Would anybody else feel comfortable with Gerut as our starting CF?

[GamelToe]

He seems to be a very capable player when he gets full-time ABs (unlike the jerking around that was done when he first came to Milwaukee) and I don't see the offensive production drop significantly with him over Cameron. Assuming Cameron would re-sign with a similar deal that he has now we would be saving $10 mil that could be put towards re-signing Lopez over trying to pick up a FA pitcher.

 

Any thoughts?

[dadofandrew]

Gerut or Rick Ankiel would be my choices if Cameron does not return cheaply. I liked Gerut when others were unhappy about a couple dozen AB's.

[logan82]

I liked Gerut when others were unhappy about a couple dozen AB's.

 

Alot of people did.

[Gobias Industries]

I liked Gerut when others were unhappy about a couple dozen AB's.

 

Alot of people did.

"Others" must refer to only like 3 or 4 people on this board, because that's about how many posters actually thought he was trash because of his early season struggles.

 

If Cameron wants a raise (and I wouldn't blame him), I would plug in Gerut and spend the money elsewhere. If Cam comes back, he'd be a hell of a 4th OFer. That was a good trade by Melvin.

[Invader3K]

I'd be fine with it. If we can save some decent money to help get a starting pitcher, I think Melvin needs to seriously consider it as an option.

[fleehaw]

He certainly wouldn't be my first choice, and I think it really depends on the corresponding moves.

 

Also, he hasn't been a full time player in 5 years. You would most likely need/want someone to platoon with him.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Its not ok by me. I dont like his defense one bit. With a lousy pitching staff this team cant afford a below average defensive center fielder. Once Cameron is gone people will realize just how great he is defensively.

[Ennder]

I like him much more as a platoon/4th OF type. If we were to keep Lopez and use him in LF and insurance against Weeks staying healthy I wouldn't mind keeping Gerut as another layer of insurance. Then we can sign a riskier CF type like an Ankiel type. It all really depends on what we do with Lopez, Hart, Hardy etc. This team somehow suddenly has a good bit of depth at the major league level and it has another wave of position prospects due in the next couple years. Should be an interesting off season.

[Invader3K]

Its not ok by me. I dont like his defense one bit. With a lousy pitching staff this team cant afford a below average defensive center fielder. Once Cameron is gone people will realize just how great he is defensively.

I look at it this way: Would you rather keep Cameron and have basically the same lousy pitching staff, or would you rather save some money by letting Cameron leave and paying a SP who is actually, you know, good?

[igor67]

The free agent market for pitching is pretty weak, so I'm not sure how directly Cameron's salary is tied to better pitchers.

[endaround]

That's the biggest issue. Turning Cameron at $10m for one year into a pitcher (Lackey) costing $12-15m over 4 years is a tough feat.

[Ennder]

Suppan and Hall come off the books after next year so it is pretty plausible to think that not keeping Cameron could lead to a bigger pitcher being signed to a multi year deal. I just don't know that there is a good pitcher out there that is worth the risk this off season.

 

I also can't stress enough that signing a pitcher isn't going to do us a lot of good unless we trade for some depth at AAA as well. Not having depth cost us way more than having a bunch of mediocre guys this season. Not being able to replace Parra and having nobody to come in when Bush/Suppan got hurt is what really killed the season more than anything. Maybe if we have some depth we don't rush Suppan back quite as fast or we don't try to let Bush pitch when he was obviously hurt after getting hit.

[bklynbrewcrew]

We can sign a starting pitcher by letting Looper and kendall go. Thats 10 mil in savings right there. As long as we have bad startng pitching our dfense needs to be that much better. Ive seen enough of Gerut in CF to know that we cant afford that slip in defense from Cameron to him.

 

Not to change the subject but if we keep Looper we are basically keeping our awful rotation intact. We need to do better and the money will be there by letting Looper and Kendall go. Unfortunately Kendall will be back and Looper probably will as well because of his win/loss record.

