RollieTime

Hopefully this helps our offense Cruz more consistently in 2020.

Why not just sign Iglesias and not trade Hader, especially for an unproven prospect. Iglesias will cost more than $3M, but you then still have Hader. If Stearns is going to trade Hader make it for Smith © and Gonsolin (SP). Then there is no need to waste money on d'Arnaud and they get an upgrade at starting pitcher who is cost controlable. Imo spending $4.25M for a bench player like Flores is not worth it. Much cheaper options are available for the bench. Stearns could re-sign Arcia and sign Cabrera & Walker for the money you'd pay Flores. I don't think Stearns is going to roll the dice on Shaw being a starter. There is too much of a chance that Shaw continues to stink. Re-signing Moose (3/$30-33M) is imperative for next year. Not sure if you are referring to Asdrubal Cabrera, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he gets $4 or $5 million himself. I don’t think there’s any way they get Cabrera, retain Arcia, and sign Walker for cheaper than $4.25 for Flores. Arcia himself will be pushing $3 million.

I don't see much of a match, as the majority of the Padres upper-end prospects are multiple years away from making a major league impact, and I personally wouldn't think about dealing Hader for a package that isn't going to contribute during this 2-3 year window. I know that might be short-sighted, but I think the Brewers are in win-now mode, and a few extra A ballers ins't going to help, unless the plan is to flip those guys down the road. I suppose Taylor Trammell would be nice to have as an eventual Cain contingency plan. Francisco Mejia would be a good get off of their major league roster. 5 years of control left on him and then we have our catcher of the future. How about a return of C Francisco Mejia, RHP Luis Patino (MLB #30 Prospect) that has ace potential and is up to AA, and SS/2B Owen Miller who played all of 2019 in AA and did very well. He could definitely start the year in AAA. You would get your opening day catcher and catcher of the future, a legit pitching prospect with multiple plus pitches that could help out of the pen in 2020 or possibly take over a starting spot later in the season, and a SS that has done nothing but hit since being drafted in 2018. Good range at short and soft hands. Looks like he could stay at the position. He could be a good get before the 2020 season because if he continues to hit how he has, he will definitely find himself in the top 100 by mid-season. Getting a guy in the upper minors at SS is a good option to have if we are rolling with Arcia to start 2020.

Yes, that Hunter Pence. He will be 37 early next season, but had a resurgence last season where over roughly 300 at bats, he hit .297 with 18 homeruns. Pence worked on a swing change prior to the 2019 season and the numbers sure point to that being a successful transition. He played on a one year deal for only $2 million in 2019. He could be a nice bench piece to add to the mix behind Cain, Yelich, and Grisham if Braun does indeed move to first base. Even if he doesn’t, with the 26th spot on the roster now available, Pence could be an interesting get. Veteran leader, doesn’t strikeout at an insane rate, takes some walks, and would provide some pop off the bench from the right side. He can play right field allowing Yelich to move back to left field. It also provides a nice fallback option if Grisham struggles this season. Very unlikely, but Pence could also be an option to move to first base or play some first base since he is a below average fielder in the outfield. If he hits in 2020 like he did in 2019, his bat would easily play the position. I don’t think he will get much more than $3-$4 million on a one year deal. I wouldn’t mind seeing a veteran bat like his added to the roster.

I agree and wish they would pretty much scrap replay. If there is a mistake, make the coaches challenge. No more automatic reviews of everything. Whether there’s a turnover, a scoring play, a catch on the sideline, make the coach challenge if they don’t like the call. Make a system where you give each coach 3 challenges for the game. If you get 2 out of 3 right, you get an additional one. They can add a little area under the timeouts left for the 3 challenges. The challenges available can be white, with a successful challenge turning a slot green and a failed challenge turning red. It would be extremely easy for people at home to learn a system like that. If a team needs a 4th challenge, you just keep one slot red and one green with the last one white, showing that they still have a challenge. Hopefully one team wouldn’t need more than that, but I would rather have teams more in control of what they want reviewed/challenged instead of well, everything.

Lancaster is A+, which is where he spent most of the season. He only had 76 plate appearances in AA and hit .220 in his limited at bats there. I personally think he’s a little further away than they think since he has just made it to AA and is already 24. I do like the signing though.

