Casey McGehee traded to Pirates for reliever Jose Veras [Latest: Veras headed for arby hearing]

[Bernman23]

Wow, Pirates fans HATED Veras, to a man they stated Veras was expected to be non-tendered.....Oh, and if anyone feels a need t hate Pirate fans, here is some fodder via their Braun thread

 

http://www.pittsburghspor...&t=8034&start=10

As for the trade, hard to see how anyone would be against the move. We saved some needed salary. Veras looks to be a competent reliever at the very least. Lastly, with Casey gone, he won't be around for Roenicke to take at bats away from Gamel if Matt doesn't start out hot.

El Dude, there was a sizable contingent here that griped about the Morgan acquisition when history indicated he would be a significant upgrade over Carlos Gomez, and didn't cost the team anything salary or player wise. It just goes to show some posters here will fixate on the downside of just about every move.

 

Sure, there are some risks involved w/ both the moves announced today, as there are with any you make, but it's hard not to see the positives outweighing the negatives for the Crew.

 

McGehee - clears unnecessary salary, there's a much greater sample to indicate last year was closest to the player he was, ensures that our veteran biased manager won't favor him regardless of how poor he plays, and got a decent reliever (which we needed) who has posted a sub 4 ERA each of the last two seasons.

 

Ramirez - helps pick up some of the slack for the losses of both Fielder and Braun, will prevent teams from walking Braun as frequently when he returns, same suspect defensive player as McGehee but enormous upgrade offensively (wouldn't we have taken that last year?), and is making a substantial salary but a third of what Reyes received and a fifth of what Fielder will so the risk was limited as it should be for a market like Milwaukee.

 

They were both very logical moves for the Crew.

[RockCoCougars]

So, what is the status with Loe? I'm assuming that the Brewers are unwilling to give him $3 million in arby so they are probably trying to negotiate a deal with him. My guess is that those talks aren't going well, so Veras is the replacement. These moves look like salary dumps to me. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't pay either of Loe/McGehee what they would get in arby either.

[DHonks]

I'd consider Loe the weak link in the pen. If his price is too high, then we should let him go

[gregmag]

I like it. McGehee was completely superfluous for us with the Ramirez acquisition. We need some supporting players -- a couple of bullpen arms, backup IF, backup OF. Veras fits nicely in the middle of the pen. He definitely seems to have thrived from the switch in leagues after 2009.

 

Despite feeling lukewarm about the Ramirez move, I'm generally happy with the way the infield picture is coming together. Green should still get quite a bit of PT. Gamel looks like our 1b starter. We have a decent defender where it matters most. DM has proved that he was paying attention while Casey and Yuni were stinking up the league.

 

That said, 2012 is a new year, and I would love to see Casey come back strong. He had a couple of nice years and then a really tough ride last year. Best of luck to him.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Good luck Casey...I'm not sure if Pittsburgh is getting a good bat like '09 & '10 or the one he had last year, but they are getting a great guy. I hope the little guy likes Pittsburgh too.

[JET15]

Interesting math for 2012:
Casey McGehee + Yuni Betancourt + Prince Fielder = 6.3 WAR
Aramis Ramiez (3.6 WAR in 2011) + Alex Gonzalez (1.1 WAR in 2011) + Mat Gamel (estimated at 1.5 WAR) = 6.2 WAR

I like it...

 

and good luck to McGehee

[hawing]

Good luck Casey...I'm not sure if Pittsburgh is getting a good bat like '09 & '10 or the one he had last year, but they are getting a great guy. I hope the little guy likes Pittsburgh too.

Just to represent the XX chromosomes, let's not forget that the McGehee family also has a daughter - who may have lacked the kid fame of her big brother, but has a pretty nifty first name (Cooper).

[Shootkick1000]

I'll miss Casey. Prolonged slump nonwithstanding, I was looking forward to having him as a veteran power bat off of the bench. The lack of experience off of the bench at this point scares the crap out of me. This buried us last year. We need at least one (perhaps two) outfielders, and someone who back up at SS/2B. I presume Taylor Green will be with the team for 2012 in a reserve role. And no, Doug, Travis Ishikawa isn't benchworthy.

[TooLiveBrew]

Lack of talent on the bench was the fatal flaw last season, not experience. Gomez/Kotsay/Counsell had plenty of experience.

[Shootkick1000]

You're correct. I should probably sleep. But the way this day is going, I'm afraid I'll miss at least two more transactions.

 

Still concerned about viable power off the bench, but that's for another thread.

 

Good luck, Casey.

[TooLiveBrew]

I'm concerned too about the lack of power. Check out the Luke Scott thread in the Transactions forum, that topic's kinda being discussed there.

[sargennm]

Take care, Casey and family. You guys rock.

Agreed -- all the best to Casey & his crew. Decent buy-low guy for the Bucs.

I've got to say that I think this is a great trade for the Pirates. Casey was outstanding at the plate in 2009 and 2010 - I would happily give up a 31 year old right-handed short reliever with a a career ERA of 4.11 to take a chance that Casey's bat is what we saw in 2009 and 2010. I think this is an OK trade for the Brewers but I would have been a lot more comfortable had Veras been left-handed. I guess that's a sign of just how bad the market was for Casey.

I'm glad that the Brewers are on the other side of these trades now instead of taking on guys that they hope will bounce back.

[valpocrewsader]

It sounds harsh, but glad to have McGehee out the door. What misery it was suffering through his 2011 season.

 

Getting something back vs non-tendering only matters if the return player turns out to help the team. If Veras is a flop and costs us games, we'll wish we had just non-tendered Casey and filled Veras' spot with either a better, more expensive player or a cheaper, equally crappy player. Guess we won't know until he's given the ball a number of times. I hope the team takes a hard look at Veras in spring training and isn't afraid to cut him to save paying a majority of his salary.

