Do you fit Casey McGehee into your long-term plans?

[And That]

McGehee's 783 OPS is superior to the production the following 8(!) AL teams have gotten out of their DH spot:

 

-Yankees: .777

-Indians: .761

-White Sox: .706

-A's: .703

-Rays: .695

-Blue Jays: .664

-Angels: .611

-Mariners: .541

 

Which is not to say he's better than all their DH's, but he'd be a big to decent upgrade for most of those teams.

 

Edit: I should add... the average OPS of a DH in the AL is .749. Semantically speaking, I think it would safe to say that McGehee would be a "decent" DH.

[topper09er]

Thank you And That

[And That]

McGehee would also add to his value by *not* playing defense.

 

OTOH, I doubt the Brewers would get a whole lot for Casey right now, and he probably would be upset if he couldn't play in the field where I think he thinks he's good.

[dadofandrew]

Above average players make about $7M a year as FA's. Suffice it to say, McGehee is plenty solid, and will be very wealthy if he can produce the next few years.

[logan82]

McGehee is another missed trade high oppurtunity by Melvin, should have been traded in the off season after his near ROY season.

Not really. McGehee had far and away the best year of his career last year. There is no way anybody would have traded much for him last offseason.

 

He could be a decent DH for a while for some team.

Probably. He isn't a terrible hitter but I think teams are moving more towards guys who can play in the field and saving the DH spot for giving regulars some rest.

 

Gamel should be at 3rd.

Completely agree with that. His left handed bat with a decent OBP would slot in perfectly in the #2 hole. That way Braun is sandwiched by 2 lefties. Gamel would almost never face a LOOGY.

[monty57]

I know there are statistical measures that show Casey's terrible at 3B. However, I don't have a "please don't hit it to third" feeling when he's out there. I know he's not a great fielding 3B, but I don't think he's awful. Maybe watching the Brewers for the past few years has made me numb to bad defense, but I think Casey's defensive foibles are being overstated.

[TooLiveBrew]

It's not his foibles, which is precisely why it doesn't seem as bad as it is. He's the classic 'makes all the plays he can get to' guy -- trouble is that he has basically zero range, and just doesn't get to a lot of balls that other 3B do. By any fielding metric I've seen this season, he's near or at the bottom of the fulltime third basemen in the league.

I will agree in terms of strictly fielding, he's not bad... he's actually quite good at fielding. It's his range that's the big problem.

[viaarete]

What percentage of baseball is fielding, again? ...Just sayin'. [sorry. had to put it out there.]

 

If the guy gets on base regularly, then one can certainly sacrifice a significant amount of fielding ability. Casey has a "good" OPS. Good enough to be tempting to a significant number of teams. In fact, our own team included, there are a number of small-market teams that would be wise to field a poor 3B (defensively) who hits above-average. The question really is, "what's the price?"

 

If Casey were willing to stay in MKE for a small salary (unlikely) then keeping him, despite the defense, is a good idea. But since he's unlikely to accept a relatively small base-salary, and his contract expires in the near-future, it's unrealistic to assume that he'll last beyond his contract... Unless, of course, he can be signed for beneath his value (which, again, is highly-improbable).

[logan82]

If Casey were willing to stay in MKE for a small salary (unlikely) then keeping him, despite the defense, is a good idea. But since he's unlikely to accept a relatively small base-salary, and his contract expires in the near-future, it's unrealistic to assume that he'll last beyond his contract... Unless, of course, he can be signed for beneath his value (which, again, is highly-improbable).

 

We have control of McGehee through the end of the 2014 season at shich time he will be a free agent. He is barely above average as a hitter and a poor defender. He isn't a bad guy to hold onto.

 

It would make almost zero sense to give him a long term contract. He will be 32 his first year of free agency. In other words on the decline. So you go year to year. You don't want to buy out any free agent years like you would with other young players.

[Never Outhustled]

McGehee should be dealt. He's mediocre, and maxxed out. Mat Gamel is finally recoved from his shoulder injury, and is hot at the plate. The Brewers need to open a spot for him in the majors. Gamel might not be great defensively, but he's better than McGehee.

[logan82]

We are more than likely not going to be competing next year so I would move Fielder and then McGehee can slide over to 1B. Of course if we get a good return on a McGehee trade, I would move him but I would move anybody for the right price as long as it improved the team.

[igor67]

I'm skeptical that this pat offseason was the sell high point for Casey. His performance was too out of character to get a big bite after just one year. He slid back this year, but has still been solid and productive at the plate and still has a lot of cheap years, I think he is much more valuable to more teams now that he's shown his bat won't completely disappear. Green is also heating up at the plate, so you've got 2 solid options putting Casey at first is not one of them, basically it will only highlight his defensive shortcomings and tend to pigeonhole him into a role as a averagish bat.

[logan82]

Green and Gamel are more than likely to be with the team longer than McGehee. Anybody can play 1B so replacing a 1B is easier than any other position. So down the road when we need to replace McGehee it leaves us with more options if he is at 1B than if we put Gamel at 1B and leave McGehee at 3B.

