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1. Lewis Brinson 2. Josh Hader 3. Luis Ortiz 4. Corey Ray 5. Isan Diaz 6. Brett Phillips 7. Phil Bickford 8. Brandon Woodruff 9. Trent Clark 10.Gilbert Lara 11.Marcos Diplan 12.Corbin Burnes 13.Freddy Peralta 14.Ryan Cordell 15.Jacob Nottingham 16.Lucas Erceg 17.Monte Harrison 18. Wei-Chung Wang 19.Cody Ponce 20.Jorge Lopez 21.Miguel Diaz 22.Trey Supak 23.Nathan Kirby 24.Kodi Medeiros 25.Demi Orimoloye

Post your question in the DDSM thread in the minor leagues forum. "agent39" was Braddock's agent, he could fill you in.

The question is how much value is placed on Puig. To be honest I have no idea what the answer to that question is. Nothing has really been hinted as to what Puig's value in that trade is. Precisely my point.

Honestly, I've never seen public discussion like this. i've never seen it around any player, much less an All-Star caliber player, who happens to be a franchise icon. Braun himself, Mr Attanasio, the Brewers' TV guys, and how many writers have stated, "LA Dodgers", "Ryan Braun", "Yasiel Puig", etc, over a trade that did not happen. I wonder if they're talking about it like this in LA? BTW, yes, I think you need to include Puig in any guess on a trade with the Dodgers, the question we can't answer is, is that because the Brewers really want him, or because the Dodgers really don't want him? That answer will tell us what sort of prospects to expect, when and if this actually happens.

Crew07, I'm not thrilled with Puig either, I'm hoping he's more, "take him", than, "get him" in the deal, but I don't know if that's the case. De Leon is the guy I want, for sure, but I think Alvarez is going to be a big deal. I don't like control projects, the same way I don't like position players whose weakest link is the hit tool - pitchers without command and hitters who can't hit are the stuff of fired coaches. I really believe Alvarez will make it, he's definitely riskier right now than De Leon, but I believe in him. Brock Stewart is the guy I want from the second group, essentially for the reason you gave - he's putting up outstanding numbers, and he could still get better. I want, "quality depth" in pitching throghout the system, meaning, as many guys who have a real chance at being an MLB starting pitcher as possible. Yes, I want as many of them to have a "#2 ceiling", and yes, this may be a chance to bring one into the system. Fill the system with #2 and #3 starters, get the best pitcher you can get, and sort out the lefty/righty stuff later, and let the results tell you who moves to the bullpen.

Guys, please use prospect lists as a fantastic guideline, but not as gospel. Brandon Woodruff, in 20 AA starts, struck out 124 batters, while walking 30 - a four to one ratio! He had an ERA of 3.01, a WHIP of 1.04, and he allowed 4 home runs, while holding opponents to a .211 batting average. The man just kicked the crap out of the AA level, throwing mid to high 90s. That is not a lottery ticket, that is not a borderline anything - that is an outstanding pitching prospect. Read stats, and then ask yourself this - would you want your team to trade for Brandon Woodruff, Kodi Medeiros, Devin Williams, or Jorge Lopez right now? That's a landslide for Woodruff, yet, just within the Brewers' system, somebody thought he was the #25 prospect. That's ridiculous. Translate that to the Dodgers - go read the stats on Yadier Alvarez, and tell me you'd be upset if the Brewers got him as the top prospect in a Braun trade - I sure wouldn't be. Look at the pitchers who are ranked numbers 14-17 for the Dodgers right now, and tell me which ones you don't think the Brewers could use. http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2016?list=la

A few things .... If Braun hit the free agent market this winter, yes, I believe he would get 4/80 - maybe even more dollars, but that's not at all relevant, because he isn't a free agent. In this case, he has only a few teams he can be traded to without his approval, which affects what the Brewers can ask for, and also, free agency is strictly about dollars, a trade is about dollars, and prospects. Would Braun get 4/80, and a strong package of prospects shipped out as a free agent - that is a much different question, and it is the question being asked in a trade scenario. Yasiel Puig - is he being seen as the centerpiece in this trade, or is viewed more like a prospect, because the talent is obvious, but so are the issues? I have no idea. How high are the Dodgers willing to go on their prospect list to make this trade? I have no idea, and unless one of the GMs involved called you to fill you in, I'm not sure how anyone else can act so certain about what is and what is not. The Giants can't get Braun strictly for prospects, because the Giants don't have the prospects on hand to get it done, which has nothing to do with Braun's trade value somehow slipping - the Giants have a weak farm system right now, they cannot match Braun's value in a trade, unless thy include current MLB players in their offer. This essentially eliminates San Francisco as a trade partner. The Marlins and the Angels - see San Francisco, repeat the answer. The Padres - first of all, they're rebuilding, and honestly - would you want to make a trade with that franchise right now? They just got busted for hiding medical information when making trades. Forget it. The Diamondbacks - you never know what that front office will do, I won't completely cross them off, but they've already dealt most of the guys anyone would have asked for. The Dodgers - A deep farm system, a need for exactly what Braun is, a weak free agent year, which limits their ability to simply spend for talent, and a trade partner in Milwaukee who is willing to balance money in order to get the deal done. Does this deal include two of the Dodgers' top five prospects - probably not. Does this deal include one of the Dodgers' top five prospects - it certainly might. Do the Dodgers have some outstanding prospects who are currently listed well below their top five - yes, absolutely. Milwaukee isn't going to dump Braun - they've made that clear. Milwaukee has no need to dump Braun - he's still an excellent player, and the Brewers can easily afford his contract. 1. The Brewers and Dodgers make this obvious match, OR - 2. Braun adds more teams to his "OK list" and he's traded somewhere else, OR - 3. Braun stays right here At this point, I absolutely, positively believe it's LA, I've said it many times now, and the quality of the two prospects will tell us how Puig was valued in the deal.

