Matt Breen

I guess Mike Hegan wasn't available.

The only guy that really intrigued me was Hoglund. I would have been cool with him. I don't know enough about the players to say who I would have preferred. But I'll say that I have no problem with the guy we picked despite his lack of projected power. Outstanding speed. Excellent baserunner. Good defender. Great contact hitter. I'm okay with that. That sounds great. I love a power bat - but if it's not there - oh well. Such is life. I'm super intrigued at what our defense will look like in a few years.

Just finished the 2nd season of Peaky Blinders on Netflix. Enjoyed a great deal.

Nice to see Houser have a good start. He's often just kind of 'meh'. But he settled down and has done well. That's important going forward.

As of July 1, the only players who look like they won't be eligible to be a part of things will be Tyrone Taylor - who has graduated from prospect status to major league rookie (congrats, Tyrone!), as Phil Bickford - who was let go. I believe Perdomo would NOT be eligible either - as he would have more than 45 days of service time. A few relievers who have the chance to be right on the cusp of graduating, including Alec Bettinger, Miguel Sanchez, and Jake Cousins. Remember, pitchers need 50 IPs OR 45 days of active service to graduate. Most of these guys would be close to the 45 day limit (if they spend all of July in the majors). But if we don't know for sure, we'd make them eligible. But we'll see how it shakes out.

Generally we do the poll right after the trade deadline - so early August. Just makes sense in case some players get dealt - or we add some prospects. I'll post the thread about a week or so before the deadline - and then close about a week after the deadline passes. People know they can come back and tweak their lists if we make some trades that affect things.

I would love to see the team give Ethan Small a chance come August. He's got to improve his command - but he seems like he could be really a good addition. To me, Houser is an okay back-of-the-rotation arm - but nothing more at this point.

Sad that Ray never put it together. Lots of loud tools, but the hit tool never showed up.

I think the home/road splits at Tampa were clue that he could be better. No doubt he feeds off the energy of the crowd. That's the kind of guy he is. But Adames had a career OPS of around .650 at Tropicana Field - but .850 on the road. I think he said it was just hard to pick up the ball there. Man, if we have a .280 BA, 25 HR hitting shortstop - who plays pretty good defense - that's going to be huge for the next couple of years. Just huge.

Same pinch hitter got two at bats in the game. Doesn't happen a lot.

To be fair, we should send a pitcher up there to bat...

Trevor Megill to AAA tomorrow?

Marte would be great, but he fits for a lot of teams - meaning he won't be cheap - even if he's just a half-season rental. I'm thinking someone like Ashby - maybe another lower level prospect - would be the cost. Of course, someone else might outbid us. Such is life.

I have no clue if Braun is interested in coming back, but if he is, he might help - even a little. Play some 1B, some LF, some DH, PH. I would think he could be okay. Even league average would be helpful on this club. Last year's numbers were not good, but the limited season messed up a lot of season's. His 2019 stats were solid. If you could get that kind of production from him, you're gold. You'd certainly want to work him out - make sure he seems capable. I'm not holding my breath about it all.

That means we suck and we lose. And that tanks Rodgers value, so if we want to trade him, we get junk - or have to just cut him.

At Rodgers' age, it's really hard to see him being willing to sit out a season. He only has so many more left in him. But then - he's a complicated fella - so you never know. He's known to be a world-class grudge holder, so maybe he'll just opt out for the year, take his $20M and go enjoy life without any distractions for the next seven months. If Rodgers really wants to play in 2021, I just don't see it anywhere else but Green Bay. I guess we could trade him, but you'd have to get an absolute haul of assets - both draft picks and players. I realize it only takes one team to take the bait - but there are only so many clubs that want/need Rodgers at this point, have the players/picks we'd want, and aren't a threat to the Packers in the NFC (such as the 49ers). The Packers would just keel over if Rodgers led another club to the Super Bowl - especially if that run went through GB. That makes the NFC a lot less of an option. Not impossible - but less likely. Ultimately, I think that means Rodgers comes back and plays for the Packers - assuming he wants to play this year. It's a good team. He'd have a chance to win it all. Can't beat that. He'd just have to endure working for Murphy another year. I'm sure Rodgers would find a way to be a pain to the front office (but not to coaches or teammates). In the end, if Rodgers holds out or opts out or whatever, the Packers can still make a deal next off season - saying, "Hey, we did all we could. He had a contract. We offered to amend the contract. We did [insert items] to make him more comfortable in GB. But Aaron insists on not playing for the Green Bay Packers. We can't change that. So, now it's time to move on." I don't think Rodgers is as valuable next off season. The year away and his increasing age probably just chip away at his value - even a little. However, you do have more potential teams in the mix for him. He'd still be worth a lot.

