Matt Breen

We can bring back Yuni and have an infield of: 1B: Francisco 2B: Weeks SS: Yuni 3B: Reynolds That might be the worst defensive team in history.

Young pitchers continue to fall. Jarrod Parker is the latest pitcher to go down. Interesting to see how young some of these guys are - especially guys having a second surgery. Here's a rundown of people I can think of going down since camp began: Jarrod Parker - 2nd Tommy John surgery The Braves lost Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy - I think both on their 2nd TJ procedure. Arizona's Patrick Corbin is likely going to need TJ. KC's Luke Hochevar already went under the knife. The Padres lost (or will lose) a couple of young pitchers to TJ, Cory Luebke and Joe Wieland (I think both for 2nd time). Minnesota lost one of the game's top prospects in Miguel Sano to TJ - although he is a 3B, not a pitcher.

Off the top of my head, the only guy I can think of is Capuano. I'm sure there are others, but I just don't recall any at this time.

Anyone wondering if three lefties could make the pen to start 2014? You figure Henderson, K-Rod and Kintzler are locks. Thornburg hasn't had a great spring, but his success last year makes it really difficult to send him to the minors. Same goes for Smith (and he's having a good spring). That's four righties and one lefty. That leaves two spots. Right now, I'd say it's between Wang, Duke and Wooten - all of whom have pitched well so far. Could the team feasibly break camp with four righties (Henderson, K-Rod, Kintzler and Thornburg) and three lefties (Smith, Duke and Wang)? All three of the lefties are former starters, so it's not like they have never faced righties.

Looks like Beachy has a good chance of under going his second Tommy John surgery. http://mlb.si.com/2014/03/14/brandon-beachy-tommy-john-surgery-atlanta-braves/ That's brutal, losing both Beachy and Medlen to TJ. They're lucky Santana was available. It just goes to show you how essential pitching depth is.

I think it's more because of Gallardo's history with the franchise. Roenicke even said in the article that Gallardo was 'our guy' - referring to the fact he is a Brewer developed pitcher.

I totally agree. If Santana pitches well enough to get a QO next season, the Braves would be crazy not to offer it. Even if Santana accepts the offer, it's a good deal for Atlanta. There's no long term obligation. And the worst thing that happens is they trade him - or another pitcher - for other assets.

But if Santana is deserving of a QO this year, he has a good chance to get it next year. So they can recoup the pick by giving him the QO and getting a comp pick. Yes, it's 5-10 picks later. And yes, it's a year later. But in return you're getting Santana for a year without the long term contract risk. There's a risk Santana gets hurt or stinks, and then the QO isn't viable. But as people have noted, the team expects to contend and they need the arm.

It's hard for fans not to be excited about Scooter after the numbers he put up in Milwaukee last year. They see Scooter as a scrappy 2B who can hit .324 BA with decent power - and the guy who brought a welcome respite from Rickie's year and a half struggle at the plate and the field). People are going to love and over value Scooter more than he will (likely) ever deserve. He's a gritty guy. He hits for average. He's a better fielder then Weeks. That's what people will see. They'll ignore his inability to hit lefties, his lack of walks, his average defense, his lack of power. It doesn't mean Scooter can't be a solid starter for Milwaukee. It's unlikely he'll ever take many walks. Or hit lefties very well. But he can start 120-130 games at 2B, hit .280-.290 - a maybe even develop a little pop (10-15 HR) as he matures and gets stronger. There's some nice value in that - especially when he's not making a ton of money. But the guy's overall skill set screams 'average' to me. He'll have some nice qualities (which people will point out a lot), but also some serious limitations. I'm torn about the Rickie or Scooter thing. With 1B likely being a platoon, I hate setting up a second platoon. It seems like a waste of roster space. In some ways, if the switch to Scooter is inevitable, I almost want to just make the move now and accept it. Hanging on to Rickie just seems like drawing out the situation, which can get uncomfortable. On the other hand, having Rickie of 2009-11 back would be pretty awesome. I always loved the guy, despite his flaws. I hate to give up the chance to have that back for another year.

I hope the club moves Hellweg to relieving. The guy has to get consistent, and he can't seem to do that as a starter. Let him go to Nashville, focus on two pitches. Nothing more. Then he can come to Milwaukee next year and contribute. Perhaps the club moves him back to the rotation after that, but for now, find a way for him to succeed.

