Matt Breen

This is a sensitive topic to many people - people complaining about millionaire players one one side, and millionaire/billionaire owners on another. No matter what you think, please try and be calm and respectful in the discussion - and stay on topic. Don't call people idiots or whatever. Don't attack them personally. It does nothing to help the conversation. It just stokes anger and derails the subject matter. Thank you.

Not at all. I think Stearns is looking for value. Cabrera isn't a good defensive player, but his bat plays well at 2B. I think Stearns will get the guy that provides the most value. Guessing that Gonzalez is too expensive, Cabrera and Harrison are the two main names left. Derek Dietrich is another option. If money is really tight, we could go deeper into the bargain bin as well - Walker, Solarte, Forsythe. My guess at this time is Harrison, but that's just a guess. I think he'll get 3-5M.

One thing you could look at is limiting length of contracts. My thought is that if you limited contract lengths - let's say for five years as an example - it would make more money available to productive players. The money that the Angels still owe in Pujols or the Tigers to Miggy is pretty staggering. If a walker-wielding Albert Pujols wasn't sucking up $30M of the Angels salary, they could direct that cash at other players. This affects the superstar players most - so I'm sure it would be hated by agents and the top tier players. This is just one of many things you could look at. Whether it would work as intended - I don't know. Just an idea.

Mauricio Dubon. Stearns has said Dubon won't be starting the season in the majors. Nor will Hiura. I guess things could change, but they seem to want to wait on those guys at this time.

I'll get really wacky and say we bring in Brandon Phillips on a minor league deal. They go with Perez/Spangenberg and give the wily old veteran a shot in case that fails. How's that for a prediction. And I'm not even drinking.

I think that would have been ideal - filling both our positional needs for $20M. But as you say, you never know if they would have signed with us for those prices.

Lowrie and Dozier gone. That leaves the following 'name' options: Derek Dietrich Asdrubal Cabrera Marwin Gonzalez DJ LeMahieu Josh Harrison Yangervis Solarte Neil Walker Logan Forsythe Gonzalez is probably out of our price range. LeMahieu is strictly a 2B, so probably no. Solarte, Walker and Forsythe probably don't work (injuries, age, ineffectiveness). I'm guessing we end up with one of Harrison, Cabrera or Dietrich. The Moustakas option is still there as well - but I'm betting that only happens if the price is right.

2 years/$20M would have been a nice, nice deal for Lowrie. Bummer he's not in Milwaukee. I was thinking he's get closer to $12M a season - or more - so price is good for him.

I'll say this up front: Josh Harrison was not good last year. But from 2014-17 he had some good (and mediocre) years. Baseball Reference puts him at 5.5, 1.8, 1.9 and 3.3 WAR from 2014-17. Fangraphs isn't as kind, putting him at 4.8, 1.3, 1.2 and 2.6 WAR in the same span. Yes, it's uneven, but it shows he has been an effective player as recently as 2017. So what happened last year? Harrison had some injuries (broken bone in his hand, hamstring), which likely affected his play. Plus, he turned 31 in July. Perhaps age has simply caught up to him. I could see the Brewers going with him on a short deal - and giving him the 2B job. He is a solid defender, and doesn't strike out much, which is a positive. The bat is meh, but usually has been okay. I don't see a ton of upside, but I think the club is just looking for a consistent bat to hold them over for a year. And they'll like his versatility.

The more I look at the deal, the more I am very happy. Pina and Kratz totaled 1.2 fWAR last year. A combo of Grandal/Pina should put us between 3-4 WAR - netting us 2-3 wins. That's a good move.

Rotation: Chacin, Anderson, Davies, Burnes, Miley. Peralta and Nelson next up. Don't count on Nelson until he's actually back. Even if ready, I wouldn't be surprised if he spends a couple of weeks in the minors doing some game work before coming back to Milwaukee. If he does come back, Anderson or Davies becomes trade bait. Peralta is ready to step in if there is an injury or someone is just really bad. He can throw some games at AAA if everyone is healthy and effective. Eventually, we'll need him. Regarding Miley - the Brewers have looked into quite a few pitchers this off season, and a left starter has been a prominent target. I'm guessing they bring in someone on a one or two year deal. I think Miley will be cheaper than Gio Gonzalez, so Miley it is. Bullpen: Hader, Knebel, Jeffress, Claudio, Guerra, Woodruff, Houser, Barnes, T. Williams, Wahl That's 10 guys, so you have a lot depth. Williams, Wahl and Barnes will need to fight for a spot. They need to show they can be consistent and effective. If everyone is healthy and effective you can do the shuttle back to AAA with a couple of the guys. Houser can be dealt if the club doesn't think he's worth keeping. But I'm thinking they like his arm a lot, and will give him a long leash. But he'll need to show what he can do at in Spring Training. I am letting Woodruff spend a season in the bullpen in Milwaukee - looking more toward him being in the rotation in 2020. I think the staff can change very quickly come spring training. If the club sees someone really steps up in some way, they could easily change their plans. Maybe Nelson is healthy. Maybe Peralta shows improved command. That sort of thing. Then they could work their way into the lineup. The thing I love is the depth. We have multiple answers if we injuries. That's essential in a 162 game season.