That’s the point though. They were hoping he would opt out because they didn’t want to pay him. Just like how at one point people were talking about getting rid of Braun in the past or Cain even this season when he was really struggling. People were talking about getting rid of them in a salary dump situation just to clear the money. Even if it meant getting nothing in return. Bradley is probably a negative value or just about even at $11 million and J.D. has probably a slightly positive value. $24 million isn’t exactly pennies and if they want to clear the money, they need to make it worth our time. You gotta give up a little something for a team like the Brewers helping you out. It resets the luxury tax for them and allows them to clear the money and player they quite possibly were hoping was going to leave anyway and a fairly expensive outfielder that really isn’t that good. And they get a gold glove center fielder to replace them.

Cain has 3 years and $51 million left on his contract that runs through the 2022 season. He is coming off a season where he struggled offensively, but put together another fantastic defensive season in his way to winning his first career gold glove. Whether his legs will continue to let him be such a great defender is something worth questioning though now that he will be turning 34 early on in the 2020 season. Plus, will he rebound offensively or will he continue to be a defensive first center fielder? He does have a no trade block to only 7 teams now and I’m not sure if the Red Sox are on it. But if they aren’t, we could possibly lineup well for a trade. This is where the Red Sox come in. The Red Sox want to get under the luxury tax, but will have a hard time doing that without moving one of their big contracts. There was rumblings about them possibly hoping Martinez would opt out to help with the payroll situation, but he decided to opt in. Martinez has 3 years and roughly $62.5 million remaining on his contract. His salary is roughly $24 million in 2020 with it dropping to around $19 million the following 2 season. He does have opt outs after 2020 and 2021. Jackie Bradley Jr’s estimated salary in his final year through arbitration is estimated at $11 million. He plays solid defense and has some pop from the center field position. What if the Brewers pulled off a trade like this (values provided via the online trade simulator): Brewers Receive: J.D. Martinez Total Value 6 Jackie Bradley Jr. Total Value 1.8 Red Sox Receive Lorenzo Cain Total Value -16.3 Cain was worth 2.8 WAR in 2019 so I don’t agree with his value being -16.3 on the trade valuation site since he is so great defensively while outperforming Bradley Jr., offensively and defensively, who had a 2 WAR season. Bradley’s value is 1.8 which is probably a fair number since he is a solid defender in center field, has a little more pop than Cain, but doesn’t provide as much offensively as Cain does who strikes out less, steals more bases than Bradley, and is a more productive hitter than Bradley. I think Cain’s value should be more around 0 for his contract and what he provides. But outside of that, the Red Sox want to clear payroll and this is a great way for both teams to get something they need. The Red Sox clear ~$34.75 million from their payroll, take on Cain at $16 million in 2020, removing almost $19 million from their payroll. They get a fantastic defensive center fielder, but take on the risk of an aging player with 3 years left on his contract. The Brewers take on approximately $19 million. They receive a solid defensive center fielder that can be a stop gap in center field and insurance if Grisham is overmatched. He can get plenty of at bats filling in for Braun, Grisham, and Yelich as needed. It also has the Brewers clearing $11 million off of the payroll after 2020 instead of being stuck with Cain long term. They also receive a right handed middle of the order bat that has hit over .300 and has had 35+ homers the last 3 seasons. He doesn’t turn 33 until late in the 2020 season. If he has another fantastic season, he could opt out of the remaining 2/$38.7 million, giving the Brewers a lot of financial flexibility after 2020 with both guys coming off the payroll. If he opts in, they will have a good right handed bat that’s under contract for only 2 more years. The big thing is Martinez would need to play in the field and could see some time in right, but what about a permanent move to 1B? The Brewers are unconventional and Martinez is a 6’3, 220 pound man. If he worked on 1B all offseason, maybe he could be a below average fielder, but make up for it by being a true middle of the order bat we desperately need (and is right handed!). Bring Moose back on a deal and you could have a real solid lineup. Bringing back Moose and taking on Bradley Jr. and Martinez adds about $30 million in payroll, leaving roughly $15-$20 million for other upgrades still available this offseason whether that’s at SS, C, a bullpen piece (Pomeranz), and a rotation arm or two. Grisham/Bradley Jr. Hiura Yelich Martinez Moose Braun C SS P It’s definitely an off the wall idea, but one that I think would benefit both teams. It’s one idea that gives the Brewers a true middle of the order bat that isn’t overly expensive and it doesn’t cost any prospects. It also gives the Brewers a ton of financial flexibility with $11 million from Braun coming off, $11 million from Bradley Jr. coming off, possibly Martinez, and other guys depending on trades/tender/non-tender decisions or other 1 year deals this offseason heading into the 2020 offseason. Looking forward to what you all think of this type of move and what you might do differently to make something work between these two teams.

