fleehaw

I wouldn't be at all surprised if one of the conditions to Hoffman coming to Milwaukee was that Melvin wouldn't offer him arbitration after the season. As you mention, he's very likely to be a type A FA, and not many teams, if any, would give up a first to sign a mid-40's closer for a season or two.

I'll echo the sentiment that Hardy and Hart are the most likely to be moved for the simple fact that they're the easiest to replace. If Gamel is your 3B and Weeks your 2B, then I'd add McGehee to that list if the offer is decent. The Brewers biggest need is a #2 SP to slot between Gallardo and Parra, Bush, and Suppan. Like it or not, 80% of the rotation is pretty much set for '10. I'm of the opinion that the Brewers will not be trading for a young, front of the rotation pitcher. The Tommy Hansons of the league are far too expensive prospect wise to make a deal worthwhile to a small market club. With their commodities the Brewers should target a veteran #2 SP with 1-2 years left on their deal and young middle to back of the rotation SPs for AAA depth with the probability of moving into the rotation in '11. Two veteran names come to mind: Javier Vazquez and Ricky Nolasco. Nolasco is younger and cheaper so probably more expensive to acquire. Vazquez would be a very good fit for the Brewers. Here's a rundown of what I'd like to see. Hart & Cody to the Braves for Vazquez. The Braves are apparently looking for a RH OF bat. 2 years of Hart plus salary relief and a possible back end of the rotation SP for 1 year of Vazquez seems like decent value for both sides. McGehee & Dillard to the Twins for Anthony Swarzak. An inexpensive, supposedly solid defensively 3B/2B for an inexpensive back of the rotation SP. The Twins definitely could use an upgrade at 2B or 3B. Hardy to the Red Sox for Bowden & Delcarmen. 6 years of a middle to back end of the rotation SP and a solid RP for at least 1 year of Hardy (& 2 picks) seems alright to me. I've given up the hope that Hardy will bring something huge in a trade and the above return is pretty solid. Salome to the Rays for Perez. Perez is my David DeJesus of the '10 offseason (I covet him in every thread...almost). I'd play him in RF in '10 and take over in CF in '11. If he flops, a platoon of Hall/Catalanotto would be a sufficient plan B for '10. Acquire Snyder from the D-Backs. Bring back Cameron. If worse comes to worse, I'd offer him arby. I would certainly try to resign him before that. 1 year with an option year. Something like 1 year/$6-7M with a $500K buyout or 2 years/$12M-$14M. I think of the option year as insurance for a smooth transition in CF. Bring back Hoffman if he wants. I have to believe that Melvin and Hoffman have an agreement that arby will not be offered. I can't see many teams looking to sign a mid-40's closer plus give up their 1st rd pick. He's been solid, perhaps he wants to come back for around the same money, perhaps not. Bring back Counsell. He's going to cost more than $1M, but perhaps he'd go for a smaller contract with incentives based on playing time. Something like $2M and can reach into the 3's. Bring back Catalanotto for the right price. Lineup: Perez, Escobar, Braun, Fielder, Weeks, Gamel, Cameron, Snyder Bench: Counsell, Heether, Rivera/backup C, Hall, Catalanotto Rotation: Gallardo, Vazquez, Parra, Bush, and Suppan Pen: Hoffman, Coffey, Weathers, Stetter, Delcarmen, Villanueva, DiFelice/McClung SP waiting in AAA: Bowman & Swarzak The payroll would swell to almost $90M, but with Suppan, Hall, Weathers, and perhaps Hoffman, Cameron, and Bush coming off the books after the season, it's certainly doable.

I meant SP Jonathon Sanchez, not Freddy. And the Yankees have 2 catching prospects in their BA top 10 from the beginning of the season.

3 team deal with the Giants and Yankees. Hardy goes to the Giants Sanchez & Hart go to the Yankees Hughes and a prospect to the Brewers (something like the Yankees can protect 2-3 guys and then the Brewers can pick The Brewers get their young, top of the rotation SP to pair with Gallardo, the Giants get a plus bat, plus defender at SS, and the Yankees get a younger lefty that Petitte can mentor and a young, solid OF to replace the FAs Damon and Matsui. Salome to the Rays for Fernando Perez. Navarro has been a disappointment for the Rays this year, so an advanced catching prospect may interest them. For some reason, I really like Perez and think he's a good fit to lead off and would be a plus defender in the OF. Hall & Rivera to the D-backs for Snyder (someone else's good idea). I'd also throw in the buyout if I was the Brewers. Hall has a lot of versatility that maybe someone, somewhere could want at the right price. Rivera is a cheap, capable backup. Even in a down year, Snyder would be a major upgrade behind the plate. I'd also have no problem bringing back Kendall to be a part time player (at the right price). Crazier things have happened. It would certainly be an exciting offseason. I already expect something big to go down.

