What is McGehee worth?

[adambr2]

Casey is a guy who would be very nice to have on the roster again in 2010. He's cheap, versatile, and relatively young. In a sense, he's almost like post-2005 Bill Hall. (obviously not the same kind of player, but similar situation). Obviously, we could go into 2010 with Casey as the super-utility guy, give him some starts at 3rd, 2nd, and maybe RF. Casey was a legitimate ROTY candidate in 2009, and deservedly so. His infield defense is passable at best, but he's not a butcher, and there's room for improvement. He's got very nice pop for a 2B, at least he did in 2009. But for the same reasons and others, he might be a good "sell-high" candidate in a trade. The IF is going to be somewhat of a logjam if Prince returns, with Gamel at 3rd, Escobar or Hardy at SS, Weeks at 2B, etc. You can't help but wonder a bit if 2009 might have been a flukey year for McGehee, and there is always the issue of whether or not his knees will hold up. Believe me, I'd like to see McGehee return in 2010, stay healthy, and prove that his 2009 was no fluke. If he does this, he could be a very valuable part of our offense. But it wouldn't hurt to gauge what he is worth on the trading block. Good enough to bring in a top prospect? Maybe a #2 pitcher when packaged with JJ? It might be worth a look. Or will other GM's lowball Melvin and be hesitant to give up much unless McGehee proves himself again in 2010? If so, it might be better to hold onto him.

[dadofandrew]

Gamel is not going to be handed 3B after his down season.

[trwi7]

Gamel is not going to be handed 3B after his down season.

Can you really call it a down season? He was mashing in AAA until they brought him up to sit on the bench for two months.

[logan82]

His numbers at the MLB level were still about average for a MLB 3B even in his "down" year.

[nate82]

I would rather have Gamel in RF than at 3B but I don't see that happening though. I would trade either Gamel or McGehee this off season whoever brings in the best pitcher goes. I don't see McGehee bringing in anything better than a #3 type pitcher other than if a GM gets stupid and overpays for McGehee which does happen from time to time. Gamel is probably the best bet to bring in a top notch starting pitcher either a #1 or a #2 type pitcher.

 

Trading McGehee and Hardy in the same package would be limiting your trading partners. There are not that many teams that need both a SS and a 3B. Minnesota is a possibility but I don't really like what Minnesota has to offer in terms of pitching talent. The Braves need a 1B/3B Gamel could easily fill those spots and McGehee would be a 3B who is right handed which is what they are looking for. I think you could get Medlen plus another low level prospect for Gamel and as for McGehee you are probably looking at Kawakami and Lowe. With Lowe the Braves would have to pay a large portion of the contract though.

 

I still think Lowe could be a valuable piece for the Brewers but that would have to be without Suppan on the team though.

[twobrewers]

Either $9,500,000 or $400,000 - it all depends on who you ask.

 

Unless he hits .400 in Spring Training (assuming they don't trade him), Gamel isn't going to start at 3B. Gamel will probably start at AAA as insurance in case McGehee can't repeat last years performance. If both of them are playing great - one of them would be moved by the All-Star break.

[JohnBriggs12]

Gamel is not going to be handed 3B after his down season.

Can you really call it a down season? He was mashing in AAA until they brought him up to sit on the bench for two months.

But after he was sent back down he didn't hit (.234/.316/.338 with 55 K's in 154 AB). Plus, he saw a lot more action in the 2 months than McGehee saw in his first 2 months of the season.

 

If anyone could use inactivity as an excuse (and that's what it is) for poor production it was McGehee who had just 45 PA in April and May. You want to talk mashing, check out what McGehee did from June 1st through July 5th (roughly the length of time of Gamel's AAA tear). He was 37 for 96 with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 6 HR and 24 RBI. That was done against major league pitching.

[dadofandrew]

Casey performed better against major league pitching than Gamel did against AAA guys. The debate is nonexistent. Mat needs to prove himself again, and when he does, he'll have a spot. Gamel should be able to put up a .400/.500 AAA line before even thinking about returning.

 

The Brewers do not have "open battles" in spring training for starting spots, nor should they. It's a tiny sample, and Doug and the braintrust know it. Even for the bench spots, only Casey did anything after having a decent 50 PA's against inferior competition...Nelson and Duffy both reverted back to form and were soon in AAA.

 

It's also a bit misleading he did not play much in his 2 months up. He had 131 PA's, about a 400 PA pace, which is not a small amount at all...as pointed out, Casey barely played his first couple months, and still contributed when he got the chance. Excuses are for guys who are banged up and at half-speed, not for a guy "only" playing 4 days a week. Hit more, play more. As good a season as Craig and Casey had, they earned their playing time.

[Never Outhustled]

Casey performed better against major league pitching than Gamel did against AAA guys. The debate is nonexistent. Mat needs to prove himself again, and when he does, he'll have a spot.

Mat had a 864 OPS when playing 3B. He had an oustanding season. At this age, McGehee was still a nobody. The debate rages on. I think most baseball people would project Gamel higher than McGehee for next season. I would think the king of yelling out"small sample" as Al is wouldn't completely buy into any player with such a pedestrian career as McGehee after just 1-355 AB season. McGehee has ability, but he hasn't proven anything yet.