[PrinceEatMeat]

McGehee was a great guy and a great story for awhile, but it was time to move on. He didn't serve much purpose on this roster once Ramirez was signed. Glad we got a nice arm for the pen in Veras for him.

[MVP2110]

I like the move. obviously Mcgehee has a shot to bounce back, but IMO his previous track record shows hell never be that 100 rbi guy again. I like Veras and would like him to take the 7th inning role when needed.

[PrinceEatMeat]

PNC Park is a terrible park for McGehee to hit in, which won't help him.

[Schlitz001]

Between Braun's test, Greinke's agent and 3 years of A-Ram, this news makes me the happy. I love Casey like the rest of you and wish him well, but there was just too much going on at 3rd base and I can't really see McGehee in for much of a bounce back season. Veras is someone and that's usually better than no one.

[madtowndrunkard]

I don't see this as a good move at all.

 

Veras's career numbers say he's an average RP. He had the best season of his career last year with the Pirates. McGehee had the worst season of his career. If both players go back to their average we will regret this deal.

 

Does this mean we are still looking for a 1st basemen? I would assume so. You can't just hand the job to Gamel. You have to have a legit bat to compete with Gamel. I thought McGehee was a solid option to platoon at 1st. The FA market sucks for 1st basemen. Can a trade happen? I don't see us really having any good players to sell, unless we deal Grienke or Marcum.

[brewmann04]

I think you might see a cheap veteran 1st baseman added.

[PrinceFielderx1]

I could see Gamel and Green used as trade bait now that the Brewers got Aramis Ramirez. Perhaps for a 1B man. DM said a couple weeks ago that they didn't have anybody to trade without creating another hole, and I suspect that changed with the Aramis Ramirez signing, and the fact that they are looking around at other 1B besides Gamel.

[RightFieldCoder]

I had no hatred for McGehee, but hated his 2011 play. I knew it wasn't because he wasn't trying.

 

Some interesting (to me at least) tidbits:

McGehee had a .283/.333/.565 line against the Bucs in 2011. He OPS less than .682 every other season against them.

 

This is the second time McGehee has been moved off one NL Central team to another because the first team had ARam.

 

McGehee and ARam have each been on the same 3 teams in their ML careers.

[joshua502000]

Thank you Casey for representing the Brewers the past few years! I found you to be a good guy to root for! I am sorry about the down year you had last year, I felt for you and your family having to hear the stuff being said. Thanks for the few games like the one against St Louis last year! Good Luck playing for the Pirates!

Now on the business side of things, our lineup can not afford to have another year like that from our 3rd baseman with Prince most likely being gone. We have received a bullpen arm that may or may not help us. Worst thing is that we find someone during spring training that makes the team leading us to cut Veras, best thing could be we have a relief pitcher with some major league exp. I have no idea how much it would cost the team if they cut Veras + his rosters replacement salary vs. releasing Casey + his rosters spot replacement salary vs just keeping Casey.

I hope Veras has a career year!

[BritInWI]

Agreed -- all the best to Casey & his crew. Decent buy-low guy for the Bucs.

I've got to say that I think this is a great trade for the Pirates. Casey was outstanding at the plate in 2009 and 2010 - I would happily give up a 31 year old right-handed short reliever with a a career ERA of 4.11 to take a chance that Casey's bat is what we saw in 2009 and 2010. I think this is an OK trade for the Brewers but I would have been a lot more comfortable had Veras been left-handed. I guess that's a sign of just how bad the market was for Casey.

I'm glad that the Brewers are on the other side of these trades now instead of taking on guys that they hope will bounce back.

That's a fair enough point. I'm just unimpressed by the return - considering what the Pirates gave up, and that Casey's not likely to break the bank in arbitration after last season, I don't think they're taking much of a risk.

[joepepsi]

I think you might see a cheap veteran 1st baseman added.

Didn't they sign Travis Ishikawa to a minor league deal the other day? LH PH with good 1B defense.

 

Good luck Casey. Few players get the chance to prove their worth in the majors. You grabbed your chance, played better than anyone could have expected, and now have great MLB stories to remember and share with the grandkids. Awesome job.

[derflotr]

All the best to Casey. Definitely left a mark on the fanbase.

 

I'm having trouble getting on board with how they resolved the 3B situation. McGehee is not as bad of an offensive player as he was last year. He got caught in a mental rut and never pried himself out of it. I'm not familiar with Jose Veras, but based on his statistics I don't expect anything spectacular out of him. Coming from a GM whose strong suit is finding diamond-in-the-rough type RP via free agency, trading an asset like McGehee to get an average one disappoints me. I didn't expect Melvin to get much more for Casey, but that's what happens when you sell at an absolute low. I fully expect him to rebound, though PNC will likely suppress his power numbers.

 

Now they're paying Ramirez ~12 mil/year to hopefully remain elite offensively as he ages, while a potentially valuable player in Taylor Green either rides the bench or is traded. I view Taylor as a left-handed version of the good Casey McGehee - an all-fields kind of hitter with a bit of pop, average defense. Instead of paying him to do that at league minimum, the Brewers elect to once again push the fiscal envelope for proven production from Aramis Ramirez.

 

On one hand, I'm happy that Mat Gamel is really going to get a shot at an everyday job, and this move cements it. He deserves it. But I think a McGehee/Green/Gamel 1B/3B rotation would've been pretty productive for the cost, and the Brewers would've had the tools to commit to more franchise-type players for the long term. I have to believe Taylor Green trade rumors will start popping up considering the season he had last year, the Brewers' unquenchable desire for proven talent, and the fact that his long-term future here was just extinguished.