How long do we hold onto Edmonds?

[Weirdos19]

As July wears on, Jim Edmonds looks like he is less interested in playing for the Brewers. He still gets great jumps on the ball, plays good defense, etc. But his bat is lazy, he doesn't hustle, and seems like he's content with being released so he can hook up with a team like St Louis again.

 

I have to think that he's being shopped, just to see what we can get before the ax falls.

 

Gomez makes mistakes, no doubt. But he plays better defense than Edmonds these days and we already score plenty of runs. Plus, with either Gomez or Cain coming off the bench, we'd at least have one right handed hitter on the bench every day.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

I'm no big fan, but I sure don't see him being lazy. I think he's just old.

[Weirdos19]

I should say his bat looks lazy. Can't get around on a fastball anymore. Maybe it's age. Whatever it is, it's not good.

[GB12]

Might as well let the young guys play at this point. I see no reason to keep Jody Gerut either if he ever comes off the DL.

[dadofandrew]

You're not going to get much for Edmonds, a middling prospect at most. No rush to do or not do a deal there.

[derflotr]

I like Gomez coming off the bench with Cain starting pretty much every day. But I'm a huge Cain fan, a little biased. He'll probably be eased in a bit like Lucroy. No reason to keep Edmonds on the roster, though I'm not as frustrated with his play as much as most people here seem to be.

[Invader3K]

The problem is that he's being played way too much.

[Never Outhustled]

Edmonds will stay in Milwaukee when Gomez is sent to AAA.

[brewtank34]

The problem is that he's being played way too much.

Because it's in his contract. Melvin was able to sign Edmonds because he promised Edmonds a certain amount of starts per week. Pretty much, Melvin forced Macha's hand by making the deal.

 

[Never Outhustled]

Edmonds is one of the 3 best OFs on the team, and he starts part time, yet the complaint is he plays too much?

[TooLiveBrew]

Not everyone is 100% certain like you that Gomez is a waste of time, and like Parra, Gomez needs regular PT if he is to develop.

[DHonks]

Gomez is a waste of time right now. He needs to be like Scotty Po, but chooses to play like Vlad Guerrero. He reminds me of Alex Sanchez, except Gomez can play defense. But he's just as hard headed. If teammates won't call him out for his pathetic play, management needs to send him to AAA, AA, or A. He clearly needs to realize he has an elite set of tools that he isn't using.

[brains and braun]

DHonks, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're saying that "with his speed he should be hitting the ball on the ground and legging them out?"

Maybe if we institute the push-up per fly ball punishment, Gomez will be a little more Mays and a little less Hayes. :P

[Oldcity]

I'm pretty convinced that Edmonds' only goal is to look disinterested at all times.

[igor67]

AAA is currently a little light on the prospects, so why not try and flip Edmonds, Hoffman, Riske, and maybe even Counsell for something? Even a guy like Katin who might not have a great shot has some value of providing potential depth so grab something. On the other hand while most of those guys are pretty cheap Hoffman might be more valuable just be dealt for salary relief if possible.

[Never Outhustled]

Not everyone is 100% certain like you that Gomez is a waste of time, and like Parra, Gomez needs regular PT if he is to develop.

 

I agree that Gomez needs to play everyday. He can get that oppurtunity in AAA. At least Parra earned his way to the majors with his AAA performance, Gomez was never even a good AA player.

[brewmann04]

I agree you probally see the veterans moved at the deadline and you see the Brewers keeping Prince and Hart.

[monty57]

As the days click by without a deal, my inner cynic starts to get more and more control over my inner optimist. Right now, I'm starting to see 2009 all over again.

 

When should we trade Edmonds? ASAP for whatever we can get. We are not making the playoffs this season, so whatever extra wins we might get by playing Edmonds nearly every day are far outweighed by keeping two "high upside" guys on the bench. One of Cain/Gomez should be starting everyday in CF for the Brewers and one should be starting CF every day in Nashville. Then we will have a pretty good idea who should be our starting CF going into 2011. It would also allow us to bring up Katin to see if he can hit MLB pitching. Gerut is basically worthless to us now, as he won't be a Brewer in 2011, and he has no trade value.

 

So what is my cynical side saying will happen? Since we'll be shooting for wins this season instead of playing for the future, Edmonds will continue to play every day. Cain and Gomez will stay up "because we need the RH bats on the bench." Instead of trading Hart, Fielder, Edmonds, Counsell, Hoffman, etc to get bolster our future, we'll trade prospects like Katin for some rent-a-player trying to win this season. We'll finish this season somewhere around .500, giving us hope that the same team can win next year. We'll go into next season confused, as we won't know what we have in either Cain or Gomez, so we'll sign some aging veteran OF who Macha will play everyday. Since we'll have "high hopes" for the playoffs, we'll use "Suppan's money" to sign an aging vet SP to go along with the same team we've struggled with for two seasons, and have this same discussion next year, as we're about to lose Fielder, Hart and Weeks to free agency.

