Should Jeff Bianchi be given a chance? Latest -- He Will! Bianchi to be added to 40-man, called up

[PrinceEatMeat]

They have nothing to lose playing him over the likes of Ransom or Izturis.

 

Agreed. They should just DFA one of them to make room for him on the 40-man. He should be playing now that he's getting called up. Don't see how he could be any worse than these guys. Gotta see what they have by playing him.

[yoyo49]

Was the 40-man at 39 or 40 before Bianchi's addition?

 

It's at 40, and he hasn't been added yet. A move will have to be made to add him.

 

Thanks. I thought it was at 40 before his addition, but the 40-man roster page notes 42 players, which includes Gamel, Gonzalez, and Narveson.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Was the 40-man at 39 or 40 before Bianchi's addition?

 

It's at 40, and he hasn't been added yet. A move will have to be made to add him.

 

Thanks. I thought it was at 40 before his addition, but the 40-man roster page notes 42 players, which includes Gamel, Gonzalez, and Narveson.

 

It's been messed up since the Maysonet confusion. Maysonet is on the 40-man, those 3 are on the 60-day DL. So it's at 40.

[djoctagone]

eric farris' days on the 40-man seem numbered.

[Bombers]

Awesome! Good luck Jeff! Make the most of it!

[pacopete4]

Just hit and never look back. If somehow Melvin after trading away Hardy and Escobar found a capable SS of the scrap heap, some of you may never be able to say a bad thing about him again haha

[Mass Haas]

Brewers about to have four waiver claims on active roster (Kottaras, Estrada, Ransom, Bianchi); during Daniel Ray Herrera's ultra-brief stay in 2011, they had five (Kottaras, Estrada, McGehee, Josh Wilson, and Herrera).

[chickinbrickin]

Bianchi has ZERO power. The guy has three homeruns in his last 778 plate appearances. He is sporting a BABIP this year of close to 400 and that won't continue. I completely agree that we can't do any worse than CI and CR, but I do not see anything to be exited about here.

[brewmann04]

I know Cody has shown a bit of Power but Jeff should move right into the starting lineup. We already seen what the others are capable of. Good luck Jeff make the most of it their an opening.

[TooLiveBrew]

Congrats to Jeff -- now best of luck on getting playing time ahead of Izturis, and to a lesser degree, Ransom. I want to believe RR will just turn over SS to Bianchi, but I can't bring myself to do so.

[pacopete4]

Congrats to Jeff -- now best of luck on getting playing time ahead of Izturis, and to a lesser degree, Ransom. I want to believe RR will just turn over SS to Bianchi, but I can't bring myself to do so.

 

http://m.jsonline.com/more/sports/blogs/brewers/162024415.htm

 

Good call. RR didn't even seem very positive about him coming up.

[TooLiveBrew]

Ugh, well I'm not happy that RR confirmed my fears so quickly. He just seems to be in love with Izturis, and I can't think of any justifiable reasons as to why.

[burnzy24]

Ugh, well I'm not happy that RR confirmed my fears so quickly. He just seems to be in love with Izturis, and I can't think of any justifiable reasons as to why.

 

Hopefully Doug will take things into his own hands and just release Izturis.

[wibadgers23]

I hope everybody is ready to watch Bianchi ride the pine. He'll be lucky to get one start a week.

[JohnBriggs12]

Absolutely ridiculous. Sit a 25 year old SS, in favor of a 36 year old who's hitting .186 and has fanned once every 2 ABs and a 32 year old who is struggling to maintain an OPS over .500?

 

Ok, so Bianchi is not a top prospect. But what else is there? They couldn't use a SS with say a .255/.305/.355 line instead of what they have (I guess not, look at what Maysonet did)? Maybe he could be better, but unless he plays how would we know? You'd think Fiers success would make them question their cautious approach to players that come up who weren't heralded.

 

I'd release both Ransom and Izturis, start Bianchi, and bring back Maysonet to be the backup.

[JohnBriggs12]

Ugh, well I'm not happy that RR confirmed my fears so quickly. He just seems to be in love with Izturis, and I can't think of any justifiable reasons as to why.

 

 

Roenicke was just as awful as a player himself. My guess is he relates to guys like that.

[wibadgers23]

Absolutely ridiculous. Sit a 25 year old SS, in favor of a 36 year old who's hitting .186 and has fanned once every 2 ABs and a 32 year old who is struggling to maintain an OPS over .500?

 

Ok, so Bianchi is not a top prospect. But what else is there? They couldn't use a SS with say a .255/.305/.355 line instead of what they have? Maybe he could be better, but unless he plays how would we know? You'd think Fiers success would make them question their cautious approach to players that come up who weren't heralded.

 

I'm not saying Bianchi should sit. I would love for him to start almost every game, but the Brewers MO the past few years is to play the veterans over the young guys, no matter how terrible that veteran might be.

