Brewcrew82

Agreed. I think Wiemer needs more time in the minors after playing through injury the majority of the season. Hopefully, his AAA numbers are indicative of him being healthy and ready to start next season strong. He's definitely the prototype for a modern-day right fielder. I also agree that they should keep Renfroe as the perfect bridge to Wiemer. Unfortunately, the rumors have been that the team is looking to deal him to clear up salary. I wonder if that is now made more likely by the fact that they exercised Wong's option....It would be a real shame, as Renfroe was our only regular hitter to OPS over .800 this year....

Agreed that the Kwan comp is spot-on for Frelick. However, we need to be careful about relying on too many rookies for starting roles next season. Frelick is probably the safest candidate to be a key contributor due to his elite contact skills, but Mitchell and Wiemer come with a lot of swing and miss and could experience their fair share of struggles. So, I wouldn't automatically pencil in Wiemer to the lineup starting in late April for an all-rookie starting OF. The tea leaves do seem to be indicating that Renfroe is on the way out, but that still leaves Yelich and Taylor to see the majority of the playing time at one of the outfield spots. As much as we would prefer it, Yelich is probably not going to be the full-time DH.

Yeah, with the USMNT, specifically, I think there's a lot of variance about how this WC will go, largely because they're so young and inexperienced. The last two pre-World Cup friendlies in September didn't exactly inspire a ton of confidence on that score. But some key guys such as Musah and A. Robinson were injured and unavailable.... As you say, Musah is a huge piece for this team. I actually think he has the highest potential of any of our young players, with the possible exception of Reyna. Agreed that Wales and Iran will present a real challenge due to their playing style. Last thing we want is a repeat of the Japan match, where we continuously turned the ball over in the back-end against their press. I think we beat Wales, draw against England, and then lose to Iran. So more of the up and down that we've become accustomed to with this young group. But definitely something to build on going into 2026, when we could have a real opportunity to make a deep run.

Figured this deserves its own thread outside of the general soccer thread, as it's only the biggest sporting event on the planet. Will be interesting to see whether the fact that it's being played in December, as opposed to its usual June/July date, will have any material impact on the product. I suspect there won't be that significant of a difference, with the major European leagues squarely in the middle of their seasons. If anything, I'm really looking forward to being able to watch it over the upcoming holiday week, as the Wisconsin football teams aren't providing much entertainment value at the moment. As for the USMNT, I think the expectation should be to make it out of the group stage. This is a really young team and their group is one of the more difficult ones, but the level of global soccer talent is unmatched in our history and none of our group opponents, not even England, are playing at a demonstrably higher level. I especially love our midfield and attacking depth and am excited to see Pulisic, McKennie, Reyna, Musah, etc. all on the pitch at the same time, which they rarely have been over the last two years or so since the beginning of this World Cup cycle. Obviously, striker remains a concern, and injuries have really eaten at our center-back depth, but, all things considered, I think things are looking up. This tournament will hopefully be the launching point for an even deeper run on home soil in 2026. If I had to pick a team to win it all, it would have to be Argentina. They're the reigning South American champs and are coming off a complete demolition of the European champs, Italy, in Europe this past summer. It only seems right that Messi would end what will almost certainly be the final World Cup of his legendary career with the trophy held high.

There’s no BUTs at all. He’s a top 100 prospect for a reason. And we sorely could use his elite defense/contact/speed profile on the MLB roster. That he showed significantly more power post June is exciting because lack of power has been the one thing separating him from being an uber elite prospect. Regardless, he’s a good prospect, and we can use him.

If you read my entire post, you'll notice my ranking was based on comfortability with signing, not probability of actually signing.... There's still some amount of projection to Adames' profile, whereas we know Burnes and Woody are elite pitchers in the game and are likely to stay that way over the next several years barring catastrophic injury. His sub .300 OBP this season remains a concern, despite his low BABIP I don't get why a being a position player is a plus. I'd rather have an ace pitcher such as Woody, even with his age, given that ace pitchers age better and how crucial they are to a successful World Series formula.

I suspected that this would turn out to be the case. A transfer just never made sense, despite the clear smoke. Him, GM, and a resurgent OL and WR core could make for a dynamite offense and a memorable season next year.

Interesting. Seemed like something that could materialize quickly with his wife being from HOU. I like having you remain in an advisory role, DS, but please, for the love of god, don't head to New York next season.

I personally like having the depth in the infield. Lack of depth killed us in some places this year. At the very least, we probably won't have to ever bring up a guy like Pablo Reyes. And I just don't think Brosseau brings enough at this point to keep on the roster.

While I think Turang has been in AAA long enough and that it's time to get him some looks at the MLB level, I'd be fine with this given our small-market reality.

Only thing I would add to this is I think there's a real possibility that Brosseau is non-tendered as one of the moves to free up salary. Turang has hit lefties just as well in the minors as Brosseau did this past season, while playing better significantly better defense. If he's not going to crush lefties, which he didn't this year, there's really no reason to have him on the roster with Urias and Adames both being right-handed.

He doesn't even need to acquire them. He's got Frelick and Turang, two elite contact and high BA/OBP hitters, sitting in the minors.