Looking at the Red Sox’ contracts on the books, I don’t see any way they move Sale, Price, Pedroia (injuries), or Castillo. Eovaldi could possibly be moved, but the Red Sox would need to add a sweetener. Martinez, Bogaerts, Betts, and Bradley Jr. are the contracts that I think could realistically be moved that they could get something for. Bradley Jr. wouldn’t bring much back and is probably the most realistic contract they could rid themselves of and not hurt the on field product much. I wouldn’t have any interest in him, but some team that is trying to compete and that needs a center fielder on a one year deal might be interested. Maybe we will be interested in J.D. Martinez to take over first base and play a little right field? He would definitely be a nice bat to add to the lineup. He does have the option to opt out after 2020 and 2021. He would cost nearly $24 million this season and a little over $19 million the next two years. He probably wouldn’t cost much to acquire, if anything since they may have been hoping he would opt out anyway to help their luxury tax situation. I wonder if he could play a passable first base?

$800 monthly payment for her college loan, $1,000 on a mortgage, electric, heat, water, wifi, cable or other service, car payment, car insurance, house insurance, health insurance, food and gas. Probably up to around $3,000 per month at least. So entitled. We haven’t even talked about finding daycare for your kids, buying presents at birthdays and Christmas, or POSSIBLY trying to save up for maybe one family vacation per year. The buying power of money has decreased, while minimum wage and wages in general haven’t increased. That’s why it’s so difficult to get by these days. Way too many low paying jobs, including ones that require additional education. Hard for a single millennial to get ahead to purchase their own place when rent itself takes 50-60% of what you make right away for most young people out of high school and college. A person making minimum wage in 1991 of $4.25 per hour had the buying power of $7.84 today. Fast forward to today where $7.25 is the minimum, which (should) have the buying power of $13.37, but obviously doesn’t. Rent of a place for $250 back in the day for a person making $5 an hour in 1991 would take 50 hours of work pre-tax to pay. Rent of a place for $800 for a person today getting $8.50 an hour would take 94 hours PRE-TAX. Tack on another 20 hours and now you’re just paying rent. So it would take a person something around 115 hours to pay rent this month. Just rent. That’s 3 weeks of a full time job. Good luck affording a car or even paying for food to eat this month. These dang entitled kids... Trying to eat this month. It’s all handed to them so easily!

No, they didn't, and the service was terrible. I did stop in one time at like 8pm because I thought there would be no line. Line was like 4 cars with 2 drive through lanes. Took me 20 minutes. May as well go to a restaurant for a sit down meal and be served in the same amount of time.

They'd be compromising their outfield depth by moving Braun to 1B. Cain needs days off and they do have a nice option in Gamel, but honestly Grisham is not proven by any means and if he gets off to a slow start, he'll probably be optioned. They desperately need another RH hitting corner OF if they move Braun to 1B. If they keep him in LF sharing time with Grisham and or Gamel, they need a RH bat at a corner infield spot. I agree with this take. Grisham is not a lock by any means. And Gamel is not a guy you want starting 120+ games for you. I could see the Brewers signing an outfielder and a lot of people will probably question why. But rolling with Grisham and not having any sort of backup plan is a very risky move. I would rather sign an outfielder and have Grisham get his 300+ at bats filling in or spot starting without risking a possible black hole. Especially if Arcia is starting at SS.