Let's not forget that Hall will unfortunately be on the bench next season. I would like to see Counsell back as well to spell Escobar on a regular basis. Not to mention that the Brewers have Heether in the minors, who by some accounts is a similar player to McGehee with more versatility. If Gamel and Weeks are my long term solutions at 2nd and 3rd, I'd sell while McGehee's value is high. I'm skeptical that he'll continue to perform as well as he has, and it's quite possible that some team is going to overvalue him.

Sorry, but I had to fix that for you. With the bat he's abysmal, yet probably still an upgrade from Cedeno.

I'll play. Hoffman to the Rays for Fernando Perez. He should be back from injury mid-Aug. He rides the bench for them, but he very well could be the answer in CF and leadoff for the Brewers. Looper to the Phillies for Carlos Carrasco. That's a lot of value for Looper, but with the Phillies balking at Toronto's asking price for Halladay, Looper could be an option, especially with his history of relief work (the Phillies have quite a few injuries in their pen). Cameron to whoever for a solid bullpen arm or decent prospect. Don't really have a specific on that one. Frankly, I'd keep him the rest of the season regardless of if they went 'sell' mode. I'll add one more. Hardy to the Sox for Bard and a good to very good prospect.

While Buchholz doesn't seem feasible for a Hardy deal with the Sox, they have a good deal else that should interest the Brewers. What about Daniel Bard (Brewer closer of the future)? Add in a good to very good prospect with him and that's a good haul for Hardy. The trickle down effect this season would be Counsell at SS, Gamel/McGehee at 3B, and Lopez at 2B. You could argue that the offense would be better the rest of this year too.

Not really. Burns can't be called back up unless there is an injury, Green has been terrible, Swindle just pitched two innings last night, and Wright is only on two days rest.Perhaps I didn't clarify what I truly meant. After 5 innings of yesterday's game, Macha had a plethora of pitcher options. The game was winnable at that point and IMO, the Brewers can't afford to let winnable games slip away, especially against bad teams. There's little sense worrying about tomorrow when you're blowing it today. All of the bullpen pitchers were options at that point. Smith, Burns, and DiFelice pitched on Sunday and Coffey (0.2IP) and Stetter (1IP) pitched Saturday. If Villanueva was the choice to start on Tuesday, a solid option would be to have Dillard piggyback him. That would still leave you at least 3 pitchers that wouldn't have pitched on Monday. On top of that, Dillard or Swindle could be sent back down after Tuesday's game in favor of another pitcher on the 40-man (granted none of them are all that good) and that pitcher could become the garbage guy in the pen for the near future. It's an additional option that the Brewers could use if bullpen usage is really that much of a concern. I just don't buy Macha's explanation of not wanting to overwork the bullpen. Not that I can't see that point of view, I just disagree with it 100% given this set of circumstances.

I didn't like the move at the time, but I understand his explanation for it. At the start of the game, Ken Macha knows which relievers are available and which ones aren't. If he didn't think he had enough arms to get through 4 innings, fair enough. I probably would have sent out Stetter or DiFelice to try to get out of the 5th, and then hoped that Swindle can give me 2 or more innings later, but I think most managers would see that situation as similar to using your closer to get out of a jam in the 7th inning vs saving him for a hypothetical situation.And IMO his explanation is a load of bunk. The Brewers could have easily made another move swapping out pitchers from AAA to make sure the bullpen doesn't get too overworked after last nights game. Burns, Dillard, Swindle, Green, and Wright are all on the 40-man, this years option has already been burned with them. While none of them are world beaters, they certainly could've been counted on to give a few innings of relief in the next few days. The Brewers are at that point in the season where you can't let winnable games slip away, especially against bad teams.

The Rays could also use some bullpen help. A Hoffman to the Rays for Fernando Perez could be a steal. Perez is out until mid-August, but I'd imagine he could be a PTBNL. He could certainly be a long term solution in CF and leadoff. He wouldn't be starting for the Rays, so it could be a possibility. Also, I could really see Melvin pull off a deal with McGehee similar to that of Podsednik (whether it be now or in the offseason). I would much rather have Gamel and Weeks playing 3B & 2B meaning McGehee would be riding the bench. Besides, Heether is very similar to McGehee with more versatility and a better minor league track record. McGehee and 1-2 prospects (maybe 1 top ten and one in the 10-20 range) to the Marlins for Ricky Nolasco. It seems like the Fish want to trade (or have been at least rumored to want to) Uggla and McGehee would be a cheap replacement. With Johnson, Volstad, and Miller among others, they do have some pitching to spare. Someone is going to overvalue McGehee and if he isn't going to start, there's no reason not to sell high.