 

I hope Melvin does something soon, as it was about this time last year that I really started to get frustrated. Last year we started better, but by this time were starting to play pretty poorly. This year we started poorly, and will now win a few games against Pittsburgh and Washington, leading us to believe we should be buyers rather than sellers.

[Tennik]

They're probably going to keep Edmonds until after the non-waiver deadline. If they trade Prince, then they have someone who can fill in at first. If they keep Prince, then they could probably get Edmonds through waivers in an August deal.

[Baldkin]

As the days click by without a deal, my inner cynic starts to get more and more control over my inner optimist. Right now, I'm starting to see 2009 all over again.

The difference is the 'Crew was in first place on the 4th of July last year. It would've been darn tough for the management to declare a fire sale with the team over .500 and a game or two out of first.

Maybe they could've dealt someone when they were 4 games out at near the end of the month, but even then, there was hope way more hope than this year.

[monty57]

Yeah, but they went 12-15 in June and 8-17 in July and were playing worse & worse. With the small sample that is a few months, it is so much more important in baseball to play well early than it is to play well late.

 

As you illustrated, if a team is in first place early in the season, there is very little chance they'll sell, and will probably buy, whereas if they start out poorly, they are much more likely to sell. I have little doubt that this team has more talent than their record shows, but it isn't enough talent to overcome the hole they've dug, so they should sell. Around this point last year, the same held true. Just because they played well early, it was becoming obvious at this point of the year that they should try to get something for players like Cameron and Hoffman, and they would've been much better off as a franchise if they had.

 

Since the dawn of the Wild Card, there are very few sellers in baseball every year. Most GMs/owners want to hold on for the hope that they will be the next miracle team to have that big second half and make the playoffs. I know Melvin has to worry about things like fan perception and ticket sales, which I don't have to consider when I say that it would be best for the future of the franchise if the Brewers sold off now. Even looking at ticket sales, judging by the waning, lifeless crowds around Miller Park these days, it would probably enliven the fan base to see some moves.

 

Since this thread is about Edmonds, let's just look at the effect of trading him. We'd probably forego an extra win or two, as he is having a decent season. What we would gain would be the ability to give Cain and Gomez full-time playing time between AAA and the Brewers. Cain will be starting for the Brewers next year in either CF or RF, so he needs to play everyday, and Gomez is a high upside talent, and we need to get him as many PAs as possible to see if he has any value to the future of the team, either as our starting CF, a backup or in trade. We would also save a little money (I believe Edmonds has some incentive clauses in his contract), and we could get a mid-tier prospect back for him from a contender looking for a solid LH bat.

 

Since the Brewers are effectively out of it this season, to me the positives of trading Edmonds far outweigh the possibility of missing out on an extra win or two this season.

[Invader3K]

Another point lost is that if the team does decide to buy (which I absolutely don't want), what is there out there to actually "buy?" Obviouly they would want a top tier starting pitcher, but Lee has already been dealt, and Oswalt will probably end up with the Yankees or Phillies. Haren is out there, but at what cost of prospects would he take to get?

 

It just doesn't make any sense to pretend to be buyers. Edmonds has some value, and should be traded along with guys like Counsell and Hoffman. Give those guys a shot at making the playoffs again before their careers wrap up.

[JohnBriggs12]

Edmonds recent hot streak has me thinking about a lower profile deal with the White Sox. Edmonds isn't Dunn or Fielder but he's not a bad fit for them.

 

The Sox have a 27 year old right hander in AAA named Carlos Torres. Torres is 17-10 with a 3.00 ERA in AAA the last couple years with a strikeout per inning. He had a cup of coffee with the Sox last year with mixed results (he did shut out the Cubs for 7 innings). While his ERA is up a run over last year, his peripherals are nearly identical and still very good.

Though a late bloomer, he might be a guy worth giving a good look at for 2 months.

 

Of course it will take more than Edmonds to get him, but maybe they can take advantage of Don Cooper, a pitching coach with a huge ego, and coax them into taking Parra off our hands or alternatively, Bush.

[RockCoCougars]

Why bother trading Edmonds? You are likely going to get a Ruben Quevedo type at best. Scour the waiver wire for guys like this in the off-season.

[PeaveyFury]

With Ordonez hurt, adding Edmonds to a Prince deal with the Tigers makes a lot of sense.