 

No I don't care if his bat plays at 1B or not. Our lineup is likely to include Gamel, McGehee, and Lawrie all at the same time. It makes little to no sense to move guys around just so their bat will fit at a position. You move them around to provide optimal defense.

[Thurston Fluff]

By any fielding metric I've seen this season, he's near or at the bottom of the fulltime third basemen in the league.

 

The mistake is using a season of defensive metric to make that determination. If you have some information on his past three seasons you will have enough to make a reasonable determination. Less means not enough information to go on. Until we have enough we have to use the eyeball test. I am not smart enough to judge so I won't. The beauty of stats is it helps eliminate prejudices that eyesight sometimes brings. In the eye ball respect Casey is screwed. He looks like a butterball so he must defend like one. In all honesty I think he is a poor defender and the limited evidence suggests so but I am not smart enough to know. How poor is yet to be determined by solid empirical evidence. In another year or so and we'll have that information. Until then it seems useless to use stats that are lacking of useful information. It will not get us any closer to his true defensive value.

 

What percentage of baseball is fielding, again? ...Just sayin'. [sorry. had to put it out there.]

 

If the guy gets on base regularly, then one can certainly sacrifice a significant amount of fielding ability.

 

50%. I would rather have good hitters with average defense than bad hitters with great defense. I would also rather have average offensive player with great defense than above average offense and below average defense.

[logan82]

The eyeball tests on McGehee and the metrics line up. Sort of like they do with Braun.

[Weirdos19]

I think trading Gamel makes more sense right now. Obviously the Brewer front office likes McGehee better or Gamel would be playing some.

 

A lot of prospects don't turn out. The Yankees trade prospects for proven players all the time. The only one to come back and bite them recently is Austin Jackson. A huge overpay for Granderson.

 

If you are willing to spend 10 million on retread starters, you should have no problem getting a 7-10 million dollar player for a couple of prospects that may not pan out. Just think of what we were getting offered for Escobar!

 

We tend to overvalue every prospect since Braun came up.

[TooLiveBrew]

Hold the phone on declaring Jackson a huge overpay for Granderson. He's hit all of 1 HR so far this season, and the .425 BABIP (.470 v. RHP!) certainly suggests his production won't be sustainable for this season. Not to mention the fact that his strikeout rate has been high (once every 3.88 PA), and his walk rate has been low (once every 14.9 PA).

 

I like Jackson, and I think everyone involved in the deal knew he was/is good. The Yankees felt Granderson was a solid comparison for Jackson's ceiling, so they pulled the trigger on the deal. Granderson's season to this point is so far below his career norms I don't think it's accurate to use to say it was a bad trade.

 

 

I think trading Gamel makes more sense right now. Obviously the Brewer front office likes McGehee better or Gamel would be playing some.

 

My guess is that you're right on the braintrust liking McGehee more, but my worry is that it's because he's the 'better person', not the better player. I can understand the F.O. being frustrated with Mat's injury this season & placing him in the minors... not to mention that McGehee probably deserved the shot, at least in the eyes of the F.O., to show if he could replicate his offensive prowess from '09.

 

I think trading McGehee would make much more sense than trading Gamel at this point, if you're talking about just trading one guy. If it's part of a package, I could stomach Gamel going in return for TheCrew07's infamous IMPACT PITCHING.

[LouisEly]

1. He is statistically by a wide margin the worst defensive 3B that qualifies in all of baseball this year (UZR).

 

I hate to say this, but range is overrated.

 

(*ducks*)

 

It really is. I don't see the point of getting to a ball if you can't make a play on it, or in Gamel's case boot it or throw it away - either way you still have a guy on first. Well, if it is thrown away, you may have a guy on second or even third. I'll take the guy who turns outs into outs. Escobar's range is overrated too. The shortstop is positioned between the LF and CF - if something gets by the SS it goes straight to the LF or CF and unless the batter is really fast and the ball is hit really slow he is usually held to a single. If the SS gets to the ball, but can't make a play or throws it away, you still have a batter on first. Same outcome.

 

That being said, McGehee is very tradeable. Reason being is that the main reason for trading someone is when you have someone else who is just as good or better at the same position. That's Gamel, and Green is finally getting in a groove after the wrist injury - I think in other cases (Brad Nelson) it takes a good year and a half to recover from a wrist injury. Nothing against McGehee - you trade from depth. But Gamel is NOT a better defender - he has 12 errors in 47 games at AAA. McGehee has 10 errors in 90 games. Gamel has a better bat, but at this point is no better defender if not worse.

 

McGehee does make a good bench player. You have two reserve infielders - one who can play the middle infield (SS & 2B) and one who can play the corner infield (3B & 1B). McGehee fits the latter, and it's good to have cheap bench players.

 

If Hart is traded, I wouldn't be surprised if Gamel finds his way to RF. Gamel may have more range, but he makes a lot more errors than McGehee. So at this point - be it starter or bench - I think McGehee will be around for a while.