Hunter Morris had a lower OPS than Dee Gordon, Hernan Iribarren and Tony Gwynn Jr. at AAA last year. Morris gets 2014 to show he's more than just minor league fodder. But I'm not convinced. He had a good year in 2012 (albeit, a very good year), so I'm not giving up. But that seems to be the outlier at this point. If I had to bet on it, I'm skeptical that he'll be a decent big league starter. If Hunter can make it, he might be a platoon type player. His .667 OPS against lefties last year is unacceptable for a starter.

If Santana pitches well the Braves can give him a qualifying offer next year and get back a comp pick if he walks. The pick wouldn't be that far off what the Braves get this year, since they draft pretty low (I think 26th). Probably around the 30-35 zone. That's still pretty good. There is the chance that Santana could take the qualifying offer next year, making it a (roughly) 2-year/$29 million deal. Not a bad signing for Atlanta. Atlanta could also see how Santana does, and work out an extension during the season. There is the possibility that Santana has a clause prohibiting the Braves from giving him a qualifying offer, but I have not heard that.

Minorleagueball.com has their first mock draft. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2014/3/10/5485534/2014-mlb-mock-draft-version-1 They have the Brewers taking pitcher Grant Holmes. 12. Milwaukee Brewers: Grant Holmes, RHP, South Carolina HS Holmes is a physcial righty with upper 90's velocity and a knockout breaking ball. There is a chance he ends up at the back of the bullpen but he could be a front end starter if everything works out.

I think so much can happen before then that I'm not too worried about finding him a spot. Injuries are one thing. We'll find more out about Davis this year. Braun to 1B could maybe happen. Might need to see how Roache develops as well (and where he ultimately plays). Worse case scenario is he's ready in two years, and you use him as a trade chip.

I was really intrigued by Haniger after watching his performance at Wisconsin the first part of last season. Overall, he was just really solid. I loved the 25-24 k/bb rate. Obviously, his numbers at Brevard County were nothing special, dimming people's view of him. But the solid Fall League performance made me wonder if he was ready to break out. His performance this spring his only helped. What makes him really interesting this year is that he can move into the upper minors (likely AA) and - if he does well - actually mature into a top prospect. So many of our best prospects are going to be in A ball this year. There's nothing bad about that - it's just we lack guys in the upper minors who look like they can be impact players in the big leagues. Often, the move from A ball to AA is one of the biggest steps a player can make. I'd like the Crew to push Haniger hard. Put him at AA this year. He's already 23. I don't expect Haniger to be an all-star type player in the big leagues. But I think he could be a 15-20 HR guy, hit .280, take his share of walks, etc. There's a lot of value in a guy like that - especially when they are cheap. And he has a good arm (at least from what I've read) and would fit in nicely in RF or LF in a couple of years.

Here's a fun project - Let's say you give Yo an extension to cover 2016-19 - his ages 30-33 seasons. I went to baseball-refernce.com and looked at the 'Similar pitchers through 27' category for Gallardo. For each player, I looked at the their WAR totals for ages 30-33 - the ages that a four year extension would cover. Here's the results: Josh Becket: 5.1 Freddy Garcia: 0.8 Andy Pettitte: 14.2 Barry Zito: 4.4 Rich Culp: -1.1 (retired after age 31 season) Kevin Millwood: 7.6 Jack McDowell: 2.3 Kevin Appier: 7.5 I didn't include players who are still playing that haven't reached their age 33 season since their totals would be incomplete. That left eight players. I realize that this isn't any particularly scientific. It's only eight players, and some of these guys are different types of pitchers. Still, it does show some of the pitfalls of extending a player. The numbers aren't very good, with Pettitte being the only player to excel during the time frame. Injury is a huge factor for many of these players. But I suspect injury would be a large factor for just about any pitcher did this same test for. I guess for me it reinforces the belief that extending any pitcher is a significant risk. It's the nature of the industry. Pitchers hurt their arms. Add in Yo's struggles in 2013, including declining velocity and heavy pitch counts - and I'd really avoid any sort of extension. In two years (and thousands of pitches later), Yo's arm could easily be shot. For me, we are better off waiting for 1-2 years and see how Yo does - and how our young pitching matures. I'd rather wait and see if Yo's healthy - and more importantly - if we need him. Because even if Yo is healthy at age 30, there is still a lot of risk giving him a large extension.

PEDs grumble grumble grumble Hopefully Braun is locked in, in full "F you, I have something to prove" mode and has a great year. .317/.360/.560 34 HRs, 116 RBI, No All Star appearance, 1 new wife, and a little Braunie in the oven by October. You forgot World Series Ring as well.