[DuWayne Steurer]

We can sign a starting pitcher by letting Looper and kendall go. Thats 10 mil in savings right there. As long as we have bad startng pitching our dfense needs to be that much better. Ive seen enough of Gerut in CF to know that we cant afford that slip in defense from Cameron to him.

 

Not to change the subject but if we keep Looper we are basically keeping our awful rotation intact. We need to do better and the money will be there by letting Looper and Kendall go. Unfortunately Kendall will be back and Looper probably will as well because of his win/loss record.

There has to be someone worth signing. This year's FA crop is pretty weak at best.

[dadofandrew]

Other than Lackey, Looper is probably close to as good as any SP, if he decides to come back, and for far less than $10M. Plus, the FA has to want to pitch in MIL.

[davego]

Adding pitchers would indicate Looper comes back.

[fallingleaves]

No I would not feel comfortable with Gerut as our starting CF and think we should resign Cam to a one or two year deal. Barring trades the 2010 off season appears to be another difficult one concerning for the Crew concerning their pitching staff. The team needs to trade for a legit number 2, someone who can throw below 4.00 ball. I think the team will pick up Looper's option, Parra needs to go to the bullpen, and we will likely see Soup and Bush as the teams 4 and 5. The Soup and Hall contracts have put the team in a tough position, although not as much as people may of thought as Hart, Hardy and Weeks are not going to get the arby raises we originally anticipated. I feel that Melvin et all needs to be held accountable for their failure to develop pitching in the farm system.

[Never Outhustled]

I think another question is "Would anyone else feel comfortable with Gerut as our starting RF?"

 

Its possible Hart is dealt for pitching, opening that spot for Gerut. Gerut had a very strong OPS last year, and is red hot now.

[Ennder]

I feel that Melvin et all needs to be held accountable for their failure to develop pitching in the farm system.

 

I'm not sure I can fully agree with this, we drafted the pitchers they just got hurt/high. Most of the pitchers we should have in AAA right now are not there for reasons ultimately out of Melvin's control.

 

The biggest blame I can put on him is not trading for a pitcher of some type this off season, this year in particular it was clear we had no depth at AAA but it is hard to know if there were opportunities to do it. We have depth coming in a couple seasons so this is a minor window where we just have a positional weakness at AAA SP.

 

I would hope he trades Hardy or Hart to plug it this off season.

[RockCoCougars]

I've been laughed at when I bring this up to my 'casual fan' friends, most recently at my fantasy football draft. That said, my opinion is simple....

 

Gerut + $6-8 Million > Cameron

 

Going further

 

(Gerut + $12-14 Million) > (Cameron + Looper)

 

(Gerut + $12-14 Million) = Decent Starting Pitcher

 

Simply put, keeping Gerut instead of Cameron and letting Looper walk would give the team the financial flexibility to acquire a pitcher such as Halladay through a trade. Drop Kendall, and there is another $4 million or so.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

If the team resigns Jason Kendall, I am not renewing my season tickets next year.

 

Regarding Gerut, I'd be perfectly fine with him as my everyday CF. Fangraphs has him as +3.5 runs above average defensively and with regular at bats, his bat could be valuable. He does have an 800 OPS season on his track record and there's no reason to believe that he won't hit like that next year for the Brewers. He's also a left handed bat which is very nice to have in our right handed dominant lineup. I'd prolly let Cameron walk and thank him for his great service to our team, but I don't think the price will be right to bring back the aging, declining center fielder.

[Tbadder]

What are you going to do with all the money you'll save?

[joepepsi]

Dumping Cameron, Kendall, and Hardy saves $19.65 million from the 2009 salary. Figure in the raises they will get in 2010, and it's hard to justify keeping any of them. The team payroll is too high for the results.

[FVBrewerFan]

The way I see it, if the starting rotation isn't any better, or only marginally better, you may as well start Gerut in CF because it won't matter anyhow. McClung could play out there. If 2010 isn't REALLY the year to make a run, then why pay Cameron another $10MM plus?

[danzig6767]

Gerut has a career .218 BA and .648 OPS vs lefties over his career