adambr2

I know you hate questioning of the draft picks but when you had a team that was a play away from the Super Bowl with a rookie draft class that really didn't contribute whatsoever in 2020, I think it's fair to question it.

I hope he's going to be Alvin Kamara receiving then because those are Alvin Kamara touch numbers on the ground.

I am just very surprised, that's all. It seems like we were constantly pointing to the Jones upcoming free agency to justify the high Dillon pick -- and now that he signed, we're backtracking and changing the justification. Being a short yardage backup is not a skillset unique to AJ Dillon. Backup RBs are cheap and easy to find without investing a 2nd. And make no mistake, Dillon is the backup. We didn't just pay Aaron Jones 4/48 to be half of a committee.

So your issue is using a 2nd on a RB who has shown flashes or extending one of the games best play makers to an extension? Fans constantly complain we can’t keep talent and then we do and it’s the wrong move. They do? Who? I literally almost never hear this complaint from Packer fans. You could argue since the TT era began that we keep our own talent almost to a fault. Maybe Casey Heyward? That's about it. Of all the complaints I hear from Packer fans, keeping our own talent isn't one of them.

I'm fine with saying the Rays have had more success than us. The Rays are pretty much the gold standard for how to run a small market. They have done this with numerous disadvantages -- one, playing in the AL East, and two, no fan support, two obstacles that we fortunately haven't had to deal with. That said, we're definitely somewhere in the upper echelon. I think Mark A's preferences play a lot into our style. I think he likes to try to compete every year, and plays a little bit more conservatively in trading. I think the Rays ownership is a bit more willing to make risky trades with high potential upside and are also willing to step back and just do a year or two of a full rebuild if needed rather than try to compete in the middle.

We can use that to justify the Dillon pick all we want but Dillon as the bellcow on a rookie deal made sense. Dillon for a 2nd in the Jamaal Williams role is strange. This is not a great allocation of resources. 12M a year for a running back when we were already handcuffed on salary. We still have to pay Jaire, extend Adams....you can pretty much forget about adding any major outside help. RB is one area where we could have spared some salary, we had the personnel already to do it. Be honest, does anyone really think we wouldn't have still had a top offense in 2021 if Jones wasn't a part of it?

The Packers are weird. What exactly did we spend a 2nd on Dillon for again?

Well Duke is out with COVID. Don't follow closely enough to know about the other two.

I wouldn't call 5/15.5M a big contract ...I don't think it necessitates him being in any particular role. Although it would be tough to pick up his 8M options after if he was in the pen unless he was a pretty dominant reliever.

Yes, thanks. If they hold a fire sale to break up a playoff caliber team I also believe their jobs could be in trouble. I don't know why that would be debated or what that has to do with trading Hader in a vacuum. I don't know if I necessarily agree that the greatest return is usually MLB ready players. Risk is ok. With risk often comes tremendous upside. However I do agree that the tolerance for risk is usually more dependent on how much of a contender you already are. But there are exceptions and in the case of Dominguez I believe his talent and upside would be worth making an exception.

Freddy would be an exciting add to the rotation because he has just as much upside as Woodruff or Burnes. I remain skeptical that he can find the consistency he so desperately needs, but of our options he's definitely got the most upside. I assume Houser is outside looking in currently and I am fine with that. He has performed well out of the pen and also leaves us with some in house depth if injuries hit the rotation. Depth will be needed this season.

Kirksey is gone. 1/4.5M to Houston.

First of all, an assertion that the Brewers may have the fewest question marks of any team in baseball is ....questionable to put it generously.. Secondly, I've been on record numerous times stating that I am perfectly content and even *pleased* to keep Hader because I also believe we are a contending team. I simply stated (and others such as Reilly agreed) that if we were to deal Hader, I would want the greatest possible return, not necessarily the most MLB ready return. And finally, Stearns/Arnold could trade Hader for Dominguez today, have Dominguez totally flame out and never play an inning in MLB, and they're still not getting fired for it.

Which is why teams don’t trade all star pitchers for 18 year old kids. Dominguez is not exactly your average 18 year old kid, he has the possible ceiling of a Mike Trout. And if he became even half as good as Trout, trading any reliever for him would be a homerun return.

Dominguez swings like Eric Thames. I have my doubts. He just turned 18 last month. I don't think you'll ever find a fully developed 18 year old prospect.

Nice run to end the half turned it around quick.

The Badgers are in pretty serious danger of tumbling all the way into the NIT if they can't even win this game.

