Ron Robinsons Beard

There isn't a reliably accurate one yet. The most important factor in playing defense is positioning and that comes down to which teams have the best read on data combined with the way they pitch the batter. Some teams excel at one but not at both. And some teams excel at neither, cough Mets, Orioles, Phillies, cough. It's not as simple as looking at spray charts. Your pitchers have to locate their pitches as well. You can't have your whole defense shift for the batter to pull and then have the pitcher throwing his cutter tailing away. If I'm going to trust that I'll have my defenders in the best spot, then I'd probably start prioritizing the guys with the most accurate throwing arms. If that's the case, wouldn't it make more sense to use the money that you are going to spend on Cabrera on pitching, and hope that Perez and/or Dubon can hold down 2B until Hiura arrives? Or even sign a 3B like Donaldson with the hope that Shaw can hold down 2B. I mean I don't know what a player like Cabrera is going to command in this market, but that would be a pretty expensive utility infielder theoretically. You are right that the numebr of players out there available who offer the positional versatility the Brewers like is pretty limited. I did read something yesterday saying that there's a chance the Mets may not tender Wilmer Flores a contract. I wonder if he would be of interest?

Can I ask what metric you use to determine defensive value?

Thanks for posting this. Very interesting list. Daniel Murphy is pretty universally recognized as a butcher at 2B at this point in his career. His bat would look great in the #2 hole in the Brewers' lineup, though. I just don't think poor defensive positioning alone could possibly lead to that drastic of a negative DRS number from Cabrera, and his bat just simply isn't good enough to make up for it, in my opinion. If the Brewers see it differently, though, you can bet I'll be cheering him on at Miller Park next April.

Would he be as good as Shaw defensively at 2B? Maybe. The Brewers do use defensive positioning to capitalize on strengths, and hide defensive deficiencies. But ... the question is whether what he is going to provide offensively being enough to cover for his lack of range in the field. And whether they can get that sort of offensive production from a player who can play a better 2B. But the fact remains that there are a lot more items (stats and news coverage) pointing to him as a poor defender than those saying he is adequate or simply a victim of circumstance. In my opinion, if the plan was to hide a defensively deficient 2B with shifts and playing next to an All-World defender in Arcia, I'd rather they just keep Shaw there and use that money they would have used on Cabrera on a middle-of-the-order hitting 3B.

Lol, so wrong. DRS has more to do with the team than an individual defender. If Cabrera plays for the Brewers next year, he will have a "+" DRS next year 100%, zero doubt, guaranteed. The Mets were one of the worst teams in baseball at aligning their defenders. Another awful team, the Orioles, made Manny Machado into some sort of butcher defensively. Until he went to a team that knows how to position players and suddenly Machado was magically a great SS again. One of the greatest deficiencies Stearns makes use of is "rescuing" pitchers and position players from teams who don't know how to correctly position their players. Still smh at "horrid defender". No fielding metric rates him well. But keep up the condescension. It definitely helps your argument.

It's not like these games count, it's all about developing young players. It seems a bit unusual to split up Brewers but this explanation seems logical in this case. If the goal is to develop young players, wouldn't that make it odd that Wilkerson is there to begin with? The only thing I can figure is that they want to get his innings up so he can be one of the pitchers on the San Antonio Shuttle next year.

Adrubal Cabrera is a horrid defender. I personally want no part of that.

It is a rational explanation, but definitely not the only one. Many other possibilities have been mentioned in the thread, most of which are equally rational. Everyone is replaceable, that includes CC and Stearns. In fact, Stearns is very young and will likely want another challenge in the near future. I'm not saying I want to lose him, but the world goes on. Exactly. This isn't the 90s Selig-Prieb-led Brewers we are talking about. They have a great owner in place who is a highly successful buisnessman that greatly cares about winning, and putting good people in positions of power. When you are successful, other teams are going to pony up to hire pieces of your leadership core in an effort to emulate that success. The fact that other teams are trying to hire our coaches and front office personnel away is a good thing, because it means the rest of baseball is taking notice that the Brewers are doing innovative things the right way. This is only the start. We are going to see more pieces leave, as this team is set to be highly competitive for the next 4-5 seasons at least. There is no doubt in my mind that each of those pieces is going to be replaced with someone equally as qualified.

