Matt Breen

Chase Headley reportedly has a 4-year/$65M offer in hand. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/12/chase-headley-rumors-thursday.html That's just kind of crazy. Could be BS, but with the money being thrown around, you never know.

This is a good move. Kintzler is only one year removed from an excellent season (77 IP, 2.69 ERA). While he wasn't great last year, he was terrible either. He had a 3.24 ERA - which is better than average in this league. Some of his struggles are probably attributable to his health issues, which (we hope) are behind him. Do we want him closing games? Probably not. But a guy like him can contribute. If Brandon was making $4 million, sure, I could see letting him go. But it's just over a $1M. It's not a huge investment. Milwaukee has a thin bullpen as it is, he's not that expensive, and he has had recent success. It's a smart move without a lot of downside.

Happ to Seattle. OF Saunders to Toronto. The Blue Jays clear a rotation body and get a serviceable left handed hitting OF in return. Seattle was looking for a back of the rotation guy. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11974742/seattle-mariners-trade-michael-saunders-toronto-blue-jays-ja-happ

Brewers should listen. They're foolish not to. Assuming the team is comfortable with Nelson and Fiers in the rotation, dealing one of Lohse/Gallardo allows you to fill some other roster holes and/or add prospects. Biggest problem right now is that there's a glut of middle/back end starting pitchers available in free agency. Trading for Yo or Lohse is going to cost something. A team could simply go after someone like Peavy, Volquez, McCarthy, Masterson, Hammel or Harang - to name a few. They'll all probably cost in the $10-13 million a year range - the big thing is how many years. Perhaps the one-year commitment of our guys will be attractive to a club. I like Yo and Lohse better than these guys, but I'm not sure what other teams think of our guys. As some of these mid/lower tier starters start signing, you'll might find teams that miss out on guys they like come calling about Lohse and/or Gallardo. But for now, they'll probably just hang back and let the market play out.

Kintzler avoids arby with a 1-year deal for $1,075,000. http://www.brewcrewball.com/2014/12/3/7326385/brandon-kintzler-brewers-contract-arbitration Nothing shocking, but nice to get contract stuff out of the way.

Yeah, he shouldn't play vs righties. .658 OPS vs them over his career. Mayberry grades out average as a defender at 1B, RF and LF. He's played some CF in his career, but his defensive metrics are pretty bad there. I worry about having too many guys with extreme splits on the team - Parra, Lind, Scooter, for example. But if guys can hit lefties and righties, they're playing every day for someone. Not getting non tendered. We have to take what we can find and what we can fit in our budget.

John Mayberry Jr was non tendered. He has a .857 lifetime OPS vs lefties. Make a nice platoon mate foe Lind. Can play corner OF as well. Might be an option if the team doesn't trust Rogers.

You sure they are going to have Parra? He's going to be an expensive bench player and he doesn't hit enough to play every day. I'm not a fan of Sanchez, but they shouldn't bring Reynolds back. Blanks is a guy who's played both corner OF spots and 1B. Adding a guy who can play corner OF to go with Schafer might be better than paying Parra $7 million to play twice a week. McCalvy says the Brewers are probably going to keep Parra: http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/102884018/milwaukee-brewers-likely-will-tender-a-contract-to-gerardo-parra Gord Ash's comments: "I don't think that that's a likelihood at all. He's too valuable a player. The interesting thing for me about him last year is that even though he was a 3 1/2 outfielder for both clubs, he ended up with 570-plus plate appearances, which is pretty close to an everyday player." Of course, maybe they're just trying to drum up trade interest or something like that. And we could tender him a contract, and still trade him.

Craig scares me a bit. OPS has declined every year since 2011. He doesn't walk much. Defensive and base running metrics have never been kind to him - and as he ages (he'll be 31 next year) it likely won't get any better. He never seemed to be that good of an athlete - he has a body type that may not age well. I worry his injuries (and age) will sap a little speed, a little power, a little bat speed - and just suck him of his skills rather quickly. It's hard to ignore three straight .300 seasons - especially so recently (2011-13). But I'd be very wary of taking on his contract. You'd have to feel comfortable that last season's performance was an aberration.

