Trading players at the right time

[EdRomero11]

I am pretty sure at one time or another people have said this is one of Melvins weaknesses. As I see it we have a few players playing over their heads right now-----Gomez, Estrada, Fiers, Maldonado. I am not advocating trading all these players espically since most of them are cheap but I am curious what others think.

[KCBrewerfan34]

Great thread, this always is the million dollar question. These guys are all relatively cheap and most are under team control for awhile. Gomez is approaching FA. With the recent success this year the Brewers have a chance to be special in 2014 if they can rebuild the bullpen.

 

Offensively when Weeks is hot this team is really dangerous

 

Defensively they have been outstanding this year or compared to recent years anyway

 

Starting pitching- All these guys have shown glimpses, with Marcum probably not being back I would love to see a Yo, Estrada, Peralta, Fiers & Rogers rotation, that frees up ALOT of money to rebuild the bullpen, maybe add a big bat (can Aoki play CF?) or maybe you add a starter, although the Brewers will have Thornburg, Narveson, Burgos, Nelson and Jungmann and whoever else emerges waiting in the wings.

 

Before all of these young players came out of nowhere I had little hope for next year but now things have changed. Shame on Baseball America for ranking us the 26th best minor league system. (I would argue Top 10 if you base it on promoting guys to the majors and they contribute).

 

 

One last thought, I always wondered what the Brewers could have gotten for Pat Listach after his rookie year

 

 

GO BREW

[paul253]

I think Fiers is starting to come back down to earth a bit but you don't trade him. Every starter you have can't be a 2.50 ERA type guy. Even having a guy like Fiers as a #5 starter is better than we've had the past few years and the fact that he will be cheap and controllable for a few years is a huge plus. Milwaukee really needs guys like him.

 

Estrada I think you keep as well, mainly because I don't think you can get anything for him. He's a little older and while he's had a good year this season he doesn't have a long track record of success. He's one of those guys that is more valuable to us than he would be on the trade market, even if he eventually has to go back to the bullpen.

 

Gomez is another story. He's had a better season. 16 home runs and 35 stolen bases, on top of gold glove caliber defense are all huge successes. That being said, he's only hitting .253 and getting on base at a .300 clip. That's not good. He's a bad situational hitter (as in if there is a guy on second and nobody out he cannot cut down on his swing to hit it to the right side and get the runner over). And starting next season he's going to start getting expensive. He might be worth one more year, but I'd put him out there and see what we can get for him. Other teams may value his upside and may be willing to deal a decent player in return. We have Logan Schafer who is ready. He won't hit for the same power and he won't get you 35 stolen bases, but I am fairly confident he could at least match Gomez's batting average and OBP. Plus, while his defense isn't at Gomez's level, he is not exactly chopped liver out there. And we can always move Aoki to center if he fails and bring up Gindl or Davis to play RF (or Gamel)

[EdRomero11]

I think of Gomez as a nice 4th outfielder. I would like to think we could use him in a trade to bolster our bullpen.

 

I really believe Maldonado will not be a Brewer next year. I think they feel set with Lucroy and they will get a grisled gritty vet to back him up. I think they will try to strike while the iron is hot.

[TURBO]

I hope you are wrong, I REALLY enjoy having 2 stud catchers...

[Roderick]

I hope you are wrong, I REALLY enjoy having 2 stud catchers...

 

We obviously aren't going to give him away, as he is good and cheap. But if we can get someone of value that is going to have more of an impact on the team than a catcher that plays 30% of the time, than I am all for it. We can probably squeeze another year out of Torrealba. Just can't trade Maldonado to the Pirates - it is too fun running on them.

[paul253]

I really see no reason to trade Maldonado. Catcher is a position you'd like to be able to give your every day guy at least one day off a week, possibly two. Having someone who can start 25-35 games a year and play a high level is quite a luxury. Plus, what happens if Lucroy gets hurt again? Do we really feel comfortable with Yorvit Torrealba playing for a month? It'd be like having to watch Cesar Izturis and Cody Random all over again. If we had a prospect in Huntsville or Nashville that could come up if Lucroy gets hurt it might be different, but unless you get blown away by a deal I say keep Maldonado.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Honestly, the only one of those four listed that I see going anywhere is Gomez. And I think even that is a long shot at this point. Fiers and Estrada will for sure be back, because we need all the pitchers we can get. I also think they really value Maldonado behind the plate. The tandem with Lucroy really seems to work. Gomez could possibly go if they feel set with Schafer, but I see them in a platoon at the least. I really think all four will be back.