Yeah, in terms of comfortability with signing long-term, it would go Burnes, Woodruff, and Adames, for me. I would like to see Adames put a full season together of elite offense and elite defense, first.

Forget next offseason. I think we end up working out something with Houston right now, as Attanasio probably prefers that he go there instead of to New York. I wonder if there's any possibility we can get Click to come to Milwaukee to team up with Arnold...Or would he want total control to himself given that he's now got a World Series win on his resume?

Gavin Lux is overrated IMO. He's good, no doubt. But I don't think he'll give us much more than what we should be able to receive from Brice Turang. I'd rather have that value converted into more upper-level prospects.

It's not the specific position that I'm referring to, as much as it is the at-bats/playing time that will ultimately be available within the infield, as they were for Peterson this past season. For instance, Wong is almost certainly going to be on the bench against LHP, which would make Turang the logical candidate to be the starter on those occasions, with Adames at SS and Urias at 3B. He would then find additional playing time as the primary backup at SS and 3B. We all know how Counsell values giving his starters regular rest throughout the course of the season.... Remember in the past few years when we were worried about what we were going to do with all of our outfielders? Well, the situation usually sorted itself out as everyone ended up receiving regular playing time due to rest-days, injuries, underperformance, etc. The same thing applies here. Turang may not be a locked in starter at any position, but he should still end up seeing enough at-bats to make it worth having him on the roster. And would we even want to assure him a starting spot on what should be a contending ballclub, when he has yet to play a single inning at the major league level? This way, we'll be able to help manage his adjustment to the major leagues without giving him the pressure of having to immediately produce as a starter on a contender. It's actually quite similar to what we did with Mitchell in late August/September. Mitchell was not the locked-in starter when he was called up, as he had to contend with Tyrone Taylor. Indeed, he struggled a little bit after his first few games. But, as September wore on, he was eventually able to build his confidence and started to really show some promise. So, that's where I stand. Go with Turang as your primary back-up infielder, if not from opening day, then at least from late April/early May, when he gains that extra year of team control, with the expectation that he'll ultimately be in the lineup or be a late-game substitution 3-5 games a week. Playing time spread between 2B, SS, and 3B. I just think he's been in AAA long enough at this point (1.5 years), and that, with his mid-season power surge, there's nothing left for him to prove. We really are in need of his defense and high contact/OBP/speed combo.

Exactly. Plus Turang actually hits LHP slightly better than he does RHP, which could give him an extra advantage when divvying up playing time. Turang would be replacing Jace Peterson, who was starting for significant portions of the season.

Rumors circulating that Braelon Allen is contemplating a transfer, with Michigan and USC being potentially involved. Has followed Michigan's RB coach on Twitter recently. Possible that contact was made shortly after the PC firing and that BA has now cooled down, but there does seem to be at least some smoke here. Boy, what a massive loss that would be, given our RB tradition and how strongly pro-Wisconsin he's been throughout the last couple years.

Jace Peterson did not "sit the bench with sporadic playing time". He received at-bats on a level roughly equivalent to a starter. So, if Turang does take over Jace Peterson's spot on the roster, he'll still get regular at-bats, but without the pressure of being an immediate starter. Why is that not optimal to you? Would you rather have given him the 2B spot from the start, only to have him struggle initially (as most prospects do), lose his confidence and be sent back down to AAA, while we're left scrambling on the major league roster? It's no different from how Garrett Mitchell was incorporated onto the team this year by splitting time with Tyrone Taylor in the OF.

If he wants more than $3 mil on the open market, I doubt the Brewers will bring him back. I don't expect him back at this point, regardless.

First of all, Turang was 22 this season, which was 4.3 years younger than the AAA average. That has to be taken into consideration when evaluating his stats. He was more than a year younger than Garrett Mitchell, for comparison. Which makes that .286/.360/.412/772 slashline and 108 wRC+ look pretty nice, to go along with stellar contact numbers. Second of all, here was his slashline post July 1, when his power output really started to take-off following some swing-adjustments: .296/.395/.484/879. That's elite for a SS. Finally, Turang is already a big plus in all other aspects of the game, particularly with respect to his fielding and baserunning. That adds significantly to his overall value. Within this context, he's definitely earned an opportunity and there's nothing left for him to prove in AAA. The one "black mark" on his profile was his power, but his 2nd half went a long way towards easing those concerns. He's not "can't miss", but he's a top 100 prospect per most sites ATM.

Honestly, not that surprised. Boxberger was really good for us the past two years no doubt, but his velocity and underlying numbers are starting to decline. Seems like a situation where we already got everything we could out of the guy, and that the best thing is to just move on.

That's an overpay by the Orioles. And Hall is not what you would call a "bonafide starter". Great stuff, but real chance that he'll end up in the bullpen.

This is really inaccurate. Turang has played in 175 AAA games and has 779 AAA PAs, compared to Arcia before his 2016 call up, when he had played in 100 AAA games and had 440 PAs. And Turang's wRC+ in AAA is 105, whereas Arcia's was 91....Even if you include when Arcia was briefly demoted in 2018, Turang still has more games played and at-bats. He may not be a Chourio or a Braun, but his performance this year, particularly with his increased power output, definitely earned him an opportunity at the major league level. Plus, the team already has to put him on the 40 man this offseason.

Correct.