And if we are Buyers....?

[3and2Fastball]

Most of these threads have been about the Brewers being sellers. If they win the series vs the Reds, then MA & DM could very likely decide to be buyers....

 

I'm interested in which players the Brewers might likely be targeting if they are buyers. One would think that they'd be after a SS and a pitcher.

 

As crazy as it sounds, even to me as I type this, if the Brewers trade for Cole Hamels and Yunel Escobar, is that enough to put them in the World Series race?

 

If it looks like Greinke won't sign an extension, I could really see Mark A then deciding that they need to go "all in" this season with the Greinke window closing. *Please note, this is not what I'm advocating, I would trade Greinke for prospects and reload....

 

What would it take to get Hamels? I would imagine it'd be pretty ugly in terms of a hit to our depleted farm. Fiers & Thornburg & Gennett? With Utley in a big decline likely, the Phillies would have interest in Gennett. I really hope I'm wrong about this one btw

 

Garza & Dempster are other pitchers the Brewers might go after....

[paul253]

If the Brewers trade for Hamels and Escobar I will call for Melvin to be fired. They are just finally starting to recover from all the other trades that gutted their farm system and they still have a long ways to go. Trading for Hamels will probably require Peralta/Thornburg plus Gennett and someone else. Trading for Escobar would probably require another pitcher (Jungmann/Bradley) and then some. As much as I'd like to see the Brewers win the Series (and trading for Hamels and Escobar doesn't even guarantee that) I am unwilling to trade something like Peralta Gennett Thornburg Jungmann and others to try to get there. Even if the Brewers become buyers I think the only positions they should upgrade would be SS and relief pitching. And I would not include any of the following players in a deal: Peralta, Thornburg, Jungmann, Bradley, Nelson, Gennett, Khris Davis, Gindl or Schafer. That doesn't leave a whole lot. Forget the all in. We tried that last year and it got us to the NLCS. We don't need to set the franchise back 5 more years to try to make one more playoff run. If we make trades I want it to be to improve the future. I am willing to give up the present to achieve that goal.

[monty57]

On the plus side, it would make missing the Brewer games over the next five or six years so I can watch my son's little league games a lot easier.

 

I agree with Paul that if we do decide to be "buyers" this season it will be more along the lines of Komatsu-for-Hairston type trades than it would be an our-farm-system-for-Hamels trade.

 

I would rather sell, but if Marcum can't be traded due to injury and Greinke's value drops significantly due to "battery recharge," then we may just end up playing out the year with what we have. I don't like that we'll lose Greinke, Marcum, K-Rod, etc and end up getting one draft pick in return, but I won't be overly surprised if it happens. If that is the case, then we may make minor moves to pick up a bullpen arm or something.

[brewmann04]

What about a combo of Buying and Selling to improve the team possible?

[igor67]

Find a reliable reliever, that could be someone from the minors or involve just a mid range prospect. I don't mind a modest investment of talent in this season if the team keeps rolling. Despite the 'gutting' you can't take the players Melvin traded away and put a better Brewer team out there right now, and unless Lawrie or Odorizzi breaks out in a big way it will have never been possible.

[fondybrewfan]

I would like a bullpen piece added but only if he is controlled for atleast 2013. Always have to improve the team regardless of if the Brewers can make the playoffs this year. Relievers almost never cost elite prospects; might have to take a somewhat crappy contract back though

[PrinceEatMeat]

I don't see any way Melvin becomes a buyer. He'll either sell to some extent or stand pat. Maybe a minor move or two, but nothing major at all that would designate the Brewers as buyers.

[ninja33]

If they do go on a run and decide to become buyers, I really don't think they'll make a huge splash for a guy like Hamels or any rental. I think they make smaller trades to shore up the bullpen/bench and try to avoid dealing any of their best prospects. Escobar is appealing because he fills a need for this season, and is very reasonably controlled through 2015. He has his own thread where this has been discussed....but if the Brewers are going to trade off prospects and buy, he's a good guy to target for that reason. I think it would take a lot to get him though.

