GantnerRules

To me, one strong positive about the Crew acquiring Matos is that it will likely keep Akil Badoo in Triple-A, even in the event of further Brewer outfield injuries. I watched Badoo with the Tigers: while he has some good streaks, overall I'd rate him a C- MLB player. A good Triple-A roster filler, but I don't want to see him on the Brewers' MLB roster.

Nearly every other team will covet Contreras. Even the Dodgers, who obviously have no need for a #1 catcher, but they might try to grab him just to keep other big spending (see: Mets) teams from landing him. I think he'll be next winter's big Brewers trade... assuming the threatened lockout doesn't blow up everything.

Here's a different possible solution (credit, or blame, to Sully, the host of the Locked On MLB podcast): Since it's a given that Misiorowski will pitch limited innings, dedicate him to pitching a 3-inning stint late in games once every 4 or 5 days. That assures him of major league experience that he needs, will surely put him in at least some situations where his pitching will really matter to the outcome of the game, will probably give the other team fits having to deal with a fresh pitcher with great stuff late in the game, and takes pressure off our bullpen by potentially giving the entire relief corps a night off. As Sully says, coaching staffs need to think about different ways to approach the game, and I thought this is one intriguing possibility. And of course, with this approach we can then use both Quintana and Cortes as starters (as long as they're pitching decently).

When you mention "glove side", is that in reference to the pitcher or the catcher?

The pressure associated with playing for that team can't make it easy for any of their players. I wish hime well, hope he has a perfectly mediocre season, and signs a fat contract with a team not in the NL Central.

I've long thought that catchers should be among the best hitters in the game, given their recognition of pitch shapes, understanding of how pitchers mix their up pitches, and how batters can adjust to deal with the way pitchers are attacking them. It doesn't seem to often work that way in reality, though, partly at least because of the wear and tear that playing that position puts on a catcher's body. But it's great to see that there is occasionally a catcher that achieves that hitting excellence (e.g. Joe Mauer and, obviously, Contreras). So glad that he's on our team!

Interesting stuff. They can throw statistics at a lot of aspects of baseball, and while I can be pretty geeky about some stuff, I've never delved into baseball stats at this level. One thing these numbers might miss is how pitch sequencing affects the results obtained from different pitch types. (Or maybe they do have stats for this, I'm not enough of a stat geek to know.). Just to cite an ancient example, I'm sure that the low outside 4-seamer from Nolan Ryan got hit at a much less effective rate when it followed a 100+ mph heater up and in, compared to the same low outside fastball following an in-zone slider. Or the 2nd and 3rd out of the zone high fastballs that get swing and miss when a pitcher knows the batter is hunting heaters, so he "climbs the ladder" with heaters. Those high fastballs may not even get swings when the pitch sequence includes breaking balls and changeups. Just watching Perralta work, he tends to throw too many non-competitive pitches that are WAY out of the strike zone, and thus he gets behind too many batters. Some days it looks like he's really fighting to control his pitches. On his sharper days, it's fun to watch him carve up hitters.

I've noticed a distinct lack of discussion about another possible approach to the Brewers' infield vacancy. Namely, find a very good glove/arm to fill the shortstop position. We're certainly not going to find anyone with Adames power, but we need a solid defender there. Ortiz and Turang are excellent defensively at their current positions and perhaps should be kept there. JoeyO in particular mans the hot corner very well, something not many others can do. Good defensive shortstops might be more easily obtained. Surely another organizations must have good glove AAA level shortstops who are blocked from promotion and might be viable trade candidates that won't be cost prohibitive. This could give the Brewers some time to find other ways to complete the infield puzzle.

Too many downsides to Bregman, as others have noted. And please, not Urshela - he has some defensive value, but way too many empty at-bats. My alternative: Brewers have their guys for 2nd and 3rd (not easy to find stellar defensive gems for 3rd base!), so leave Turang and Ortiz in place and find a FA shortstop. One possibility is Ha-seong Kim. Obviously he's coming off shoulder surgery, so this assumes he will be physically sound, but he could be a good fit for the infield. Doesn't have the power of Adames, but very few SS candidates do. Unfortunately, he just signed a contract with Boras, so he won't come cheap. That leaves 1B as the one hole to fill. Again.

I believe the DL Hall call-up yo-yo was a result of the team being able to add a pitcher for the Saturday doubleheader against the Reds, and that particular call-up doesn't count against the number of options the Brewers have with him. Hope he didn't actually have to travel back and forth to Nashville all those times!