Brewers have serious interest in Jose Reyes?

[nate82]

It looks like the Mets are not even interested in resigning Reyes at all. http://www.mlbtraderumors...t-market-for-reyes-.html

[madtowndrunkard]

I did not say that is what I want to see the brewers to do.... I was saying (based on Melvin's history) what he'll likely try to do.

 

What I find insane is those of you who think Morgan's #'s the last 2 months of the season are what you can expect from him moving forward. His career numbers say he's a mediocre option in CF.... more of a platoon player or bench option. Definitely not a starter on a team after a title. His performance in the playoffs was closer to the norm for Morgan. A full season of that and you will all be calling for his head. Especially with his emotions going unchecked.

 

If you think Morgan is a .300+ hitter then you are nuts.

 

Defense is a huge problem. Gomez was hurt most of the year so we didn't really benefit from his skills most of the season.... Yuni is a defensive problem. I don't want to see another year of Yuni, but I'm not sure Melvin will find a better alternative. Knowing Melvin.... my $ is on him signing a defensive SS to back up / platoon with Yuni. I don't want to see that, but honestly it's probably a better option then signing Reyes to a long term deal.

 

Furcal is most likely to re sign w/ the Cardinals but we should at least try.... or at the very least drive up the price for the Cardinals.

[Team Canada]

Let's tone down the claims of insanity on both sides, please.

[MNBrew]

I don't want to see another year of Yuni, but I'm not sure Melvin will find a better alternative. Knowing Melvin.... my $ is on him signing a defensive SS to back up / platoon with Yuni.

 

I don't want to see that, but honestly it's probably a better option then signing Reyes to a long term deal.

If it's not Reyes at SS next year (I'd love for it to be), then wouldn't Hairston be the reasonable backup option to Yuni?

[ramssuperbowl99]

I did not say that is what I want to see the brewers to do.... I was saying (based on Melvin's history) what he'll likely try to do.

 

What I find insane is those of you who think Morgan's #'s the last 2 months of the season are what you can expect from him moving forward. His career numbers say he's a mediocre option in CF.... more of a platoon player or bench option. Definitely not a starter on a team after a title. His performance in the playoffs was closer to the norm for Morgan. A full season of that and you will all be calling for his head. Especially with his emotions going unchecked.

 

If you think Morgan is a .300+ hitter then you are nuts.

 

Defense is a huge problem. Gomez was hurt most of the year so we didn't really benefit from his skills most of the season.... Yuni is a defensive problem. I don't want to see another year of Yuni, but I'm not sure Melvin will find a better alternative. Knowing Melvin.... my $ is on him signing a defensive SS to back up / platoon with Yuni. I don't want to see that, but honestly it's probably a better option then signing Reyes to a long term deal.

 

Furcal is most likely to re sign w/ the Cardinals but we should at least try.... or at the very least drive up the price for the Cardinals.

Morgan's career triple slash line is .288/.347/.374. So, while he's not a .300 hitter, he's close enough that it doesn't matter. And his career numbers say he's worth 4 wins per 162 games. So, that's not just a starter on a team trying to make the playoffs and win, that's a very good core piece on a team trying to make the playoffs and win. He might not slug for power, and I wish he'd walk more, but he plays great defense at a valuable position and gets on base enough to be an incredibly valuable piece.

To think otherwise is to just basically ignore all of his performance thus far in his MLB career.

[Raw Biz]

If you think Morgan is a .300+ hitter then you are nuts.

 

Defense is a huge problem. Gomez was hurt most of the year so we didn't really benefit from his skills most of the season.... Yuni is a defensive problem. I don't want to see another year of Yuni, but I'm not sure Melvin will find a better alternative. Knowing Melvin.... my $ is on him signing a defensive SS to back up / platoon with Yuni. I don't want to see that, but honestly it's probably a better option then signing Reyes to a long term deal.

Rams basically said what I think about Morgan. He might not be a .300 hitter but he's close enough. And you said he's more of a platoon player, which is exactly what he was this past year. He rarely started against lefties. As for Gomez, he missed the last week of July and all of August. I wouldn't really call that "most of the year." And even if he did miss time this year, it was a broken collarbone so it shouldn't really have an effect on what he does next year.

[RockCoCougars]

To me, you are set with Morgan/Gomez. Why mess with something that isn't broken when you have serious question marks at three other positions?

[jmeks23]

After some recent events, I really think the Brewers are going to push for Reyes after Prince Fielder likely turns down whatever deal they offer him. It just seems like with the SP set for this year, they're going to go for one big fish. That big fish would obviously be an impact bat at this point, and Reyes makes the most sense. Obviously, the price has to be right but it just seems like a fit. Fits Roenicke's managing style, is an impact bat, is a great defender, and plays SHORTSTOP, which is probably the number one problem right now going into the offseason, the infield.

