What to expect in the offseason

[brewmann04]

What Players will stay, who will be leaving, etc.

[Eddiehitsthefoulpole]

I think that one of our long-term contract guys gets moved. Either Weeks or Hart. Prince, Krod, and Counsell are gone. I think we will re-sign either Saito or Hawkins. We may re-sign Kotsay. I hope Yuni is gone. Nyjer could get moved, he will never have this much value again. Casey could get moved. If Geinke or Marcum appear headed to free agency they could get moved. Marcum may get traded just because the fans may not let him return. Kind of like when the Phillies traded Mitch Williams.

[clancyphile]

I'm hoping Prince stays for 2012 - I don't want to see this team blown up via trades for rebuilding when they got this close. A couple of changes needed to replace K-Rod and Counsell, but both of those could come in-house (healthy Braddock/rebounding Loe; maybe Hairston stays as utility IF). Maybe have Green replace McGehee. One year under the belt, and this team could pull it off.

[brewcrew_2_2]

I hope to God they don't trade Rickie. He still has tons of potential. And he's my favorite player. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

Trade Hart instead. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif Anything else I have to say is best put in the catharsis thread.

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

I'd love a phone call be placed to Terry Francona...

[brewmann04]

Wow a Manager change was not expecting that but think some coaches might not come back.

I was hoping we offer Krod Arby we need the extra picks.

I think Hairston stays as CC replacement and can see Hart and Marcum put on the Block and what FA target will they go after since they should have some Money to spend.They need to rid themselves of Yuni that is for sure.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Hart has to be moved to 1B, or moved to a different team. He's a value at what he makes per year, but he plain sucks in RF. I don't care what UZR or any other defensive metric says, and no, I'm not saying this based on these 11 post season games, he's sucked in RF all year long. IF improving the defense is a priority, putting Hart at 1B would presumably improve the defense in 2 spots.

[Gobias Industries]

I hope to God they don't trade Rickie. He still has tons of potential. And he's my favorite player. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

Trade Hart instead. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif Anything else I have to say is best put in the catharsis thread.

Crazy to think, but he'll by 30 next year so I don't think he has any potential left. I'd hope to god they'd explore trading him before Corey. Hart is so underrated.

[Mr QL]

Hart has to be moved to 1B, or moved to a different team. He's a value at what he makes per year, but he plain sucks in RF. I don't care what UZR or any other defensive metric says, and no, I'm not saying this based on these 11 post season games, he's sucked in RF all year long. IF improving the defense is a priority, putting Hart at 1B would presumably improve the defense in 2 spots.

For sure. Hart can't play RF anymore, he either has to move to 1B or get traded. Maybe you could get creative and have Hart switch to LF and Braun to RF or even 1B. There needs to a major overhaul of the defense because what we saw this season was unacceptable.

 

He's a great guy but have to imagine McGehee is gone. Hope they bring back Hairston. Counsell will probably retire but Hairston can take his role as the veteran super-utility guy, maybe platoon with Green at 3B until he establishes himself there. Betancourt showing up in the playoffs was amazing but he'll probably be gone, dunno what the answer is there but def need to aim for a defensive upgrade at SS. Maybe Hairston could pull off playing SS but dunno if he can play every day.

 

CF is fine with Nyjer, Gomez, Schaffer, and spot start from Hairston if needed. Kotsay probably won't be back.

 

I assume Mat Gamel will get his shot. I'm not sure if it's at 1B, LF, or RF tho.

 

Don't see the starting pitching changing much.

 

Bullpen is gunna need a major overhaul tho. K-Rod is gone, Saito will be like 42 but his stuff is still pretty solid, Hawkins is 39, no interest in retaining Estrada or Loe.

 

So we're looking a team of

 

C: Lucroy, Kottaras

1B: Gamel?

2B: Weeks

SS: ?

3B: Green, Hairston

LF: Braun

CF: Gomez, Nyjer, Schaffer

RF: Hart?

 

Pitchers: Yo, Greinke, Wolf, Marcum, Narveson?, Axford, Braddock?

 

Roenicke isn't going anywhere, dunno if any of the staff leaves

[MNBrew]

CF is fine with Nyjer, Gomez, Schaffer, and spot start from Hairston if needed. Kotsay probably won't be back.

 

I assume Mat Gamel will get his shot. I'm not sure if it's at 1B, LF, or RF tho.