 

 

Another idea as far as SS (though this is a rental) would be Marco Scutaro. The Rockies aren't going anywhere this season, so he's definitely available. He's a career .270/.340/.390 hitter and plays an average SS. Lots of teams could be buying and need infielders so the price might get a little too high for a rental, but he's a guy to look at if the Brewers get hot and decide to buy.

[JohnBriggs12]

Rockies actually have 2 guys the Brewers could use, Scutaro and Matt Belisle. It might take a little more than the Brewers are willing to pay to get both as Belisle is signed (decent value) through next year. Colorado's starting pitching is a real mess. It might take a Rogers and say Farris. With Peralta, Nelson, Burgos all at AA or higher and Thornburg, Estrada, and Fiers all cheap starting options, maybe solidifying the pen the rest of this year and next with Belisle might be worth a Rogers who's value goes up and down and now may be up.

 

Toronto's close enough in the AL wild card, that I doubt they'd deal Escobar until after the season.

[trwi7]

Scutaro is a rental and isn't hitting that great and why not just use Rogers if we're trading him for a bullpen arm? Farris has no value.

[JohnBriggs12]

Scutaro is a rental and isn't hitting that great and why not just use Rogers if we're trading him for a bullpen arm? Farris has no value.

 

The title of this thread "If we are Buyers". Rogers is still a guy with talent but questions.

 

You think if the Brewer thought Rogers were capable of a 2.20 ERA pitching in a set up role, he'd be starting now at Nashville with the Brewer bullpen woes? It's possible but not something you'd try in the heat of a race (the premise for this thread) given Rogers career long control issues. Belisle is capable of stepping into a late inning role right now in pennant race and addressing a pressing need for now and also one that needs to be addressed prior to next season. A month ago Rogers was barely holding on to a 40 man spot. He's gained some value with some good starts. Belisle isn't a bad return at this point for Rogers. Maybe it's time to take advantage before he has a couple clunkers at Nashville.

 

Farris has speed and has played OF, which in Colorado with a big outfield and a hole at 2B might be of some perceived utility value which should be enough for Scutaro, who as you point out hasn't produced much. Colorado also would get some salary relief. But I just threw Farris name out there. Maybe make it Green and Rogers and get Colorado to add another prospect to even it out.

[HiAndTight]

Find a reliable reliever, that could be someone from the minors or involve just a mid range prospect. I don't mind a modest investment of talent in this season if the team keeps rolling. Despite the 'gutting' you can't take the players Melvin traded away and put a better Brewer team out there right now, and unless Lawrie or Odorizzi breaks out in a big way it will have never been possible.

 

 

Sure you could have.

 

You could have Lawrie playing 3rd base right now producing at the exact same level (2.4 WAR vs 2.4 WAR) except one is making 450K and will be for the next two years, and the other will be making 36 million during that time. Which, incidentally, could easily be the difference in us re-signing Greinke long term, and could have allowed us to sign Edwin Jackson this year, OR Rafeal Furcal.

 

And since we have Tyler Thornburg starter for us, or up at least Jake Odorizzi seems to be a better option at this point, as he's performed better at AA and AAA than TT which would also open up TT to be pitching strictly in relief for us this year.

 

 

So I don't agree that the players we traded wouldn't help us. Odorizzi however means no Greinke, and I was pretty disgusted with the Lawrie and Marcum trade right off the bat. So throw out Odorrizzi as we'd lose Greinke, but we'd definitely be a HELLUVA lot better off with Lawrie and 36 million dollars to spend this off-season. Throw Furcal into the equation and tell me what this team looks like.

 

Last years team with Lawrie stepping in for McGehee also gets a nice boost.

 

But we didn't go that way, so it's irrelevant. There are almost two best case scenario's for us right now. Either we seize the opportunity in front of us and beat the teams ahead of us in the standings in the next month, which we'll have ample chance to do, and beat up on the cupcake August schedule which has traditionally been our strongest month....OR we just bottom out, get swept by the Reds, face the Phillies with Halladay, Lee and Worley and lose 2 of 3 there, find ourselves 10 games out and it's time to sell.

