Ron Robinsons Beard

General Manager Matt Arnold made the first big solo team personnel decision of his Brewers career late Tuesday afternoon, as the Brewers announced that they would be picking up their club option on veteran second baseman Kolten Wong. The option year will pay him a $10 million salary in 2023 and had the Brewers declined the option, Wong would have been owed a $2 million buyout. After a 2021 season that saw Kolten Wong play as advertised (a .783 OPS combined with the rock-solid defense he'd come to be known for in his eight seasons as a Cardinal), Wong followed it up with a 2022 season that, while still solid on the surface, mirrored the team in perhaps failing to live up to expectations. Despite a still-solid .770 OPS and a career-high of 15 HRs, Wong took an unexplainable but obvious step back with his glove. His 17 errors tied a career-high, while advanced metrics weren’t kind, with Wong seeing a steep decline with -1 Defensive Runs Saved, -4.7 Ultimate Zone Rating, and -9 Outs Above Average – all far off career norms. Toward the end of the season, Wong acknowledged that his down year defensively, combined with his price tag and the fact that the Brewers had a near MLB-ready replacement in Brice Turang, may have meant he'd be moving on. “Defensively, it just wasn’t my year,” Wong told Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in October. “I’ve been a free agent one time already, and it’s not the most enjoyable thing. If I got to go through it again, it is what it is. It will be interesting to see where I’d end up landing. Milwaukee was a choice that I kind of had in mind going into free agency as a high pick for me. This next one, I just kind of want to keep an open mind and see how it goes.” Wong's bat has never been the issue. Since signing with the Brewers, he has a cumulative batting line of .262/.337/.439 for a wRC+ of 113. The extra power from the diminutive lefty swinger has been a welcome surprise, as Wong hit 14 homers in 2021 before his follow-up effort of 15 in 2022. He’s always been a solid, opportunistic baserunner, swiping 29 bases over the past two years, including 17 in 2022. Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel spoke to Wong, who said that he was “stoked” about the decision before detailing that his legs weren’t 100% healthy in 2022, contributing to his defensive shortcomings. Wong also pointed out that with defensive shifts no longer allowed; he had extra motivation to up his defensive game to its previously high levels. In a conference call with reporters Tuesday evening, Arnold indicated that the decision to pick up Wong's option was not as tricky as reporters and other insiders made it out to be. Of course, while Wong is officially Brewers' property, that doesn't necessarily mean he is 100% in the plans for 2023. There are several scenarios still in play: Option A: The status quo. This indicates that Wong is penciled in as the starter at 2B for the 2023 Brewers and is in the middle of the lineup. While Wong proved to be a competent lead-off hitter in 2021, that is seemingly Christian Yelich's spot moving forward unless Yelich suddenly unlocks his powerful 2018-19 MVP self. While this may be the "boring" option, Wong was far from the team's biggest issue offensively in 2022. His steady presence and bat would likely be appreciated, especially if the team attempted to break in several young, unproven bats. Option B: A 2023 mid-season or deadline trade. While picking up Wong's option would seemingly indicate that the Brewers intend to compete again in 2023, playoff contention is far from assured. Wong is the ideal type of steady, veteran bat with loads of postseason experience that multiple World Series hopefuls would likely be happy to pick up for the stretch run. While the return probably wouldn't be huge, the Brewers would likely be able to pick up a piece or two to strengthen the farm system. Option C: An 2022-23 off-season trade. Would the Brewers have picked up Wong's option with the intent to trade him? Well, if the value is there, maybe. The aforementioned Turang is probably ready for an MLB role, and while he's a SS by trade, he saw time at 2B, 3B, and even in CF this season in Nashville. This would indicate that he is at least being looked at as a potential replacement for valuable utility player Jace Peterson, a free agent. And while Luis Urias saw most of his time at 3B in 2022, many insiders have long seen him as a future 2B. If the Brewers make a splash in free agency or the trade market this offseason, 3B is an ideal target, which would kick Urias to a different spot. In his closing remarks this season, Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio indicated that the Brewers would be actively building and turning over the roster this offseason. So buckle up. But regardless of which option the Brewers take, we know that Kolten Wong's steady hand will remain Brewer property heading into the start of free agency this week. View full article

redundant thread

redundant thread

I think that is just an odd way of saying Cover Letter.

Erceg is a flame-throwing righty reliever without much wear on his arm. Good numbers last year. Already 27 and seemingly mature. He was probably close to getting a call-up this season. He seems like the type of guy that some team will easily take a chance on in the Rule 5.

Erceg is a flame-throwing righty reliever without much wear on his arm. Good numbers last year. Already 27 and seemingly mature. He was probably close to getting a call-up this season. He seems like the type of guy that some team will easily take a chance on in the Rule 5.

