Trade chatter heating up (6/11)...

[pretendastronaut]

Personally I'd be paranoid about trading Hardy during this season at this point. Yes, people are expecting more from Hardy and there's debate there, but after Rickie being hurt, and Hall being Hall, trading Hardy gives us a huge mess of an infield to try to compete the rest of the way. Two rookies then, mixed with platoons and only Prince being anchored in one spot. Adding starting pitching is a must, but if it means dealing with a wild infield situation, and two rookie bats, I don't know how much new pitching can help.

[JoeH33]

WisconsinSportsRule wrote:

 

I have no problem trading JJ, but I'm paranoid about trading Escobar.

Personally I don't understand what the big deal about Escobar is. Sure he plays great "D", but offensively he leaves much to be desired. He has a career minor league OPS of .706 and has never OPS'd over .800. I worry that he'll be nothing but a light hitting good defense SS. I'd much rather hold onto Hardy and trade Escobar, although I understand financially that could be difficult.

[bobskube]

Just talked to someone involved with Peavy and I really don't have any news. Like I said last week, he will play in Milwaukee if the Brewers can work out a trade. Believe it or not, agents sometimes are not privy to trade info until it actually happens. What was confirmed again was that Milwaukee and the Cardinals are openly talking trade with San Diego.

 

Sorry for the lack of info. Brian got me pretty fired up too and I can't wait to hear the inevitable trade. I know Mark and Doug are really working overtime to make something happen to improve this club now. I think it will really give the team a kick in the pants too if something happens the next 24 hours.

[czwief]

WisconsinSportsRule wrote:

 

I have no problem trading JJ, but I'm paranoid about trading Escobar.

Personally I don't understand what the big deal about Escobar is. Sure he plays great "D", but offensively he leaves much to be desired. He has a career minor league OPS of .706 and has never OPS'd over .800. I worry that he'll be nothing but a light hitting good defense SS. I'd much rather hold onto Hardy and trade Escobar, although I understand financially that could be difficult.

I agree with that. Escobar's MLE OPS is only .664. Hardy has the second best UZR/150 in the majors this year. I don't understand all the hubbub about Escobar and would prefer he got traded before Hardy. Would his glove really make that much of a difference?

[rotoherb]

I could see them trading Escobar for Peavy because a trade is the only way that the Brewers can acquire a pitcher of Peavy's caliber for the next two/three seasons. They're never going to be able to do it through free agency because of the expense and they don't have anyone like that in the minors who will be ready that soon. The Brewers really only have about a 2 year window before guys like Hardy/Weeks/Fielder/Hart/Bush are all free agents. If they can get Peavy with Escobar then I'd say get him now. Who knows what starting pitchers would be available via a trade during the offseason. The Brewers will almost certainly have a playoff caliber team in 09/10 with the players that they have now, and especially if they add Jake Peavy. Who knows about 2011 and beyond because of all of the players they will likely lose to free agency or feel that they need to trade away. Melvin knows he has to get it done within the next few years. His plan may be to trade Escobar and hold on to Hardy through next season, allowing him to leave through free agency if they make another run at the playoffs.

[wibadgers23]

Thanks for the update bobskube. I wonder what the Cardinals would give up to get Peavy? What kind of prospects do they have that might interest the Padres?

[naivin]

Question: Would you take Eckstein as part of the deal to play 2B/SS and hit lead off along with Peavy? I am not much of an Eckstein fan, but I think my answer is yes. He had a lousy May, but otherwise his numbers are pretty solid.

[Kaukauna]

I think it's time to face the very real possibility that nothing is going to happen, at least not for a while.

I don't mean to question the sources, and I'm sure those posting the information would not do so unless they truly believed something was afoot in the immediate future. But I don't think it's newsy to know that Melvin and the braintrust have been discussing pitchers with other clubs -- Bedard, Lee, Peavy, etc. Of course they're keeping options open and exploring. But that doesn't mean a deal is imminent.

