Brewers Bench

[Hammer715]

Anyone else worried about the lack of power or talent that the Brewers have for their bench in 2012. hopefully they is going to be some movement with personal, otherswise late game pinch hitting is in trouble.

[monty57]

I'd guess our bench will consist of:

 

Backup catcher: George Kottaras - good power & plate discipline

Utility IF: Izturis - switch hitter, but basically there for defense and to give Gonzalez some days off

Utility IF: Green - good bat. May start year in AAA

Platoon CF: Morgan/Gomez - Morgan makes a decent bat against RHP when he's not starting. Gomez is more of a defensive replacement / pinch runner, but he could be our primary RH bat off the bench if Green, Izturis and Gindl/Schafer make the team.

Corner OF: Depends on Braun / Aoki situation. If we sign Aoki and Braun is suspended, then I'd see Gindl/Schafer or a veteran RH corner OF filling this role

 

We still don't know what the bench will look like, but recent history would lead me to believe that Melvin will sign a RH veteran rather than having both Gindl/Schafer and Green on the bench. My biggest worry with the list above is that it is very LH heavy, and as we saw this past year, that can put us into bad match-ups late in the game. Katin could be on the roster as 5th OF, and he could help solve the need for a RH bat with power, but I'd bet on the Melvin's normal $800k veteran as a RH option either as a corner OF or as a backup 1B/3B.

[Baldkin]

Last year, their bench consisted of Counsell, Gomez, Kotsay, Kottaras and Wilson. I don't see how this years could be any *worse* with the bat than that bunch.

[TooLiveBrew]

Anyone else worried about the lack of power or talent that the Brewers have for their bench in 2012.

 

No. Right now the bench will be something like Kottaras/Green/Izturis/CF Platoon/Aoki. Sure there's no Branyan there to clobber homers, but Green will be a good pinch hitter, Kottaras will be serviceable (def. better than Kotsay), & I'd have to guess Aoki could hold his own, too. I think Green's power will actually surprise some fans.

[JohnBriggs12]

"Katin could be on the roster as 5th OF"

 

He's a minor league FA and not in Brewer system any longer.

 

Almonte will be back in camp as will Rivera as RH bench bat options. I doubt either makes team out of camp but you never know.

 

I would think Bill Hall actually would be a perfect option. He could play LF some in Braun's absence, and allow them to send Green down for some AB's once Braun returns.

 

Burrell or Gomes might be 2 other names worth considering.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I still don't understand why Melvin won't give Hall an NRI. I think he's worth a shot. He's a perfect bench player.

[reillymcshane]

Katin could be on the roster as 5th OF, and he could help solve the need for a RH bat with power,

Katin is out for the year. He had a meniscal transplant in his right knee.

 

http://www.jsonline.com/s...d-r53gh35-135902123.html

 

Notes about the injury are at the bottom of the article.

[monty57]

I didn't know Katin was out for the year, but I kind of put him in as a joke. I originally put "whipping boy" Katin, as I knew there was no chance of him being an option. I always liked him, but Melvin sure didn't seem to. It's too bad that he got hurt when he finally got a chance to go to a team that might use him.

 

-Hall as an NRI wouldn't be a bad idea. If nothing else, he could be minor league depth. I don't know how he is defensively these days, but he hits RH and plays multiple positions, so he's worth looking at. He hit well in Boston in 2010 before his awful year last season.

-I always thought Burrell was a lefty-killer, but three year splits have him OPSing .646 in 242 ABs vs LHP and .788 in 696 ABs vs RHP (.748 OPS overall). Still not a bad option if available - he made $1MM last year for San Fran.

-Gomes is more of a lefty-killer, OPSing .875 vs LHP and .729 vs RHP over the past three seasons (.776 overall OPS). He made $1,750,000 last season. He only had a .665 OPS last season, but still OPS'd .863 vs LHP.

 

Either Burrell or Gomes would be good 5th OF options if they could be had at the right price, and would accept a bench role.

[jerichoholicninja]

Why does everyone specifically ask about power on the bench? How about a guy that gets on base. That seems more important to me.

[brettac1]

I'd just be fine with a guy who could do one or the other instead of none of the above.

[pogokat]

i think i read that pat the bat had retired

[MNBrew]

There's still a decent power/speed guy out there in Johnny Damon.

 

Granted, he's older, he's a Boras client, he's a LH batter, and he may rather stay in the AL to be able to DH. But his combination of still-decent production & "veteran presence," not to mention that he pretty much fits the "proven winner" billing, would be just the right combination of factors our bench (theoretically) could use.

 

So you don't have to look it up: 150 GP, 647 PAs, .261 BA, .326 OBP, .418 SLG, .743 OPS, 29 2Bs, 7 3Bs, 16 HR & 73 RBI, 19/6 SB/CS -- and just turned 38 in November.

 

He may be the best available LF option if Braun's indeed suspended, & then either a Morgan/Gomez trade or a VERY deep OF is the result when Braun returns. Plus, then, there's still proven-starter coverage if one of the starting OFs goes down with injury (why does Hart come to mind? . . . anyway, meaning yes, finally, the Brewers would have a regular 4th starting-quality OF they haven't had in some time).

