Brewers recall Gamel, Villanueva, and Jeffress [Latest: Gamel needs toe surgery]

[And That]

McCalvy tweets that the rumored moves are now official. Welcome to Milwaukee, Mr. Jeffress.

[Hammer]

Could we see dueling 100 MPH heaters in this series with the Reds? With as over-matched as the Brewers looked against Chapman I would love to see the Jeffress Express return the favor...

[wibadgers23]

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see Gamel back in the majors. But there is absolutely nowhere for him to play. Maybe he plays some RF to give Corey some rest since he's been a little banged up lately. Awesome to see Jeffress in the majors as well.

[TooLiveBrew]

Everything went better than expected... I'm so happy to see Mat & Jeremy getting to join the big club. But, like you note wibadgers, looks like Gamel might rot on the bench again.

[Hammer]

Everything went better than expected... I'm so happy to see Mat & Jeremy getting to join the big club. But, like you note wibadgers, looks like Gamel might rot on the bench again.

I would really hope that there isn't as much bench-rotting as has been predicted for Gamel. Casey McGehee could really use a couple of days off on those knees and this team really should be in preview mode for next year.

Side note: Not sure if I should start a new topic for this but I would love for the young players to see most of the action from here on out. The team's record would surely falter but this would help the Reds in their quest of holding off the St. Louis - holier than thou - Cardinals. Am I in favor of tanking? Nope...but really, these guys need to be evaluated at the MLB level so why not do it now instead of during next season?

 

[trwi7]

I would really hope that there isn't as much bench-rotting as has been predicted for Gamel. Casey McGehee could really use a couple of days off on those knees and this team really should be in preview mode for next year.

 

Sounds like Gamel will rot on the bench because the position(s) that Gamel plays have players going for 100 RBI.

[Gobias Industries]

Casey McGehee has been tattooing the baseball for about a month now, so I can't see how you can justify sitting him more than once a week at most. And I'm pro Gamel. (Not at 3B though). As long as it doesn't effect service time, 30 at bats in Sept is better than nothing.

 

Should have left him down in AAA til the season was over and then call him up.

[TooLiveBrew]

Man, it's almost like Macha doesn't like Gamel

[PrinceEatMeat]

http://milwaukee.brewers....k_mil&fext=.jsp&c_id=mil

 

Here's a quote from Melvin from this article."I don't want to bring anybody up just to sit on the bench." Hmm... Ok Doug, then why did you bring up Gamel? Because that's exactly what he's going to do.

[ELCABALLO45]

What sucks about Gamel coming out is that he has back to back double headers in the next 2 days. That is 4 start he will miss while sitting on the bench in Milwaukee. Sigh.

[BrewCrewForever]

Excited to see Jeffress pitch. Very happy they brought Gamel up, but like most I am concerned about how much he will actually get to play.

[bcf5575]

How about sitting Prince and letting Gamel play some 1b. Prince has shown no desire to be here long term, time to give Gamel an opportunity to learn to play 1b as it is very likely that could be his spot next April.

 

(To be honest, I am not even sure that I am on board with this - just an idea I wanted to throw out there...)

[Tedaldtada]

Almost makes me wish there was a DH in the NL. This is unrealistic, but maybe Gamel will start 3-4 times per week via days off for Hart/Fielder/McGehee/Braun. That would be a lot of moving around though.

[Invader3K]

I know it's a dumb reason, but they won't end Prince's consecutive games played streak if they don't have to. I think Gamel will mostly pinch hit and perhaps spot start at 3B.

[Never Outhustled]

How about sitting Prince and letting Gamel play some 1b. Prince has shown no desire to be here long term, time to give Gamel an opportunity to learn to play 1b as it is very likely that could be his spot next April.

 

(To be honest, I am not even sure that I am on board with this - just an idea I wanted to throw out there...)

 

 

I agree with this. Fielders trade value is established, and we owe him nothing. It would be a disaster if Fielder were to get injured right now. However, I'd play McGehee at 1st, and Gamel at 3B. We learn more that way.

