Category Archives: Transactions

Head-scratcher

Posted on April 22, 2011 by | 6 Comments

Posted by Steve

When I first heard the rumblings today of a Braun extension, my thought was something like, ‘He must have tacked on a couple years and moved money around to get paid more right now.’ A deal that extends him through 2020 is shocking.

After the obligatory ‘If nothing else, it’s nice that a star is willing to stay in Milwaukee’ reaction, this extension is a huge head-scratcher to me. I was talking with Dan a bit about it today, and we don’t seem to be eye-to-eye on this, so maybe he’ll come in with a dissenting opinion… But overall, I’m not a fan of this move from the Brewers’ perspective.

When Braun signed his first deal, my thought was, ‘Great deal for the Brewers, but Braun might regret this.’ With this deal, my reaction is the exact opposite.

My question is: where was the rush on this? It’s not like he was an impending free agent. Braun had one of the biggest bargain contracts in all of baseball, and there was four years left on it after this season! They already had him through his prime years.

Braun was set to become a free agent after his age 31 season. At that time, what could he expect on the open market? It’s hard to project what the market will be like in 2016, but Jayson Werth just got 7 years/$126 million as a 31 year-old corner outfielder. Of course, that deal was mocked throughout baseball as about two years longer than anyone else would have offered. Who knows, but maybe something like 5 years for $100-110 mil would be what Braun could get at that time–but that’s on the open market! Looking at figures laid out in the JS, and subtracting the $10 million signing bonus, the Brewers guaranteed Braun $95 million for his age 32-36 seasons! In other words, they paid near market value... five years early!

The Brewers had an incredible value in Braun, and now there’s the distinct possibility that he eventually becomes an albatross. If you think his defense now is bad (you should), then how bad is it likely to be in his mid-30s? What if he gets hurt? The Brewers just took a completely unnecessary and huge risk to ink a player for his declining years when they already had him through his prime.

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Posted in Deputy Braun, Milwaukee Brewers 2011, Transactions

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Heh.

Posted on March 27, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve


Well, I feel sheepish!

The Brewers turned around and traded for Nyjer Morgan just a couple days later, and went ahead and filled that depth problem right away in the wake of the Dickerson trade. This was a necessary move, and really, negates just about everything I said in the Dickerson post.

Cutter Dykstra regained prospect status last season with a nice season at low A Wisconsin, but he isn’t likely to be anything special, even if he makes the major leagues. This is definitely worth it, as the Brewers are clearly in win-now mode.

Now here’s the interesting part. I thought Dickerson was likely to be better than Carlos Gomez, and I feel the same way with Nyjer Morgan. Morgan’s career OBP is .344, while Gomez’s is .293. Morgan can’t hit lefties though, so the platoon concept still makes sense. They’re both excellent defensive outfielders, so this is a boost to the team defense. Morgan had just a .633 OPS last year, but still had value from his defense. If he can split the difference between last season and his excellent 2009 campaign (.307/.369/.388), he’ll be a very valuable player.

Morgan is actually likely to start the season in right field with Corey Hart on the mend from his side strain, so the Brewers will have a pretty great outfield to start the season with Gomez and Morgan out there.

I have to say, I feel a lot better about the team than I did yesterday. Move along…. Nothing to see here.

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Why?

Posted on March 26, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

Doug Melvin had a fantastic off-season by acquiring Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum, but to be honest, I’ve been pretty underwhelmed by most of his other moves. I understand having to take back Yuniesky Betancourt, but at that point they should have just cut him and upgraded the position. I hate the Mark Kotsay signing, particularly at the expense of Joe Inglett. And I really don’t like Friday’s trade at all.

Chris Dickerson was the fourth outfielder by depth chart, and the third outfielder by actual ability. Trading him for Sergio Mitre, who is pretty much just a guy, makes no sense.

“As long as he throws like he did last year,” said Melvin. “He’s got some experience.”

He’s got some experience? Who cares? He’s a 30 year-old righthander who had a pedestrian 1.81 k/bb ratio and a 4.69 FIP last season. His WAR was 0.0, meaning he’s replacement level.  So “as long as he throws like last year” clearly refers to his extremely lucky 3.3 ERA, because as the peripherals show, he wasn’t any good.

