JJ Hardy

[adambr2]

So let's assume Reyes is too pricey of an upgrade, what about Hardy? He would be a nice upgrade at SS, both offensively and defensively, and plays for a club that isn't going to contend. What would it take to get him?

[Invader3K]

It shouldn't take much. Last year of his contract (I think), and not a star like Reyes/Furcal. Of course, there's the issue of his probable bitter feelings toward the Brewers...though that could well be water under the bridge by now.

[paul253]

I wouldn't mind Hardy but I certainly wouldn't give up much to get him. I mentioned on another thread Eric Farris. That is about as far as I'd go.

[adambr2]

Yeah, I don't think that Hardy has a grudge against the organization per se, but I wouldn't be surprised if he has one against Melvin, who stashed him down at AAA just long enough to buy an extra year of service time for him, then smiled and lied at the camera when asked why he did it.

 

That being said, I'm sure Hardy doesn't have a no-trade clause, so if he were to get traded to us, even if he doesn't like it, not much he can do about it other than come here and play hard, being in a contract year and all.

 

He would greatly improve our defense on the left side of the infield while also improving our lineup, and we wouldn't have to sell the farm. Not much not to like. If we're going to go for it, we may as well go for it.

 

Too bad we couldn't reverse the Hardy for Gomez trade right now.

[MNBrew]

After watching Hardy's last 2 years in MIL and his year in MIN up-close last year, I'm not sold that he's anywhere near the player he once was. And I've been very opposed to all the previous suggestions about getting him back, dismissing them usually b/c the poster was showing what I thought was way too much belief that Hardy was still the Hardy of '07 & '08 when clearly he wasn't.

 

But if he's only the player his present BAL stats suggest, this actually strikes me as a deal worth making. The only sticky thing is that his salary's quite ridiculous for what he produces. But we'd only be paying half of it, which wouldn't sting so badly.

 

I feared Betancourt's D far more than his O based on the rap he was getting. If he can avoid the dunderheaded plays at SS he's starting to make more of, he's solid enough defensively and can obviously make plenty of plus-plays. But the guy's offense is approaching Carlos Gomez levels of scariness at times, which can't be good for anyone and most especially not the Brewers.

[adambr2]

He would only cost us about $3M the rest of the season. I'm sure Mark A could swing it. Hardy has a .776 OPS this season...if he could just give us around his career OPS of . 747, while playing the same standard of defense he has played his entire career, that's a pretty big upgrade over Betancourt.

 

Let's face it, we're not going to be going out and trading for an ace this year, a new closer, or a big bat. Pretty much what we got is what we're counting on. So if we're going to make any sort of move to improve our team before the deadline, this is one that is affordable, doesn't commit us long-term, is a fairly substantial upgrade at our weakest position, and therefore could reasonably be expected to have an impact without costing us the rest of our farm. It just makes a ton of sense to me.

[adambr2]

I emailed Tom H at JSOnline about this. Surprisingly he got back to me in about 5 minutes, but said he wouldn't look for it to happen due in great part to Hardy's recent injury history.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

His OPS would be 8th in MLB with Stellar Defense. If he doesn't play everyday, we still have Clutch. YuBet is below replacement level. If Hardy were to miss significant time, we'd have plenty of players (Yu Bet, Billy Hall, etc... to fall back on)

[endaround]

This makes little sense to me. And its not like Reyes and Furcal are pillars of health. So if Hardy misses time you go with Betancourt/Wilson/Counsell for a bit. I mean 60 games of Hardy plus 20 games of Betancourt is vastly better than 80 games of Betancourt.

[RockCoCougars]

It makes a lot of sense. A big upgrade at short who would probably come fairly cheaply- I say fairly, because the O's had to give up two decent young arms for him. That's probably the starting point. Bringing Hardy back would also be a big PR boost for the team without making a huge move. All that said, I really don't see it happening because of all the things that happened a few years ago. If I'm Hardy- though he wouldn't have any say in the matter- I wouldn't want to go back to Milwaukee after how they messed with the service time. I think the bigger hurdle would be Melvin basically acknowledging that he made a mistake. I really don't see it happening.

[logan82]

I emailed Tom H at JSOnline about this. Surprisingly he got back to me in about 5 minutes, but said he wouldn't look for it to happen due in great part to Hardy's recent injury history.

TH is usually very good at answering E-mail. I have sent him things a few times and he always replied quickly and courteously.

[Warning Track Power]

It makes a lot of sense. A big upgrade at short who would probably come fairly cheaply- I say fairly, because the O's had to give up two decent young arms for him. That's probably the starting point. Bringing Hardy back would also be a big PR boost for the team without making a huge move. All that said, I really don't see it happening because of all the things that happened a few years ago. If I'm Hardy- though he wouldn't have any say in the matter- I wouldn't want to go back to Milwaukee after how they messed with the service time. I think the bigger hurdle would be Melvin basically acknowledging that he made a mistake. I really don't see it happening.