I like Corey and appreciate what he did for Milwaukee, but I don't want him at this stage of his career - or the Brewers. I'm not saying Corey won't get a job somewhere, but he's limited. He had a .590 OPS. He only played 11 games in the field because of his bad knees. He's an aging player and a bad hitter and a bad fielder at this stage. Plus a poor runner. DH is the only real spot that he is viable at right now. The Brewers expect to contend for the playoffs next year. We're better off with a guy like Rogers who is young, healthy, cheap and versatile (able to play 3B as well as 1B) instead of a fading veteran who looks washed up. To hope that Corey can regain his hitting prowess at age 33 is asking a lot. Especially with the injuries he has endured. Hart needs to find an AL team who needs a DH. It'll be a minor league deal. He'd have to go to camp and prove his knees are better, but if they are, he could potentially land a gig. Ideally he could land with a team like Tampa or KC - both lower budget teams looking for potential bargains. They could let him compete for the job in spring training. If he stinks, no harm. A team like Houston could work as well. They could hope Hart does well, then flip him to a contending team later in the year. Unless he can really show his knees are better, I think it'll be hard for Corey to make it with any NL team. That all said, there is a lack of right handed power in the league. Someone will likely give Corey a try. Tampa DHs hit for a .703 OPS last year. A guy like Hart might work out well for them.

Last year we got burned by bad depth in the outfield and infield. Parra is around next year to handle 4th OF slot. A middle IF would be nice next year. If at all possible, I don't want guys like Falu and Bianchi and Herrera playing. And a little insurance regarding Segura would be nice. If he struggles, we need someone who can step in and do the job. A guy like Rodriguez would fit the bill.

The Rays designated IF Sean Rodriguez today. He'll be 30 next year. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rodrise01.shtml Is arby eligible for a 3rd time this year. Probably inline to make $2M. Doesn't hit for a high average (.221 BA from 2012-14), but has some pop (12 HR on 237 ABs last year). Generally grades out average or a bit above average as defender (plays SS, 2B, 3B - even some OF), although last year wasn't great. A right handed hitter, career-wise, he has a .746 OPS vs left handed pitching - .611 vs righties. He could platoon at 2B with Scooter if necessary, has a decent glove, and a lot of experience (1600 career ABs). $2 million is a lot for a backup like this, but he would provide veteran depth if Segura falters again, a platoon partner for Scooter (if necessary), and versatility - he can play all the IF positions as well as LF/RF (not that you want him there). Just an option.

Man, what happened to Ricky Romero. I remember he and Gallardo came up at the same time. I thought Romero was going to be better than Yo. 42 walks in 38 innings. And at AAA. Wow.

A big year from Braun will be a huge step in this team making a playoff run next year. A 25-30 HR, .300 BA year from Ryan changes the complexion of the team dramatically.

Ryan Braun & His Thumb It sounds like a weird movie. Or maybe a band.

Mass, have you heard anything about Pena's 'balky elbow'? I just remember at the time that the team said he needed some rest, then they would re-evaluate things. Is this a sign things haven't gone well?

Juan Francisco is clearing out another locker: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/11/red-sox-designate-juan-francisco-for-assignment.html

Very true. My apologies for the snarkiness. Here's a more thought out reply: I would probably put Pittsburgh ahead of us, but not by a lot. Replacing two decent starters is tough. Burnett helps, but they are thin there. They have some nice minor leaguers that could help out at some point next year, but that's a crapshoot. Bullpen has some excellent guy as well. I like their lineup better than ours, even without Martin. I'd actually place that Reds are as good or better than Milwaukee for 2015. Reds pitching had a better ERA than us last year, even though they lost Latos for 1/2 the season and Homer Bailey for 1/3 of the season. Both should be healthy in 2015. Offensively, they went from 698 runs in 2013 to 595 in 2014. Milwaukee had 650 last year. However, Cincy (as noted) had a ton of injuries. Votto missed 100 games. Mesoraco missed a month. Brandon Phillips missed 1/4 of the season. Jay Bruce hit poorly (.217 BA and 18 HR) after averaging 32 HRs from 2011-13. At 28, he has a good chance to rebound. Zack Cozart was awful hitting last year as well, but could rebound in 2015. I could easily see them equaling the Brewers offense. However, bloated payroll and impending free agency may very well cause some problems. Not to mention so many guys coming back from injury. You just never know who effective guys are going to be. What you may see as 'diminishing' a Brewer prospect may simply be someone assigning what they see as a realistic expectation on a player. I think the minor league forum is great - people offer lots of amazing insight and thoughts on our young players. People are excited about our prospects - even if they know they may be limited. I rarely see anyone diminishing every Brewer prospect and claiming other teams players are flawless. That many people express that we have a weak minor league system should not be a reason to attack them. Nor should the fact that someone may express admiration for another team's players. Yes, young talent is a crapshoot. That's why you should accumulate as much as possible. Top pitching prospects fail more than they succeed. For every Wily Peralta there's a Mark Rogers and a Will Inman. Excellent point. Cincy went from third in the league in runs scored to third worst in the NL in one year. The lost Choo to free agency, but suffered a lot of injuries (as noted above). Injuries can decimate a team (Rangers are another example). Quality depth can help alleviate some of the concerns about injuries. I like having Parra, for example, as our 4th OF, especially with Braunie's hand issues. Personally, I think people should be free to assign honest and realistic expectations about the team. Obviously, some people are more optimistic than others. As there is a middle, there are the extremes, and calling people's arguments on one side or the other mind-numbing and tiresome does not promote quality dialogue. I don't think a single person on this board believes the team is hopeless. We won 82 games last year. Can they get 8-10 more wins? Sure. Braun and Segura rebounds. Fiers for a full year. Avoid injuries. All that could happen. And we'd love every minute of it if it happened. Some people will be more skeptical about our chances than others. But to imply those people don't we have a chance is incorrect. Finally, Scherzer is a poor idea because we give up our top pick, and most importantly, I think the money can be used more efficiently and effectively. Milwaukee needs to be nimble as an organization. Tying us to one player for $25M (or more) for the next 6-8 years is a massive anchor.

