Aramis Ramirez

[BrycePecore]

I think it's gonna be either Ramirez or Rollins, and that'll be it. If it's Ramirez, someone like Gonzalez will be signed to man SS.

If this is the case then I want Rollins at SS and am willing to roll the dice with Gamel and Green at the corners. But i still think Mark A. and DM have bigger plans in store.

[PrinceFielderx1]

I think it's gonna be either Ramirez or Rollins, and that'll be it. If it's Ramirez, someone like Gonzalez will be signed to man SS.

But I still think Mark A. and DM have bigger plans in store.

I'm getting that sense also.

[brewmann04]

if they sign Raminez you can really bet that Yuni will be back manning the SS position.

[MNBrew]

I think it's gonna be either Ramirez or Rollins, and that'll be it. If it's Ramirez, someone like Gonzalez will be signed to man SS.

If this is the case then I want Rollins at SS and am willing to roll the dice with Gamel and Green at the corners. But i still think Mark A. and DM have bigger plans in store.

Bryce, your plan is what I've been saying all along. I'd be all over Rollins at SS & Green/McGehee/Gamel manning the 2 corner IF spots. If they're going to spend anything on starting position players on the FA market, this seems by far the most efficient & effective way of doing so.

 

When we already have good assets for 1B & 3B (though Green & Gamel basically are unproven, and yes, I'm still considering McGehee a potentially good asset), I just don't see even the most remote why you'd spend more money on 3B for what could only be a minimal upgrade UNLESS there are other & much better dominoes waiting to fall.

 

*I also feel it's quite worth bumping the dollars a bit if necessary and going 2 yrs. w/ a potential 3rd-yr. option to re-sign Hairston to be the veteran presence & hugely valuable super-utility guy. Then we've got good & proven insurance at 3B & several other positions, too.

[bucksman4]

I think we'll see Ramirez in a Brewers uniform by week's end. I'd be happy with that upgrade at 3B and take my chances with Gamel at 1B full-time. I am more concerned about SS because all indications have Betancourt coming back (I'd guess on a 1-yr deal). Melvin seems to be going out of his way to "sell" Yuni to the fans proclaiming he's not "as bad as most people make him out to be"...great salespitch, Doug. I will be very, very disappointed if he's the best they can come up with in FA.

[Oldcity]

If it's Rollins or Ramirez for similar price/length, I'd take Rollins in a heartbeat, and I don't want Rollins at all.

 

Shortstop is a much bigger need. There really isn't any need at third. Give it to Green. They need more left-handed hitters, anyway.

 

I'd much rather see their only free agent infield signing be someone like Alex Gonzalez than spend this kind of money on infielders who are well past their prime.

 

They shouldn't sign a third baseman at all, and no free agent shortstop should get more than two years. They're all too old.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Melvin seemed pretty adamant about not trading a starting pitcher, so if we do add Ramirez and either Rollins or Furcal, I would guess they will just add on to the payroll. I just don't see that happening. Never know though. If they were willing to spend on Prince, maybe they'll spend to fill spots at two areas instead. Can't rule anything out.

[JohnBriggs12]

Astros have said they'd eat most of Carlos Lee's salary to facilitate a trade. I'd rather have one year of Carlos Lee at $5-6 million than double that per year for multiple years of Ramirez assuming the Astros will take a middling prospect and pay 2/3 of his salary.

[craigharmann]

Astros have said they'd eat most of Carlos Lee's salary to facilitate a trade. I'd rather have one year of Carlos Lee at $5-6 million than double that per year for multiple years of Ramirez assuming the Astros will take a middling prospect and pay 2/3 of his salary.

I saw that and thought about it. Or what a formidable middle of the order in Braun, Lee and ARam....I'd be interested in signing ARam and trading for Lee. It would be fun to hear Uke make horse noises when Lee hits a homer again.

[JohnBriggs12]

Astros have said they'd eat most of Carlos Lee's salary to facilitate a trade. I'd rather have one year of Carlos Lee at $5-6 million than double that per year for multiple years of Ramirez assuming the Astros will take a middling prospect and pay 2/3 of his salary.

I saw that and thought about it. Or what a formidable middle of the order in Braun, Lee and ARam....I'd be interested in signing ARam and trading for Lee. It would be fun to hear Uke make horse noises when Lee hits a homer again.

Lee crushed lefties last year to the tune of .348/.413/.615. Yes $6 million is a lot for a platoon player but it's not a lot to pay $6.5 million for a 1B platoon of Gamel and Lee that would figure to be pretty potent.

