Alex Claudio $2 million Brent Suter $1 million Bobby Wahl ~ $500K J.P. Feyereisen ~ $500K Jake Faria ~ $500K Hader, Knebel, Pomeranz, and Suter give the Brewers a dominant bullpen once again in 2020. Adding an ace to the rotation will ease the load of the bullpen every 5th day, hopefully keeping them healthy and efficient all season long. ~ $20.7 million Other options/begin the season in the minors Ray Black Devin Williams Corbin Burnes Deolis Guerra Total Opening Day Payroll: $133.2 million Definitely think this payroll is manageable with it being a very slight increase from 2019. The offense will be much more consistent, the rotation will take a big step forward with the big acquisition, and the bullpen will have multiple dominant arms from Opening Day.

Can’t hold the ball too long in the pocket today against this defense. Hopefully they plan on a lot of quick throws today or Rodgers is going to take a lot of hits.

What a crazy pile of assumptions that have absolutely nothing to back them up. Way to assume how things effect a guy and how it does years later. Being from a family where this has happened is enough for me to know it’s real. Maybe you haven’t had a young child pass away to know how much it effects you, how much it messes you up mentally even a year or two down the road. It is all that’s on your mind and no matter what you do, it’s always there. I always attributed his struggles to his mind being elsewhere after that situation. Trying to hit major league pitching when something that emotionally straining is on your mind every second I’m sure isn’t easy. I’ve seen it and I know it. That’s all I will mention on this topic. I’ve always wanted to mention this when Segura talks come up, but I haven’t until now fearing this might be how it’s met. But it’s a very real thing and I personally feel that his child passing away is what lead to his struggles. I hope the Brewers talk with Segura extensively before making a decision on bringing him back to Milwaukee. The last thing they need to do is put him into a situation he isn’t comfortable with.

I absolutely hate single game eliminations. Don’t like it for baseball and I wouldn’t like it for basketball. A three game series makes way more sense, but having the other teams rest for 5-7 games to complete these “play in” series’ wouldn’t make much sense either. I say leave it alone, but it seems like commissioners always like to tinker with things. So I’m guessing it’ll get changed. Having the 1-8 seeds making the playoffs is simple and easy in that all the teams can begin shortly after the conclusion of the regular season.

The issue with bringing Segura back is what happened in the past when he was with Milwaukee. He was a guy I knew would be better somewhere else after getting a fresh start with another team since his son passed away when he was with the Brewers. He was an extremely talented player and there was just too much baggage for him to find his groove with us. I would be hesitant on bringing him back to a place with all the memories and emotions he had while with us. That’s something you don’t outgrow or forget. And bringing him back would trigger those emotions again to a certain extent. If this idea is explored, I hope the Phillies and Brewers both have conversations with him and make sure he is okay with the circumstances and comfortable on making a return to Milwaukee.

This is where I am too. They are going to do something big at some point this offseason. Maybe it’ll be a big trade that nobody saw coming instead of a signing. Maybe they will do both. But I really do think something big is going to happen. On Rendon, I would love to have that bat protecting Yelich. I think I would rather have Strasburg or Cole though if we are spending around $30 million per year for one guy. I’m guessing Rendon will get something along the lines of 7/$230 million.

Grandal wasn’t unaffordable. It’s not wise to give long term, high value contracts to a catcher that is already 31 years old. Most catchers significantly decline in production shortly after 31. Brewers could bring back Moose and sign someone like Iglesias for the same amount of money, filling two big holes we currently have. Pina is a solid hitting catcher with great defense and is owed under $2 million. Get good value there and improve other areas of the roster with big acquisitions. I’m not sad to see Grandal leave as long as other areas are improved like the rotation or shortstop. Plenty of offseason to go.

Highest payroll in team history and people are still complaining about the Brewers being “cheap”. I’m not sure how anyone could be a fan of this team for any length of time, knowing their history, and complain at all about the product being put out there now and the payroll they are spending to make this team competitive. It’s honestly dumbfounding.

