Brewers acquire Shaun Marcum for Brett Lawrie 1 for 1; 3/24/12 -- Jayson Stark article

[Tailgat0r76]

I like the fact that he averages 6.1 IP/games started. It's nice to finally have a pitcher that hopefully won't tax our bullpen to the extreme.

[princeginterhallhelms04]

Thats what i am doing.. But if we can get a pitcher that can back up Yo.. I'LL give up hitting!!!

[jerichoholicninja]

If Lawrie winds up playing anywhere besides catcher, second or short in the majors I don't think he will be a tremendous loss similar to LaPorta.

[Hammer]

Yeah, if it is Lawrie I'm going to be ticked for the same reasons as trwi7 just posted. I know you can't win w/out pitching but if Lawrie is going out Weeks can basically sign his own offer sheet and we can watch him walk away as well...

[crewcrazy]

It would stink to give up Lawrie, but since he got Marcum, if Doug Melvin still wants to trade Prince Fielder, he could focus on getting prospects to replace Lawrie instead of accepting a lesser deal just for pitching. It also might make sense considering Lawrie has yet to find a position he's good at...at least Toronto would have the ability to DH him if they can't get him to stick anywhere else.

[BREWCREW5]

Maybe Lawrie being reported as being terrible teammate is one of the reasons.

[pogokat]

im very excited if this is jeffress or rogers for marcum..that would be a wonderful deal for us...which is likely why it hasn't happened

 

lawrie for marcum is a fair deal...marcum is not an ace...but he's better than every pitcher on the team but yo...and by a wide margin..its conceivable that the two of them could be very close nest year..

 

likewise...while i think lawrie is a top prospect, i'm not sold on hr power past 20...and, if weeks is resigned, he's gonna have to play 1st or third...where his offense is gonna be less valuable.

 

nonetheless...i was hoping (deep inside with no real chance) that they'd trade lawrie+ for greinke :0

[danzig6767]

This is great news! It finally feels like Yo is getting some support in the rotation.

 

Marcum's got an injury past and he's under contract for only 2 more years, so I think Lawrie is a bit much to give up. I think Gamel or Braddock is a little more reasonable.

If Lawrie is in the trade, it won't be just him we gave away. Good starting pitchers under a cheap contract for two years aren't traded away easily.

[crewcrazy]

Just because Marcum doesn't throw 95 doesn't mean he's not a very good pitcher. His changeup was one of the best in the game in 2010, and his slider was also above average. His cutter's been very good in the past, too.

[TooLiveBrew]

So looking this over.

 

1. Giving up our best prospect

 

2. Already had Tommy John surgery and is 29 with only two more years of control.

 

3. Has an average fastball under 88 mph in his career.

 

Safe to say I hate this deal.

This is my take on it at the moment. Really, a guy that doesn't even average 90 on his fastball? From his FanGraphs page, he throws a cut fastball (about 15% of the time), so I wonder if maybe he varies the run on his fastball quite a bit... meaning, I wonder if maybe the movement allows him to live without elite velocity. From the pitch values FG uses, Marcum's changeup looks like an amazing pitch.

 

But this reeks of a total Melvin deal, too, in that he's buying high on Marcum. If we gave Lawrie to get this guy, my rage won't fit into words. I hope Marcum proves me wrong.

[sveumrules]

Just want to say that if Marcum is the best we could fetch for Lawrie color me unimpressed. A soft tossing flyball pitcher, at least he already had his tommy john. I know that Lawrie has some positional uncertainty but the bat is going to play. And Tom H, I know its the internet age but get some solid details before you start tweeting all over the place. First you say it's pitching prospects, then you come back and say Lawrie is a good bet to be included. So which is it Professional Journalist?

 

I'd rather send McGehee for Marcum (or someone better ideally), let Gamel sink or swim at 3B and depending on how the Weeks contract situation plays out maybe shift Lawrie to 3B at Nashville. Then whoever stinks the least at 3rd out of Gamel/Lawrie stays there and the other replaces Prince at first for 2012.

