Fielder- What Brewer would you give up to GET him?

[rickh150]

Odd title, I know. Seeing the Brewers have Fielder for next season, there is no need to get him, or give up anything for that matter. However, I'm very concerned over the lack of trade value Fielder has this off-season, seeing the Brewers lacked any great offers this mid-season.

 

So my question today: If Fielder wasn't on the team and you, as GM of the Brewers, could get him for one season, what is the most talented Brewer you would give up to get him?

I want to point out these bits of info before you get too heavy in thought.:

1. You would only have him for ONE season, seeing he is destined to be a free agent.
2. You would have to pay him an expensive 15 million in arbitration, give or take.
3. There are other cheaper/ less talented FA 1B out there- Dunn, D. Lee, Overbay etc.
4. You could go with current Brewers to play 1B: Hart, McGehee, Gamel.

Sadly, I don't think the Brewers could get much for him. I really don't know what I would be willing to give up. I wouldn't even give up LuCroy, Cain, or Escobar. To answer my own question, the player I would be willing to give up from the Brewers organization would be Zach Braddock. The Brewers are stacked with relievers coming up the system.

 

So, maybe the Brewers would be better off keeping Fielder for half the year/full year and looking to trade Lawrie and Gamel for SP. Maybe one or both of these guys and an A pitcher could land a Cain or Grienke.

 

(edit: cleaned up code in list --1992)

[cwolf2012]

Don't forget, Prince Fielder comes packaged with 2 early draft picks as well or the value you get at midseason if you want to trade him.

 

Now, the Brewers would never trade for a player like Fielder. The Brewers have to keep young talent to make payroll. Bigger markets/teams in contention could go from borderline playoff teams to WS contenders with the addition of Fielder.

[thebruce44]

Fielder isn't a good fit for this team next year, hence the reason we should be looking to trade him. I wouldn't give up much because I don't see us in contention just because of his addition over whatever else we would put at 1st. Hopefully another team doesn't feel that way though.

[sveumrules]

You're not going to get nearly the return on either of Lawrie or Gamel as you will with Fielder for the sheer fact that neither one has proven a thing at the major league level. Fielder is still 4th in the NL in wOBA despite his "down year". The smart clubs out there don't put too much stock into his RBI numbers.

[PilprinBuddha]

Well....it depends....If I am the Brewers, he isn't as desirable as he would be if I was a large market team like the Rangers, Giants, Red Sox, Mets, White Sox, or Mariners. For those teams the likelihood of resigning him is far greater.

That said....If I was Melvin, I would trade Weeks, Jeffress, and maybe Parra. Prince is a difference making player...those three likely are not.

[kilgore37]

If you can't get at least 2 minor league pitchers that are 1st round rated or mlb ready pitchers then hang on to him and try to make a run next year

[logan82]

I wouldn't trade for him. Fielder really has little value to us as our problem isn't offense but pitching and defense. Neither of which Fielder helps. For a team with a middling offense and close to a playoff contender he could be the difference between making and missing the playoffs.

[mothershipconnection]

I think most people are correct in that getting Prince wouldn't be worth it for the Brewers, since they won't have a ton of payroll room and won't be predicted to be a playoff contender, so let's revise the question to address the original intent. If you were GM of of the Rangers, White Sox, or Giants, but had the Brewers' farm system instead of theirs, who would you trade for Fielder?

[1992casey]

So my question today: If Fielder wasn't on the team and you, as GM of

the Brewers, could get him for one season, what is the most talented

Brewer you would give up to get him?...

 

To answer my own question, the player I would be willing to give up from

the Brewers organization would be Zach Braddock. The Brewers are

stacked with relievers coming up the system.

Anyone want to play? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[LouisEly]

Fielder isn't a good fit for this team next year, hence the reason we should be looking to trade him.

Couldn't disagree more - I think he is arguably the most important position player on the team. Why? Because he is the only LH bat in the lineup, and a major impact LH bat at that. Gamel has a good bat but isn't going to match what Fielder produces, but if he replaces Fielder they still only have one starting LH position player. The Brewers need LH/RH balance in the lineup - that has been a point of Melvin's in the draft the last 3 years picking LH bats such as Morris/Hawn this year, Davis/Walla in 2009, and Schafer/Komatsu in 2008. Opponents can stack RH relievers against MIL and bring in LOOGies against Fielder. They need more LH bats in the lineup. Then there is the psychological impact of having Fielder in the lineup and the mental stress of facing him, plus the merchandising value of the jersey sales, etc., because he is the face of the organization.

 

So if I'm the GM of a team, what would I trade to get Fielder? Depends on how much I need LH bats and whether or not I have the DH or who I have at 1B. But... if Fielder was on another team, and with the Brewers in need of LH bats, the only players that I would not trade for Fielder would be Gallardo and Odorizzi. The money doesn't matter because the Brewers will have at least $30M net coming off the payroll this year. I'd trade Lawrie straight up, or something like Heckathorn+Jeffress+Schafer (i.e. three prospects rated between #5-15). As others have said, if you lose him you get two comp picks likely to be 1st round and supplemental 1st round, so he is worth at least that much.

 

Really, a consistent .400 OBP, .500+ SLG LH hitter in his mid-20's? That's the type of player you give $15M/year to.

[thebruce44]

Fielder isn't a good fit for this team next year, hence the reason we should be looking to trade him.