The inside sources are probably very strong, but remember -- this is also the web site that once told us the club had signed Jemile Weeks in 2005. I consider this to be the foremost resource on Milwaukee Brewers draft coverage, and if the site takes a misstep in that area, I remain open to the possibility that this site would not have the best intel on more-guarded information, such as a pending big-time acquisition. Yes, I realize that nobody here promised, with 100 percent certainty (I believe it was 50/50 on Twitter) that something would go down.

As Melvin has said before, some deals are done mere hours after the conversation begins. That's not the case with all trades, of course, and maybe I'm just pouting because it sounded so promising, only to have no news 24 hours later. But unless a major hurdle remained from a deal like this, then the lack of official news is telling, at least to me.

Naturally, I hope I'm wrong, and I hope we can celebrate the scoop that was presented here before the end of the weekend. I suppose it's just natural for skepticism to grow as the situation lingers without resolution.

[thebruce44]

Yes, I will never belive anything I read on Brewerfan.net ever sense that Jemile Weeks fiasco 4 years ago.

[Brian the Automator]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3145/2653267906_2e449e59db.jpg?v=0

 

 

[Yount19]

I think this thread is fun and exciting.. it beats talking about who's better, JJ or Escobar.. or Hart and Hall sux... etc..

[valpocrewsader]

Yes, I will never belive anything I read on Brewerfan.net ever sense that Jemile Weeks fiasco 4 years ago.

That's not a very fair response to Kaukana's post, most of which was chock full of "I hope I'm wrong", "I'm sure the sources are strong", and "I might just be getting antsy". The tone of "this site was wrong once before" was a little strange, but the context of the entire post was a lot more than just J. Weeks blunder = site not to be trusted.

 

Now, on to naivin's suggestion about Eckstein. Let the battle begin!

[Brian the Automator]

That's not a very fair response to Kaukana's post, most of which was chock full of "I hope I'm wrong", "I'm sure the sources are strong", and "I might just be getting antsy". The tone of "this site was wrong once before" was a little strange, but the context of the entire post was a lot more than just J. Weeks blunder = site not to be trusted.

There's a difference between us saying that Jemile Weeks was signed (which was what Jemile Weeks's college coach told Jim Powell), and us saying that we're hearing credible rumors that Melvin's going hard after a starting pitcher and a pending deal's in place.

 

With this, I've always maintained a rumor status.

[TooLiveBrew]

Anywho, I'll leave you with this. I got pretty excited reading through this thread myself because I can tell you that Bedard and Lee were not names mentioned to me either. That's a strong indicator that the organization is indeed inquiring about frontline starters. I think it's clear for anyone doing the math in this thread who the one guy is, and I'll tell you the name of the fallback I heard hasn't even been mentioned in this thread.

 

Thanks, Richie (bobskube, BtA, etc., as well) The fact that Bedard & Lee are not names you're hearing pop up is just so exciting... goosebumps-caliber exciting. Not sure who the other SP would be, though.

 

I can't agree that ARZ would want to send Haren or even Webb since the D-Backs have a nice core of young offensive talent, and both Webb & Haren aren't breaking the bank with their contracts.

 

One thing I'm wondering recently (& I may be way off-base... not sure about DL rules) is if maybe Rickie Weeks could be part of an offer from the Brewers. He's shown an ability in recent history to fully recover from the injury he has now, he's a solution at 2B, and will still be reasonably cheap. He's obviously not able to help the Brewers (or anyone else) right now, but should be healthy & ready to go in 2010 (at least a bit into the season in terms of being full strength).

 

Now, my love for Weeks is very blatant, so clearly I'm not hoping for this. But in some ways (big IF... is IF he can be traded while injured/on the DL), it would make a lot of sense to trade Weeks.