Swing, you're missing the point here - the writer wasn't saying Smith is worth more than Braun - far from it. He's saying the Giants' farm system isn't strong enough right now to get Braun from Milwaukee - they don't have the horses to make the offer that gets it done. He's right - they don't, they have a completely pedestrian farm system right now - they'd have to include MLB talent in an offer to get Braun out of here. The same is true of the Angels and the Marlins - the reason this is going to be the Dodgers is, among the teams Braun cannot block a trade to, they are the only ones with the prospect depth it will take for the Brewers to make the move. The Padres are rebuilding, so they're out, the Diamondbacks' system has already been stripped, the Giants had a very average farm system before they traded a strong prospect to the Twins and an even better one to Milwaukee, and the Marlins and Angels are fighting for, "Worst Farm System in the World." The Dodgers are the only real match, but fortunately for Milwaukee, they have prospect depth, and they have a player in Puig, who could still return a good prospect from a third team if he plays well. I expect the lack of competition to keep the return down a little bit, but the Brewers will get what they need in the deal.

Yep. He is, and keep in mind, this is a weak year for free agents. It's not the typical year where a big market team can throw money at a hole in their roster - there will be motivation to make trades. This whole thing really screams, "LAD" - they have the need, the prospects, and the motivation to get Braun, and the Brewers have now proven they're willing to sort out the money. If Braun were to choose a place to go other than Milwaukee, the Dodgers are his hometown team, the team he rooted for as a kid, who play right where he still lives, and will be raising his kids .... I think we've made a Love Connection.

On Ryan Braun ... "Not right now, it's just too much to sort out. He's worth it, and teams know it, but they don't want to pay the price. Ask again in the winter." This seems to be exactly how it played out with Braun - teams tried to get him as a salary dump for Milwaukee, sending, "guys" to the Brewers, but Milwaukee waited that out, insisting that they wouldn't be doing that. Braun proved his worth, after the back surgery, so teams moved into the, "go get him" stage, and here we are.

Does anyone know when he submits his no-trade list for the 2017 season? Is that something he'd do in spring, or immediately after the World Series? I don't, and Braun has changed the teams on his "OK" list over the years, but if I had to guess, I'd say the Dodgers would be his preferred destination, considering location, and contending status.

I've said it before, so I won't go through the whole thing again, but Braun to the Dodgers has looked obvious to me for a while now - IF the Dodgers decided to pursue him, and IF the two sides could work out a deal. They missed by minutes, apparently down to the final prospect coming to Milwaukee - obviously, a great deal of work has been done, and both teams are dead serious. Barring a change of status for one of the players involved, this is going to happen, and it should. LA has strong prospects to deal, and given his age and talent, Puig has the potential to either stick in Milwaukee for a while, or to bring in more prospects in a deal - Baltimore and the White Sox have already identified themselves as possible suitors, and that's just based on the deadline waiver process. Root for Puig to play well and behave himself, and wait to hear which two kids the Brewers are getting. It's a lot of moving parts, but this could be a trade that makes sense for both teams. Channeling Mr Spock .... "Fascinating ..."

Yes, and if the Braves somehow end up with Braun, Jim Powell will have to sound happy about it.

I don't blame teams for asking, but I'd guess Villar's breakout season will make Villar a trade candidate, if the Brewers decide to part with either player.

That's a really good question, and there are quite a few variables. First of all, is Puig in the deal, or out? He was obviously in a week ago, but will that still be a focus in two months? If Puig is in, is that because the Dodgers want to be rid of him, or because he's been offered as the stud you get back in the deal? Do the Brewers offer to send cash in the trade, or do they scoff at the idea of handing dollars to such a huge market? However this shakes out, if I'm right, and the Brewers match up with LA on a Braun deal, that farm system has pitching to get. De Leon, Alvarez, Buehler, Sheffield, Stewart, Sborz, Abdullah, and De Jong - there's some fun stuff in that pile. I don't know if it will end up being about Puig, or Cody Bellinger for that matter, but I would expect a quality arm to show up in the return. http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2016?list=la