Mitre might be a slight upgrade over Estrada for a couple starts, but when it comes at the expense of Dickerson, it isn’t worth it. Dickerson is huge insurance for Carlos Gomez, who still hasn’t proved anything. Dickerson/Gomez made too much sense as a platoon in center. Now, the Brewers reserve outfielders are probably something like Brandon Boggs, Mark Kotsay, and Jeremy Reed. If those aren’t the worst reserve outfielders in the majors, they’re right up there.

Not only that, but now Carlos Gomez is the clear starting center fielder. This is the guy who had a .298 OBP last year and was benched due to ineffectiveness.

Really, the Brewers are made up of about 9 good to great players, and then a bunch of fringe roster guys. Injuries could be more difficult to overcome than on most teams.

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I like my relief pitchers like I like my women…

Posted on December 28, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

… On short-term contracts. Heyo!

Doug Melvin’s lights out off-season continues, as he signed Takashi Saito to an alarmingly cheap deal for one year and $2 million. I am stunned that Saito is this cheap, even at his advanced age of 41. He has been an outstanding reliever. He has sparkling career numbers: 2.19 ERA, 1.022 WHIP, 11 ks/9 innings, and 3.89 k/bb ratio. His numbers were pretty much in line with that last season as well. Saito fits very nicely in the back of the bullpen, and is great insurance in case things don’t go well with John Axford for some reason. He’ll probably have to be babied a bit–not used on back-to-back days, for example–but he’ll still be a great addition.

I cannot get over the contract. How can someone this good be had for a one year, two million dollar deal? I’m actually asking, in case someone has a theory. I understand he’s old, but that only explains the one-year deal. With incentives, he could make $3.2 million. That’s, like, backup outfielder salary. I really don’t get it.

I will pretty much never criticize a one-year deal because there’s hardly any risk involved–I’d still defend the Gagne contract simply because it was only for one year. Even if Saito falls off a cliff (and he’s shown no sign of decline), the Brewers won’t be burdened by a bad contract.

This is a great signing; that’s all there is to say. The Brewers’ bullpen looks formidable With Axford, Saito, and Braddock at the back end. The pitching is going to be the best they’ve had in a very long time.

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Posted in 2011 Hot Stove, Transactions

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Doug Melvin for GM of Everything Forever

Posted on December 20, 2010 by | 5 Comments

Posted by Steve

“Mizuno gave me a samurai sword for winning the Cy Young. It’s awesome. … I’m going to hang it up and maybe start a collection. Not a gun collection, but a samurai sword collection. If you can do it. I don’t know if you’re allowed.”

-Zack Greinke, on letting his parents keep his Cy Young Award while he keeps the sword.

Wow. What a day.

I heard about the Greinke trade this morning, yet I’m just getting around to posting now because I was checking for updates and reading about it for much of the day. My immediate reaction was that of over-the-top excitement that bordered on embarrassing. After a day to let everything settle, I can say that I’m at least as excited about this deal as I was for the CC Sabathia trade. To be honest, this is likely to have a bigger impact baseball-wise than that deal.

Before I really get into this, I just want to say that I will once again be wearing my “Melvin: The Man, the Myth, the Mustache” t-shirt with pride once again. After the past couple seasons, I said that I at least wanted to see some creativity from Doug. No more free agent signings of over-the-hill pitchers as their main off-season move.

I think it’s fair to say he obliged.

“I feel like I’ve acquired a CC Sabathia except for two years and maybe longer. It feels good. It was a costly trade. We gave up a lot of good, young players. This is a credit to our scouting and player development people to have the kind of young players it takes to make a trade like this.”

Kudos to you, Doug. This was an incredible move.

I’ll see how much I cover here, because there’s A LOT to get through. First, I might as well talk about what the Brewers gave up.

