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Vogt lacks so much behind the plate. They have to have a better upgrade than Vogt.

Grandal is gone! 4 years, $74M deal with the White Sox.

I believe that he is too big of a risk to go into the season with any expectations of seeing 2017-18 Travis Shaw. So I guess the answer to your question is yes, I think he is done. While it wouldn't be unprecedented, Shaw is only 29 years old. I think it would be prudent to at least bring him back to Spring Training and try to determine if there was some sort of underlying reason for his decline. I agree, though, that if they do bring him back and go into the season expecting him to play a prominent role, it would be best to have a Plan B locked and loaded. I think the only way Stearns brings back Shaw is as a backup or platoon type player. If he looks like he can regain his 2018 form it's a big win. If not let him go after spring training.

Bird has 32 HR in 700 major league plate appearances. He also has a career .881 OPS in the minors. Injuries derailed him the last few years. With 3 options remaining, what's the downside? He gives them insurance if they start the year with Shaw/Freitas platoon at 1B and Shaw is still in his funk. I can't believe Freitas is even on Stearns radar for any playing time, much less a platoon. Even after call-ups and the injury to Pina last year, Freitas didn't play a single inning on defense and was used as a pinch hitter very sparingly. There are a multitude of guys out there that have hit at least 32 HRs. Bird has stunk since 2015. Certainly not worth a spot on the 40-man roster.

EXACTLY!!! Mark A has money that he can spend. often times we say oh well we can't compete with these big market teams, but it is so innaccuarate to the extent that people say it. Can they spend $200mill a year? No, but they could likely go to $160-$175 million for a few years and then go back down to a more moderate level (100-120mill a year). Where did you come up with the $175M figure and how do you know M.A. can spend that much for 3-4 years? As far as I know, Mark A nor Stearns has ever come out with a figure on max spending.

Yup, this is a guy I'd like to take a flyer on for sure. Maybe and it's a big maybe, sign him to a minor lg. contract with an invite to spring training. He hasn't hit even .200 in the big leagues since 2015.

Maybe his stuff simply regressed. Hard to say. Maybe they have big plans for those other 40 man spots. There's still time to protect one or two more players. They have five open spots remaining. And a few borderline guys already on the 40-man (looking at you, Saladino). I think Brown was so bad at San Antonio last year (116 IPs/138 hits/65 walks/5 HBP/.298 avg. against) the Brewers believe no team will want to take him and risk keeping him on their MLB roster for the entire year.

Griep is already 26 and pitched only an inning at AAA so far. He has control problems allowing 64 walks in only 112 innings pitched the last two years in AA ball. I believe the Brewers are thinking no team will select him because they would have to waste a spot on their MLB roster for the year.

I love the new logo! I hate the new blue uniform. It looks like a failed design that they added yellow piping in an attempt to make it a more modern look. The D'backs now have the second worst uni in all baseball.

I could see them banking on a Shaw rebound if they upgrade SS. If Shaw fails it is a much easier position to upgrade or find a replacement. How long a leash can they give Shaw? He could well pick up where he left off. They certainly can't afford to wait till July if he's hitting .160 on Mothers Day and there's not going to be alternatives on the market in May. At the very least they need to bring in a guy with ability to handle the job full time. Starlin Castro started 42 games at 3B last year for Marlins and played fine there. With how Brewers move infielders around, he makes a lot of sense over hoping and praying Travis Shaw isn't Chris Davis without the big contract. At least you know what you're getting in Castro. Castro would cost about what Moose would command and they wouldn't have to pay Shaw. I agree Stearns can't roll the dice and pray Shaw can get much, much better than last year. To much is riding on 3B to be a position of strength in 2020.

Shun Yamaguchi of the Yomiuri Giants is being posted. 32 years old and lead the Japanese lg. in strikeouts and innings pitched. Looks to be a #4-5 starter or a pen guy in MLB. Fastball tops out at about 95 with a good breaking ball. However scouts say the difference in the Japanese ball may make a difference with his slider/curve.

Maeda was extremely unhappy with the Yankees and the way they handled his playing time. They put him in the pen when his IPs got too close to the incentive to kick in. A team could easily manipulate a player's ABs, IPs, etc... to keep the bonus from being paid. That's why you aren't seeing too many contracts with incentives any more.

I believe that his salary, plus bonus (aveaged out over the life of the contract), plus incentives count towards the end of the year lux. tax. So all $14.15M would count against the tax.

This. I think the last couple of seasons have shown they want to add guys with varying velocities as well as varying arm slots. IMO Yardley is just AAA material. He allows a lot of hits and is a contact type reliever. A mop-up type guy. The Brewers have so many better options, I don't see him making the big leagues. S.D. was desperate for pitching and let him go. No other team wanted him, even for nothing.