I agree w/ your 1st point. But you really think Gamel might get a shot at LF? I beg to differ. There's no way the Brewers move Braun out of LF, and Gamel's only played a very small bit of RF, never LF.

 

Anyway....

 

- I think most if not all the pitching staff (K-Rod obviously excluded) could return.

- I think they'd do all they could to improve the defense at SS w/o totally killing the offense at SS. Failure to do that meaningfully might mean the return of Yuni, which would be rather concerning.

- Counsell's likely gone, & I'd love to see Hairston back in that super-utility role.

- McGehee's likely too valuable just to dismiss, plus he has little trade value, so I really want both him & Green on the team w/ both having an equal shot to start at 3B. The full-year presence of each on the bench makes this a stronger team than with Wilson & Counsell as the IF reserves.

- I like Hart's overally impact on the offense but I still think him at 1B & Gamel in RF may make as much or more sense than the reverse.

- On a related note, after Braun & Hart, only 3 of Nyjer, Gomez, Schafer, Gindl, & Kotsay are on next year's roster. And I'd be a little concerned if Schafer loses out to Kotsay.

- Of course, if Fielder goes elsewhere, it'd be a major coup (not to mention a serious pipe dream) to land Pujols at 1B.

[Mr QL]

lol Pujols on the Brewers tho, that's a funny thought. Maybe after all these years of admonishing our unclassy team, he secretly longs to be in a fun clubhouse like ours.

[Glennron]

I hope to God they don't trade Rickie. He still has tons of potential. And he's my favorite player. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

Trade Hart instead. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif Anything else I have to say is best put in the catharsis thread.

Crazy to think, but he'll by 30 next year so I don't think he has any potential left. I'd hope to god they'd explore trading him before Corey.

I've got to ask, but why the strong dislike for Rickie Weeks? I'm not

trying to call you out or anything, but I've literally never seen one

positive post from you about him, and most are negative. I don't really get it.

[RockCoCougars]

At least half a dozen of the guys who saw action tonight played likely their last game as a Brewer in my view:

 

Counsell- sure bet he's going to retire... 0% chance of returning

K-Rod - 1% chance he's back if either some weird stuff happens in arby or he finds low interest

Prince - I'll say 10% chance he's back, just to placate the optimist in me

Kotsay is probably 80% gone. My guess is he will retire as well

Yuni - probably 75% he doesn't return. They won't pick up that option, so he would have to leave money on the table. The Brewers have to give him two anyway, I can't see much more than that.

Hairston- probably a coin flip he comes back. The hot playoffs could get him a two year deal somewhere.

Kottaras- another coin flip, I could see the team picking up a vet catcher who can throw a little and call a good game considering the controversy about pitcher's being on the same page as Lucroy

 

Saito and Hawkins are probably each 50/50... though I doubt if both would come back. I'd prefer Saito, but he might be ready to go back to Japan. Hopefully, he had a good time here. Hawkins is probably more retainable on a one year deal.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see Loe and/or McGehee dealt ala Villy or just non tendered. The odds are probably both will be in Maryvale, but wouldn't be shocked to see it happen.

 

As for any surprise trade, I would be pretty surprised to see Hart, Weeks or Morgan moved. I could see them doing something with Gomez, but he probably doesn't have much value. I actually wouldn't be surprised to see them shop Marcum around a bit too.

 

That's my take.

[PlayerHader]

Bye Bye Yuni and Casey. Hart to 1b is interesting. I'd imagine he'd be at least average there, which is an upgrade over Prince defensively. I think Wolf (or possibly Marcum) gets traded. Improving our D makes our returning staff that much better. I wouldn't be excited, but wouldn't have issues with Marco Estrada going in as our #5. I like his stuff.

[Invader3K]

As far as I'm concerned, everyone except Braun and Gallardo should be available to trade. That isn't said out of anger...just reality that this team will have some holes to fill, especially if Fielder does leave. If you can get really good returns for guys like Weeks or Hart, you have to look at it.

[theavrock]

The only major moves I'd like to see made are to replace our SS and CF to shore up our DF.

 

I like Plush, but think his value is high right now and if we can turn that in to a GoGo who is a lefty (or hits righties competently) I'd love to see a slick fielding CF out there.

 

Along the same lines for SS. We need a slick fielding shortstop, whether thats a JHJ type player or a youngster I don't care, but I can't stand seeing another season with Yuni, we need a much better defender out there.

