Turning2

A rare pitching lab project acquisition that hasn't panned out so far and may not. Didn't like to see Mears and Collins go, but gave them the benefit of the doubt that this was a good trade. Yes, I'm aware Collins isn't exactly tearing it up, but Baddoo and Matos offered less. And I'd rather have Mears than Zerpa.

Biggest weakness is a shortage of healthy All Star caliber talent. Yeah, that's pretty obvious, but it's hard to pinpoint an area. They CAN score runs. Collectively, the offense hasn't been that bad. But who wouldn't want another consistent .275+ / 30+HR leader on this team. Who wouldn't want another .280-ish hitter good for lots of doubles? Pitching is still largely unproven. Priester could have been a fluke in '25. Mis isn't proven yet as a consistent, grizzled vet yet. Woody is always a health risk and a short timer. And then you have another 7-8 guys that are little more that hype, hope, and prospect potential, and will be in my view for awhile. I need two consecutive better than average years before I get sold on a player. Too many froth at the mouth about prospect status. Yeah, they have to come from somewhere, top prospects bomb too. They have speed aplenty, but speed that can't get hit is worthless. They have defense. Shaky lately, but I suspect that will level out. Regardless, great defense wins you division championships not the big prize. I do think there might be a "swagger / confidence" aspect they are deficient in. But swagger/confidence tends to equate to jerk personalities, and I'd rather my team lose with quality humans than egomaniac jag offs. So biggest weakness... impossible to say in my opinion.

True, but also .... not necessarily true. The long run isn't guaranteed to pay off. It's subjective if getting 2 or 3 serviceable guys or prospects (and lots of service time years) who "might" become somebody special is worth 1 All Star (or near All Star) caliber player. Every team has serviceable guys and good prospects in their farm system. Don't need to trade for them. Just shows how overvalued the prospect hype can be sometimes. Early results point to Harrison as a good get from Boston, but I'd have rather they just shipped Durbin and Mona or Seigler for Duran to bolster the OF. But again, I think they are setting themselves up for after the lock out rather than 2026.

I feel they will turn it around eventually and at least be respectably competitive. Said previously, I felt like they were positioning themselves for post lock out and that 2026 was kind of a mail it in season. They did nothing to help the offensive power, and they brought in more young, unproven pitching. The latter will have this year to get some seasoning for post lockout ball. Trading off some of the best players in exchange for a handful of prospects is a gamble. Sometimes you lose that gamble. Perhaps that is catching up with them alongside the injuries. They need more trades in a 1:1 mode - proven player for proven player. Easier said than done I realize.

LOL.. I won’t connect W’s or L’s to the connects, I’m just a traditionalist who doesn’t appreciate tampering with the uniforms. Seems unprofessional, Leave the silly gags to the Savanah Bananas. I’ll add, I don’t blame the Brewers. It’s the league pushing this from what I can tell.

The answer is a solid.... maybe.

I'm not a sucker. Won't pay for merchandising and marketing garbage designed to fleece the fans in order to keep paying ridiculous salaries. At least they look a little more professional than the kindergarten cartoonish Brew Crew version last year.

Too many of the same type of complimentary players in the OF.

Exactly. Pratt is the best SS prospect defensively from what I've seen. I still think Made ends up at 2B somehow. And no, I don't know how that works with Turang here for a few more seasons.

Really hope the good offensive start continues for Joe O. He's clearly the best defensive SS they have, followed by Pratt. Those two have the defensive "it" factor. I'd be satisfied with Ortiz in the .250+ range with a dozen knocks and 20 or so stolen bags and long as he has the golden defense.

Sure, I get that all. I care about the players as people too. However, there are priorities and risk managements that supersede emotion when dealing with multimillion dollar assets in my view. Just a difference of opinion. How would you feel if Chourio tore up a shoulder sliding into base, or ripped up a knee crashing into a wall and was lost for the season?

And that directly and provably benefits the Brewers how? Did the Brewers get a huge cut of the TV and merch revenues from the WBC since they had so many players involved? I don't care how it makes foreign born players "feel". I just want them healthy and producing for OUR team. There have been thousands of players from various nations for several decades that didn't need the WBC to motivate them to play well for their MLB employer. They likely thanked God for blessing them with the opportunity to play professional baseball in the U.S. Would fans get the same warm fuzzies if Chourio (or Turang) was lost for the BREWERS 2026 season by some injury sustained in the WBC. I get the "feel good" aspect of the WBC, And truly, it's probably good for marketing baseball, growing the sport to combat the poularity of soccer. It's especially good for MLB corporates. But small market MIL can't afford that risk of losing a precious and rare asset, however long the odds might be of it occurring in my view. Glad it's not an annual thing.

Yeah, not a fan of the WBC for just this reason. Could have happened in a spring training game too, but that is a necessary risk. Risking injury in the WBC is not, and is probably a heightened risk as guys are playing more competitively in the WBC, more adrenaline etc. I just don't get the love affair with the cheesy WBC. Guys playing for teams they sometimes have the thinnest of ancestral connections too is just dumb.

I find "bat to ball skills" annoying. Just say contact.

My guess - if the bat keeps showing up for hard contact resulting in extra base hits, he will eventually be traded. Probably for something like a High A / AA pitching prospect. They're going to take a loss on him ROI wise. Just didn't pan out as hoped in MIL. He would benefit from being traded to a team with an inferior farm system. Will never forget his pops (a game caller from Canada) calling his son's first MLB hit while being interviewed by Sophia.