This is something that shouldn't be overlooked and from a business standpoint makes total sense for the Brewers. JJ coming back would undoubtedly be a huge boost to the team strictly from a PR standpoint. Casual fans loved him. Women especially love the guy. Huge boost.

 

The plus side of acquiring JJ is that while it is a huge business benefit, it also makes the team significantly better in both the short and, hopefully, long term. JJ is no gold glove winner but was the consistent defensive SS we are sorely lacking now. YuBet can even stay for 2011 and be the power hitting PH from the rightside that we are currently lacking.

 

This makes way too much sense to me which is why he won't likely happen. I can't imagine being Doug Melvin and looking at the current Brewers and what the (likely) cost to get JJ and not swallowing my pride to bring him back to Milwaukee. Even at the cost of a Farris, who really is blocked by Rickie, we may acquire a long term solution at SS for a prospect who may be expendable. I know the phrase "all in" isn't exactly 100% accurate for the 2011 Brewers but there is no situation where Melvin can argue this team wouldn't be better in 2011 and in the future without JJ (barring Baltimore asking for the moon for JJ. Unlikely).

 

I know I for one won't mind a lineup of: Weeks, Hardy, Braun, Hart, McGehee, Gamel, Lucroy, Morgan in 2012.

 

I'd LOVE this and I can't emphasize that enough.

[adambr2]

I don't really understand why Melvin has to swallow pride to bring JJ back.

 

At the time, we had a starting SS of our present and future. Right now, we don't. Just the way things turned out.

 

Either way, Melvin should not be letting pride get in the way of improving the team. Look at how big the Nyjer Morgan trade has been for us, and we gave up virtually nothing. How much better do we feel about having Morgan in there every day against RHP than we would if it was Gomez every single day? There are ways to improve this team without giving up the farm, and I hope Melvin doesn't overlook any of them.

[Warning Track Power]

As a side, I find it interesting that DM can stand behind YuBet when you compare his offensive numbers in 2011 vs. JJ's "terrible" 2009 (his last season in Milwaukee), especially when you take into account defensive abilities as well. I know we had Alcides waiting in the wings to take over, however, it's just worth noting that:

 

JJ 2009 (414 ABs)

AVG: .229

OBP: .302

SLG: .357

OPS: .659

 

YuBet 2011 (198 ABs)

AVG: .232

OBP: .259

SLG: .343

OPS: .603

[Hate those Rodents]

WTP, I think after over 400 atbats of this type of performance, Doug would move on from Yuni as well. As of today, it's less than half the amount of atbats. And, yes, I am someone that would like us to look for an improvement at SS.

[Warning Track Power]

I'm with HTR. I just don't hold high hopes for YuBet coming close to even a mediocre JJ season, which in and of itself should warrant a strong look at JJ. Nothing in YuBet past would indicate he will come close to JJ on offense. JJ's worst season, yes. While defense alone should warrant a change, consider that in comparison to JJ's 2009 offensive stats, in 5 full seasons and 2 partial seasons in MLB, YuBet has posted a higher OBP than JJ's terrible 2009 .302, twice (.310 in 2006, .308 in 2007). Coupled with the D, I don't see a compelling reason not to try and pry JJ assuming he's available. YuBet's past speaks for itself.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

We need to get this done. This is the no-brainer move of the century

[adambr2]

JJ with another HR tonight. Go get him before he starts to become too pricey. Please. We have a wonderful, possibly championship caliber team, but if we have a big hole in the boat, this is it. Fill it. Betancourt is what he is, he's not going to go improve on you.

[Warning Track Power]

I wonder what Oriolefan.net would want from us for JJ. What would they think is a realistic and fair deal?

[RockCoCougars]

I wonder what Oriolefan.net would want from us for JJ. What would they think is a realistic and fair deal?

It seems to me that the Orioles need pitching- pretty much across the board. I would think that you would need to start with a top-tier type prospect, and add a mid tier type project with nasty stuff.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

I wonder what Oriolefan.net would want from us for JJ. What would they think is a realistic and fair deal?

It seems to me that the Orioles need pitching- pretty much across the board. I would think that you would need to start with a top-tier type prospect, and add a mid tier type project with nasty stuff.

I wonder if a team would give us a top-tier prospect and a mid tier prospect for Gomez?

[Hate those Rodents]

At the deadline, Rivas straight up would probably get it done.

[adambr2]

Rivas seems awfully cheap even for a rental. A back end of the rotation guy with only a decent shot of ever making it as an MLB starter.

[RockCoCougars]

I would say it would probably take a semi-healthy Mark Rogers (I know, fat chance) + a pitcher in the top dozen or so of the power 50 to even start a discussion. Lots of teams need a solid SS, so I would expect Hardy to be courted quite a bit.

[trwi7]

I'd probably take a compensation pick over Rivas and if Hardy plays well he'll end up a type A free agent in the American League so it would take quite a bit more than Rivas if I was McPhail.