[JohnBriggs12]

I know the Brewer MO is to favor veterans, but in this case in particular, it's very shortsighted. They need a SS beyond this year. We all agree on that. Doesn't it make sense to evaluate a guy like Bianchi over 250 major league AB's? If he performs well, maybe the need isn't as critical and resources could go elsewhere. If not, nothing's lost.

[torts]

Absolutely ridiculous. Sit a 25 year old SS, in favor of a 36 year old who's hitting .186 and has fanned once every 2 ABs and a 32 year old who is struggling to maintain an OPS over .500?

 

Ok, so Bianchi is not a top prospect. But what else is there? They couldn't use a SS with say a .255/.305/.355 line instead of what they have (I guess not, look at what Maysonet did)? Maybe he could be better, but unless he plays how would we know? You'd think Fiers success would make them question their cautious approach to players that come up who weren't heralded.

 

I'd release both Ransom and Izturis, start Bianchi, and bring back Maysonet to be the backup.

 

DM and RR have said that the next 9 games will determine if they buy or sell, so for the next 2 weeks, I can understand not starting a guy who has never played at the MLB level before for two guys who at least have hit the ball. It may not be much, but as we saw in Conrad, just because you can hit in AAA doesnt mean you can hit in the majors.

[joepepsi]

Ugh, well I'm not happy that RR confirmed my fears so quickly. He just seems to be in love with Izturis, and I can't think of any justifiable reasons as to why.

Managers never get fired for playing veterans. Or for using the designated closer in the 9th, whether he's an effective pitcher or not.

[jerichoholicninja]

I'm not sure why everyone is so excited. Like many have said, Jeff's not going to see the field much. Ransom and Izturis are the shortstops and will be until they both get hurt or traded/released.

[Mass Haas]

I'm not sure why everyone is so excited.

 

It's basically the new shiny bauble, making his big league debut thing. Always brings an additional edge to it -- I'm just hoping for better than Chris Barnwell production.

[brwrsfan]

Absolutely ridiculous. Sit a 25 year old SS, in favor of a 36 year old who's hitting .186 and has fanned once every 2 ABs and a 32 year old who is struggling to maintain an OPS over .500?

 

Ok, so Bianchi is not a top prospect. But what else is there? They couldn't use a SS with say a .255/.305/.355 line instead of what they have (I guess not, look at what Maysonet did)? Maybe he could be better, but unless he plays how would we know? You'd think Fiers success would make them question their cautious approach to players that come up who weren't heralded.

 

I'd release both Ransom and Izturis, start Bianchi, and bring back Maysonet to be the backup.

 

DM and RR have said that the next 9 games will determine if they buy or sell, so for the next 2 weeks, I can understand not starting a guy who has never played at the MLB level before for two guys who at least have hit the ball. It may not be much, but as we saw in Conrad, just because you can hit in AAA doesnt mean you can hit in the majors.

 

Then why call him up right now? Let him play down in AAA and continue to develop as a young player, then bring him up in 2 weeks.

[torts]

Absolutely ridiculous. Sit a 25 year old SS, in favor of a 36 year old who's hitting .186 and has fanned once every 2 ABs and a 32 year old who is struggling to maintain an OPS over .500?

 

Ok, so Bianchi is not a top prospect. But what else is there? They couldn't use a SS with say a .255/.305/.355 line instead of what they have (I guess not, look at what Maysonet did)? Maybe he could be better, but unless he plays how would we know? You'd think Fiers success would make them question their cautious approach to players that come up who weren't heralded.

 

I'd release both Ransom and Izturis, start Bianchi, and bring back Maysonet to be the backup.

 

DM and RR have said that the next 9 games will determine if they buy or sell, so for the next 2 weeks, I can understand not starting a guy who has never played at the MLB level before for two guys who at least have hit the ball. It may not be much, but as we saw in Conrad, just because you can hit in AAA doesnt mean you can hit in the majors.

 

Then why call him up right now? Let him play down in AAA and continue to develop as a young player, then bring him up in 2 weeks.

 

2 more weeks of AAA isnt going to develop him any further than he is currently. might as well let him start to see MLB innings and workouts now, and move him into a more steady position if he picks up on it.

[FVBrewerFan]

I'd release both Ransom and Izturis, start Bianchi, and bring back Maysonet to be the backup.

 

I agree. The only reason I can see keeping them around another couple weeks is possible trade bait. There are a few teams with injured middle IF, could be more in July. And since a lot of managers think like RR does, they may value a non-hitting vet like Izturis. Or a guy like Ransom who can play 2B/SS/3B. If Melvin can get anything at all for those guys, worth a shot. I don't think it's too far out there to suggest a contender may want a veteran backup SS with no bat.

 

Otherwise, I would definitely want to see Bianchi get a lot of playing time, and worth looking more at Maysonet as well. These are small things, but if they can take care of some of these bench positions with capable players at minimum salaries, it helps.

 

Next step, DFA the likes of Veras and Dillard for Kintzler, Henderson, Sanchez, Wooten, Stetter....anyone.