The Muscle is available...D'Backs release Russell Branyan

[DHonks]

Kotsay has been doing fine. But I would definitely offer Branyan a AAA contract, perhaps even a big league contract

[PrinceEatMeat]

We can just go with a bench of Kotsay, Counsell, Branyan, Gomez/Morgan, and Rivera/Nieves. That would be fine with me.

[DHonks]

Theoretically we could send Gomez to the minors. Nobody will want to pay him that much money so he won't get claimed. Yet, in AAA he could play everyday and work on things in a less-stress environment.

[DannoMac21]

Branyan smoking that HR in the 9th off Joe Nathan is still fresh in my mind.

[rluzinski]

Kotsay has a -1 UZR and has been superb at the plate, good AB's, solid OBP. Branyan would be a nice power bat off the bench, but probably can't do anything but PH (other than play 1B, which is meaningless). I don't see a match.

UZR based off of 18 games? (which makes a -1 both bad and meaningless) "Superb" at the plate with a .305 SLG? I can only guess you are being less than objective about Kotsay because I think you know better. I agree that he has had a solid OBP so far but I think we both know it's going nowhere but down. What would you put the over/under at for his season OBP?

Branyan's offensive projections crushes Kotsay's (which isn't saying much). I see he Branyan hasn't played anything but 1B over the last couple of years. I wonder if we can still play a passable corner OF spot.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Here's a good reason to sign Branyan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr7poZzUbO8

[DuWayne Steurer]

Theoretically we could send Gomez to the minors. Nobody will want to pay him that much money so he won't get claimed. Yet, in AAA he could play everyday and work on things in a less-stress environment.

What could he 'work on' that he hasn't already had a chance to figure out in 1,600 major league plate appearances? Absolutely nothing has changed about the guy's skillset, or approach. He absolutely is what he is at this point. His OBP is right in line with career averages (about .290-ish), he steals some bases, and plays good defense. Expecting a stint in AAA to change that........probably not gonna happen. I can live with his offense when he's batting 8th (and much moreso if we didn't have Betancourt, but that's another story). Gomez is contributing with defense. No reason to send him down.

[Invader3K]

I agree with RoCo that a AAA stint for Gomez would be rather pointless at this point. If he's going to learn anything at all moving forward, it's going to be in the majors and not the minors.

[monty57]

Ideally, Branyan could be signed, replace Wil Nieves and Morgan would replace Kotsay when he returns. Since Kotsay is not going anywhere, the question really is whether signing Branyan for this season is worth losing Boggs, as you'd think one of these times Boggs would leave the organization after being DFA'd. Boggs brings better defense, is a switch hitter, and has shown promise in the minors. Branyan brings a good, proven power bat off the bench.

[RockCoCougars]

I'm all for bringing Branyan back. It seems like whenever his career is flagging a tad, a stint with the Brewers gets him going again. Why not do an arrangement like last time with him starting down in Nashville to get his stroke back? I'm sure circumstances will dictate his return soon enough. The team could give him an out clause if he wasn't called up by the end of June or something.

[tstads20]

The Muscle!

 

Unfortunately, it appears Branyan's back issues have slowed him a bit this season. I'd be all for giving him a minor league deal and seeing what he has left, though.

[derflotr]

I don't think I can avoid bias on this one

[PrinceEatMeat]

I've decided that Melvin needs to sign Branyan just as a favor to Brewerfan.net.

[Thurston Fluff]

I wonder if we can still play a passable corner OF spot.

 

Probably as well as Kotsay plays center or Pujols plays third.

 

There reason we have three catchers is Ron wanted a right handed hitter off the bench. 3TO doesn't fit that need. He's also had back problems for quite some time. As much as brewerfan takes Melvin and Ron to task for thinking they have the Kotsay of 2004 they we seem to think the same of 3TO. Then again that one homerun he hit this year was probably more fun to watch than all of Kotsay's singles and walks combined.

[TheCrew07]

Just say no Branyan.

[RobDeer 45]

I'd love to see him as just a PH specialist. I think Kotz has to stay, and despite his slowness in the field, I feel like he gets the job done and puts together good at bats. I don't however feel like he's a good PH option because of his lack of pop.

[rluzinski]

Just say no Branyan.

The guy hit .251/.347/.520 in a full season in 2009. His current ZiPS rest of season projection is .253/.336/.516. Unless Branyan's back is severely restricting him right now, there's no way he isn't a significant upgrade over several current Brewer bench players. If he in fact could be had for league minimum, I can't see any reason why Melvin shouldn't see if he can get him. I'm interested to hear your reasons.

[DuWayne Steurer]

No way! The guy strikes out WAY too much!!!

 

 

[TheCrew]

The guy hit .251/.347/.520 in a full season in 2009. His current ZiPS rest of season projection is .253/.336/.516. Unless Branyan's back is severely restricting him right now, there's no way he isn't a significant upgrade over several current Brewer bench players. If he in fact could be had for league minimum, I can't see any reason why Melvin shouldn't see if he can get him. I'm interested to hear your reasons.

He has absolutely zero defensive value to us if he can't play 3b, and even then he has very little.

[TheCrew07]

Mostly for selfish reasons.

 

I haven't liked anyone that this site has championed since I started hanging out around here, from Ginter, to Gross, to Hall, to Branyan... the more people post about those guys, the more I dislike them, and in some cases the more I hate them..

 

Branyan would strictly be a PH, he doesn't have any defensive flexibility anymore, and I simply don't care for him based on my irrational dislike at a personal level. If the BP didn't have 2 too many pitchers in it and the team didn't have 3 Cs on the MLB roster, then maybe adding a player with such limited flexibility would make sense. However, given the current state of the bench and bullpen, it doesn't make any sense to further handcuff a manager who's already iffy on the strategy side of things.

[logan82]

TheCrew07 wrote:

Branyan would strictly be a PH, he doesn't have any defensive flexibility anymore,

You mean like Kotsay except with a better bat.

[DHonks]

I'd actually considering signing him if even only for the month of June. We have 9 AL games with a DH before the All Star Break. Throw in that he could play passable defense at 3b or RF once a week, and he could be a valuable addition. Looking at the AL games, our only option to provide power from the left side is Gamel. If a roster move has to be made, why not simply add Branyan and keep Gamel raking in AAA?

 

Almonte has no value to us, and a third catcher really has no value. Kotsay's value has been surprisingly strong lately, but with Morgan returning he'll be unimportant unless Gomez is sent to AAA. And Boggs likely will also be without a spot on the club.

[Funketown]

He has absolutely zero defensive value to us if he can't play 3b, and even then he has very little.

So? Neither does Kotsay, and he can't hit either. He is probably serviceable at 3B although certainly bad. At first, he's probably average at this point. Oh, and he can hit.

[TheCrew]

Yeah that .360 OBP is just terrible. While I certainly don't admire Kotsay's defense, I'd rather see you playing CF rather than Branyan.

 

This team needs bench defense more than it needs bench offense.

[Mr QL]

If he's healthy enough, I'd for sure bring him back. We could use some power off the bench.