Can discuss Dozier if you want in the ML forum. viewtopic.php?f=63&t=38015

One of the main 2B is off the market. 1-year, $9M. Pretty solid dollars for Dozier. I had kind of thought Washington would get LeMahieu. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/01/nationals-sign-brian-dozier.html

If people want to debate the future of the league's salary structure and so forth, I would suggest starting a topic. It would be a good discussion to have - and getting those thoughts in one spot - rather than scattering them around various threads - would be a nice thing to have. Thanks.

Very happy to have Grandal. I think I would have liked to have gotten him for two years rather one -- but such is life. Perhaps the club feels that Nottingham will likely be ready by 2020 to take a regular job in the big leagues. The one year deal really keeps the team financially flexible going forward. I'd really like to add Jed Lowrie as well. But this will push our salary up past $120M. Who knows what are cap is for the year. I still can't believe Grandal settled for a one year deal. I thought he would get 3 years and roughly $40-45M.

Yes, this has been widely reported. And it appears Grandal may have made a big mistake not taking it - assuming it was actually offered. Some reports put the money closer to $55M - but it's still a lot of coin. Who knows - 3/$39M might end up being his best option.

Our own JosephC was pretty accurate the other day when he put MadBum's value right around $15M. He noted that Peralta, Ray and Woodruff all probably had similar surplus values - $15-20M. And as Kiley McDaniel notes - there's going to probably be a bit of a premium to pay to pry away a face-of-the-franchise type guy like Bumgarner.

The Giants aren't likely to give up Bumgarner for a couple of middling prospects. Houser, Supak, Grisham? If that's all they are being offered they'll wait and see if Bumgarner can have a strong season - and get a much better return at mid-season. Adding some mediocre prospects doesn't help them much. They are better off betting that MadBum rebounds and they net a much more valuable payload mid-season. So if we want him now, we will likely need to pay up with someone like Ray or Woodruff or whomever.

Anderson is entering his age 31 season this year. He won't turn 32 until November of this year.

I like Bumgarner quite a bit, and would see him as a reasonable gamble to be very good this year. However, I don't like giving up starting pitching candidates for one year of service. The way we can stay successful is developing young starters. They are risky, but they can pay off big time. All that said, I don't know what the Crew truly thinks (I say 'truly' because in public they are going to say they love them) of our young arms, such as Peralta and Woodruff. If they aren't enamored with them - well I understand if they are willing to deal. I just hate giving up young talent that we will need in the coming years. Chacin is a FA after the season. As is Bumgarner. Who knows what's up with Jimmy Nelson. We need guys to step up and be part of the rotation in the coming years. I dislike fishing in the waters of mediocre free agents.

Vote for me!

I really liked Keon, but he was simply a limited player due to his swing and miss issues. But he can still provide good value for a team that needs him - like the Mets. His skills - particularly his defense - will play well there. Wahl looks like an interesting arm. Nothing wrong with adding interesting arms to the pen. Some pan out, others don't. Let's hope Wahl puts things together and can be quality contributor.

Hah, I forgot about that silliness.

If Dozier is healthy - I'd pick him over Moose. Dozier at 2B and Shaw at 3B is a better defensive club than Shaw/Moose. Dozier has been a plus defender, baserunner and hitter until cratering last season. If the club thinks that his problems were related to his injury, then Dozier is a great bounce back guy. Moustakas is okay defensively, and a minus on the bases. Still, he's a good player. I just am not thrilled at the idea of putting Shaw at 2B full time if at all possible. Again, it all depends on what the club thinks bout Dozier's health and skills. If they simply think he's lost it - then stay away.

Robertson for two years is a solid signing. I thought someone would give him three years. While he'll be 34 in April, he's still a very good and very consistent player.