John, the Keppinger idea is something to think about. If anything, you keep Reynolds from playing 3B. Keppinger hit lefties badly last season, but it's a small sample. He's generally hit them pretty well - as you noted above. So I would expect some rebound. Issues include the fact that he doesn't play SS (at least he hasn't for several years, and stunk when he did). That means you still have to have an IF that can play SS - limiting you one back up OF. And let's not forget the money. The Sox would have to pick up a big portion of the salary.

A note saying the Yankees are keeping their eye on Weeks: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/02/yankees-monitoring-market-for-infielders.html "...the Yankees will monitor Rickie Weeks during Spring Training, who figures to be plenty available due to his $11MM salary and $11.5MM vesting option. It stands to reason that Milwaukee would need to eat a significant amount of salary in any deal to move Weeks, who batted just .209/.306/.357 last season."

While most men don't need to get a colonoscopy until age 50, if it runs in your family, it's advised you get one earlier. I assume that's what A-Ram did. And lucky for him. It shows how important it is to know your family's health history and get routine check ups.

If Cruz has a good 2014, the Orioles can give him the qualifying offer again. If he accepts the offer, they get him for another season for roughly $15 million - making it a two year $23 million deal. If he rejects the offer, the Orioles get a comp pick - better than this year's 2nd round pick. If Cruz has a poor or mediocre 2014, they can cut ties. It's a risk for Baltimore, but there's an okay chance they get back the draft pick - or get Cruz for another year. Is the bolded part true? If so, then I can see bringing Cruz in for one year with the cost of a 2nd round pick as they get Cruz at a discount and possibly get a better pick next year if he rejects the QO. If it isn't true, then the Orioles wasted a high pick on a guy they have for one season. If I am an Oriole fan and I am willing to sign an FA with a QO, I want it to be a guy who could possibly provide value for 3 - 4 years, not 1 year. I would have preferred Morales or Santana on a multiple year deal than Cruz on a 1 year deal. As long as there's no clause in Cruz's contract forbidding Baltimore from giving him a qualifying offer next year, there shouldn't be any reason the O's can't do it after the season. The O's right now are giving up (roughly) the 55th pick in the draft. If they give Cruz a qualifying offer next year, and he refuses, they get a pick (roughly) in the 30-35 range. The more I look at it, it's not a bad gamble on Baltimore's part. They aren't stuck with Cruz long term - likely a year or two - and have a good chance to recoup the draft pick next year. If Baltimore is out of the race this year, they also could deal Cruz at the trade deadline for something decent. I think Morales would have been a better fit for Baltimore. Cruz will probably hit decent in Baltimore, but his age, injury issues and lack of success outside of Texas worries me. But at least Cruz can play in the OF. No matter. Baltimore will put up some big HR numbers.

If Cruz has a good 2014, the Orioles can give him the qualifying offer again. If he accepts the offer, they get him for another season for roughly $15 million - making it a two year $23 million deal. If he rejects the offer, the Orioles get a comp pick - better than this year's 2nd round pick. If Cruz has a poor or mediocre 2014, they can cut ties. It's a risk for Baltimore, but there's an okay chance they get back the draft pick - or get Cruz for another year.

Mr. Segura's wild ride Isn't this a ride at Disney World?

You make a really good point here, Monty. Let's assume that Reynolds is the 1B, and one of Francisco/Overbay/Green are kept as well. You need Bianchi (or someone like him) to back up SS. To keep Weeks, you need to drop the 5th OF - likely Gindl since Schafer can handle all the OF positions really well. That's the question. What provides more value - Weeks hitting against lefties in a platoon at 2B (and some pinch hitting, etc.), or the extra left handed bat of Gindl. You could, of course, keep Gindl over Schafer - but the question becomes Shafer's bat (and exceptional defense) over Weeks' platoon position. Keeping Weeks does give you the luxury of showcasing him a bit in case you want to try and trade him. And it protects you in case Scooter bombs or gets hurt. I don't know the answer. But it's a good question. I've been in the 'get rid of Rickie' boat (assuming Scooter looks okay). But I'm not so sure as I think about it a little more.

If Segura signs an extension right now, I think Simmons gets paid more. Simmons has an elite skill - his defense. His defense is perhaps the best in all of baseball. I realize that defense rarely gets you paid a lot, but I think Simmons is the exception. It's also a skill that isn't in question. Barring an injury (or pulling a Steve Sax), he's unlikely to become a bad (or even average) fielder. Segura's bat, on the other hand, has some questions due to his weak 2nd half of 2013. If Segura goes out and hits .300 this season, then he's in line to top Simmons. But right now, I don't think so.