SI’s Joe Posnanski, one of my favorite baseball journalists, called the players the Brewers gave up “interesting.” I think that’s a great way to describe them. Interesting, not great or sure things. No prospect in this group was elite. If I had to rank them in order of my disappointment in losing them, it would look like this:

1. Lorenzo Cain

Cain is number one for me because he is the most developed and therefore most ready to contribute right away. If there’s one thing I’ve concluded since I became a baseball nut, it’s that prospects are not worth nearly as much as proven big leaguers. Cain has proven himself in the minors, and he’s ready to get his shot as a starting center fielder. Losing Cain hurts the Brewers more in 2011 than any of the other three players they lost.

2. Jake Odorizzi

Odorizzi probably had the highest ceiling of any Brewers pitching prospect. He has a good chance to be their best drafted starting pitcher since Yovani Gallardo. Yet, he is only 20 years old and hasn’t touched AA yet. There is still plenty left to do before he can become a good big league starter. The saying “there’s no such thing as a pitching prospect” comes to mind here, as it will take at least two seasons in all likelihood until he really contributes at the major league level.

3. Alcides Escobar

How his star has fallen in a year or two. If you visited this blog at all last season, you know I was not very high on Escobar. He was never a good hitter at any level of the minors, which is why I didn’t understand the rush to get him to the majors. All we heard about was his incredible defense, yet I was mostly underwhelmed by his glove last season–especially when compared to the steady glove of J.J. Hardy. It certainly wasn’t enough to make up for his terrible offense and poor plate discipline.

He’s still young, and he could certainly develop into a capable offensive shortstop. Still, the Brewers aren’t likely to get worse production in 2011 from the shortstop position than last season, no matter who they throw out there. It’s why I don’t mind losing him.

4. Jeremy Jeffress

I loved following Jeffress in the minors. Love his high k rates and his high velocity. I also felt he was the most ready to contribute to the Brewers next season out of all their prospects. Yet, most scouting reports I read on him have him eventually ending up in the bullpen because of the lack of a third effective pitch. No matter how much I like a pitcher, his value is severely lessened if he ends up in the bullpen.

I don’t mean to make it seem like I don’t think the Brewers paid very much. They gave up a lot. All four players are highly regarded, and three of them are likely to be big leaguers next season. Thing is, while all four of these players could end up as good major leaguers, none project to have anywhere near the value that Greinke has right now. In fact, none are even close to the level of prospect that Greinke was as a minor leaguer. This is very much a quantity for quality deal, and a general rule of thumb is that quality trumps quantity.

Going beyond a simple rule of thumb, this deal makes a ton of sense for the Brewers. Their hand for 2011 was forced by the lack of a decent trade market for Prince Fielder. Once they realized they weren’t likely to get a good return for Prince, they went into win-now mode. This was definitely reflected in the Marcum deal. You can argue that the farm system is gutted, that they may have given up good players, and that their defense is a mess. One thing you can’t argue, though, is that they suddenly have a great rotation to go along with a good offense.

I could look closely at the numbers to explain why Greinke is a huge addition, but I’m not really sure that’s necessary. It’s widely accepted that Greinke is on the very short list of the best starting pitchers in baseball, is only 27, and is under contract for two more years (with a possible extension looming?). Plus, I’m not really going to say much here that you can’t find in 20 other articles/posts that analyze Greinke’s impact. Instead, I’ll just add some of my own observations.

