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Your arguments involving Chris Sale reinforce why the Mets should move deGrom right now. Sale was 27, and signed for three more years - deGrom is 30, and signed for two after this one. It doesn’t matter who Moncada is - it’s what the market will pay at the time - deGrom has never pitched better, is older, and offers less control with each start. New York - it’s time.

Have we heard what that is?

How about Wheeler and Wilmer Flores ....

The Mets are the ones with the ace,”plus two” - if I’m them, I’m not shy with the ask - the market will be plenty strong in November. (Except, of course, it’s the Mets, so deGrom will get hurt in September)

We’ve kicked Chris Archer around plenty, and now, the rumors have rekindled - so let’s start with the big question: Would you include Keston Hiura in a trade for Chris Archer?

Honestly now, if you’re the Mets, does Milwaukee get deGrom without giving Hiura? There’s no reason for them to do that, they hold the cards.

Honestly now, if you’re the Mets, does Milwaukee get deGrom without giving Hiura? There’s no reason for them to do that, they hold the cards.

Apparently, teams are scouting Gray - perhaps the Yankees are offering him around? His splits are, solid on the road - awful in New York, so maybe, but New York needs pitching - I doubt the Brewers are a match.

Ray also leads his league in total bases, and runs - the K rate, which is better, but still too high, is the big hurdle to clear here. Ray got too much credit in the prospect rankings at first because he was such a high pick, and now, he's not getting enough credit because last year was a dud. This is a true athlete playing baseball, he can already win a game in a multitude of ways, even with a (still) weak hit tool - that's a rare thing. If you've ever wondered what Keon Broxton would be if he made consistent contact .... root for Corey Ray, he may show you.

If the Marlins are willing to trade Realmuto, that's an offer they should take - put it in the Manny Machado category, it's a good, fair offer - the Marlins take it, or somebody beats it.

I know catching can be tough on the body, but Salvador Perez just turned 28! Sure, but his OBP just turned .259 .... he's a home run, low OBP guy, and now he's not even slugging .400 - I'm absolutely not buying without a significant paydown.

Honestly, Perez looks a lot more like an, "old catcher" than an All-Star, if he comes here, there needs to be significant money coming with him. Merrifield makes some sense, but he's not a guy I would, "go big" to deal for. Duffy has been all over the place, with some off-field stuff to boot - he's talented, but be careful.

Yes it does, and since the competition for pitching is always steep, I wouldn't be surprised if the price went up just a bit. With that in mind, I suggested Burnes, Huira, Ray, and one of Ortiz/Peralta/Woodruff in the trade rumors forum - possibly with Asdrubal Cabrera also coming to Milwaukee.

If Merrifield is here as an extended answer at second base, somebody has to change positions, or Huira's best value shifts to the trade market. I suppose the Brewers could see Merrifield as an outfielder after Huira comes up, but my guess would be a second big trade if the Brewers bring Merrifield in. Huira as the headliner to get deGrom or Syndergaard .... fine with me. (DH for the NL anyone?)

"They" say the Phillies have included Adonis Medina in their offer for Machado - if true, it would seem to be Corbin Burnes, or no Manny.

If they want it, they can do both.

If I'm the Mets, my ask for either DeGrom or Syndergaard is - Burnes, Huira, Ray, and one of Ortiz, Peralta and Woodruff. If I'm the Brewers, and I decide to do it, I tell the Mets they have to add Asdrubal Cabrera. Obviously, that's some expensive poker right there, but if I'm the Mets, that's what I shoot for.

Be very careful with that, "guys who are picked 5th overall stuff" - that's where mistakes are made. I get it, everybody gets it, Ray didn't shoot straight to the big leagues, and he has some stuff left to improve on, so no, he's not a franchise changing bat out of college, picked 5th overall, like Ryan Braun was. That absolutely does not mean he won't have an excellent career in the big leagues. Ray may never make it, his contact rate is going to tell this whole story - but he might, too, and if you've got a twenty homer, 30 steal left fielder on your hands, that's an outstanding player, even if he isn't a future Hall of Fame type. The Brewers may have benefitted from this same scenario in this year's draft. Milwaukee's first-round pick, Brice Turing, was squarely in the discussion to go first overall this year, but in his senior HS year, he was just, "him", he didn't take an obvious step forward, in front of scouts that had been all over him since he was in 9th grade. "Over scouting" worked its way into the mix, "expectations" got overblown, and a kid who's physical skills absolutely should have kept him from reaching the Brewers .... reached the Brewers. As I said in my initial post, trading Corey Ray is one thing, but dumping him into a deal because he wasn't incredible in the first ten minutes would be a huge gamble.

This one is obviously risky, but with the light starting pitching market this year, I won't be surprised if someone deals for Santana. He's on his rehab assignment right now, but has not pitched for the Twins this year, since cutting his finger and requiring surgery before the season. His contract has a vesting option for next year, at 14M, but that option was based on IP in either 2018 alone, or in 2017 and '18 combined - he will not hit that. The buyout for the option is one million.

Dozier is a notorious, “second half player” - he has hit .321, with 3 homers in the last week. Yep, we want him. Asdrubal Cabrera started the season hot, slumped through some nagging injuries, and has done just fine of late. He’s at .313 with 6 homers in the last month, is not getting much traction because of the sexier names, and is a rental - he’ll be the cheapest to acquire. If the Brewers get Machado, I want Cabrera too.

Season ranks among all Brewers outfielders, from the big club down to the teenagers, not including Sunday’s games .... Doubles, Home Runs, and RBI - Ray is first Stolen Bases - Ray is second, trailing Keon Broxton Runs and Bases on Balls - Ray is third - trails Yelich and Stokes in runs, trails Stokes and Cain in bases on balls Triples - fourth - Ray has six, three players have seven The one remaining bugaboo - he trails only Broxton and Stokes in Ks, which in turn holds his batting average down. Ray's OBP is 93 points above his batting average, because of the walks. A year ago, Ray was a guy who had hurt his knee, and had not hit a lick - right now, he's a guy who is showing his very obvious skills. As a "college bat" taken so highly in the draft, Ray entered pro ball with huge expectations, which he did not meet. I get that. This year though, Ray has taken an enormous step forward, he has speed, power, plate discipline, work ethic and a positive attitude, if he improves his contact rate, he will, "check all the boxes." I've seen Ray mentioned a few times in this forum as a sort of, "throw in", or, "lower rated" player to add to a deal - these things, he is not. If the Brewers trade Corey Ray, that's one thing, but if they just throw him at someone to complete a trade, they are taking an enormous gamble. The Brewers think he's a center fielder, I think he's a left fielder - but in any case, if he's a perennial 20/20 man, that's an outstanding player, even if it isn't what you had hoped for in the first round of 2016. Don't convict an excellent ballplayer of not being even better than that - it could lead to a truly regrettable decision.

We love you too, Josh - when will you be back in Milwaukee?

You go nowhere when you force the front 4-5 guys to be the entire offense most of the time - the Brewers simply must add hitting - simply must. Get Machado if you can, Mr Stearns, and if you can't, get Dozier the next day - while you're at it, get them both.

Since we're in the season of wild speculation, I'll put this here .... Zack Brown's spot is being skipped in AA.

If the Brewers give away Corey Ray for two months of Jed Lowrie, I will actively root against them for the entirety of Lowrie's tenure in Milwaukee.