[RockCoCougars]

It's nice to have a power bat available to pinch hit representing the tying run. The Brewers haven't had anyone like this since Branyan, who coincidentally is available.

[brettac1]

I'm guessing Damon is going to wait until someone promises him a lot of playing time. He's got a very good chance at getting to 3000 hits in a couple seasons (he's at 2723 right now), and I'm sure he wants to chase that and solidify his Hall of Fame resume.

[TooLiveBrew]

Damon's also probably super-expensive for what production you actually get (remember he'd be a total negative on defense)

[Invader3K]

Damon made over $5 million last season, and will be 38 this year. I think he could be a fit for some club, but it's not the Brewers.

[monty57]

i think i read that pat the bat had retired

 

 

From an ESPN article dated November 10, 2011:

 

 

SAN FRANCISCO -- Pat Burrell's baseball career is likely over because of a troublesome right foot that hasn't healed and limited him this year for the Giants.

 

While Burrell said late in the season that he would contemplate retirement if he couldn't return to full strength, he now says that's probably the direction he is headed this winter -- though he has yet to make a final decision.

 

"I have not decided yet, but I don't think I can play anymore," Burrell said. "It hurts me to say that."

[brettac1]

I'd give Burrell a ST invite as long as he brings the machine/gimp costume to camp.

[Bnowell4evr]

I thought we would end up signing Jorge Cantu as a cheap backup 1B. Maybe Melvin has his eyes set on something bigger (Pena or Lee).

[Shootkick1000]

Brad Hawpe is apparently on the verge of signing a Minor League Deal with an invite. I think he makes perfect sense for the Crew. Power lefty bat, can play LF, RF, and 1B.Almost guaranteed to be better than Brad Nelson.

[brettac1]

I'd think that would be with an American League team, though.

[MNBrew]

I thought the we would end up signing Jorge Cantu as a cheap backup 1B. Maybe Melvin has his eyes set on something bigger (Pena or Lee).

I think that's why we signed Ishikawa to a minor-league deal.

 

Damon's probably not the right fit, circumstance-wise, for reasons noted. But that'd be the type of production it'd be worth paying a bit more to get. If Damon plays the first 50 games in LF, then play 1-2x/wk in the OF and 1-2x/wk at 1B before you account for potential injuries, that would be worth paying for IF he'd come to MIL under those circumstances.

 

It does bear noting that at different times, Morgan, Gomez, Braun, & Hart all missed some time for injuries, with all but Braun spending time on the DL (Gomez & Morgan twice each, IIRC).

 

... Of course that would screw Logan Schaefer or Gindl, but Damon is at the stage of only 1-year deals anyway.... And if someone gets desperate for a closer and gives us a good return for K-Rod, Damon's salary wouldn't be an issue of concern.

 

All that said, I know Damon's not a realistic target unless he decides he'd be interested in playing for MIL. But my point is that there is a case to be made for signing a player like him -- far more so than a Mark Kotsay type -- a 4th starter rather than just a veteran bench guy/spot starter.

[Bnowell4evr]

I thought the we would end up signing Jorge Cantu as a cheap backup 1B. Maybe Melvin has his eyes set on something bigger (Pena or Lee).

I think that's why we signed Ishikawa to a minor-league deal.

 

Damon's probably not the right fit, circumstance-wise, for reasons noted. But that'd be the type of production it'd be worth paying a bit more to get. If Damon plays the first 50 games in LF, then play 1-2x/wk in the OF and 1-2x/wk at 1B before you account for potential injuries, that would be worth paying for IF he'd come to MIL under those circumstances.

 

... Of course that would screw Logan Schaefer or Gindl, but Damon is at the stage of only 1-year deals anyway.... And if someone gets desperate for a closer and gives us a good return for K-Rod, Damon's salary wouldn't be an issue of concern.

I see us signing Aoki so Damon would be overkill with all the LH bats we already have (Gamel, Aoki, Ishikawa, Green, Schafer and Gindl). If Melvin adds anyone you have to figure it would be a RH bat who could ideally play both 1B and LF.

Its probably a situation where the first one of these guys to agree to play for 800K gets the job.

Jeff Keppinger

Xavier Nady

Chris Snyder

Conor Jackson

Jonny Gomes

Marcus Thames

[MNBrew]

I'd like to see Aoki signed b/c that would mean Melvin & Co. see him as that strong of an asset. But he doesn't workout until this weekend, and any negotiations would come thereafter. I just won't count my Aoki chickens 'til they've signed on the dotted line.

[TooLiveBrew]

Brad Hawpe is apparently on the verge of signing a Minor League Deal with an invite. I think he makes perfect sense for the Crew. Power lefty bat, can play LF, RF, and 1B.Almost guaranteed to be better than Brad Nelson.

So if the rumor of three teams being interested in him is true, the Rockies would have to be one, right? And the Rangers' beat writer posted that the Rangers are one of the other two teams. I agree with Invader that an AL team would make sense for Hawpe, but he could be a good fit for a team like the '12 Brewers, too. I won't wring my hands on this one, seems like there are plenty of guys for this kind of role each offseason.