  • Greinke reminds me so much of my favorite Brewer ever, one Ben Sheets, that it’s crazy. They are/were awesome right handed starting pitchers with great stuff and command, but more specifically, they’re both funny people who are extremely quotable. Not to mention, I did a comparison of them a while back. Finally, Greinke’s most similar player through age 26 according to Baseball Reference is… You guessed it: Ben Sheets.
  • What is Ken Macha thinking right now? He must feel like he’s taken a swift kick to the groin. He was fired largely because the Brewers’ pitching was terrible, but that wasn’t his fault. Now as soon as he gets canned, this happens. On the other hand, congrats Ron Roenicke on turning the Brewers around! You know people will be saying it next year; you just know it.
  • The Brewers really gave up five pieces in this deal: the four players to get Greinke, and then having to take back Yuniesky Betancourt. Betancourt is gawdawful. Not only is his defense bad, but he has absolutely miserable plate discipline. He has a career on-base percentage of .288 and a career walk rate of… Brace yourself… 3.4 percent! The Brewers cannot allow Betancourt to be their main shortstop. I’d rather sign someone like Edgar Renteria or Orlando Cabrera. I’d even prefer Craig Counsell over Betancourt, except Counsell can’t handle a full season at this point. They need to find another option at shortstop somewhow.
  • What about center field now that Cain is gone? It sure looks like a Dickerson/Gomez platoon. One idea: check in with Boston on Mike Cameron. They just signed Crawford and now have an outfield of Ellsbury, Crawford and Bay. Might as well check on shortstop Marco Scutaro, too.
  • Even though they’re downgrading at center field and shortstop, their production next season really can’t be much worse than what it was last season. Cain is a better option than Gomez for sure, but remember that Cain wasn’t up until the season had pretty much gotten away from the Brewers. In other words, most of their center field production came from Gomez. And even though Betancourt is a bad player, he and Escobar had an identical WAR of 0.6 last season.
  • Fun fact: the leader in WAR over the last two years is Zack Greinke with 14.7. The player with the worst WAR over the last two years? That’d be Yuniesky Betancourt with -1.2. In other words, you could say the Brewers acquired the best player and the worst player in baseball.
  • I’m still very concerned about the Brewers’ defense, in fact, probably even more than I was before this trade. Their infield defense in particular looks very bad. While its impact may be lessoned with more strikeout pitchers than last season, it’s still ugly. Doug’s signature move of the off-season is complete, but I’d still like to see him explore options to improve the club defensively. Maybe try dangling either McGehee or Gamel along with Betancourt (or heck, just DFA Betancourt) to see about a shortstop/bullpen/center field upgrade.
  • Even though it hurts to give up Jefress and Odorizzi, the Brewers suddenly don’t have as big of an immediate need for pitching. Their top four in their rotation is set for the next two seasons. Plus, they still have some young, cheap impact arms in the form of Zach Braddock, Mark Rogers, and John Axford.
  • The Brewers’ farm system may now be the worst in baseball, but they’ll have some chances to restock it soon. They have two first rounders next season due to the Dylan Covey fiasco, and they’ll have some comp picks when Fielder walks in a year (hopefully they won’t have additional comp picks from Rickie Weeks).

All things considered, this was a great day to be a Brewer fan. They went from a mediocre team to probably the division favorite in the span of a couple short weeks. The only downside to this is that we still have to wait more than three months for Opening Day.

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Posted in 2011 Hot Stove, Ned Yost... Sha-wuuhhh??, Transactions

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Is Pavano the answer?

Posted on December 10, 2010 by | 6 Comments

Posted by Steve

You may recall me endorsing Carl Pavano for the Brewers last off-season before he strangely accepted arbitration from the Twins. He went out and had a very solid year season year, and now he’s looking to cash in on a multi-year deal. The Brewers are apparently going after him hard.

I (obviously) like Pavano. He doesn’t walk anybody–number two in the A.L. in BB/9 with 1.51, behind the superhuman Cliff Lee (0.76 walks per game!!!).

In fact, if the Brewers add Marcum and Pavano to their rotation, they will have significantly cut back on their walks from 2010. The Brewers were 29th in walks allowed last year–a huge reason why they gave up so many runs.  Replace Bush (3.36 BB/9) and Parra (4.65 BB/9) with Marcum (1.98 BB/9) and Pavano (1.51 BB/9), and it’s a completely different story.

Of course, as is with most free agent pitchers, there are concerns. Pavano will be 35. He has a history of injury, although he’s been healthy the last two years and was a workhorse last season (221 innings). My main concern, though, is how he would be affected by the Brewers’ porous defense.

While Pavano doesn’t walk guys, he doesn’t strike out very many either. That means the ball is put in play quite a bit. The Twins’ defense is substantially better than the Brewers’, and this would have a negative impact on a ground ball pitcher like Pavano.

The Brewers are said to have drawn a line at a two-year deal. That is a relief, as going three or more years on Pavano is a bad idea at his age.

I had been holding out hope that the Brewers might trade for another younger pitcher on Marcum’s level, but it’s possible that wouldn’t be the best route anyway. If they have to give up Lorenzo Cain or Mat Gamel in a deal for, say, Matt Garza, I might prefer Pavano and their young hitters over Garza without them.