[Brian the Automator]

One thing I'm wondering recently (& I may be way off-base... not sure about DL rules) is if maybe Rickie Weeks could be part of an offer from the Brewers. He's shown an ability in recent history to fully recover from the injury he has now, he's a solution at 2B, and will still be reasonably cheap. He's obviously not able to help the Brewers (or anyone else) right now, but should be healthy & ready to go in 2010 (at least a bit into the season in terms of being full strength).

 

Now, my love for Weeks is very blatant, so clearly I'm not hoping for this. But in some ways (big IF... is IF he can be traded while injured/on the DL), it would make a lot of sense to trade Weeks.

Rickie would have to be activated from the DL within 6-months of being traded, I think (you can't trade an injured player, but you can include him as a PTBNL, which must be named within 6 months).

[TooLiveBrew]

Can you activate a player in the offseason if you're assuming he'll be healthy by Opening Day?

[patrickgpe]

i am waiting for the lineups to be announced, if some notable names are missing then i'm going to continue to think something is up, if its the everyday lineup, it will seem to be that nothing is happening in the immediate future. It was odd yesterday that these rumblings came out the day half the regulars sat.

[Invader3K]

Wow, I really don't remember the Jemile Weeks fiasco. I guess I may have just overlooked that one whenever it happened.

 

The only time I remember a pretty much baseless rumor really getting out of hand here was the whole Adam Dunn debacle from a couple years ago. To be fair though, that wasn't really generated by anyone officially connected with the site, at least that I remember. It was more due to people posting irresponsible stuff like "A friend of a friend just said they saw someone run out of the bullpen into the clubhouse!" or whatever. Also a certain radio station not really getting their sources straightened out...but that's neither here nor there.

[SZBrewerFan]

I'm going to be vague because I didn't get the information firsthand, but the source is legit. What I have heard is the Brewers already have a deal in place to acquire a starter and if that deal falls through it will be someone else--and that name was specifically mentioned. The main thing to take from this is that the organization is very actively pursuing a frontline starter from what I've heard.

 

I will say it's not Clay Buchholz (at least that's not a name I heard).

 

Oh, and it's not Babe Ruth.

I guess the only question I have (and I am not doubting any information at all) is if the deal is in place what is holding it up. If what Bobskube reported is true that Peavy will accept a trade to Milwaukee and the deal is in place, what would they be waiting for? Could it be one of those situations where they are giving San Diego a list of 2-3 players they could pick from ala Michael Brantley/Sabathia trade? Again, this is going off of the assumption we are dealing with Peavey here, which has never been confirmed or denied so I guess it is all still up in the air. Never the less this is very exciting. I wonder if Agent 39 has heard any rumblings from the organization or any of his clients playing in the Milwaukee organization. But to go back to an earlier post from bobskube I guess the agents aren't always in the know before these things happen. Back to F5 the site for the rest of my day! Thanks to all who have posted what they know.

[hawing]

Perhaps by now, Doug is just messing with us 'freakin' internet geeks' by making this take longer.

[stadiumsauce]

That is what I am wondering too....if a deal is 'pending'. what is it 'pending'? physicals? no-trade clause removals? negotiating contract extensions? picking players (like SZbrewrefan mentioned re: cc trade)?

[DatHoser]

SZB,

 

From what I gather from the posts, it sounds like the backup plan trade is in place, but the preferred trade is still being worked out. Should the preferred trade not work out, Doug pulls the trigger on the backup plan.

 

If I'm wrong on this, somebody please set this confused soul straight.

[Brian the Automator]

Perhaps by now, Doug is just messing with us 'freakin' internet geeks' by making this take longer.

You would think that, by now, the Brewers are aware of this thread. The fact that Melvin hasn't "internet geeked" us yet is a positive sign, I would suppose.

[DatHoser]

Brian,

 

He's just messin' with us by his silencehttp://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Invader3K]

Usually by the time physicals are needed, we've already heard that the deal is basically done. My guess is that if something is "pending" at this point, they're hashing out what minor leaguers might be exchanged, etc. If the deal involves Jake Peavy, he would have to officially waive his no trade clause too, I guess. Total speculation on my part, though.