DonBarclay
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Everything posted by DonBarclay
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Suarez had -6 DRS at 3B in 2025. Rengifo had -5, and +5 at 2B. I’d wager that the Brewers see something in his 2B play that they believe they can help translate to 3B. He’s also in his age 29 season vs Suarez turning 35 in July. The defense is not debatable, Rengifo is better. Offensively, Suarez is probably a lot closer to the .682 OPS player he was in Seattle after the deadline than the .897 in Arizona. He put up .781, .713, .791, .714, and .788 the 5 previous seasons. There’s a reason he only got 1/$15m after a 49 HR season, and it’s not because he loves Cincinnati that much. Simply, MLB teams believe that he’s nowhere close to the player he was for a few months last season. If its money allocation that concerns you, paying Suarez $15m+ likely would have been a poor use of money. I’m also not convinced that Attanasio spends all of the Woodruff money if it’s not on him, he clearly likes Woody beyond an average player and could’ve easily pocketed half of that. If you want to complain about having too much pitching and not enough impact bats, the only way the Brewers could address that effectively is in the trade market, not through free agency. That’s a completely different (and more interesting) conversation.
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Brewers Sign Luis Rengifo to 1yr Deal
DonBarclay replied to Jastro's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
Exactly. And if he racks up those bonuses, Milwaukee will likely be happy to pay them. Only way he does (barring the injury bug) is if he’s playing well, given that Hamilton can platoon and Wilken/Jett/Pratt/Adams/trade candidates could take over if he’s struggling. -
At the end of the day, the Brewers win on the margins. Maximizing platoon split advantage is certainly one of those margins they look to exploit.
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A team is more likely to sub vs a reliever, whether it be late in the game or to match up against an opener. ~8% of plate appearances in 2025 were lefty / lefty. Having 56% of your bullpen geared towards such a small chance of advantageous platoon splits simply does not make sense. The 4 pitchers you mention average a .132 OPS platoon split difference. The 5 lefties average .153, and will have a higher percentage of plate appearances on the wrong side of the platoon. Beyond that, the pitchers you mention aren’t really the ones that would likely be in line for that last bullpen spot. Miz, Patrick, Priester are all in rotation. If Sproat is not in the rotation, he’s in AAA to save service time and stay stretched out. So I don’t really see the relevance of the comparison, even though it furthers my opinion.
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They’re all veterans, to expect that they suddenly abandon their career splits would be fools gold. Ashby is the only one that you can argue is close to being split-neutral. Hall: .727 OPS vs RHB / .586 OPS vs LHB Koenig: .712 / .595 Zastryzny: .813 / .543 Zerpa: .809 / .624 Ashby: .686 / .634
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Barring an IL stint for one of those 5, or Ashby slotting into the rotation, I would not be surprised to see a trade. Zas for a lotto ticket. The Brewers don’t want the last guy in the bullpen to be out of options, they love to use that as a shuttle slot.
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I’d have a hard time believing they have 5 lefties in the bullpen.
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Doubtful with Henderson and Witt. Seems more likely that Gunnar gets the non-Witt SS innings.
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2024 level production at the plate from Hamilton and Ortiz offers a major improvement over 2025 Ortiz/Durbin. It makes a lot of sense to try to capture that, while letting Jett and Pratt get some ABs and maintain their service time. I would be surprised if that isn’t the plan at this point, with a right handed hitter somewhere on the bench that can play 3B against LHP starters.
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I think that the Brewers have a high enough floor, with the expanded playoffs, to know they have an excellent chance to make it to October. This seems all about trying to get more potential top level talent to have a better shot to win once they’re there. I for one agree with that approach.
