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It's hard not to undervalue Claudio the way he pitched in 2018. An incredible 91 hits allowed in only 68 IPs. A huge WHIP of 1.55. He can only pitch to LH hitters because righties hit .369/.404 against him. Doesn't strike out many and allows a lot of contact. He's basically a one hitter and out type pitcher that many teams can't afford to have in their pen.

I don't see the same Thames as you do. He fails to even put a ball in play once in every 3 ABs, usually in crucial situations. He is an instant out against LH pitchers and a butcher in the OF. He hits HRs every now and then, but his whiffs are overwhelming.

There is no way in the world the Brewers could add 67% to their payroll! Nobody knows what the tv deal will be, except it will be less than 1/4 of the Cubs or Dodgers deal. Increased attendance won't bring much, and costs are increasing. Their MAX will be around $117-120M for this year. Right now I too think they are at that sum, so unless a trade of Anderson and/or Thames comes to pass, Stearns is done.

Another work stoppage would kill baseball for the foreseeable future. Small market teams already suffer in the current system and any change would make it even more difficult to compete. Every study done on the problems in baseball has money as the #1 problem in competitiveness. Increasing the incentives for huge spenders would only further erode the system. You say Stearns would have to adapt. How? Small market teams would be driven out of the game.

Lowrie signed for $10-11M and Bumgarner is making $12M. Combined they make a lot more than Grandall.

They aren't done making moves. This is an "all in" type of signing. They are going for it in 2019. They are going to find a solution at 2B. It wouldn't surprise me to see a big starting pitching move as well, whether that's Bumgarner, Kluber or some other front-line guy. Buckle up!!! I don't think Stearns has the "Cubs-Dodger-Yankee" type cash to make any more deals, especially or a 2B wanting a large contract. Lowrie is reportedly looking for a 3-4 year deal in the $40-50M range. Not going to happen in Milwaukee. Bumgarner is making close to $13M which would put the Crew $31M over last year's payroll of around $90M. They just can't afford much more in MLB's smallest market.

The reason why is they OWN the teams and pay ALL the bills! If players don't like it they could try and get the cash to own a team and run it themselves.

As this approach develops you would expect to have an initial out getter who can go 5-6 innings, a second out getter who can go 2-3 innings and a final out getter of 1-2 innings. Three pitchers per game with the following estimates: Out Getter #[space][/space][space][/space]Ave IP[space][/space][space][/space]Season IP (per pitcher) Initial [space][/space][space][/space][space][/space]5[space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space]5.0[space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space]162 Second [space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space]4[space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space]2.67[space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space]108 Final [space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space]3[space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space]1.33[space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space][space][/space]72 Ideally you need a 12 man staff with 5 Initial Out getters that can go 5 IP (presumably your best pitchers the 1st/2nd time through a lineup.) These Iniitial Out getters would average about 160IP a year. You would need 4 pitchers that can go every 4th day and pitch 2-3 innings (average 2.67, with 108 IP per year). You would need 3 final out getters that can get you 1-2 innings every 3rd day or about 72 IP per year. None of those averages would put any stress on the pitchers arms or frequency of usage. With this approach you'd need 1/2 arms at AAA that can come up in a pinch if ineffectiveness/injury impacts availability. The Brewers pitchers align as follows (without looking at stats): Initial Out Getters Chacin Burnes Anderson Davies * Peralta Second Out Getters Woodruff *(could be swapped with Davies) Nelson Guerra Claudio Final Out Getters Hader Knebel Jeffress A FA SP/Initial out getter pushes either Anderson/Davies to Second Out Getter or for Davies to AAA (or Peralta). Nelson starts out in the 2nd OG depending on how he handles Spring Training, but could also break camp in AAA for rehab. The Brewers have 8 pitchers who could swap between the 9 Initial and second out getter positions). Due to uncertainty with Davies and Nelson I think we still need to add another FA SP to the mix. These are all best case scenarios that 3 pitchers per day would suffice, in many instances one of the out getters won't go the needed distance and another pitcher would need to be brought in. Having a 13 man staff could provide the necessary flexibility, but shuttling players between AAA and MIL could also allow for a 12 man staff. Edit: Depending on how Williams/Barnes develop they could easily replace Hader/Jeffress as Final OG and move Hader to 2nd OG (if/when Jeffress is less effective).

unless Albers shows something in the spring, he is gone and they eat $2.5M. This is the odd number year where he seems to thrive after a bad year though. Houser is the guy I don't think they will keep or use. He had a horrendous year in the minors and very little success in the majors. He really offers nothing. I think Stearns is still looking for help in the pen and I wouldn't be surprised if Houser is dropped from the 40 man roster to make room. Diplan hasn't done much in the minors either and would be a candidate for coming off he 40-man.

I don't see this as anything but a pure fishing expedition. Petricka was horrible in 2016, 2017, and 2018! He spent most of the time in the minors in 2016. In 2017 he had a 7.01 ERA, 1.75 WHIP. Allowed a whopping 39 hits in only 25.2 IPs and 6 HRs in that span. In 2018 he stunk too. 1.64 WHIP, with 59 hits in only 45 IPs. Petricka would be a desperation move if he ever again sniffs the majors.