They will never, ever defer that kind of money. The Mets are a literal laughing stock of the league with that Bonilla contract, yet you continue to hold it up as some sort of gold standard that teams should continue to do. Kicking the can down the road does not eliminate anything. It just gets you in a financial mess. I don't get your addiction this this idea. At all.

This team has surprised me before, but I am about 98% sure Suter will be back next year.

This team has surprised me before, but I am about 98% sure Suter will be back next year.

I'm with you. I've thought that site was a joke ever since the Grisham/Davies for Urias/Lauer deal, when they retroactively went in and lowered Urias's trade value significantly immediately following the deal to make the deal itself not look as lopsided in the Brewers' favor according to their algorithm. They've since done that on other deals, and the site owner even admitted that they do it. I'm sorry, but when you move the goalposts like that, you've lost me.

Except that prospect grades are completely and utterly subjective. The Brewers could internally see Gasser and Ruiz as two of the top prospects in their system, and judging by the way they aggressively promoted Gasser especially, that wouldn't surprise me. Isn't it more prudent to grade this deal on the eventual overall sum of the parts, rather than on subjective, outside-of-the-organization prospect analysis?

You can't preface things by saying "hindsight is 20/20", then immediately write off the two biggest "gets" in this deal in Ruiz and Gasser. Also, I get the Inman/Gasser comparison, except that they have completely different body types, throw completely different stuff, and throw with different arms. Other than that, exactly the same!

And also didn't show up on the forum a day to two days after there was an actual discussion thread started on the same transaction.

I think that is probably the career arch that Keston is staring at as well, unless he can find a way to cut down on the swing-and-miss tendencies in favor of a line-drive, higher contact swing. Villar keeps getting opportunities because that raw talent is tantalizing. He simply plateaued as a young-ish player, I suspect due to an inability to make adjustments and adapt to coaching.

I have been quite effusive in my praise of the positive changes Brock has made to this site, and he has been more than open to constructive criticism as well. If someone feels that an article(s) (that was likely paid for) adds little to the site itself, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't be able to give their opinion on it. Once something appears as an "article", and it is paid for, it is open to critique. Journalism 101.

I know it is completely hypothetical, but IMO, the lack of more ABs from Keston Hiura is not even close to the biggest reason why this team is not in the driver seat for the playoff spot. I don't even know if it's really a reason at all. He's sucked. He's been a major disappointment since his rookie year. He's certainly not the only one who underperformed offensively this season, and he hasn't sucked as bad as some others, but it is obvious (to me at least) that they are fed up with the constant Ks. He just hasn't progressed. At all. And I think the Brewers are just fed up with him. No matter how pretty you paint a turd, it's still a turd.

Right here is the absolute perfect example on an article that is pointless and simply just takes up space on the forum: Brock, many of the changes you've made are awesome. But a lot of the articles are pretty redundant.

It's pretty obvious at this point that this forum has a much higher opinion of Keston Hiura than the Brewers, and likely the rest of MLB.

If we're going to be honest, the articles are more-or-less the fidget spinner section of this place. They kill time if you're bored, but from what I've seen, other than one here and there, they don't add much value to the site itself. Especially those that basically recap recently completed series or sum up personnel moves.

I think it's probably a bit of both not playing Hiura vs. RHP, and starting him every game against LHP, even though the numbers bear out that he's terrible against LHP. It does seem like he has course-corrected a bit over the last several weeks, though. The team just doesn't have enough hitters available who are adequate vs. LHP, hence why Hiura sees so much action against them.

LOL, then you get a bunch of "Gah ... why is Counsell so dumb? Doesn't he understand reverse splits?" type posts in the IGT. What those posters don't seem to realize is that this offense as a whole just isn't good against left-handed pitching. They are caught between a rock and a hard place when a lefty is on the mound.

Looking at the available FA catchers this offseason, I see a bunch of Omar Narvaez types. In fact, when you get past Contreras and the like bloated contract he'll likely sign, Narvaez may just be the next best option. Other comparable options include Gary Sanchez, Roberto Perez, Christian Vazquez, Tucker Barnhart, Austin Hedges, and Mike Zunino. All guys who are decent defenders who you'd be happy with a .700+ OPS.

Looking at the available FA catchers this offseason, I see a bunch of Omar Narvaez types. In fact, when you get past Contreras and the like bloated contract he'll likely sign, Narvaez may just be the next best option. Other comparable options include Gary Sanchez, Roberto Perez, Christian Vazquez, Tucker Barnhart, Austin Hedges, and Mike Zunino. All guys who are decent defenders who you'd be happy with a .700+ OPS.

Who do you start vs. lefties then? Rowdy is a terrible matchup vs. them. Brosseau is hurt.

Yeah, there is that. Counsell = round hole, Hiura = square peg