Don’t forget Chacin, Moose, Perez, Jeffress, and Albers as well. They have a lot to play with. I am guessing they will make an upgrade at SS for sure since there will be a big downgrade at C. Maybe instead of neglecting the starting staff and going with a bunch of bats like the last couple years, we bring in a couple arms like Wheeler and Strasburg and go with a mediocre offense and hope for progression from internal options offensively! (Half blue) I think there is something to this. The offense was better in 2019 than in 2018, but remember that the 2018 team did come within a few outs of a World Series birth ... without Yasmani's big bat in the lineup. A lot went right that year, but there are some very nice pieces already in place that get get them to that point again. Oh I agree. Pina is a good catcher in this league. Move Braun to first, hope for a rebound from Cain and Shaw, get a little progression from Arcia, and give Grisham a spot in the outfield with Gamel. If a couple guys take a step forward, the offense would be fine. You could then roll with a rotation of Strasburg, Woodruff, Wheeler, Lyles, and Davies with Houser, Peralta, and Burnes ready to fill a spot as needed. It’s far fetched to think about, but it’s realistic with the money they have available. Especially if they are comfortable operating around a $135 million payroll. It can be done for sure. I wouldn’t bank on it, but it can be done if they wanted to go the route of a dominant rotation.

If we get to February and are still looking at a bottom of the order of Shaw, Pina, Arcia, P, I’ll agree with you. There’s been like 2 big name guys that have signed contracts. Heck, tomorrow we could sign Donaldson and the “entire offseason” looks different. There will be key guys brought in over the next few months.

Don’t forget Chacin, Moose, Perez, Jeffress, and Albers as well. They have a lot to play with. I am guessing they will make an upgrade at SS for sure since there will be a big downgrade at C. Maybe instead of neglecting the starting staff and going with a bunch of bats like the last couple years, we bring in a couple arms like Wheeler and Strasburg and go with a mediocre offense and hope for progression from internal options offensively! (Half blue)

Good for Grandal. I’m personally glad that he signed quickly since I didn’t want to think about the Brewers giving him a long term deal. Plus, Stearns can pivot and focus on other free agents. There is no other catcher that will get anything close to this. There will be plenty of money to be spent elsewhere now. It’ll be interesting to see if they put that money into upgrades at SS and bringing someone like Moose or Donaldson in at 3B or if it will go into the rotation.

Any Rule 5 eligible guys that could be intriguing options to keep cost down at 1B to have money available to be spent elsewhere? How about a guy like Roberto Ramos who was in AAA and hit 30 homeruns while hitting over .300 with an OBP of .400. He could be worth a flier for 1B or as the 26th man for pop off the bench making the minimum.

i know it hasn’t been talked about much, but could Strasburg be a target for the Brewers? I just have a hard time thinking the Brewers aren’t going to do something substantial with their starting pitching. Maybe not quite Strasburg level, but I do think that if the Brewers are serious about winning a World Series (which they are), they need to get a horse to rely on who can give the bullpen an easy day most of the time when he starts. Also, having a guy like him leading the rotation into the postseason that can start for you 2-3 times in a series is a must if you’re going to have a real shot at winning the whole thing. There aren’t many of those guys available, but you need to have at least one guy like that to have a legit shot in the postseason. We can fill out the rest of the rotation with Davies/Houser types, but I think it’s time to get a guy. I’ve had a feeling that Stearns is going to surprise us with some big starting pitching acquisition this offseason with how it’s been mostly neglected the last few years and just how bad our rotation really was at times last season. What would Strasburg be looking at for a deal? Would 6/$165 million get it done? The time is now with having a super star on a team friendly deal for 3 years. Our window is arguably that time frame. If we are rebuilding and have Strasburg under contract for a couple more years, it’s no big deal. If he’s pitching well, we move him and add some nice prospects down the road. If he loses effectiveness down the road, no harm done. I just think that it’s time to do something big with the rotation and I truly believe Stearns is going to do just that. Having him and Woodruff making 5 starts combined in a series going 7 games sounds pretty darn good to me. Mix in Davies, Houser, and someone like Lyles for the regular season and we will have a very good rotation. Let’s bring in a workhorse and make a real run at a World Series.