 

I think McGehee is gone and they replace him with Green.

 

I'd like to see the better OF defender of Hart/Gamel play RF and the other play 1st.

 

I think Counsell retires and replaced with JHJ who can spell the entire IF in a Bill Hall type role.

 

I's like to see KRod offered arby so we either get the picks or he comes back on a 1 year deal. Having Ax and him at the back of the bullpen is amazing. Not that I think Krod would take it. Would love to see both Hawk and Saito back, but I think one of the two and possibly both will retire. I don't want to see Dillard or Loe anywhere this team. Not sure how the pen shakes out but as long as Ax and 1-2 of our big boys are there I feel good about it seeing as how many innings our starters (who will all be back logged).

[JohnBriggs12]

Trade Greinke. He's nowhere near the dominant pitcher he was in 09. His career path looks more like Kevin Millwood than John Schmoltz. He'll likely be a decent innings eater going forward but his days of posting sub 3 ERA's are finished. In fact he'll struggle to get much below 4. He's going to want far more than he's worth. You won't get what the Brewers paid for him but he should be able to bring you a solid young major league ready or near ready arm.

[FVBrewerFan]

I agree with Invader. Nobody is untouchable other than Braun and Yo. I would add Axford to that short list. Beyond that, if you can get a fair trade for anyone else you have to at least strongly consider it.

 

Should be interesting to see if the Brewers are legit player for Reyes. Or if they even WANT to be a serious player.

 

Hart to 1B or traded, I'm all for that. Is Green athletic enough to make the transition to RF?

 

I loved what Morgan brought to the team, but one year is enough.

 

As usual, a big part of the hot stive league will be about what they do with the rotation. Could be anywhere from doing nothing at all to trading and combination of Greinke/Marcum/Wolf. I don't see a reason why Peralta wouldn't be in the rotation. If not in April, certainly before the All Star break.

[brewmann04]

It be very curious to see what the Brewers do at 1st base and RF as well as Third base.

I think we seen the end of Hawkins but curious to see if they keep Saito.

[rluzinski]

Trade Greinke. He's nowhere near the dominant pitcher he was in 09. His career path looks more like Kevin Millwood than John Schmoltz. He'll likely be a decent innings eater going forward but his days of posting sub 3 ERA's are finished.

The Brewers have to pay Greinke $13.5 mil next year and he's not even going to post a sub 3 ERA? Trade him!

Seriously though, my expectations were never even close to sub 3.

 

[Eddiehitsthefoulpole]

I am OK with Zach as an innings eater. We always seem to need those. If we move Hart to 1b he becomes a relatively unproductive player for his position. I am not for that move.

[wisniewski]

Greinke will be fine, it's Marcum that needs to go. I'd trade him for a 6 pack of Schlitz...and it wouldn't even have to be cold.

[umphrey]

I'm all for locking up short stop and rolling the dice with 1st base. My logic is that if we are in a similar spot next year it will probably be a lot easier to upgrade 1st base one way or another after the season has started.

 

We have a lot of positions that need money so I assume we'll have to be frugal.

Need:

3B (Hairston? Not McGehee)

SS

1B

Utility, new Craig Counsell

Bench bat, new Kotsay (or maybe just Kotsay again)

A bullpen besides Axford (Saito, KRod, Hawkins are all probably gone)

[FVBrewerFan]

Hart would not be unproductive for 1B. Coming off a .866 OPS season is plenty good enough. Better than Ryan Howard, as an example. Even if that number came down a bit, it would be productive.

 

The position players, line-up, etc. really revolve around Corey Hart. If he insists on playing RF and leading off, I would try to swing a trade. With Prince gone, he needs to embrace being in the middle of the line-up, or move on. Same thing on defense. I think he could play 1B, probably better than Prince if he's dedicated to making the transition.

 

A move to 1B would open the door for Green, Gindl, FA, just about anyone becomes an option. If they are "stuck" with him in RF, now you may have to shop for a 1B, or dedicate the position to Gamel. Then Green gets 3B. Casey better be serviceable at 1B, so he can back-up Gamel and Green at the corners, or he really brings no value. Then they need a SS regardless of all of the above. I would target whichever Mets SS you can get. Reyes, or if they re-sign him wouldn't mind Tejada at all.

[brewmann04]

I agree i keep Zach and try to move marcum and give his spot to one of the young arms @3A.

It would be nice if we can find a position players out of Minor leagues.