 

 

Another option to get Gamel a few more starts is to give Weeks a few games off, with McGehee shifting to 2B. McGehee was tollerable at the position last year playing with a bum knee. He's clearly moving better this year. If he can convince the right teams he also fits at 2B, it increases his trade value. Using bigger players at 2B is becoming a trend right now.

[FVBrewerFan]

I just don't see the problem with Gamel riding the pines. So he misses a week or two of starts in Nashville. Will that really have an effect on his development? May as well bring him up now, give him some PHs, and a couple of spot starts. This is different than bringing him up at the beginning or middle of the season and and riding the pines. At this point in the season, I don't see the harm.

[And That]

Gamel needs one more AB to graduate from the Power 50. I'm just looking forward to that.

[monty57]

Barring injury, I doubt Gamel gets more than 4-5 starts in Milwaukee. I like Gamel, and was upset at how he was handled last year, but it McGehee has earned the right to remain the starting 3B. Whether you're looking at trading him or playing him next year, sitting McGehee now doesn't do anything other than tear up the clubhouse.

 

In addition to being our best offensive player, Prince has a pretty long games-started streak going, and they probably arent' going to break it. I know it's frustrating that Prince isn't going to extend, but Melvin often seems to go out of his way to make sure players will talk nice about the Brewers. JJ Hardy is the obvious exception, but doing things like asking Edmonds if he is okay with a trade shows that the Brewers do care how they are perceived by players around the league. Prince will leave, but I'd rather have him telling everyone about how good his time was with Milwaukee rather than focusing on how they screwed up his streak. And, he seems like the type of person who would really focus his anger on something like that. Plus, it may help his trade value in a small way if we can say he's started every day for 2+ years. That's the type of PR thing the receiving team would like to sell to the fans.

 

As far as playing the OF, we already have Braun, Hart, Cain, Gomez, Dickerson and Inglett, so I doubt Macha will play Gamel much in the OF, since he has virtually no experience there.

 

Unfortunately, we are also still very LH-dominant off the bench, with Inglett, Counsell and Dickerson. I just hope that Macha puts Gamel at the front of the line for backup 3B, to get the few starts McGehee doesn't get, and for the top LH bat off the bench. I could very easily see a situation where Macha starts Counsell at 3B and slots Gamel as the third or fourth LH option off the bench.

[Baldkin]

Gamel needs one more AB to graduate from the Power 50. I'm just looking forward to that.

My guess is he gets that somewhere around Sept 18th.

[brewmann04]

I am glad for JJ looking to see him come out of the pen,but IT be sad to see Gamel only get pitch hitting duties.

[monty57]

I hope this helps Jeffress see what he'd be giving up if he "slips." I look forward to seeing him pitch, but really hope he's back to starting in Huntsville or Nashville next season.

 

I also hope that Villy can show that he can still get MLB hitters out on a regular basis. He'll start to get a little more expensive next year, so he is probably in danger of getting cut, but he could be a decent, not-too-expensive middle reliever for the 2011 squad to go along with the young guys coming up.

[And That]

Gamel needs one more AB to graduate from the Power 50. I'm just looking forward to that.

My guess is he gets that somewhere around Sept 18th.

Of which year?

[trwi7]

Of which year?

2022, his last at bat in the majors.

 

 

[Polish Falcons]

How much minors experience did Gamel get in right field? Is it feasible for him to get any starts there for the Brewers this month?

 

I want to see Gamel play, but I don't see how you sit McGehe. He's batting .286 with an .816 OPS, 20 homers and 86 rbi's. He also has a very hot bat right now, and should be considered for August player of the month. Sure the 100 rbi stat is arbitrary, but I'm guessing it means something to him, and moreover I think he's earned the opportunity to play. I could see sitting him about one game a week. I also wonder if it's possible to shift McGehe to 2nd one day a week, resting Weeks, and letting Gamel get in games that way.

[Invader3K]

Gamel has only played like three games in RF, if I'm not mistaken. Between Hart and Dickerson, I don't see any realistic reason to try Gamel there right now.