Lopez to 3rd base?

[Hate those Rodents]

Tom Oates wrote an editorial in the WSJ about resigning Lopez and moving him to third. The top of his lineup went Lopez, Escobar, Braun, Fielder, Weeks. I like that. Does anyone think that we maybe could trade BOTH McGehee and Gamel for pitching? Would you be cool starting both Lopez and Weeks in the infield? It's an interesting option to maybe give us our best offensive lineup for next year while at the same time giving us the most pitching help we can get in the off-season.

[yoshii8]

I don't see that happening, I think they've pretty much given the job to McGehee. The only way I see Lopez coming back is as a super utility guys or if Weeks won't be ready.

[Kelbysdaddy]

i like lopez alot and really hope he is back next year.

[hawing]

Just for the sake of linkiness: Oates column in Wisconsin State Journal

[sbrylski]

Lopez's career OBP is .338, and was as low as .308 two seasons ago. I'd say Gamel has a good shot at having a higher OBP than Lopez next year, both will probably be around .340-.350. Even McGehee will probably be around that mark.

 

One half season doesn't define a player. Lopez can come back as a super-sub, otherwise let him walk, and explore the trade value of Gamel and McGehee and trade the one we get the best relative offer.

[thevaccinator27]

I'd be down, if it weren't for the fact that Lopez seems to wear out his welcome in places he stays a while. His history does not bode well for bringing him back. I'm not banking on him to change his stripes now.

[Hate those Rodents]

I guess I am more or less worried that we'd end up trading Gamel since he'd maybe get us more. If that's true there's a decent chance that we all prefer FL over CM by June. And if that's the case, we'll have really missed a chance to deal CM for what will inevitably be needed pitching by June.

[Invader3K]

The thing about letting Lopez go is he was the top of the order hitter with speed and contact that this team had been craving for years. Now we had it, but it seems like a luxury they can't really afford if they want to get serious about improving the rotation. I think you have to let him work (after offering arbitration) and hope Weeks comes back healthy. Keep one of Gamel or McGehee, trading the one that gets you better pitching.

[WisconsinSportsRule]

The only problem I see is that we wouldn't have a long term solution at 3B. I think McGahee and definitely Gamel would be the future, but if you trade them then it seems like you are banking on taylor green a lot.

[endaround]

He'll be offered arby and most likely walk. If he gets into a Hudson type pinch he could be back, but my guess he'll start the season at short then and give Escobar a chance to earn his way up. Lopez will then be dealt or perhaps moved to RF.

[dadofandrew]

Lopez will make $5-6M, and McGehee $500K. That's fine if you can spare $5.5M, but considering the Crew has to fill C, CF, and a pair of SP spots, they will likely choose to go cheap at SS and 3B.

 

That's why Alcides is the obvious choice. I don't know what the budget is, but it is a finite number. If you pay one guy, that's less you can pay the other 24. One of the interesting decisions this year will be if Mark tells Doug to ignore Hall's money, or if that counts on the '09 payroll...that's a huge difference.

[nate82]

That's why Alcides is the obvious choice. I don't know what the budget is, but it is a finite number. If you pay one guy, that's less you can pay the other 24. One of the interesting decisions this year will be if Mark tells Doug to ignore Hall's money, or if that counts on the '09 payroll...that's a huge difference.

With a generous arbitration and resigning numbers for some players the '09 payroll only comes up to about $63m that is without Hall's contract which will be about $7m. That is about $70m then you can take into account that payroll for '09 will be about $80-85m with $85m being the most. For the whole season it will be $90-93m tops (this is taking into account any trade). $90m is the absolute maximum at which the Brewers could operate at by taking a slight loss if not making the playoffs so I doubt the Brewers will go up to the $90m mark.

 

At $70m that is not including Cameron, Looper, Kendall, Lopez, or Weathers coming back. I don't see Lopez coming back unless it is at a team friendly contract which I do not see happening it could happen but the chances of that happening are about as good as Kendall hitting 30 HR's in a season or Suppan winning the Cy Young award. The Brewers need to get at least 2 starting pitchers one will come via a trade and one will come via free agency more than likely. Both C and CF can be filled internally at low costs it may not be the best option but for cost saving reasons you may find this to be the route DM goes.