The more I think of it, the more I feel like we should move Hader now. If you can get a guy like Lux or Smith, I think you gotta pull the trigger. If we can get someone like that for 6 years with at least a couple seasons of them making the minimum, it REALLY helps us financially moving forward. Instead of paying Hader ~$5 million this season and another substantial increase next season while rolling with Arcia, you get your SS of the future now while having $4.5 million to spend elsewhere like on retaining Pomeranz, bringing in a nice veteran bench piece late in free agency, or some other need. I think a bullpen with Pomeranz, Knebel, Suter, Wahl, Guerra, one or both of Burnes and Peralta, Claudio, Devin Williams, and Ray Black is a strong bullpen. Plus I’m pretty high on Luke Barker and Nate Griep and think they could start to contribute as early as midseason 2020 at the MLB level. If Pomeranz is retained, I would definitely be comfortable moving Hader with the other pieces we have to round out the pen. I don’t think Hader should be moved unless there is at least one significant piece coming back that you can slot into your lineup for Opening Day 2020 whether that’s a catcher, shortstop, or possibly even an outfielder to replace Braun if he is moving to 1st mostly full time in his (most likely) final season with Milwaukee. Even with Grisham, there would be plenty of at bats to go around with Cain needing time off, injuries arising, or possible ineffectiveness. Grisham is far from a lock as an MLB contributor and if we could add a top outfield prospect, I would be all over it.

Antonio Brown back at it again. It’s like he’s trying to make it seem like he’s leaving the NFL on his own terms and throwing shade at the NFL, but in reality his career is over because of his past decisions that will have him most likely end up in prison. That man has some serious issues.

This is pretty spot on. I second this. Nailed it to a T.

Do they have some type of promo for a couple weeks like buy one get one free on their burgers? Kind of like a “celebration” of their opening? That might draw in more people than normal.

I remember before the season how a lot of people were mentioning this WR core as a very strong group and how we might end up losing a really good one by trying to sneak one onto the practice squad. I personally didn’t think we had much talent at the position and that’s really showing right now. Once in awhile you need to draft a wide receiver in the first or second round or go out and sign one that’s a true number 2 once in a while. And another pet peeve of mine at least with how things were done in the past is we might draft some really fast receiver, but then slot him way down the depth chart. And then by the time they are 26 or 27, now we are relying on them when they just don’t have that top flight speed they once did when they were 21. You want to get faster at the wide receiver position, get a guy that can blow past corners, and make quick cuts? Draft a highly talented receiver in the first round and make him your number 2 or 3 early on when he has young legs and can just torch the defense. You’ll have him for multiple years at a skilled position and have him contributing right away. Get Rodgers a wide receiver that’s a real weapon to pair with Adams.

I’ll be shocked if Grandal gets a 4 year deal from anyone right now, let alone a 5 year deal. Plus I’m really not a fan of deferring money. Don’t really like the thought of paying $5-$10 million every single year to different guys that aren’t even playing for you. Maybe I’m just petty, but I don’t think it’s wise to do it. We already will be paying Cain and Braun $3 million total from 2023-2027. Doesn’t seem like much, but once you start adding more deferred money such as the $2 million more from the suggested Grandal signing that would be paid out in the similar window, now it’s up to $5 million. Maybe we will be rebuilding by then and it won’t make much of a difference, but if we hit on some guys in the drafts, develop a little pitching, and possibly make a timely trade or two of some big name guys after the 2020 or 2021 season, it would be nice to not be paying $10 million to guys not playing for us when we are trying to be competitive.

I’m thinking his salary will be in the neighborhood of $6 million. The highest salary ever for a first time arby eligible relief pitcher was Jonathan Papelbon in 2009 for $6.25 million. Hader will have a real shot at breaking that record.

Exactly this. Clear pass interference with Engram being hit from behind well before the ball is there. And now the Giants corner is called on a pass interference that literally had the guy pretty much graze his arm with his hand and they called it. I’m really starting to hate reviews in all sports. Just eliminate all reviews and let people complain about the bad calls. They still get it wrong a lot of the time and it slows down the flow of every game whether it’s football, baseball, or basketball. Every sport could finish games probably 10-15 minutes faster at the least if they just got rid of it all.