 

I know I've seen some hints from Attanasio and Melvin that they'll be willing to look into a guy like Reyes this offseason, Braun made that comment earlier this month (yes I know that's nothing serious but still), and even sportswriters are picking the Brewers as the likely destination. If the numbers work, it seems like a great fit and I'd love it for the right price. Health is the biggest concern obviously, but I think it's a risk reward scenario.

[cvollbrecht]

MLBTRADERUMORS has us getting Reyes in their top 50 predictions.

 

3.  Jose Reyes - Brewers.  Reyes is another difficult top free agent to predict.  The Nationals, Braves, Phillies, Giants, Pirates, Reds, Twins, Rays, and Cardinals could have a need at shortstop, but not all of those teams can or should spend $100MM+ on Reyes.  The Mets will entertain re-signing Reyes, but the Brewers seem more likely to approach Ryan Braun's speculated $120MM price range.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I would love to get Reyes personally. To lock down an elite SS like him would be huge. I'd much rather sign him than Prince. I seriously do think Melvin and Attanasio will make a big run at him. It will likely come down to offering him enough money. We'll see if they pony up the cash or not. It would definitely be a big risk, but could also end up being HUGE for the franchise. Reyes is an elite SS and one of the best players in the league when healthy. To pair him with Braun and the other talent we have for years to come would be amazing. He's also a leadoff hitter and elite defender, which we desperately need.

[Hate those Rodents]

Reyes signing also imho makes it more likely we go with Green and Gamel, which I advocate doing anyway. Keeping the price down at first and third for the next few years should mean we maybe can do a Reyes deal

[reillymcshane]

Well, Reyes would be perfect for the Brewers. I just don't see us dropping $15+ million on him. It just hamstrings you financially for a long time. And the injuries are kind of scary. He's missed 36, 29 and 126 games over the past 3 seasons.

 

But, man, he'd be perfect at the top of the order. Plus fill the empty SS spot.

[GamelToe]

It just hamstrings you financially for a long time.

I see what you did there.

[PrinceFielderx1]

With the Brewers TV revenue tripling starting in 2013, I can see the Brewers going hard after Jose Reyes. I also wouldn't rule out a Greinke extension this off-season either, but that's another discussion.

[chadomac]

I am afraid of signing him long-term due to the injuries, but if healthy he'd obviously almost make up for losing Prince Fielder just on his own. But... i just don't see where this money comes from to sign him. Don't see it as possible at all.

[PrinceFielderx1]

I am afraid of signing him long-term due to the injuries, but if healthy he'd obviously almost make up for losing Prince Fielder just on his own. But... i just don't see where this money comes from to sign him. Don't see it as possible at all.

Give him the money that we have been paying Prince Fielder (15 million a year). You won't have to increase payroll at all to do that. There are players that will get a salary increase based on the contracts that they have already signed and through the arbitration process over the next few years, but the increase in revenue starting in 2013 should make up for it. The Brewers can go cheaper in other areas (Bullpen, 3B, 1B etc..) to help keep costs down with Hairston/Green at 3B, and either Gamel,Hart, Derek Lee (He's just an idea) at 1B. Plus, 2012 is probably Wolf's last season with the Brewers unless they pick up his option (I don't see it happening) and that should free up 10 million or so, and the Brewers have Peralta, Fires, Rivas, Thornburg and perhaps Bradly, and Jungmann who will be making their way to Milwaukee and will be making the minimum salary and will be affordable for a few years thereafter.

 

The question mark with Jose Reyes isn't whether or not the Brewers can afford his per year salary of 15-20 million a season, but rather the long term commitment to a player with his injury history. It will be very interesting to see how many guaranteed years Reyes gets from whoever signs him.

[TooLiveBrew]

Imo Reyes at this point is a classic example of a player that an organization like the Brewers shouldn't even entertain signing for a long-term, big-money contract. He's also (again, imo) the classic guy a big-market team that's in win-now mode should snap up in a heartbeat.

 

For a big market & win-now team, if you believe he's the missing piece to making it to the World Series, the simple fact that you're probably going to get at least one ~5 WAR season out of him in the next two seasons is probably reason enough to cough up the 6/$100-120M deal it's probably going to take to sign him.

 

But for a team like the Brewers, imo it's really important to remember that Reyes is just the best talent that's available right now, and not necessarily a good idea to sign. For the Brewers, this would be a deal that you need to see nearly 100% return on in order to consider it a good decision. If Reyes's lack of durability continues, that's a gigantic problem -- both in that the team would be without its starting shortstop, and that the guy would be getting paid big-time for being a player that only plays 66.66-75% of the time (or worse).