While I agree with your sentiment, if I am a Padres fan, I want the Padres to make the moves necessary to win now. I get that is why fans are not GMs, but windows for teams like the Brewers and Padres are typically so small, making a trade that might hurt you at some point to complete a roster for not only 2021 but for 2022 & 2023 as well, may make some sense. I doubt the Cubs win the World Series in 2016 without trading Gleyber Torres for Aroldis Chapman and I don't think too many of their fans would trade that title for Torres playing SS. You have a team that is ready to win the World Series now with Darvish, Snell, Lamet, Paddack, Musgrove in the rotation and Tatis-Machado-Grisham-Hosmer-Nola-Pham-Myers in the lineup. The only real weakness I see is a dominant closer like Hader. Imagine if in 2011, knowing Prince's impending FA meant a slight rebuild was coming if the Brewers had been able to trade their remaining top prospect for a top-flight SS to replace Betancourt. Maybe that might have made the difference between flaming out in the NLCS and winning the World Series. Who knows? Hindsight is 20-20 but you never know when that window might slam shut because of injury, underperformance or the behemoths that are the Dodgers in your own division. The playoffs are not even guaranteed for the Padres if they underachieve just a little with the Dodgers in their division and the Mets, Braves, Nationals, and Phillies fighting it out in the East. Perhaps I am a fan that is tired of not seeing my team winning a World Series, but if Abrams is the cost for Hader, if I am a Padre fan, I do it and don't blink an eye. I want that title. Our farm system is loaded right now in comparison to how bad it was in 2011. There was definitely no top flight SS available for the likes of Kyle Heckathorn or Cody Scarpetta.

If the Yankees want Hader, I want Jasson Dominguez. Stop insisting on MLB ready talent and focus on ceiling. This guy could be a franchise cornerstone.

It had to be at least mid 90s for me, because I used to rock a fanny pack in the early 90s as a kid. Such a shame that you can't walk around with them anymore without snickers and suppressed laughs, they were really handy.

So you don't think it's because they put what seems like a totally unreasonable price tag on him? Asking for Abrams...that has to tell teams you're not really serious. Asking for Abrams PLUS a young left handed reliever you just gave an 11 million dollar signing bonus to, who throws in the upper 90's and has elite stuff? They put the price tag on him that THEY'VE deemed appropriate to get him, because of the value he brings to their team. Why would a team with contending aspirations trade away one of the top relievers in the game without getting crazy value back? The Brewers are far from being in a situation where they have to trade him. Just because talking heads or some other teams don't seem to value high-leverage relievers, it doesn't mean that the Brewers need to fall in line with that. I haven't heard any talking heads saying Hader shouldn't be valued. I don't think that really has anything to do with it. I do think that they're in a different situation than they would be if they didn't expect to contend, where they aren't motivated to trade Hader. I'm totally OK with them not trading Hader, I just don't think they appear to have ever really been interested in doing so. I think maybe other teams just kind of assumed that we would for some reason.

So you don't think it's because they put what seems like a totally unreasonable price tag on him? Asking for Abrams...that has to tell teams you're not really serious. Asking for Abrams PLUS a young left handed reliever you just gave an 11 million dollar signing bonus to, who throws in the upper 90's and has elite stuff? Yeah, I mean I do agree with RRB to the extent that, the Brewers are contenders and could use a weapon like Hader, but I also agree with you that we're not clearly not serious about dealing Hader. There's nothing wrong with setting a price and sticking to it, but if you do so, do it in the knowledge that there's a near-zero chance your price will be met. Trades have to happen within the borders of the market and in the range of reality for both sides. If this situation was reversed, we certainly wouldn't give up a prospect of that caliber for a relatively expensive reliever, no matter how dominant. If we truly wouldn't accept Abrams for Hader alone, it's the equivalent of going on Shark Tank but you're not really looking to make a deal. You're not really serious about trading Josh. I can understand aiming high but personally I'd rather just say "We're not motivated to move Josh but we're certainly willing to listen to offers" rather than putting our own offers out there that are really over the top and just waste the time of other GMs.

So we're working with considerably less wiggle room than most other teams. We only have about 3.5M in carryover.

Conversely, why would the Brewers trade arguably the best relief pitcher in the game for a 20 year old kid who has yet to play more than 3 games above Rookie Ball. Literally he could be the second coming of Mickey Mantle or just as likely fizzle out in AA. Because being arguably the best relief pitcher in the game doesn't necessarily correlate to strong trade value. Context is needed. It's been elaborated on why Hader still doesn't necessarily have the strongest trade value (cost in arbitration and existing receiver market, specifically), and it probably explains why Hader is still a Brewer at this time. As an aside, while there is no sure thing with any player, if you have any belief that a player COULD be the second coming of Mickey Mantle, and he's 20, I sure as heck would trade a reliever for him.

Abrams PLUS for Hader? No wonder team employees around the league are saying "don't bother" in reference to trying to trade for Hader.