[reillymcshane]

The team is already committed around $70 million to players with contracts and due arby raises. How much does that leave. I think it's better to spread out the resources. But if you sign ARam to a big deal, you severely limit options for the rest of the team.

 

Which of the following would you want?

 

OPTION 1

 

Ramirez - $12.0 million

Gamel - .5

SS (Yuni, Gonzalez?) - 2.0

Relief Pitcher - .5

Relief Pitcher - .5

Hairston - 2.5

TOTAL: $16 million

 

OPTION 2

 

Green - .5

Gamel - .5

Furcal - 7.5

Hairston - 2.5

Saito - 2.5

Hawkins - 2.5

TOTAL: $16 million

 

I've rounded salaries to the nearest half million. And I've guessed on players salaries. Finally, you can swap out certain players - example, instead of Saito you could get a different reliever. I've just put in our own guys in the hope we could bring them back at a salary around what I've listed.

 

Essentially, it comes down to Furcal, Green and two veteran relievers or Ramirez, Yuni/Gonzalez and two rookies/minimum relievers.

 

I should point out adding A-Ram makes the starting lineup very righthanded. Only Gamel at 1B would be lefthanded. Also, A-Ram would require the commitment for several years - probably three. I think Furcal could be had on a two year deal.

[JohnBriggs12]

"A-Ram makes the lineup very righthanded"

 

Assuming he plays 3rd, it would be no more righthanded than it's been the last several years. My problem is his cost in dollars and years vs. his age. Guys at his age making $10 or more million per year over multiple years tend to underperform their contracts and be impossible to deal. I have essentially the same problem paying Furcal or even Rollins (who'd command even more) that much too unless it's just for one year. That's why I'd rather deal for one year of Carlos Lee, and platoon him at 1B with Gamel and let Green and McGehee fight it out at 3B and bring back Yuni, who by the way is probably worth more like $3-3.5 million than $2 million.

[reillymcshane]

Yuni, who by the way is probably worth more like $3-3.5 million than $2 million.

I'm betting Yuni gets a one year deal between $1-2 million, John. Just my guess.

[YoungGeezy]

Yuni, who by the way is probably worth more like $3-3.5 million than $2 million.

I'm betting Yuni gets a one year deal between $1-2 million, John. Just my guess.

Briggs is right. Baseball prices are WAY to inflated for Yuni to be only 2 million. A guy who is not very good in his first or second year of Arby makes that. Yuni will cost at least 3 million unless no team even talks to him.

 

 

[MNBrew]

Suggesting Yuni's only going to get between $1-2M is projecting way too much of your own valuation of Yuni into the situation and ignoring both his actual performance (in other words, including his overall offensive production, not just all the times when he'd pop out on the first pitch) and the stupid money that always gets doled out to FAs, of which Yuni is one.

[brewmann04]

We are going to get both Yuni and Casey back for the 2012 season and hope they have turnaround seasons.

[PrinceEatMeat]

It's starting to look like the Phillies might nab Ramirez and trade Polanco. If this happens, it may just make us the front runners for Rollins. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I guess it depends on the contract. Although, I do think their interest in Ramirez is partially to get Rollins to back down from his demands and stay in Philly. I really do think Ramirez would prefer to play for Milwaukee, because he wants to keep his family in Chicago. We'll see I guess.

[brewmann04]

I will take either one and if they get the 3rd baseman will they have any cash for a SS

[paul253]

I'd probably prefer Rollins over Ramirez and would be willing to go 4 years on a deal. I'd like to see Green at third, Gamel at first, and McGehee backing them both up. My lineup would be something like this:

 

1) Morgan

2) Rollins

3) Braun

4) Weeks

5) Hart

6) Gamel

7) Lucroy

8) Green

 

It's a shame we couldn't get Hairston back because he was just an ideal player. We need someone to fill that void, someone who can play shortstop once a week to keep Rollins fresh.

[Hate those Rodents]

Mark DeRosa may be our new utility guy, though I don't think he can play any ss.

[BREWCREW5]

They should for sure offer DeRosa a minor league deal. Apparently he is healthy now.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I heard that the Brewers were one of the teams interested in DeRosa, so it could definitely happen.

[paul253]

There is also an in house candidate in Eric Farris, who can play second and in a pinch, shortstop. I just don't know if he is good enough of a hitter to justify being the backup to shortstop, especially if we sign an older shortstop who needs off a day or two every week.

[reillymcshane]

Suggesting Yuni's only going to get between $1-2M is projecting way too much of your own valuation of Yuni into the situation and ignoring both his actual performance (in other words, including his overall offensive production, not just all the times when he'd pop out on the first pitch) and the stupid money that always gets doled out to FAs, of which Yuni is one.