If you can draw a conclusion that Stearns layed out the Brewers’ 2020 plans of how they are operating their entire pitching staff and went into detail of what they are going to do differently and how they are going to operate based on “it’s going to be a different group there next year, but they know what they’re doing”, then I don’t know what to say. Other than that is totally not factual. Even if it WERE true that they were going to do some non-traditional things, Stearns wouldn’t be going around and telling all the players he is getting rid of what their plans are for the upcoming season. That doesn’t make any bit of sense. If I had to guess, I would say that Stearns said absolutely nothing about how they are operating their offseason to a now opposing pitcher. Anderson was traded, not released. If he was released, I could see Anderson asking questions. Even if he did ask, Stearns wouldn’t necessarily need to say. But he was traded. The Brewers got what they needed to out of the move. And Anderson’s services were wanted elsewhere. Him saying it’s going to be a different group there next year is him realizing it’s going to be a different group there next year. Tons of moving parts, guys hitting free agency, and multiple rotation pieces no longer on the roster. It’s definitely different. Especially when one of the rotation guys himself is traded. Anderson saying they know what they are doing is Anderson tipping his cap to Stearns acknowledging that Stearns is a smart man and knows how to build a roster to be competitive. Anderson saw it first hand and is tipping his cap on the way out. Classy move by a classy guy. I loved every minute of having Anderson on the Brewers. I wish him nothing but the best with Toronto.

Will you be back at 9 pm to tell us this privy information? I’m dying to know what’s happening!

Well- "veterans signed", anyway. It's a bit misleading, as everybody with less than 6 years of MLB time aren't technically "signed," but they aren't going anywhere unless traded. True, but the non tender decisions are yet to come. Yeah, I think guys like Shaw, Perez, and Nelson will be non-tendered. While others like Guerra and Arcia might also be looking for a job somewhere else.

My FA shopping list with roughly $47 million off the books currently: Resign Moose 2/$22 million Sign Howie Kendrick for first base and fill in for Braun in left during off days. 1/$10 million. Kendrick will need days off too most likely. Resign Thames 1/$5 million. Bring back Lyles 2/$8 million. Bring back Pomeranz 2/$10 million. Sign Iglesias 2/$12 million Total: $41 million Rotation as it sits: Woodruff Davies Lyles Burnes/Peralta Lineup: Cain Hiura Yelich Kendrick Moose Braun Iglesias Pina P Kendrick is a great hitter that can play 1st and fill in for Braun. He doesn’t strike out much and can still be a 20 homer guy while hitting around .300. Thames will get plenty of opportunities during the year. Iglesias is a nice boost from the shortstop position. I think guys like Nelson and Shaw will also be let go, which will free up more money to be spent on a solid rotation piece. I will actually be shocked if the Brewers don’t add one of the second tier guys like Bumgarner or Wheeler to the rotation. I think they will have room to add a guy like that while still adding some nice complimentary pieces to the offense.

Sorry, but that whole piggybacking thing is put to rest. The entire staff was getting destroyed and they couldn’t even find 4 guys to get through 3 innings the first 2 months of the season before making a bunch of changes and moves to at least keep the score within 3 after 4 or 5 innings. Burnes, Peralta, Chacin, Wilkerson, Nelson, Houser, even Woodruff early on, nobody could effectively give the Brewers multiple innings without giving up multiple runs early on. The Brewers were trying to out slug everybody and it worked for a little while. Honestly, I don’t think I commented on it after the offseason last year, but the whole piggybacking idea because we had so many great options was so far off it’s not even funny. It wasn’t guys getting lit up in the 5th or 6th inning. It was guys struggling in the first and second frequently. Which is what they all would of been doing in the piggybacking scenario anyway is pitching 3 or 4 innings. They couldn’t rely on a single pitcher outside of Woodruff after his first handful of starts and Davies to do anything. Anderson came in and helped solidify it some and then the Brewers made moves to bring in guys like Jordan Lyles because their staff was so bad. Sorry, but that idea and thinking it would of been more effective last year has 0 merit. None at all. Nobody could pitch 3 or 4 innings effectively last year early on without getting lit up and thinking that would be different by having set piggyback tandems is just not accurate at all.