 

Its haphazard to keep both when the team is desperate for pitching. McGehee should be enough to acquire a pitcher on the rise, a guy like Edwin Jackson was last year. If that oppurtunity exists, the Brewers need to pounce on it. His ability to play a tollerable 2B helps his cause.

[TheFyl]

Casey is WORTH the starting 3rd baseman of the 2010 Brewers roster. I would nearly demand we keep him. He hit .390 with runners in scoring position and was totally clutch in many games. He will only continue to produce better and better RBI numbers hitting behind Fielder. I'm sure he will start hitting more doubles with his knee in better condition next year also. Casey is the type of player that the Brewers would love to have succeed and also the type that they usually trade for no reason. Podsednik for example, once we trade him, we will miss him in 2 years time. Whatever pitcher we could it, it probably wouldn't be worth it. He should remain our number 5 hitter as long as fielder is fourth and Braun is 3rd. Sign a pitcher with Cameron's old salary, and keep Casey.

[endaround]

We never missed Podsednik.

[TheFyl]

Wow, well I sure miss a leadoff hitter who steals bases and can hit for average/above average. I'd rather have Weeks back in the number 1 spot in 2010 obviously though

[Tedaldtada]

God, please do not let this turn into a 'clutch hitting', 'stolen bases', 'avg v obp' debate. TheFyl, nothing against having a good batting average, but this site typically refers to more advanced metrics that more accurately portray the value of a player (at least imo).

[thebruce44]

well I sure miss a leadoff hitter who steals bases and can hit for average/above average

 

Those 2 years we "missed" Pods, he batted .275 if you actually want to evaluate a leadoff hitter with BA. I would prefer to use OBP as Tedaldada said, which was .340 for those two years (good, but not above average). Weeks career OBP is .352 and has peaked at .374 when he was 24 years old. He has also provided power.

 

No question about it, we never missed Pods.

[Teatoe993]

I miss his wife.

[nate82]

Wow, well I sure miss a leadoff hitter who steals bases and can hit for average/above average. I'd rather have Weeks back in the number 1 spot in 2010 obviously though

OBP > Average.

 

Trust me the Brewers didn't miss Podsednik the 2-years after they traded him away. Weeks was putting up nearly identical numbers as Podsednik was from 2005-2006. There wasn't any missing of Podsednik.

[homer]

I miss his wife.

seconded

[jackalope02ca]

There is plenty of room for both. Gamel can start the year in AAA and get hot and then when McGehee slides over to 2nd to replace the injured Ricky Weeks sometime in mid June they can call Gamel up for good.

 

Sadly I'm not really joking about Weeks.

[BrewCrewForever]

I almost feel like they should trade whoever they can get more for between Gamel and McGehee. I like both guys, but also see the flaws in both guys. Trade whoever gets you the most pitching in return.

[TooLiveBrew]

I think the main difference between the two is that we saw McGehee's upside in '09, whereas Gamel's 'bad' year was league-avg. for a 3Bman (as logan pointed out)... and Gamel has a ceiling higher than McGehee both in the field & at the plate. I think they're both good players, but Gamel is a much bigger talent overall. I agree with folks that have said McGehee would likely return a mid or back-end rotation SP.

[NievesNoNO]

I guess I'd compare him to Mark DeRosa or Ty Wiggington. Not in the same situation, but DeRosa was traded for a good young arm with some unrealized potential. I'd say that's what the Brewers could expect in return in a straight up trade. Like I said, the situations aren't the same but I'll call DeRosa's track record as equal to McGehee's contract and service time.

 

So maybe:

 

Samardja (spelling?)

Andrew Miller

Morrow

Brandon McCarthy

Jose Arredondo

[pingman]

keep McGehee!

 

....he's salary controlled & productive; what's not to like? ....and IMHO he's not a flash in the pan; unlike Hall, CM has a short stroke & doesn't strike out very often so he won't be prone to long slumps....

[sheetskout]

Of the aforementioned, I like Morrow the best. I also think Wigginton to McGehee is a pretty fair comparison.

 

Gamel is the perfect trade candidate for the Crew. Remember, Gamel before he really broke out in Hawaii wasn't that highly touted. I think at this point you sell Gamel for a pitcher like this, and feel comfort in taking a marginal prospect and getting some return on him.

[The Truth]

I agree in keeping Casey and agree that his "worth" is that the Crew can trade Gamel for pitching now. I'm not sure how much Gamel's down season hurt his trade value. A player with that kind of potential and under contract for as long as he is, has value...

 

Another reason to get excited about Casey is that he did what he did in '09 playing hurt. i.e. its reasonable to assume that he can play even better, especially on defense

[Invader3K]

unlike Hall, CM has a short stroke & doesn't strike out very often so he won't be prone to long slumps....

This is a good point that doesn't get touched on enough. While I am still hesitant to declare McGehee "the real deal" after one very nice season, I think he is the type of player who shouldn't regress that much in the next couple years.

 

I think a lot of it is people feel burned after the Bill Hall situation, so they are going to be gun shy about committing to a guy who seemingly came out of nowhere and was not a highly touted propsect.