[dadofandrew]

I don't see C being filled internally. There are quite a few veteran C's available, though as I have pointed out, those available do not look to match Jason's OBP.

[TooLiveBrew]

Luckily for the Brewers, there are plenty of areas in which Kendall is deficient, so upgrading over him shouldn't be hard... even if it comes at the expense of a little OBP. Kendall shouldn't be projected for much more than ~ a .330 OBP anyway, so it's not like he holds some huge edge there, either.

[logan82]

Kendall is bad, but the rest of the FA catchers don't exactly look great either. It may be harder to upgrade than people think. .330 OBP is about average for a catcher. Link

 

I see little reason to keep Lopez unless Weeks doesn't come back or he is moved to the outfield. Neither option is appealing in my opinion. Lopez had a career year this year and I don't think he will be this good again. I think he will get a longer contract from somebody else. We have McGehee or Gamel for 3B. Why add to that logjam?

[JohnBriggs12]

I still say you could make Lopez a regular in your lineup playing 2 games a week at each of 3 positions (3B, SS, 2B). Weeks is coming off a serious wrist injury. Escobar is a rookie who's never played a full 162 game schedule, and McGehee is coming off of knee issues. You're also set if any one of those guys goes down for an extended period. Of course, that would mean no room for Counsell.

 

We all remember when Melvin picked up Koskie even when he had Hall set for 3B coming off a nice year. Hall ended up playing almost a full season at SS. The comment then was basically you can never have too many good players.

[yoshii8]

That seems like a good idea John Briggs, but everytime I bring that up, everybody tells me how terrible he is as a SS. I'm w/ you and think that he could get close to 500 ab's over the course of a season, and defense included I think he would be a very valuable player. I just question if he would even consider coming back under those conditions.

[Hate those Rodents]

What we need to do is offer him arby. After doing that, just sit back and see what happens.

[dadofandrew]

He is a weak SS, and no starter wants to only play 5 games out of 7, and Lopez will want to be a starter at a designated position. Add that to the fact no one wants to pay $5-6M for a backup IF (already paying Hall $7M to not be around), that money has to come from somewhere.

[sheetskout]

Although I love Felipe Lopez, I don't think it's a wise economic move to bring him back as he is more likely than ever before to get a salary increase.

[endaround]

Its not the salary its the years. A one year deal makes sense, a three or four year deal for a player who has quit on teams in the past does not.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Its not the salary its the years. A one year deal makes sense, a three or four year deal for a player who has quit on teams in the past does not.

 

Agree wholeheartedly with that. A one year deal for Lopez would be manageable without worrying about the long term baggage. I could even see starting him in LF and moving Braun to RF. Deal Hart for pitching. It also allows them to bring him back to the IF if Rickie struggles to get healthy. He'd be valuable IF insurance with Gerut ready as a 4th OF. I also think Alcides could be our lead off hitter down the road, but in his rookie year may be better off at 8th (assuming Kendall is gone) or 9th (as a second leadoff with pitcher hitting 8th). Lopez also allows them to drop Rickie down into a more natural 2nd or even 5th or 6th.

[flosses like fossas]

i'm in favor of keeping lopez around, and i don't think asking him to play 5 days a week between three positions is condescending. the guy has enough of a history of issues that it could be worth his while to stick with a club and do what is asked of him. the flip side of that coin is that the brewers get a solid top of lineup bat and injury insurance. (btw, fangraphs had a good assessment of felipe recently...) i hope that the only way counsell is back with the brewers is as bench coach (at best), hot dog vendor (at worst). i tip my hat at his solid contributions this past season, but i was tired of watching him in a brewers uni the first time he was in mke.

[endaround]

Or he pouts, quits on the team, and gets DFA'd like the Nats ended up doing.

[Invader3K]

Has Lopez come out and said anything about wanting to come back next season (like some of the other veterans)? I haven't heard anything, so my guess is that he feels he's in line for more than a one year deal, probably elsewhere.

 

I think the most likely scenario is that the Brewers offer him arbitration and he turns it down. It's just too bad we don't know if we can count on Rickie Weeks next year.