Briggs, you provided the names yourself, and yes, Phillips, Ray, Clark, and Erceg are the guys to point to right now. Maybe the Brewers deal for someone who's closer to the big leagues, but maybe they don't, and no matter what, I see no evidence that you'll be happy with the timeline associated with this rebuild. At the major league level, the 2017 season for the Milwaukee Brewers, is already over. In fact, I think next year is the year of the worst record in this cycle. I think 2018 is a step forward, and 2019 is the first time the team may truly contend again. That could change, but right now, it's what I believe. On the bright side, to your point on having some lefties around - they haven't ignored the idea, they've drafted three guys and traded for one in the last year plus. As to needing pitching - that is also being addressed - Diplan, Kirby, Hader, Peralta, Ortiz, Bickford, etc, etc - it's basically the same thing I have to tell Briggs about his lefty hitters - you're going to have to accept the timeline al little bit here. The Brewers have more pitching talent in the system right now than they've had at any point in the last 25 years - and I'm sure they'll keep adding to it. Patience, like it or not, is mandatory at a time like this. David Stearns was hired to acquire a depth of controllable young talent, and he's doing that. Young means what it says, and it's going to be a while yet before enough of this talent is together in Milwaukee to make us all happy. This year was the first year the Brewers picked in the top ten spots in the draft, the FIRST year, not the last, in this cycle. When you're wishing for tomorrow to be the day, try to remember, this farm system was among the bottom 5-10 in baseball for five years, which left a lot of holes to fill at the minor league level. You can't fill major league holes in Milwaukee without minor league talent, and you can't skip that step in the process, or your, "rebuild" will require one screwdriver and a trip to IKEA.

FV, that's obviously, a fair point - the Brewers aren't going to give Braun away. I think, I don't know this for sure, but I think the two sides were very close to agreeing on which players went where, but they weren't together on the financials, and they were up against a deadline, so it just didn't happen right now. We'll see, but I would absolutely bet on it. The Giants, Angels, Diamondbacks and Marlins all have weak farm systems right now, and the Padres are dealing for prospects at this point, not veterans - the Dodgers are the match. Unless Braun shifts and adds someone new to his "unprotected list", this is all Dodgers, all day long. I just think the two groups need a little bit of time to sort it out. The Dodgers had stayed back on Braun earlier in the season for some reason, perhaps a deal could have been done in August if there had been more discussion earlier, but now we know the interest is there.

In order to deal Ryan Braun, the Brewers need to find a team he cannot block a trade to, that is a contender and not rebuilding right now, that has a deep farm system to deal from, that will not wind up asking the Brewers to pay a ridiculous amount of Braun's contract. Unless Braun makes a radical departure and starts including teams like Boston on his list of "acceptable" teams, there is only one match. We needed to know if the Brewers were truly ready to deal Braun - now we know that they are. We needed to know if the Dodgers were willing to deal for Braun - now we know that they are. Barring a significant injury prior to the end of this season, Ryan Braun is going to be a Los Angeles Dodger.

1. Cordell isn't the sexy type that makes fans love the deal - but he has plenty of talent. When you get a true prospect as the third player in the deal, you know you've done a good job on the deal. 2. Cordell was the Rangers' #6 prospect - he is the Brewers' #18 prospect. That's a nice little indicator folks. 3. Stop, please, with the, "we have enough outfielders" routine. The Brewers need athletes who do baseball well, and that's what they've been getting. A big league team typically has five outfielders on it, so they need enough talent to fill five spots, not three. Guys get hurt, not every prospect makes it, someone could be moved to first base, depth is where you trade from to fill a need, so too much is never a bad idea, and finally - the Brewers have nowhere near, "too much" of anything, until they've run out of improvable space on the successful, contending MLB club they simply do not possess at this point in time.

....can slam a revolving door.

Whether it's for Braun, Thornburg, or both, I like the Dodgers as a trade partner because of their pitching depth. They have nine pitchers in their top twenty prospects on this list. Not only that, but most of them are having success, not just potential. http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2016?list=la

This is the kind of thing you have to love, simply because you can't explain it. Go Kid!

The big issue with dealing Braun is his no-trade. He always lists teams out west, and the Marlins, as the places he'd go without his ok. Unless he'd waive that at some point, that presents a problem. If you're going to deal Braun because you're afraid his value will decline as he ages, you need to get that done sooner than later, which means you need a trade partner who is contending, and has a solid farm system to deal from - since dealing Braun for scraps would be ridiculous. Take a look at the farm systems of the Giants, Angels, Diamondbacks, and Marlins right now - that's not pretty. San Diego is rebuilding at the moment, so a deal for Braun doesn't seem to fit there either. That leaves the Dodgers - who could certainly use Braun, and who have the sort of farm system that could easily match up for a deal, but to this point anyway, they've stayed away from Braun. Finding the deal that works is going to be a bigger issue than whether or not any of us would deal him.

Ray Burris is now the pitching coach for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. (Phillies AAA) http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Ray_Burris

Broxton is doing great. Exactly - let that kid play, the Brewers need to find out what they do or do not have in him.