Couldn't disagree more - I think he is arguably the most important position player on the team. Why? Because he is the only LH bat in the lineup, and a major impact LH bat at that. Gamel has a good bat but isn't going to match what Fielder produces, but if he replaces Fielder they still only have one starting LH position player. The Brewers need LH/RH balance in the lineup - that has been a point of Melvin's in the draft the last 3 years picking LH bats such as Morris/Hawn this year, Davis/Walla in 2009, and Schafer/Komatsu in 2008. Opponents can stack RH relievers against MIL and bring in LOOGies against Fielder. They need more LH bats in the lineup. Then there is the psychological impact of having Fielder in the lineup and the mental stress of facing him, plus the merchandising value of the jersey sales, etc., because he is the face of the organization.

You really missed the point of my post. What good is trading for 1 year of LH balance if it costs you several prospects and doesn't put you over the top for a playoff run? The balance next year should be okay if they go with Gamel and a platoon in RF.

[jeffy]

...the only players that I would not trade for Fielder would be Gallardo and Odorizzi.

 

Isn't that the problem, that a pitcher like Gallardo is exactly what the Brewers would like to get for Fielder?

 

But the Brewers are a team that is short of pitching, so it is difficult to say what they should be willing to give up in that category. If they had a healthy Sheets and Sabathia then would you trade Gallardo...I think you have to look at it that way, but even then I'd be inclined to say no.

[endaround]

You're not going to get a Gallardo for Fielder. You might get a Jeffress (without the baggage) plus a 20 year old A+ guy for Fielder.

[LouisEly]

You're not going to get a Gallardo for one year of Fielder; if Fielder were under control for several years you could (depending on how much pitching that team has and how much they need LH power).

 

What good is trading for 1 year of LH balance if it costs you several prospects and doesn't put you over the top for a playoff run?

 

The prospects can be replaced by the comp picks. And they are just that - prospects. There is no guarantee that they will be successful at the major league level. And if you don't make any roster moves because you don't think it will put you over the top for a playoff run the fans will think that as well and won't come out to support the team.

[TooLiveBrew]

And they are just that - prospects. There is no guarantee that they will be successful at the major league level.

 

While that's true, there's also no guarantee a 26-yo SS coming off an .821 OPS season will continue to be a good hitter, either. "Prospects" or "Proven MLB Performer", they're all just baseball players. I want to be able to trust the organization's scouting & projection of players as opposed to demanding a Proven Commodity™. If the best talent available isn't yet in MLB, I don't want to see the Brewers scared off.

 

While I agree that a player like Prince isn't the kind the org. should hypothetically target in a trade right now, I'll play along pretending the salary situation isn't as great a burden as it realistically is. If Prince Fielder was that guy that I believed would be the final push over the hump into the postseason, & the team was strong at the other positions, I think I'd be willing to give up something like Rogers+Rivas.

[RockCoCougars]

If a deal for a guy like Cain or Garza can't be struck, the Brewers had best hold on to Fielder. See how next year goes, and either get value for him at the deadline, two draft picks, or re-sign him for a much lower than expected price.

[endaround]

There is no salary situation. The Brewers will be hard pressed to spend the amount of money they have next year and that's before any Fielder trade. $14.5m for Suppan, $8m for Hall, $8m for Hoffman, $5.25m for Davis, $4.215m for Bush $2.15m for Zaun is over $34m.

[greeg35]

Dang, RockCo, I thought you were going for an all-blue writing day.

[logan82]

So my question today: If Fielder wasn't on the team and you, as GM of

the Brewers, could get him for one season, what is the most talented

Brewer you would give up to get him?...

 

To answer my own question, the player I would be willing to give up from

the Brewers organization would be Zach Braddock. The Brewers are

stacked with relievers coming up the system.

Anyone want to play? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Sure I guess. I would give up Todd Coffey for Fielder, maybe. I would also throw in Hoffman, Zaun, and Marco Estrada. I might also throw in Carlos Gomez but probably not. I would rather send Gomez to AAA next year than trade him for Fielder.

[RockCoCougars]

Dang, RockCo, I thought you were going for an all-blue writing day.

My boss has put me in a rare mood today. Always nice to come back from a long weekend.

[dadofandrew]

Prince is not a fit for the Crew, nor about 15-20 other teams in MLB. Of the others, many teams have a 1B and a DH. That will only leave 3-6 teams seriously looking at him. However, it only takes one. BOS and TEX are my favorites right now, as both will be under pressure to win, and win in '11. He's fit in nicely with either, and both have solid farm systems to allow a solid arm or two dealt.

[endaround]

How is Boston a favorite? They have Youkilis under contract and can bring back Ortiz for $12.5m. Yes Fielder is better than Ortiz but Fielder would cost more in terms of money and talent.

[Invader3K]

Well, Fielder wouldn't cost them much more than Ortiz's salary, and they have prospects to spare. They would also be one of the few teams that could realistically re-sign him. Fielder would be a pretty significant upgrade over Ortiz at this point.

[dadofandrew]

Youkilis can play 3B if they find another 1B. Beltre is gone, and Prince could be looked at as a one year signing, like Beltre was. Theo can easily offer him arby, while some teams, though mostly those who have no interest, cannot afford to, as they are afraid he'd accept and make $22M in '12.

[TooLiveBrew]

Ortiz has been pretty good this season, with a .893 OPS to date. Fielder certainly carries a better OBP, but he hasn't been all that much better than Ortiz this season. I think Al's got a good idea in shifting Youk back to 3B to clear room for Prince. That would be a huge addition for the Red Sox.