 

Be patient, make a good investment like signing Barmes for a year or two, & see what develops in your own farm system & on the trade market. If the Brewers are going to take a chance on a big contract, make it Greinke.

[Hammer]

I love how so many people complain that our SS is the worst player in the majors and then dislike the fact that the Crew could sign arguably one of the best SS's in MLB. I know that the length of the possible deal seems a bit scary but it's time for the Brewers to step in with the big boys. If the team continues to draw 3 million per year, gets the increased revenue from the upcoming TV contract, adds more revenue every year w/ postseason baseball in MKE...why wouldn't they go and nail-down the big fish that they so desperately need on the left side of the infield? I hate to use an old cliche but I'm guessing that Mark A understands that you need to spend money to keep making money. Relatively inexpensive teams like the Brewers had in 2011 don't seem to string 90+ win seasons together very often...

[JohnBriggs12]

Well, Reyes would be perfect for the Brewers. I just don't see us dropping $15+ million on him. It just hamstrings you financially for a long time. And the injuries are kind of scary. He's missed 36, 29 and 126 games over the past 3 seasons.

 

But, man, he'd be perfect at the top of the order. Plus fill the empty SS spot.

Ken Davidoff has the Brewers dropping $15 million on the mediocre pair of Carlos Pena and Clint Barmes (they'd be nuts to do that), and if on some universe, Fielder came to them and said give me $90 million over 6 years, Attanasio would hand him a pen before he finished the sentence. So they certainly can afford it. I'd go as high as $85 million over 5 for Reyes. The guy is a premier talent. Reyes is no more an injury risk than is Greinke, and Greinke isn't near the pitcher he was in 2009. I'd rather give that money to Reyes, and find pitching elsewhere.

[fondybrewfan]

I think signing Reyes for 5+ years and $100 Million + would be a terrible idea. Granted I would love to see him in a Brewers uniform but there are just so many good reasons not to sign him. Obviously he has an injury history. The Brewers budget would be pretty tight with not a whole lot of flexibility for future extensions; especially considering Braun is going to get expensive soon. If we sign Reyes you can forget about signing Grienke and we would probably have to trade a high priced player (Like Hart, Wolf, or Marcum) just to fit him in this years budget while still finding solutions at 1st, 3rd, and possibly OF.

 

Don't get me wrong I would love to have Reyes but signing him would probably cause some other holes to come up or other holes to get filled by mediocre talent. If signing Reyes means we have a Green/McGehee platoon at 3rd, Gamel at 1st, and Fiers/Peralta and Narveson in the rotation (Assuming we trade Wolf or Marcum) are we really any better than last year especially since you can count on Reyes missing 20 games every year.

[TooLiveBrew]

I love how so many people complain that our SS is the worst player in the majors and then dislike the fact that the Crew could sign arguably one of the best SS's in MLB. I know that the length of the possible deal seems a bit scary but it's time for the Brewers to step in with the big boys.

 

If Reyes weren't a gigantic injury risk, I might agree. Imo it's not hard to see why guaranteeing him ~$15-20M AAV until he's about 34 isn't a good idea.

[RockCoCougars]

Not to mention that Reyes is not as good as he's hyped to be. Look at his career stats offensively and defensively. If he played every year like last year (a contract year), he might be worth what he'd get- but he missed a decent chunk of games then as well.

[NievesNoNO]

Not to mention that Reyes is not as good as he's hyped to be. Look at his career stats offensively and defensively. If he played every year like last year (a contract year), he might be worth what he'd get- but he missed a decent chunk of games then as well.

I somewhat agree. I think a lot of the hype surrounding him comes from fantasy baseball circles a few years back when he was stealing 60-70 bases. He's still definitely a dynamic player though and young enough. He is starting to approach that age though that I'd get concerned about too long of a contract. He plays a very demanding position and relies heavily on his legs for a lot of his value and has had the well documented hamstring issues. The thing that keeps me more optimistic about Reyes as maybe compared to a guy like Rollins is at least when Reyes does play he's still very good and at least appears to have all his skill set left. I'd be OK with fours years and maybe a team option for a 5th year at what ever the going price is. If teams are going 6-7 years for him I don't see how that will end well. I'm wondering if Carl Crawford's performance this last year will keep teams a little leery of handing over big money with years to Reyes who besides position has a pretty similar skill set.

[chadomac]

I thought I saw some projections that said the Brewers have 9-12 million in flexibility this offseason. The money that some people think we have for Fielder doesn't actually exist if those projections are correct.

 

The years - as almost always - scare me a lot more than the money Reyes will get. Anything more than 4 years seems like a bad idea.

[Bnowell4evr]

John Heyman had the Brewers as the favorite to land Jose Reyes on Hot Stove.