Brand new series for us now. Slate is wiped clean. Let's not worry about the bad stuff and just win the next one and keep moving. Nets have to be comfortable about next season - barring injury (very real considering the ages and injury history of their players). It's a formidable team.

This is where it always becomes bizzaro world in these trade proposals. The player gets denigrated in order to justify proposing to acquire them for garbage. In this case, does Donaldson suck (showing a lot of signs of fading and lots of guaranteed money remaining)? If so, why would the Brewers want him? On the other hand if he’s easily a 2-2.5 WAR player why would the Twins trade him, especially for a surplus outfielder. Twins make the move if they don't believe in their team for 2021. They have the 5th worst team in baseball right now. At what point do they throw in the towel and look towards the future? Salary flexibility is nice to have. They save $44M or so by making the deal. That's why they do it. A 2-2.5 WAR 3B definitely does not suck. No one said he did. Considering our corner IF production, he's a positive - even if he's not an all-star level player like he was a few years back.

I think Donaldson for Bradley would be a fair move. Donaldson is owed around $62M - at least - over the next 2.5 years. Jackie is owed about $18M over the next 1.5 years. Donaldson: 2021: $21,750,000M (figure about $11M or so left) 2022: $21,750,000M 2023: $21,750,000M 2024: $16M or an $8M buyout Bradley 2021: $13M (figure about $7M left) 2022: $11M (assuming he picks up his option) Bradley is a negative at this point. It's basically the Twins an $18M hit to get out of a $62M obligation. Saves you $44M. Nothing wrong with that. And perhaps they could hope Bradley figures things out by getting into a new situation. He's 31, so he shouldn't be this bad. Donaldson is still a productive player, but he's showing a lot of signs of fading, and at his age - 35 - he's unlikely to get better. Still, if he could stay healthy, he could easily be a 2.0-2.5 WAR player. Solid defense, some power, modest average. Donaldson fits a hole in the team, and no replacement on the horizon. It's a lot of money to add to the payroll - but what the heck. Our corner IF has been a big black hole this year.

I never watched the game. Could someone give me a short 'this is why we lost' spiel. Saw we were up early, but then tune in late game almost over. Ugh.

Yeah, it's really all about the degree of the injury. But if he couldn't play two days ago, he's going to have to be cautious. Hammys are easy to aggravate.

Why? They're not on the hook for any guaranteed money and the cap hits are extremely modest for a franchise QB. It's a very cap friendly acquisition for an acquiring team. I guess the big question would he report to any team without an extension. No one knows that, but I'm guessing it's something he'll want - provide him the security for the next few years that he's said he wants - that sort of thing. Just a guess.

Will be nice when he gets back. Urias at 3B, Wong at 2B, Adames at SS looks pretty solid. Defense is good. Urias has been steadily improving at the plate (.270 this month, .254 in the last 30 days), and if he can keep it up, looks like he can hold down the position. Even Vogelbach has been hitting a lot better of late (.281 in June, .250 the last 30 days). And both Urias and Vogelbach take a lot of walks. So even if they can just hit ..250-270 or so - they are serviceable.

Wow. Gotta take advantage of it. Gotta lay down the hammer.

What?I I'm not trying to say anything like this. That's impossible for us (probably anyone) - so why would I be so stupid as to assume it. Then what is the premise of your last few posts? If it's impossible for us to know what a players' perceived value is both with the Packers and the league, how is it fair to claim that they didn't get good value for the players they took when they took them? As I said, it's based upon the information available. It's not perfect. I have said that. It's an educated guess on my part.