Ron Robinsons Beard

Wow ... that's a signing that is completely out of left field. David Stearns is so cool.

Sanchez is a very good prospect. There is no disputing that. I personally think he's ranked a little high, but I feel that way about any pitcher who has yet to see the upper minors. He has some red flags, too, including his small, thin stature and a history of injury. This will be a huge year for him, as he is slated for AA. He's a good "get" for the Marlins, but I'm sure their fans wanted a headliner that is closer to a sure thing. Sanchez has a high ceiling, but there are just enough red flags to make me think that it wouldn't be surprising if he never makes a dent in MLB.

Rosenthal says that a reunion between the Brewers and Moose seems inevitable. While Moose is limited as a hitter, he has great power, and might be able to put up 35-40 HRs playing half his games in Miller Park. It would be my hope, though, that he might be willing to sacrifice some of that power to get that average and OBP up a bit. If we could get a .260-.265 average, .315 OBP and 30 HRs out of him, that would make me very happy. This move would likely push Shaw to 2B against righties, and Spangenberg to San Antonio.

So many people said the same thing about Miley last year. Goes to show that we know nothing.

Makes me wonder if the Brewers were ever engaged with the Marlins on Realmuto, pre-Grandal signing? I think I would have given up a Peralta/Ashby/Nottingham package and not looked back. Sanchez is floating around 20 on the top 100 prospects lists...at best Peralta was scraping the bottom of the top 100. Alfaro was around #70 on the top 100 when he graduated, and since he is between 1 and 2 years of service time it's really hard to tell if his value goes up from there or if it goes down. It wouldn't be crazy to put him in the same class as Woodruff although Alfaro was a bit higher and bats carry a higher prospect surplus value than arms because they are a bit easier to project. How much better is Ashby than Stewart? Take out the Brewer bias and just looking at prospect lists, the Philadelphia package is far, far better than a Peralta/Ashby/Nottingham package. I'd put the surplus value of the Phillies package at Sanchez (55.1 million...#21 pitcher) + Alfaro (24.9 million...will rate him as equivalent to #75 hitter on top 100 as there is not enough of a WAR history to do a surplus value calculation) + Stewart (2.2 million...just call him a role player prospect) and not really put any real significance on the international bonus pool money = total of 82.2 million. I was thinking 70-80 million for Realmuto and think this is a very solid return for him. Peralta (16.6 million equivalent to #95 pitcher on top 100) + Ashby (5.5 million as role player prospect) + Nottingham (5.5 million as role player prospect) = 27.6 million in surplus value....package from Philadelphia about 3 times better than a Peralta/Ashby/Nottingham package. I think a package from Milwaukee that approximates the Philadelphia package would have been something like Burnes/Woodruff/Turang/Henry. Ehh, I personally think Sanchez is pretty overrated on those lists, and he has only pitched in the lower levels of the minors. Peralta has shown that he can get major league hitters out. I think they are much closer in value than you do. I was just going position for position, too, rather than a straight comparison of prospect value. The closest Brewer equivalent to Alfaro is obviously Nottingham, although Alfaro does rate higher. Sanchez is tough because the Brewers don't have a good straight comparison. I went with Peralta because of his small stature and electric stuff. I think Ashby is the closest comparison to Stewart, although I personally think he's got a much higher upside. I think he rates higher than a role-player prospect. I just went low-level lefty for low-level lefty.

Love this! Exact type of formerly solid pitcher that this team should take a chance on. Hopefully they sign a couple more of these types.

On a minor league deal with a May or June opt-out? Sure, why not? Really nothing to lose with something like that. With his past success and durability, he'd be a fun one to take a chance on, similar to Gallardo last year. If it doesn't work out, there's really no harm.

Makes me wonder if the Brewers were ever engaged with the Marlins on Realmuto, pre-Grandal signing? I think I would have given up a Peralta/Ashby/Nottingham package and not looked back.

Sanchez is the big get here, but I personally don't see him as a much better prospect than Freddy Peralta. Stewart is a solid prospect who probably tops out as a mid-rotation starter. Alfaro is a solid young catcher. All in all, considering what the Marlins were asking for initially, this really is kind of underwhelming. The package they got from the Brewers for Yelich is MUCH better than this. A similar Brewers package I think would be Peralta, Nottingham and Aaron Ashby. Alfaro is probably a bit ahead of Nottingham, with Ashby perhaps a bit ahead of Stewart.

If this happens, I'm happy its the Phillies and not the Reds. I know that Phillies team is going to be tough, though. In the end, I'll just be happy when its over and Realmuto is on a new team. It has reached Chris Archer-level of speculative annoyance.

This week has been, without a doubt, the slowest of the offseason. With less than a week to go before Spring Training starts, there is going to be a lot of free agents, including several stars, still looking for work. So many of them are Boras clients, it's difficult not to blame him, at least a little bit.

I agree on Cedeno, but Claudio was sold as someone capable of going multiple innings and was decent against right-handed batters. Is that wrong?

[sarcasm]Well, now it is obvious. You have never played the game either.[/sarcasm] I feel like I should post something about the Packers here ...

Can we stop with the "you obviously never played the game" foible? I've seen it several times here over the last month or so, and it never gets less condescending.

I don't think this would hurt the Brewers so much. They have been gearing up with pitchers who don't exhibit major splits and are capable of going multiple innings. It's going to hurt a team like the Cubs, though, as Maddon loves his one-batter matchups.

Would make for one heck of an outfield. And Braun would be the most expensive pinch hitter in MLB.

Where is that coming from?

yeah, he exists.

I don't think it's a "one or the other" proposition. There would definitely be room for two versatile defenders on this roster. As a switch hitter, Gonzales would be more consistent offensively. If Gonzalez is signed, it means Spangenberg likely goes to AAA as insurance.

Gio certainly isn't a world beater, but he's a proven vet lefty that would come cheap. Isn't too far removed from a really good season as well. He wouldn't be my top choice, but if they are insistent of having a lefty in the rotation, they could do much worse.

Haudricourt may not know a heck of a lot more than we do regarding the market, but he is speculating that the Brewers aren't done making moves.

I'm sure Grandy will be a trade deadline candidate again if he hits well. Not a bad guy for Brinson and Harrison to look up to down there.

Of the top 12 originally listed about two weeks ago, only Pollack and Miley have signed. A bit part of me still thinks Stearns is lying in the weeds for Marwin Gonzalez. Obviously the Brewers are being loosely connected to Keuchel. Moose, Gio, Jones, Iglesias and Harrison make at least a little sense as Brewer targets. I don't think there is any way they pursue Machado or Harper. Kimbrel probably makes the least amount of sense on that list. Now watch Stearns do something crazy and sign him.

I think that's why we're seeing so many reboots and old sitcoms come back with the same actors. Most of the new stuff they are coming up with is pretty horrible sitcom-wise. I've enjoyed a few somewhat new comedic shows out there. The Orville is pretty good. The Good Cop (Netflix) is fun. I recently watched the full run of a Fox sci-fi drama from a few years ago, Second Chance. It was only 11 episodes before it was cancelled, but it was an interested moral story mixed with procedural cop drama. I'm a sucker for redemption arcs LOL.

If Mennenga doesn't do anything to improve that unit, I'll agree with you. I'm not ready to throw the guy under the bus before he even has an office at Lambeau, though. Coming from the Dave Toub tree is certainly not a bad thing in the special teams coaching world.