I'm wondering if the Yankees will sign both Machado & Harper? I kinda figure Machado will be a Yankee. The problem is they still won't have enough pitching. Is it possible they sign Harper and/or Machado and a top pitching free agent like Corbin? They tried to go "super lineup" this year by acquiring Stanton, and couldn't get past the Red Sox. I think they go "super-er lineup" this year, and make a play for both Harper and Machado, along with a couple big name starting pitchers like Corbin, Kuechel or Kershaw (if he opts out). It was obvious to me that they basically sat out free agency last year with an eye on this year's crop. I think Stanton fell into their laps, though, and they couldn't say no.

Jordy Nelson was legitimately one of the 10 best WRs in the game for a few years, and was a good guy both on and off the field. He was a shell of his former self last year, though. Yet, when they released him, I thought there was going to be thousands of mid-30s housewives showing up at 1265 Lombardi Ave. with flaming torches and pitchforks. I know every team has fans who are idiots, but it just seems that the Packers have an inordinate amount. The good teams know when it's time to let a player go, and Thompson was guilty many times of hanging onto guys a season or two too long. I like what I'm seeing from Gute in that regard so far. Kumerow was a nice story in the preseason, but Moore, St. Brown and MVS are faster, younger and more athletic versions of him. Unless one of those guys gets hurt, or Adams or Allison go down, Kumerow should stay stashed on IR. He might have a shot in 2019 when Cobb is likely gone. I personally dislike Trevor Davis's game and skillset, but I think they will likely activate him soon and install him as the main kick and punt returner.

Expensive bench player when they inevitably sign Harper to patrol CF.

I could see not keeping Suter on the 40 man, as he won't be available at all in 2019, and who knows how good he would be in 2020. I could see Suter non-tendered, then signing a minors deal to stay in the organization during his rehab. He'll be given every opportunity to come back at the end of 2019 or 2020.

I was very impressed with the job DJ has done in his time in Milwaukee, but I have absolutely no doubt the team will be able to replace him with another top-end pitching coach. This team's pitching staff has a ton of live arms and successful guys that nearly any coach would be excited to work with. This team was one game away from a World Series appearance on the strength of their young, talented pitching staff, most of which are controlled and cost-efficient for the next several seasons. There will be no shortage of terrific candidates to take DJ's spot.

Not a great average last year, but that appears to be an outlier. Otherwise good contact skills, great OBP, low strikeouts and a very good average at the lower levels. You might be on to something there. I wonder about his defense. Any word on how good it is?

I think those of us that think he should get the chance to start aren't sure either but you'll never know if you don't give him a chance. If he's just an average starter, then sure he's likely more valuable in the pen. I just don't like the "What If", in the back of my mind. What If: he's the next Jacob DeGrom. You'd have a hard time convincing me that Jacob DeGrom would be more valuable from the bullpen over the course of the regular season. I also don't really buy into the way the Brewers organized their pitching in the last month as being the new norm or a trend that will be sustainable for the entirety of the regular season. Plus starting pitching will still win games; I still think we need some TOR arms. Right, think of it this way. Is Chris Sale or prime Andrew Miller/current Hader more valuable? Clearly Sale. Miller/Hader or a mid level starting pitcher who's still good like IDK James Shields from a few years ago or Chris Archer? Well, then probably Miller. Perhaps they have some sort of advanced metric that indicates that Hader wouldn't be effective as a starting pitcher, but I sure would like to see it tried before writing it off completely. There are plenty of failed starters that are effective relievers. In fact, I'd venture to say that most relievers come from a starting background. And there is nothing keeping the team from moving Hader back into a relief role should starting not work out as effectively as they had hoped. But to simply give up on the idea of him starting simply because he is a great reliever is short-sighted, in my opinion. I mean Wily Peralta .. WILY PERALTA ... is now an effective closer. Good starters are tougher to find than good relievers, so they have to try starting him at some point.

