AJOHNSON104

I'd think with a 30 man roster that Morrison is a lock. Especially if there is something going on with Braun not playing. I think Grimm is likely to make the 30 man as well. Miller maybe not, but hopefully they can keep him in Appleton for a little while.

I think its also safe to argue that his significant falloff from 1983 (age 33 season) hurt just him, too. If he puts 3-4 good seasons together, and then starts to slide maybe it gets him to 300 HR and 2400-2500 hits.

Could've cut down on some travel and made season more interesting with the use of the 5 game series. My guess is players and coaches didn't want that.

Yep, if everyone's healthy Urias over Healy.

I agree that this is the population that could sway a decision to play. The guy who is trying to get that extra year of service time to get a pension (or to free agency), the guy who is on the bubble of being a DFA if he doesn't show something, etc. That was a similar group that seemed to carry the vote in the NFLPA contract approval (before the virus issue surfaced). The guy who is going to be a minimum salary player, and has been underpaid i the minors for multiple years, sees a chance to finally get out of debt, buy a house, etc. He would be playing this year for about $550k. Half that is $275K. I don't think he'd want to give up more of that, but the advantages of getting a year of "real money" and service time is invaluable to that guy. There are a lot more of those players on rosters than there are superstars.

If he's on the "50 man roster" it would be pretty good.

I'd expect lots of work needs to be done with the MLBPA over incentive based contracts. I would suspect most incentives would just be pro-rated, but there could be some complications. Examples might be pitchers with bonuses based on innings pitched or games started. With expanded rosters and a shorter spring training, you'd expect more pitchers getting in games, but starters going less innings per start. Also, if a player tests positive for COVID, and needs to be quarantined, would that time still count as active roster time? If not it might impact their ability to receive specific bonuses. I'd think players would want that counted in return for agreeing to put their safety on the line. Also, haven't seen anything about a trade deadline.

Hadn't thought about the Rule 5 thing. Wouldn't be fair to count a half season with expanded rosters as meeting the requirements. I'm looking forward to seeing the proposed roster rules, options, etc. One thought I had was around service time, especially with the possibility of lots of roster manipulation.

Aramis Ramirez had a pretty solid 3.5 year run with Brewers. His first 1-2 years was much better, but he was 9th in MVP votes in 2012, AS in 2014, and played a solid 3B. 2012 5.8 WAR, 138 OPS+ 2013 0.8 WAR 127 OPS+ 2014 1.0 WAR 108 OPS+ 2015 0.0 WAR 95 OPS+

Universal DH has been mentioned a few times, but with the possibility of combining leagues into geographical divisions, you would think it gives the AL teams an advantage. The AL teams already designed their rosters for a DH. On the other hand, with expanded rosters, the teams could really mix and match based on situations. I still think a team with a legit full-time DH might have an advantage though. I also prefer the idea of doing tie games or Hockey-type standings if they are going to try to force a winner by using extra base-runners or similar rules in extra innings.

I would think MLB experienced / AAAA players could have an advantage in a "no minor league" environment. If teams end up with larger rosters they will also be more prone to carry guys with a plus skill. Examples are pinch runners, defensive players, etc. Be curious to see if they drop the 3 hitter rule because of this, which would increase the value of LHP specialists again.

Things changing, some things which have been mentioned, others that haven't: 1. Cars. Lots of thoughts here, but annual car shows, where people climb around in them might be severely hampered for a few years. Same with buying cars at dealers. Are they going to be sanitized between each person's test drive? 2. Other Expos, shows, etc. Similar to the car shows, are we going to have camper shows, boat shows, sports shows, etc.? Conventions and convention business is also taking ah huge hit. 3. Commuting. Some have theorized that we will cut down on mass transit (I agree) and some have argued we'll use things like Uber more often (not sure about that one), but I wonder if more people will try riding a motorcycle, moped, bike, scooter, walk, etc. to cut down on interactions with others. Doesn't work great in the WI climate, but may increase somewhat. Madisonians already do this much more than Milwaukee, so it could grow in many WI cities. 4. Gardening, home improvements, hobbies, etc. will increase. We will have an economic downturn with this, so these things always go up with poor economies, but this intense impact of staying at home changed people's habits and some will continue with them. 5. Taxes will definitely go up on the local level. Health departments will be revised and modernized, schools will enhance their infrastructure / ability to do remote teaching, government buildings will be modernized to allow more social distancing and automation, convention centers that relied on events / taxes to fund their construction will need assistance, etc. 6. Public transit. Ties into the higher taxes, commuting, etc. These systems run on significant tax dollar subsidies already and if ridership drops there will need to be increased support. I saw that New York Transit has suffered $4 Billion in lost revenue. 7. Internet access. Expect a very strong push for universal, government supported internet access as a way to even educational access / opportunities. 8. Buffets / Fill your drink stations

Weeks had injuries, but I don't think he was putting in enough effort either.