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Given the recent moves and pitching depth (especially guys that can be stretched out), could the Brewers pilot a full piggy-back style rotation? Keep 3 “bullpen” guys - Uribe, Megill, Koenig. Create 5 teams of 2, that can cover 8-9 innings a game. Strategically pair them based on L/R, pitch mix, etc. Select the starter vs the 2nd pitcher based on the opponents lineup handedness strength. Zerpa/Priester Harrison/Henderson Hall/Woodruff Ashby/Patrick Gasser/Miz Force the other team into tough L/R lineup decisions, keep guys fresh, get everyone innings. IL stints can be covered by adding another bullpen arm, or calling up someone like Sproat, Crow, Rodriguez as righties or Drohan or Peralta as lefties. It would be extremely unorthodox obviously, but could be a new way of creating advantageous matchups throughout a series. There’s almost zero chance it happens, but would be an interesting concept to see play out.
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I think you trade him only if you can get two high level pitching prospects in A+ or AA. They have so many SP candidates, which is great as you can never have too many. But at the end of the day, if they cannot extend Freddy, you focus on what gives you the best chance from 2027-2032, that seems to be the real WS window. They overachieved this year, and might again next year. But if you’re trying to maximize a chance at WS, you trade him. See what you have in Gasser, Priester, Myers, Ashby, Hall, Henderson, Patrick, Miz as starters and decide who you’re rolling with moving forward. If they cannot get two high level prospects, you keep him. The comp pick would be one, so no point in trading him for just one. Don’t get a good enough deal, see if you do at the deadline or just keep him.
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Brewers-Cubs NLDS Game Four Thread - 10/9/2025 @ 8:08PM
DonBarclay replied to CheezWizHed's topic in Archived Game Threads
I would have gone bullpen game, but it’s a toss up. I’d still be at least tempted to start an opener to negate 1 Busch AB. Too bad there’s the 3 batter minimum, perfect game for Gasser to go 1 batter and turn it over to Freddy. -
Let’s count the plays that involve Ortiz the rest of the night. No reason not to hit for him there.
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Does anyone know if the waiting period after being optioned still applies to September callups? Specifically, do Lockridge and McGee (and Gasser??) have to wait the 10/15 days before they can be up?
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They do teach blocking, for breaking balls. Blocking fastballs, which you never expect to be in the dirt, and are faster than ever is and always has been extremely difficult. Sometimes picking is the only option .
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I don’t think some appreciate how difficult it is to block a 100 mph fastball that bounces in front of the plate. You don’t even have enough time to drop down as a catcher. It’s luck based on those, and he unfortunately didn’t get lucky.
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Would have to DFA him first. I’d bet he clears waivers, especially now that Boston has a left handed hitting first baseman in Lowe. Even if he doesn’t, who cares? He’s #3 behind Vaughn and Hoskins, it would take a lot to need to him again.
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Peralta’s Realistic CY Young Opportunity
DonBarclay replied to rickh150's topic in Milwaukee Brewers Talk
1. Make 7 more starts, win them all. End season 22-5. Have most Wins in MLB 2. Not allow a run over those 7 starts, with at least 42 innings. ERA ends at 2.14. Win ERA title. 3. 46+ K’s, to clear 200 That should do it. So, .00000001% chance. -
1. Going to extras makes pulling Tobias that much worse, he could’ve gone 5 if needed. 2. Just let Grant go. We win or lose with him out there today. Send him down tonight for a fresh arm.
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Teams can also designate players as two-way players -- players who are both position players and pitchers -- if they meet certain criteria. Two-way players are able to pitch in any situation but don't count toward the active roster's pitcher total. Players qualify for the two-way player designation if they have met both of the following conditions in either the current MLB season or any of the two previous seasons: • Pitched at least 20 Major League innings • Started at least 20 Major League games as a position player or designated hitter, with at least three plate appearances in each of those games
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MLB changed the rules a few years ago. A position player can only pitch if you’re down 8 runs any time in the game, or up 10 runs in the 9th. Also, 6 is still too close. Give up two runners and you have to get your closer up. Better to throw a real pitcher and try to ensure your closer rest.
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Tack on a few more and get Seigler up in the ‘pen, it’s time.
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.672 with plus defense and baserunning doesn’t exactly scream “bench for Seigler”
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Did Durbin do something to get in the doghouse?