Yes ... but that is assuming he is valuable enough to warrant a qualifying offer. That is far from a guarantee. It is pretty close to a guarantee....that we are not going to offer him a QO. That is a $18mil payday...ain't no way. He'd have to put together an All-Star-level season for it to even be a consideration.

I agree that he did look good in preseason. Unfortunately for him, WR is probably the team's deepest position. I think the only way he sees the field this year is if we see a couple guys hurt. They aren't going to stunt MVS's growth just to play Kumerow.

No surprise at all on Jeffress. He's a bargain. Lyles is a pretty big surprise to me, though. He profiles perfectly as a multi-inning reliever, and showed well in his limited opportunities as a Brewer. If they were going to go the "initial out-getter" route again, he made a ton of sense. I don't think they are going there though. I think that you'll still see several guys in the pen capable of going multiple innings, but I also think they are going to make a concerted effort to get more length out of their starters in 2019. Especially if they are serious about putting Woodruff and Burnes in the rotation.

Yes ... but that is assuming he is valuable enough to warrant a qualifying offer. That is far from a guarantee.

Gotta love the idiot Packer fans on Twitter begging the team to activate Jake Kumerow. Because that is exactly what they need ... another tall, lanky WR who isn't going to return kicks! I swear, every time there is any caucasian skill player in GB, he becomes Steve Largent in the eyes of these dolts. Sometimes I'm ashamed to be considered a fan of this team with these morons. They are the same ones that were begging the team to trade for Jordy Nelson yesterday.

Not like we accepted it and he declined. I am guessing there was no chance we were picking up that option at $15mil. I believe it was going to be a $1 million buyout if the Brewers had decided not to pick up the one year at $15 million. If the Brewers had no intention of actually offering the $15 million and Moose just walked away from a $1 million buyout he is really playing his cards wrong. I wonder if the team option specified that the player had to choose first, [sarcasm]or if they did rock, paper, scissors to see who had to make the first move[/sarcasm]? According to McCalvy, both Moose and Soria get the $1 million buyout regardless of who turns down the option, and that the player is first to choose

I agree with every word of this. Right down to the Andrew Miller comparison. The only difference is that Andrew Miller was at least given the opportunity to fail as a starter (which he did) before becoming a dominant reliever. If the Brewers never give Hader that opportunity, it is simply a waste in my opinion.

This is a very good point. The Brewers may not have the upper-end (read arbitrary national Top 100) prospects that a team like the Braves does, but due to their incredible 40-man and upper minors roster depth, they can put together a package of young MLB-ready players that no other contending team can do. It's a matter, then, of if the Brewers want to sink much of that depth capital into one standout like Realmuto, or spread it out to fill several roster holes. I get the feeling that we are going to see a lot of movement from the Brewers this offseason regardless. How many "Top 100" prospects a team can offer means next to nothing in the whole scheme of MLB player movement. Every team has its own prospect grading system, and while there are similarities, they are not all created equal. I think the Brewers have the prospect depth that will put them in play for any player on the trade market this offseason.

It's gotta be so frustrating for Moose. He and Hosmer are so similar of players, Moose plays a tougher position on D yet hosmer gets 125 mil and no one will sign Moose for big money. All it takes is one idiot GM

I think Realmuto is really the only clear upgrade they could make. If that doesn't happen, I'd be happy with Pina and Nottingham. If Kratz wants to sign a cheap deal to come back, I wouldn't be opposed to it. Heck, if Vogt is willing to sign a minor league deal with Spring Training invite, and proves that he's healthy, I wouldn't mind that either. A healthy Vogt would be terrific depth.