The first guy I thought of when I saw the thread was Vazquez. 1.5 years of Vazquez for 2.5 years of Hart. It would leave the Braves with a front 4 of Lowe, Jurrjens, Hanson, and Kawakami. It would also mean the Brewers adding roughly $3.5M of salary this year. Perhaps it could even be expanded to include salary dumps Francouer and Hall, plus a nugget from the Brewers.

According to me. And that opinion along with $1 will get me a Uecker seat. That is the opinion I have of Escobar and in the last few weeks he's trying to have me eat my words. His walk rate may always be sub-par, but until recently, his slugging was also not where it needs to be. His OPS was in the high .600s and now it's in the mid .700s, which is very encouraging. If he continues on this path then Melvin has a wonderful situation unfolding. One where he can trade from a surplus to address an area of need if the offer is right. As to Heether, I wouldn't trade Escobar unless Hardy was signed long term and I wouldn't trade Hardy unless I felt Escobar is ready. Heether isn't even in my SS scenario.

I say no way. I hope Heether has a long and prosperous big league career, but if I'm GM of the Brewers, I don't count on him contributing anything to the big league club. If he does, it's gravy. I also can't believe he has much, if any, trade value. It was your trade proposal and other postings about Heether that lead me to my first response. IMO, at this time there are only 2 players I'd consider to have play SS for the Brewers, and one, isn't ready yet (Escobar). Unless someone blows Melvin away with an offer, I see Hardy as the Brewers starting SS in '10. Let Escobar repeat AAA and force Melvin to make a move with his play (similar to Gamel although he didn't repeat AAA). So far, Escobar has been alright in AAA, but he's got a few areas he needs to improve on. I see SS as a position of strength for the Brewers, but it doesn't have enough depth to warrant a trade of their big 2 (unless someone wants to overpay).

He's 27 and in his 2nd go 'round in AAA. Shouldn't he be putting up good numbers? How high can the Brewers really think of him considering they sent him down to AA (for 9 games) despite his numbers playing part time in AAA? Don't get me wrong, I'm rooting for the guy. That being said, his ceiling seems to be a utility type player at best and thinking/hoping/wishing he'll be anything more (especially the Brewers starting SS in '10 or '11) seems a bit foolhardy, IMHO.

With the Hudson signing, it looks like DeWitt might be relegated to a backup role with the Dodgers (unless Casey Blake moves to LF). He would be an interesting target for the Brewers being LH, inexpensive, and seemingly a decent glove at 3B (or 2B). Even with the eventual return of Hall, I'd prefer a DeWitt platoon instead of Lamb. I just wonder what he'd cost to obtain.

The Red Sox did lock up Pedroia and Youklis to long term deals. Not to say that was taken into account, but overall, the Sox have had a solid offseason. Top 3, bottom 3, middle 3, it's all garbage.

Unless there's a huge rift (which there very well may be), I'd make Sheets that pitcher. Step up and pay for the surgery, give Sheets the facilities to rehab, and give him an 100% incentive-laden, 1 year deal. If he's ready to go by July, fantastic, you've just added a top-of-the-rotation starter for the stretch run. If he's rehabbing all year, you're only out the cost of the surgery and let's say minor league pay. It seems like a win-win deal that's low risk/high reward for the Brewers. Sorry to hijack the thread. The Looper signing seems solid depending on salary details.

According to MLBTR, it's for $38M

A package built around Hart for Sanchez and Wynn would be an interesting one. However, Wynn is due something like $8M next year so some salary relief would be necessary.

Perhaps it was said previously, but I always envisioned Powell as the heir apparent to Uecker.

Hart asking $3.8M, Brewers offer $2.7M Weeks asking $2.8M, Brewers offer $2.0M I could easily see both of these deals get done for something in the middle.

You certainly have a man crush on Polanco, don't you.http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

It will be interesting to see if the Cameron talks with the Yankees get revived. If the Yankees come back to reality and pick up most of Igawa's salary, then I could certainly live with a Cameron for Cabrera, Igawa, and between $6-8M. Igawa at $1-2M/yr has value to the Brewers. McClung and Igawa fighting for the #5 slot (while not ideal) is not a bad thing. It certainly beats going into spring training with only 5 SP.

For those who've said the Brewers don't have a replacement in the pipeline, you might have overlooked Taylor Green. If Gamel pans out at 3B (or if (big if) Hardy takes over at 3B), then Green will most likely be switching back to 2B. To add or reiterate most of the posts in the thread. Weeks is cheap and produces at an average level with a lot of potential to improve. He's perfect for a small market team. No need to fix it if it ain't broke. 3B OTOH