Bottom line is, this rotation

1. Gallardo
2. Marcum
3. Pavano
4. Wolf
5. Narveson

is so much better than what the Brewers have had the last couple seasons. It’s at worst an average rotation, and I expect it would be above average in the NL. With the Brewers’ offense, it gives them as good a chance as any team in the NL.

Now if they can just figure out how to defend.

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Posted in 2011 Hot Stove, Transactions

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Off to a good start

Posted on December 7, 2010 by | 3 Comments

Posted by Steve

I was very pleasantly surprised to hear about the Brett Lawrie-Shaun Marcum deal the other night, but only because his name hadn’t come up in any rumors–not because I didn’t expect something like this from the Brewers. This was the type of trade the Brewers needed to make. They needed a front end starter to slot behind Yovani Gallardo, and that’s what they got in Marcum.

Marcum is definitely my type of pitcher: one who very much limits his walks while still getting enough strikeouts. Some people at brewerfan were unhappy that his fastball doesn’t light up the radar gun, but that doesn’t matter when a pitcher has the command and secondary pitches of Marcum. He’s somewhat of a junkballer anyway, as he only threw his fastball 45% of the time last season. His best pitch is a nasty changeup with a lot of movement; he threw that pitch 26% of the time last year.

The bottom line is he gets results. It shouldn’t matter if a guy is throwing underhand as long as he’s getting outs, and Marcum definitely gets outs. He was a solid pitcher before getting injured, and he bounced back from missing 2009 to Tommy John surgery with his best season yet: 195 innings (pretty crazy coming off Tommy John), 3.64 ERA, 165 strikeouts, and 43 walks for a sparkling 3.84 k/bb ratio.

It’s very exciting to consider that he put up those numbers in the AL East, so it wouldn’t be unrealistic to see a slight boost in his move to the NL. It’s quite possible that he could be just as good as Yo next season. In fact, Baseball Reference’s #1 most similar player to Marcum is none other than Gallardo.

Of course, it does hurt to lose Brett Lawrie, but it’s not often a team is willing to trade its best starting pitcher. There are a few reasons why it doesn’t really kill the Brewers to lose Lawrie in this trade.

1. He’s a great bat for second base, but it’s still not clear whether he’d be able to stick at second. This is what Doug Melvin had to say: ”Brett is a very talented player. He wasn’t really penciled in at second. He can play second but he’s athletic enough that we had the ability to move him to other positions, too. He can move to fit your ball club fairly quickly.” Reading through the GMSpeak, that probably means, “We’re not sure he’d be able to handle second base, and we already have plenty of options at the corners.” Lawrie should be an All-Star type player if he sticks at second, but if he has to move, he won’t be an elite player. I’ve even seen scouting reports that say he’ll need to be moved to a corner outfield spot, and if that’s the case, this deal is well worth it for the Brewers. In the past, the Brewers have cornered the market on good hitters who don’t really have a defensive position. They are probably willing to let someone else deal with those growing pains.

2. He wasn’t going to be in the majors for a year at the very least. The Brewers aren’t losing anything off their major league roster to get Marcum.

3. The Brewers are fully intent on signing Rickie Weeks long-term. Now that Lawrie is gone, getting this done is crucial. With second base shored up by Weeks, Lawrie becomes more expendable.

4. Marcum sounds open to an extension. He’s got two years left before free agency, but he was in talks with Toronto on an extension. He seems welcome to the trade, and the Brewers have also mentioned an extension. If the season starts well for him, I would not be at all surprised to see the Brewers give him a four-year deal or so.

The best part about this is since it was just a one-for-one deal, the Brewers still have ammo to trade for another pitcher if they find a favorable deal. As the team stands right now, they probably jump to a low 80s-win team. It’s encouraging to read that Doug Melvin considers this simply a first step. If they can find another pitcher at least as good as Randy Wolf, they will have as good of a shot as any team in the wide open NL Central.

This probably puts a Greinke deal to rest, but I don’t blame Doug Melvin for jumping on this. I think the Royals are poised to get a king’s ransom for Greinke, and I’m sure Melvin didn’t want to put all his eggs in that basket only to come up empty.