[TooLiveBrew]

Marcum has tons of upside, from what I've read. Let's get a bit more excited about this. Melvin pulls a surprise. I'm impressed.

Where have you read this? I really don't know much about him, but how does a guy that barely touches 90mph have "tons of upside"?

[chuckiehacks]

I'd rather send McGehee for Marcum (or someone better ideally),

No kidding, however the reality is that McGehee isn't going to get Marcum or someone better. Starting pitching is at a premium, and MeGehee is closer to "just a guy" than "elite prospect".

[RyDogg66]

If we gave up Lawrie I'll be sick.

[brewmann04]

then the crew got fleeced here Lawrie another 1st rounded being moved.

[GB12]

I'm not sure what to make of trading for a guy with only 2 years left. Do they think we're going to be able to make a run? That's a small window for how many pieces we're lacking. Especially with Fielder about to hit free agency, that gives us this year to try and do something. Don't really like trading a high level prospect for two years of a pitcher that's not going to take us anywhere.

[Bikeage77]

I don't mind if Marcum throws 88, but can he get a game over with in under 3 and a half hours? Last year was brutal as far as game length.

[ELCABALLO45]

I watched a highlight they had of him on MLB.com. And during the inning the announcer was talking about a conversation they had with Marcum and he was asked to describe himself as a pitcher, his response?

 

"I have below average stuff, but I am a bulldog. I win games on grittiness and heart and determination"

[PKBadger]

While I'd prefer it if he threw a more powerful fastball, Marcum's WHIP has been low-to-microscopic in all but one season (2006, his first in the big leagues). Even in the minors, no hiccups to speak of. He's doing something right.

 

The TJ doesn't bother me very much...Liriano seems OK.

[brewmann04]

now trade Prince to bulid up the Farm and get 2 top prospects now.

[homer]

If he gets guys out, I couldn't care less how hard he throws.

 

I'm going to withhold judgment until we see what the Brewers gave up. Another rumor out there is that Cain is involved. That would suck.

[TooLiveBrew]

I watched a highlight they had of him on MLB.com. And during the inning the announcer was talking about a conversation they had with Marcum and he was asked to describe himself as a pitcher, his response?

 

"I have below average stuff, but I am a bulldog. I win games on grittiness and heart and determination"

I just dry-heaved.

 

At first when I saw this thread, I was really excited. But then I remembered Shaun Marcum isn't, in fact, Ricky Romero.

[chuckiehacks]

I really don't know much about him, but how does a guy that barely touches 90mph have "tons of upside"?

You don't have to throw mid-90s to have upside. Marcum misses bats by changing speeds. From Fangraphs:

 

Marcum’s stuff is fooling plenty of hitters. His swinging strike rate is 10.8% (8.4% MLB average), which is tied for seventh among MLB starters with teammate Brandon Morrow. His overall contact rate is 76.1% (81% MLB average), ninth among starters.

[fondybrewfan]

Even if Doug had to give up Lawrie I am not going to be to upset about it. His willingness to trade Lawrie probably means he is confident that he can keep Weeks around. With Weeks still around Lawrie probably wasn't going to factor into 2011 at all. We get to add a legit #2/#3 guy and we (hopefully) got to keep our best pitching prospects. Maybe I am just not as high on Lawrie as everyone else, but we badly needed pitching and weren't going to get what we wanted by trying to trade McGehee or our 2nd tier prospects. We clearly have enough hitting, adding Lawrie to our lineup probably isn't going to improve our team a whole lot, adding a #2/#3 pitcher like Marcum certainly will.

[jjkoestler]

I watched a highlight they had of him on MLB.com. And during the inning the announcer was talking about a conversation they had with Marcum and he was asked to describe himself as a pitcher, his response?

 

"I have below average stuff, but I am a bulldog. I win games on grittiness and heart and determination"

Marcum to KC for Greinke straight up. No way Ned can pass on him.