 

Again, lots of teams have struggled in the 1st half, but if you have the talent, which this team certainly does, it's hardly a stretch to see this team going on a run with the schedule that lies ahead of them and getting back into the race.

 

A lot of talented teams also have just bad years and their players DON'T end up coming around. Luckily for us, we've got a big series tonight, and a couple more weeks before we have to decide.

[HiAndTight]

Rockies actually have 2 guys the Brewers could use, Scutaro and Matt Belisle. It might take a little more than the Brewers are willing to pay to get both as Belisle is signed (decent value) through next year. Colorado's starting pitching is a real mess. It might take a Rogers and say Farris. With Peralta, Nelson, Burgos all at AA or higher and Thornburg, Estrada, and Fiers all cheap starting options, maybe solidifying the pen the rest of this year and next with Belisle might be worth a Rogers who's value goes up and down and now may be up.

 

Toronto's close enough in the AL wild card, that I doubt they'd deal Escobar until after the season.

 

 

You want to give up Rogers when he's finally throwing the ball well and throwing it in the mid 90's for two players that at this point have almost negative value to the Rockies? And I don't care who we have at AA or higher. Burgos is still a long shot to be a viable starting pitching option given his lack of stuff....unless you've actually watched him and can verify that he has the same type of stuff that Fiers has which doesn't show up in a scouting report per say, but if evident in watching him pitch. Peralta has been just awful and just great in stretches, and you could list 20 more names. It doesn't mean you make a bad deal.

 

Would I take both? Of course. Eric Farris will almost certainly never play a key role on any .500 team, but to take back contracts I'm sure the Rockies aren't thrilled to have collectively, they shouldn't get more than Farris and Heckathorn.

 

But it just makes no sense to me why we'd wait for Mark Rogers to have back to back 7 inning outings, wait for him to get his velocity back and then try to trade him when it's a long shot we make the playoffs this year anyway.

 

 

To be clear, I'd very much like Scutaro and Belisle, but not for a guy who, even as a long shot, has A shot at being a contributor to the Brewers in the near future and who could end up as a 8th or 9th inning guy. Or a starter.

[HiAndTight]

Scutaro is a rental and isn't hitting that great and why not just use Rogers if we're trading him for a bullpen arm? Farris has no value.

 

 

I'll take, "not hitting that great," over what we currently have at SS. I just won't do it for Rogers. This is a Caleb Gindl, Kyle Heckathorn type trade. And they eat half of their remaining salary.

 

Scutaro can still defend at SS and .275/.329 at SS would be...amazing. Maybe we could finally slide someone else into the 2 hole and drop our CF'ers to 8th where they fit much better into the lineup.

[Roderick]

I would like a bullpen piece added but only if he is controlled for atleast 2013. Always have to improve the team regardless of if the Brewers can make the playoffs this year.

 

Bingo. KRod gone. Livan, keep maybe @ $750k just to eat innings - but I would rather have M.Rogers do that. I can see the Brewers letting Veras and Loe walk if their pricetag goes up much more than this years. But we have to have someone fill the pen that is better than Dillard, McClendon, and the other AAA guys. It could be Axford and Parra and a whole new bullpen starting next year if Melvin wants to go that way.

[NievesNoNO]

IF the Brewers were to sweep the Red over the weekend I could see them buying, somewhat. I could maybe see them going after Yunel Escobar and a reliever from somebody. That's a bout as much firepower as they have with their minor league system right now. They have enough to get to the playoffs, it's just that they're pretty far behind. If they were to somehow get hot and make it in I think they have as good of a chance as anyone if Marcum can come back healthy.

[Hate those Rodents]

If we are buyers, then the team should buy my tickets, as I won't support Milwaukee Buck like stupidity and short-sightedness.