This is the type of creative move I wanted desperately to see from Melvin. No more free agent signings of pitchers past their prime as the main off-season acquisition. I’m also encouraged to hear the report that the Brewers would consider dealing Lorenzo Cain. Cain combined with someone like Mark Rogers, Jeremy Jeffress or even number one pitching prospect Jake Odorizzi could bring back someone comparable to Marcum. If I’m Doug Melvin, I’m looking for another trade like that over signing any other free agent. If he can pull off a comparable move, the Brewers may become favorites to win the division.

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Posted in 2011 Hot Stove, Transactions

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Who’s ready for Sciosciaball?

Posted on November 2, 2010 by | 3 Comments

Posted by Steve

I’m not going to officially criticize the Brewers’ hire of Ron Roenicke before I’ve even seen him manage, but I’m not crazy about hiring someone from the Angels. The Angels play the type of baseball I can’t stand to watch: crappy hitters at the top of the order who can’t get on base (and when they do, they often get caught stealing).

Say what you want about Macha, but I thought the best thing about him was his realization that bunting, along with stealing at a rate below 75%, is harmful to your chances of winning. Last year the Brewers had 81 stolen bases to 26 caught stealings–a 75.7% clip. Running was not a part of their game, but they were efficient and didn’t make outs on the basepaths.

The Angels are a different story. They stole 104 bases, but were caught 52 times–just a 66.6% rate. Yet when you hear people praise the Angels, you hear things like “They put pressure on the defense,” and “They’re aggressive. They don’t sit back and wait for home runs,” as if home runs are a bad thing. It’s absurd.

Like I said, I’m not going to rip him before he gets here, but let’s just say I’m leery. People like to complain about the Brewers “sitting around waiting for home runs,” but they were fourth in the NL in runs scored this season and third last season. The offense ain’t broke, so let’s not fix it.

EDIT: You know what creates more runs than stolen bases? On-base percentage and home runs. There is no correlation between stolen bases and runs scored. I got so sick of reading so many people on Brewerfan criticizing “Standing around waiting for a home run” that I did this bit of research. It only proves that there is no correlation whatsoever between stolen bases and runs scored. There is a strong one, however, between runs scored and both home runs and walks.

NL Stolen Base Leaders
2010: 13th in runs scored (Mets)
2009: 12th in runs scored (Mets)
2008: 8th in runs scored (Rockies)
2007: 4th in runs scored (Mets)
2006: 3rd in runs scored (Mets)
2005: 7th in runs scored (Mets)

NL Walk Leaders
2010: 5th in runs scored (Braves)
2009: 2nd in runs scored (Rockies)
2008: 1st in runs scored (Cubs)
2007: 1st in runs scored (Phillies)
2006: 1st in runs scored (Phillies)
2005: 2nd in runs scored (Phillies)

NL Home Run Leaders
2010: 1st in runs scored (Reds)
2009: 1st in runs scored (Phillies)
2008: Tied for 2nd in runs scored (Phillies)
2007: 5th in runs scored (Brewers)
2006: 2nd in runs scored (Braves)
2005: 1st in runs scored (Reds)

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Posted in Base Clogging, Transactions

Edmonds trade

Posted on August 10, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Posted by Steve

It may have come later than expected, but we finally have a trade to analyze. The Brewers dealt Jim Edmonds to the Reds for outfielder Chris Dickerson.

Edmonds was the most likely player to be traded out of any Brewer this season. He was on a one-year deal and performed well in a platoon role. At 40 years old, it makes sense to send him to a contender rather than have him (possibly) finish up his career on a bad team. Plus, the Brewers are thankfully committing to playing Lorenzo Cain in center for the rest of the season. There was no reason for them to play Edmonds over Cain at this point.