I don't see the Crew even thinking of Pollock. He had almost identical stats to Braun and is reportedly looking for L. Cain type money. Way to much for a #4 OF. Plus he has a long history of injuries. I don't think Stearns has any interest in Gio based on what he has done lately. He is definitely looking at the downside of his career and little more than a fill-in starter now. Bucholz is a RH so he's out too since the Crew is loaded with RH pitchers. Pomeranz is a LH, which the Brewers desperately need, but he made $8.5M last year and is looking for a sizable increase. I don't think Stearns is going there either. Miley remains an option at around $5-6M.

Do you really believe the Brewers have the money to upgrade everywhere? They have the smallest TV/radio revenue in MLB. The mega spenders all have huge TV/radio contracts that allow them to spend, spend, spend. The Crew cannot have a payroll (and expenses) that exceeds revenue for long. The Royals did it for a year and two years later they are rebuilding once again. Upgrades cost a lot of money. Money the Brewers don't have.

NONE of the players you mentioned (Choi-Thames-Davis-Broxton-or Santana) is a better player or better for the Brewers than Braun. Choi and Thames are 1B only types who whiff far more than average. Both are terrible OFs and basically a waste of a spot. Broxton is a great defender who also Ks 40% of his ABs and near worthless in critical situations. Santana was a below average OF who had some power, but couldn't get on base until late in the year. Davis was the worst OF in MLB history and strictly a DH. No value to the Brewers except as a once-a-game PH. I do agree Braun eats up a lot of money and the Brewers would love to dump his contract, but none of the others would even be considered as a replacement if they actually could trade Braun.

I don't see Broxton on the roster instead of Gamel. Broxton is a better defender, but the Brewers struggle with offense. Broxton whiffs over 40% of the time the last two years and doesn't get on base. He is a liability with the bat on a team that needs offense. Gamel is particularly good agaist RH pitching with a much higher OBP and a much lower K rate than Broxton. Gamel is also a very capable RF/LF. Yelich is very respectable in CF for Cain and Gamel can play RF well when Yelich goes to CF. I don't think Stearns traded Santana to put Gamel in the minors.

the Dodger deal for Braun was never going to go through. The Brewers claimed Puig when the Dodgers put him on waivers. The Dodgers then started the trade talk saying the Brewers would have to take McCarthy's salary along with Puig. The Brewers wanted more because McCarthy had become basically a high priced long man in the pen. So the Dodgers initially offered two low minor lg prospects plus Puig and McCarthy, and then balked almost immediately after and the deal fell apart. The Brewers were willing, but the Dodgers were not.

The Cubs still have a very good team, and aren't done yet this off season. Plus they have the one thing the other teams don't have; BIG money to spend! They can afford to even exceed the limit for a year or so. No other team in the division has the $$ to do what the Cubs can do. Unfortunately, that's part of baseball.

I think both Puig and Wood are FAs after 2019 so the Reds get nothing for them. The Dodgers tried last year to get something at the trade deadline for Puig and Wood and they got next to nothing in offers.

Braun against LHP .246/.336 9/2 Aguilar against LHP .282/.379 9/21 Cain OPS 119. The Brewers were 9th in all of baseball in OPS last year. Very, very good for a low budget team. What generally killed the Brewers was their high K rate in crucial situations. Failure to put the ball in play. That's what killed them in game 7 along with the pitching collapse. After setting MLB all-time records for whiffs in 2016 and 2017 they were 7th worst last year. More whiffs than any other play-off team. They were also in the bottom 5 or 6 in errors.

How did the deal make the Crew worse? Gamel is a better RF than Santana, a better hitter, LH bat off the bench, far less Ks than Santana, and has an option. Plus he is cheaper. The Brewers could use a contact type bat a lot more than another 34-35% whiff guy (Santana). Gamel is a .280's hitter against RH pitching with a nice OBP. I will concede the relief pitcher probably has zero chance of ever reaching the bigs.

Miller made $9M each year for the last 4 years. Waaay out of the Brewers range for a relief pitcher.

BIG overpay by the A's. I was glad when the Brewers didn't re-sign him.

This is a move to get a versatile lefty bench guy while they try and move Thames' contract. He replaces Saladino. Not the answer at 2B, but not a bad LH bat off the bench.

The lefty (Claudio) CANNOT go multiple innings based on his inability to get RH hitters out. Righties hit over .300 against him and he allows far too many hits even to lefties. If a team has multiple righties coming up Claudio is the last guy CC wants in there.

Most relievers are gassed at 70 innings. Many, many RPs have regressed greatly a year or two after throwing a high number of innings. It could destroy many RP's arms to throw 120+ innings. Plus, if the team has rainouts, the pen will be gassed early in the week. Teams would have to have 3-4 guys who have options left and 3 minor lg. guys who could be ready in order to accomplish your scenairo.

Huira and Erseg look promising. The three pitchers (Peralta-Burnes-Woodruff) from last year should be ready to contribute this year in a big way.