I believe if he is pre-designated under the new rules as a 2-way player (position and pitching) he wil go on the 10 day IL.

Perez coming off TJ surgery may not be the Perez of old. Even then his OBP since 2014: .289/.280/.288/.297/.274....He does hit some HRs, but Pina gets on base more. Imo he doesn't solve anything and the deal prevents any meaningful pitching solutions. I also don't think KC would even consider the deal since they have turned down some pretty substantial offers for Merrifield alone.

This one I don't understand. He is a 29 year old career minor leaguer. Nothing even remotely outstanding about him. Maybe they are looking to help San Antonio.

From what I read each Japanese team can have 4 foreign players on the 25 man roster. 3 position players max or 3 pitchers max. All 4 cannot be pitchers or all 4 cannot be position players. I believe they can also have one Korean or asian player that does not count as one of the 4.

IMO Mejia and Lamet is a far too low of a pkg. for Hader. Mejia has an absolute cannon for an arm, but his other skills are lacking making him a below avg. defensive catcher. Cleveland was going to move him to another position before they traded him. San Diego also has plans to try him in the OF. He is a switch hitter with a .300 OBP and strikes out 1/4 of his ABs. Hard to know about his power playing in San Diego. Lamet strikes out a lot of guys, but also allows a lot of walks (almost 4 per 9) and HRs. I think Stearns could do better than that for Hader.

I think Ryu is going to look for $20M+ per year. He signed QO last year so he'll look for more in 2020. Keuchel will also be looking for bigger money than he's worth. A 4.72 FIP in Atlanta will be worse in Milwaukee. Hamels is the questionable one. He had a good year, but he'll be 36 next year and made over $20M for a while. He'd have to take a big cut for Stearns to be interested. I think the Brewers have in-house, cheaper options at least as good as Roark (4.68 FIP) and Gibson. Pineda would help if they could get him for the right price. I just don't see Stearns signing $20M+ pitchers. W/o Moose and Grandal I don't think any of the lower end starters and low priced fill-ins can come close to offset the loss of offense.

I don't believe Stearns has Healy anywhere on his radar. Healy is a .289 OBP guy who is a butcher at 3B (-33 & -22). He hits some HRs, but not much else. They cut Thames and he is a much, much better hitter than Healy. IMO Gregorius is going to command too much money for his production. I think they could get Iglesias for much less. I don't know if Cincy will deal Barnhart to a division rival. If they deal him there will be a lot of interest. He would fit nicely though.

Generally speaking - I would agree 100% with what you are saying. I do think the Brewers would have to be literally blown away with an offer if they were to even entertain trading Hader right now. Especially considering that we are in a win-now mode. However, I also wouldn't rule it out completely. The fact is - relievers are the most volatile position in all of baseball year to year, and we already started to see a few warts with Hader this past season giving up the home run ball at a high clip. And, just look what we got for Thornburg a few years ago when we traded him to the Red Sox, and he wasn't even half the pitcher that Hader is today. So, if a team like the Dodgers gets really desperate this winter and approaches DS with a Lux/Ruiz or Lux/Gonsolin/Rios offer (where we could plug 2-3 holes at the MLB level with quality players), wouldn't you have to consider moving Hader in that situation. Then, go out and use some of that money saved to bring back Pomeranz and maybe another reliever? Honestly, I'm sure they'd think about it but the answer would be no. Why? Lux will probably be a good player, but what is anyone's guess if: the 2020 Brewers + Lux - Hader > 2019 Brewers. The other prospects are even more up in the air as to their ability to be quality players in the short run. I also think, since the Dodgers are one of the teams the Brewers are competing against, a trade where the Dodgers net a valuable major league asset from their competitor without giving up anything from their currently loaded roster, isn't a trade a competing GM is likely going to make. IMO any trade with the Dodgers has to start with Wil Smith ©. Unless Stearns is going to re-sign Grandal, Smith would fit the bill for a starting catcher and free up money to sign Iglesias plus Betances ( or another decent reliever AND Pomeranz.

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. I don't think Mejia is enough of a big lg. ready pkg. to move Hader. Miller projects as a 2B more than SS so he's really not going to help. Patino has a big fastball and is still very young. However he pitched only 7 innings in AA and is slated to go there again this year. He projects to be up in 2022.

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.

Miley? Miley? Miley? Yes, sign a couple of guys to minor league contracts LIKE Gallardo and Miley, two players we signed to minor league deals and one of them ended up being very successful. Miley OK, but Gallardo has been horrible since 2016. He didn't pitch at all in the majors last year. He would be a waste of a spot on any minor lg. roster.