No, I'm looking at Yuni's offensive production, defensive production, his skill set, his age, his past performance, starting positions available, and contracts given out to other players of his type.

 

Let's start with SS positions available:

 

Red Sox - Scutero, Lowrie

Yankees - Jeter

Rays - Sean Rodriguez

O's - Hardy

Toronto - Escobar

 

White Sox - Ramirez

Indians - Cabrera

Detroit - Peralta

Minnesota - Carroll

KC - Escobar

 

Rangers - Andrus

Angels - Aybar

Mariners - Ryan

A's - Pennington

 

Mets - Tejada

Marlins - Reyes

Braves - OPEN

Phillies - OPEN

Nats - Desmond

 

Reds - Zack Cozart (rookie)

Brewers - OPEN

Cubs - Castro

Cards - OPEN

Astros - OPEN

 

Rockies - Tulo

Dodgers - Hairston, Gordon, Uribe

Giants - OPEN

Padres - Bartlett

Dbacks - Drew

 

That makes 6 open SS spots in the majors. Five of those teams have definite playoff aspirations (not Houston).

 

You can figure Furcal and Rollins will get two of them, leaving four open spots. Who's left after that?

 

Yuni, Ronny Cedeno, Alex Gonzalez, Orlando Cabrera. Miguel Tejada. Maybe Nakijima - from Japan. And we are not including any younger players that might end up with jobs (other than the Reds guy). Or a player that might get traded (like Alexi Casilla).

 

It's like a bad game of musical chairs where the last team standing gets the junk.

 

But it's a buyer's market at this point. None of these guys offer any appreciable upgrade over the other. All of these players have massive warts. Some can't field. Some can't hit. Some can't do either. None of them do anything really good (which is why Barmes got a good deal even though he hits like Yuni - he's a very good fielder).

 

Why pay Yuni or any of these guys $3-4 million when you get an equally bad guy for far less?

 

Now, Yuni has some selling points. He's durable (which is a nice attribute that people often dismiss), he's still relatively young (age 30 - which is young compared to a lot of the other players), and he has some power relative to the position.

 

But he's a terrible fielder with bad range. He can't hit for average or take walks, meaning he has a terrible OBP. At 30, he's not going to change. He is what he is - a .250ish average a .270-280ish OBP, and a bad fielder. A good half of hitting in 2011 can't negate a career of mediocrity, no matter how much you want to hope. Also, he's not shown the ability to be versatile. This doesn't mean he can't do it, but he isn't like Hairston or Carroll. He doesn't play 3B, 2B, SS, OF. People pay for that ability (as shown this year) - something Yuni hasn't ever shown the ability to do (again, not his fault).

 

Yuni is a starting shortstop. That's it. He has four job options (after Rollins and Furcal).

 

So you look at the teams - Brewers, Cardinals, Giants, Atlanta, Houston and Phils.

 

I doubt Houston will spend anything big. They are going to stink and should, logically, go cheap. So even if they want Yuni, it makes no sense to spend much on him. They can just wait out everyone and get the scraps for cheap.

 

The Cardinals aren't going to want Yuni. They learned their lesson with Theriot. His defense was so bad they went out and got Furcal.

 

The Braves are looking to upgrade from Gonzalaz - who's a better fielding version of Yuni (but older). So it's unlikely they'll want him.

 

The Phils - probably will get Rollins back - but you never know.

 

The teams I see as possibilities are the Brewers and Giants. The others are probably not going to be interested.

 

I just don't see anyone thinking they need to shell out any decent cash for Yuni with the limited market. The teams hold the cards at this phase. They can just pick a different SS who plays for cheaper rather than pay too much for Yuni. This happens every year. The market dries up as the teams fill their needs with the available players. Then it's interchangeable guys.

 

This happened to Orlando Cabrera last year. He settled for a one year, $1 million deal when no spots were left.

 

This doesn't mean some GM won't go and offer Yuni $3 million. They can be idiots and look at one stat - such as RBI and assume he did good - and ignore all the other metrics and scouting reports.

 

It only takes one person, but I think Yuni will be left out of any big bucks. I think he has a good chance to get a starting job. I just don't think anyone will be forced to pay him much for it.

 

If he doesn't get a starting gig, I wouldn't be surprised if a team signs him to play caddie to a younger guy - and be ready to step in if the guy fails.

 

Just my opinion.

[brewmann04]

The brewers need to find a cheap utility player and Bullpen guy and use the Bigger money for a Big Bat to protect Ryan and get a find a Defensive SS.