As far as the trade itself, I’m very pleased with the return. I don’t see how anyone couldn’t be impressed by it, actually. They turned a non-roster Spring Training invite into a Major League outfielder with four remaining years of team control. I’m very surprised the Reds gave up a major-league ready player; I assumed the Brewers would have to take a flyer on some low-level prospect. Dickerson is a talented outfielder who plays all three outfield positions well. He’s a defensive upgrade to Ryan Braun and Corey Hart, and he’s an offensive upgrade to Carlos Gomez. He doesn’t have a ton of pop in his bat, but in parts of three seasons, Dickerson has a .367 on-base percentage. His ability to get on base could allow the Brewers to move Rickie Weeks down in the lineup to a run-producing spot after Prince Fielder is dealt this off-season.

A few random thoughts on this deal: It’s interesting to note that the Brewers seem to have gotten a better return for a 40-year old Jim Edmonds than they did for J.J. Hardy last year. I also chuckle at the thought of Dusty Baker considering Dickerson expendable because he doesn’t value walks. Finally, this trade reminds me very much of the one for Jody Gerut last season. Gerut could have been described in the same way as Dickerson: an outfielder with on-base skills but not much power who can play all three outfield positions. Gerut, to my surprise, has not worked out–I’m guessing his time in Milwaukee has run out. I expect Dickerson to have more success.

This gives the Brewers plenty of options for next season. I’d like to see Lorenzo Cain given every opportunity to be the full time center fielder. Unlike Alcides Escobar or Carlos Gomez, Cain has actually earned that opportunity by hitting in the minors. Gomez has a minor league option left; he should be sent to AAA to play full time. Maybe he’ll actually hit. If not, let him go or just settle on him as a fifth outfielder. An outfield of Braun, Hart, Cain, Dickerson, and Gomez sounds good to me. Dickerson can spell any of the three starters against tough righties. He would also be a good candidate for a semi-regular platoon outfielder should the Brewers choose to move Hart or even Braun to first base.

As far as remaining waiver deals, I would not be surprised to see Craig Counsell traded soon. Like Edmonds, at his advanced age, Counsell has no purpose on a team that’s going nowhere. He has value to a contending team as a utility infielder, and the Brewers should get whatever they can for him.

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Hart signs extension

Posted on August 2, 2010 by | 1 Comment

Posted by Steve

The Brewers made an interesting move for sure, as they signed Corey Hart to a three year deal reportedly worth $26.5 million. Headlines are calling it a three-year extension, but really it’s a three year deal and only a two year extension. Hart was under contract next season, and the deal includes next year, so it buys out two years of free agency.

This is a calculated risk. I love the fact that it’s only two more years. I was terrified it would be like a five year contract or something. Short term contracts are generally the way to go, as it minimizes risk. If Hart reverts to his 2008/2009 self, it would hurt–but it won’t be a franchise crippler the way Jeff Suppan’s contract was.

This is an interesting twist after the last few weeks of trade rumors surrounding Hart. The Brewers were strangely silent at the deadline. On one hand, it’s frustrating, but on the other, at least the didn’t make a trade just to make a trade, a la the Diamondbacks with Dan Haren. That deal was widely and almost unanimously panned as soon as it occurred. Do yourself a quick favor and check out GM Jerry DiPoto’s comments on the deal. An MLB GM using not only wins to justify a move, but minor league wins? I continue to be astounded by some of the people put in charge of teams.

So, yeah. If the Brewers weren’t going to get what they wanted for Hart, this is probably the best alternative. It would have been tough to replace both Fielder and Hart after 2011, and now they don’t have to. I don’t love it, because in essence the Brewers are buying fairly high on on of their own players. The writing is on the wall with Fielder, though; he’s as good as gone in the off-season. It sounds like the Brewers are interested in re-signing Rickie Weeks as well. Finally, they are sounding like they’ll move Mat Gamel around and try Brett Lawrie at third.

The question is who will replace Fielder at first? I’m not sure Gamel will hit enough to play there. Same goes for McGehee, who is a terrible defender at third. His days here should be numbered. Hart was a 1B in the minors, but that’s quite a long time ago now.

What I’d like to see will probably not happen, but I’ll throw it out there anyway: give Gamel a longer leash at third and move Ryan Braun to first. Braun was awful at third base, so they moved him to an easier position. Now, he’s still awful in left field. There’s only one easier position left, but they should give it a try. They need to do something to improve team defense. Replacing McGehee at third, Fielder at first, and Braun in left would go a long way towards accomplishing that.

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