Yes, keep it positive. No more of this Debbie-downer crap. Down with the haters. Sign Scherzer. He'll put us over the top. Sprinkle the fairy dust. Cue the unicorns.

Am I reading this correctly? To be honest, I don't know how Kyle Schwarber is rated that LOW. The guy had an ops of over 1.00 and didn't look outmatched at high-A. I hate the Schlubs as much as the next BF but Schwarber's bat rates above Stephen Piscotty by a wide margin to me. This will be interesting to see how they reconcile this later on as I would bet good money Kyle Schwarber is a top 75 prospect when the master list comes out. Frankly, I don't see either Arcia or Taylor anywhere near there. Schwarber looks like he could be a 30 HR guy in the bigs. He had 10 HR in only 159 ABs in the Flordia State League - which isn't a good hitting league. I'd definitely take him over Piscotty, who needs to hit for more power if he's going to be a corner OF (I don't think he can play CF). I think Taylor and Arcia are going to make it into a lot of Top 100 lists this year (probably in the 75-100 range). They held their own in the FSL, have done nicely in winter ball, and both project as above average defenders at key positions. If they don't make the top 100, they'll be close. If they don't make it, I'm not worried. A lot of people want to see guys perform at higher levels. Nothing wrong with that. It's just how some people evaluate players.

A poor fielding .196 hitter who strikes out 40% of the time! Sign me up for that.

Made me laugh. Well done. Thanks.

They're not adding Guerrero. He was already a coach in the dugout last year (and presumably added then in part for his native tongue and the reasons you noted). Gotcha. Thanks. I was thinking he was at AAA last season - didn't read things closely enough.

Yes, the Brewers get screwed by the way the system is set up. We'll rarely add a quality free agent, we lose most of decent players after six years, we rarely go big on the international market. Boston, NY, LA, Chicago - these teams will reload each year. The deck is stacked against us. The only way Milwaukee can play the game is to build a team using the draft, making astute trades, extending key players are reasonable rates (such as Lucroy's deal) and employing targeted free agency. We need to funnel in cheaper players while trading players (and recouping talent) as they get expensive. It sucks. But if we try to play the game the way Boston does, we'll lose year after year as we wallow in mediocrity. That's what we currently do. We can't afford Greinke, so we get Lohse. We can't afford Fielder so we get Ramirez. We can't afford Jerry Hairston Jr so we get Cody Ransom. Our current attempts at contending doom us to perpetually winning around 75-85 games. If things break our way, we might make the playoffs once every five years. But building through the draft is no picnic. It requires discipline and patience (for the team and for fans). It requires compromises. It requires a willingness to trade guys who the team and fans really like. And things are only going to get worse. Milwaukee might get a new TV contract getting us $40 million a year, but then LA will turn around and get one giving them $240 million a year. The gap will only grow.

Adding Guerrero means we have a Hispanic coach on the team. With the growing number of Latin players in baseball, it seems prudent to have a coach that speaks Spanish (I don't know if any of the other coaches does) and can relate/communicate with the players. The Brewers had 7-8 players on the roster most of the year last season who's first language is Spanish.