Never appreciated Gantner until I got older. He was really solid defensively and I think people forget how much that was a full contact position back in the day. He got wiped out repeatedly on double plays, something current players don't really deal with. Gantner was also a very good "teammate" as a hitter, with a role of moving runners, sacrifices, etc. (that was noted earlier). He was not a standout hitter, but he wasn't bad either. Weeks was good in retrospect, but I'll always see him as a guy who was super talented but performed below his ability. Weeks reminded me of Sheffield in that way. I think they are both top 3 second basemen, but its due to the Brewers only being around 50 years and having lots of stop-gaps and bad teams.

Arcia's BABIP was so low because he takes such horrible swings. When he makes contact the ball is usually hit so poorly he has no chance of a base hit. The 2 ABs I've seen from him in Spring Training so far look better. I wonder if the waggle in his bat is something he can do consistently without getting his timing off, but I'm an optimist.

I guess he's the 26th man / super utility. Maybe keep Arcia or Urias at AAA to start year?

I like the idea. I would be surprised if they move Cain, though. My feeling is that Stearns / CC/ Mark A., like having him on the team for a variety of reasons and they'd be hesitant to want to trade him.

He was in 2nd place when injured, according to almost all people who have analyzed this. His only chance of winning was to lead them to the playoffs. Since he can't do that, I can't see him winning. Now, if Bellinger plays horribly over the next few weeks, and Rendon doesn't pass them both up, then I guess its possible.

Exactly. CC will use every pitcher he has. They are all "out-getters" and he'll go to individual match-ups. Where it gets tricky is if the game would go extra innings. He'd likely keep a "starter" in reserve just in case.

I tried looking on Google with little success, so reaching out to all you experts. What happens when a player (like Aaron Wilkerson) gets called up on Sunday, pitches in a game, and is sent to AAA on Monday as it relates to pay, benefits, perks, etc.? Specifically, do they have to be active for a game to earn a day in MLB service credit? I'm guessing that he earns 1 day pay and credit towards pension, but he was technically on the roster for parts of 2 days. I would suspect that the MLB team has to cover all travel expenses, but are any other things affected? I know the MLB salary is pretty good, and guys on 40 man rosters do OK, but it must be real difficult for the guys who get shuttled back and forth repeatedly and wondered what the economic impact of it all was. I heard once that when a player is called up the MLB team has to cover his hotel, food, etc. at MLB rates for a minimum of 3 days, but not sure if that is true.

Leadoff hitter hitting 3rd time in 4th inning and they are down 12. That doesn't happen every day.

I didn't think Gamel got all of his either.

1. Trent Grisham 2. Brice Turang 3. Aaron Ashby 4. Drew Rasmussen 5. Corey Ray 6. Tristen Lutz 7. Ethan Small 8. Eduardo Garcia 9. Trey Supak 10. Mario Feliciano 11. Devin Williams 12. Antoine Kelly 13. Zack Brown 14. Jacob Nottingham 15. Micah Bello 16. Eduarqui Fernandez 17. Max Lazar 18. Dylan File 19. Payton Henry 20. Carlos Rodriguez 21 Troy Stokes 22. Lucas Erceg 23. Thomas Dillard 24. Alec Bettinger 25. Caden Lemons

I wasn't opposed to Lyles as a depth piece, but the guy I wanted to keep was Miley. In order I thought they should keep 1 of Miley, Gio, then Lyles. I guess we ended up with 1 of them, so we still need to see how Gio actually does.

I've been watching D. Williams stats and it appears that they are using him most games for 2 IP. His walks are still too high, but he doesn't give up many hits and has very good SO numbers. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to develop better control while still missing bats. Could be a good bullpen option to go back and forth between MKE and San Antonio next year.