[HiAndTight]

As young as Gomez is, I'd hate to trade him and see him take off even more in a full time role. He's really an amazing defender, and while fangraphs may not recognize it, he's saved us countless extra base hits while hitting for quite a few on his own.

 

He's been unleashed so to speak, and I still think at his age, he's got room to grow. The worst thing that happened to him was being the center piece in a Johan Santana deal that got him rushed to the big leagues. If they could sign him for a 3 year deal for 15 million with a option year at 9 million, make it a vesting option, I think he's more than worth that.

 

He had a 2.0 WAR last year playing 90 games, and a 3.0 WAR this year where his defense hasn't been rated nearly as highly, and I can't for the life of me understand why. I think he's a 4 WAR player over the next several years.

 

The issue is Boras. If he wants something like 8 million per year, that's far too big of a risk. Play out his arby years and let him walk.

 

Estrada's been great for us, but he's a guy you have to watch pitch everyday. I doubt anyone gives up anything decent for him.

 

 

And I don't think this is a "Melvin," weakness. This is a GM weakness. Who wants to trade a player when he's coming off a great year? It's just too difficult to do.

 

Corey Hart, Aramis Ramirez, Yovani Gallardo...those are the guys who should be in this discussion over a rookie pitcher, a journeyman pitcher who's been great for us in a short period of time, a catcher on almost nobody's radar playing part time, and a CF that really saved a lot of games for us with his ability to steal a base, hit for power, and more than anything go out there and run one down.

 

And trading a guy like Fiers? What's that going to do? All he did was have a great 1st time around the league and then struggle in his first year pitching a full season.

 

Maldy is a perfect backup and yet not highly touted. I'd gladly take .250/.310 with 7-8 HR's from him with his exceptional defense. In fact, I'd like to see Lucroy slowly transitioned over to 3rd to see if that works and then if he's still a .300 plus hitter in two years, play him at 3rd and Maldy as our main catcher.

[adambr2]

Honestly, if you're looking to trade a guy at his peak right now in the offseason, to me it would be Yo.

 

I know that sounds crazy, and would probably never happen. But if you're looking at one trade chip who is valuable enough himself to restock the farm, it's him. He's just been so reliable and really has established himself now. He's also under control for 3 years and is not very expensive for a pitcher of his caliber. He's worth a ton in trade.

 

We have Peralta, Rogers, Thornburg, Estrada, Fiers, etc, etc, all going to be vying for rotation spots in the near future, some with high end rotation upside, and we have more guys that are going to be following them up very soon. Not to mention that you just freed up $20M over the next 2 years to do whatever you want with.

 

I know some people would never get on board with this and I understand that. Just pointing out some of the good points of it.

[HiAndTight]

Honestly, if you're looking to trade a guy at his peak right now in the offseason, to me it would be Yo.

 

I know that sounds crazy, and would probably never happen. But if you're looking at one trade chip who is valuable enough himself to restock the farm, it's him. He's just been so reliable and really has established himself now. He's also under control for 3 years and is not very expensive for a pitcher of his caliber. He's worth a ton in trade.

 

We have Peralta, Rogers, Thornburg, Estrada, Fiers, etc, etc, all going to be vying for rotation spots in the near future, some with high end rotation upside, and we have more guys that are going to be following them up very soon. Not to mention that you just freed up $20M over the next 2 years to do whatever you want with.

 

I know some people would never get on board with this and I understand that. Just pointing out some of the good points of it.

 

 

Just reiterating what I said in the last post in which you suggested this, but I agree with you 100 pct. I love Gallardo and have actually seen a lot of growth from him this year even if his numbers may not suggest it. He's a #2 on a true contender(though I could see him breaking out and having a few year stretch where he's a #1). But as reliable as he is an as good as he's been right from the outset, from his first start, he's been a reliable innings eater, great strikeout numbers, very good control, but when I initially started a trade Gallardo thread, it was because I didn't see us competing in the next few years.

 

Well, I think you have a lot more reasons to believe that's not the case. The very same lineup, the same top 9 guys(both catchers) will be back next year from a team that led the league in scoring, HR's and SB's(or is anyway), and a staff that was on pace for the all time strikeout record. And they'll likely end up with 84-85 wins. With money to spend, more coming in....I don't see Mark Attanasio or Doug Melvin blowing this thing up(Which you might as well do if you trade Gallardo).

 

I just keep going back to the same rumored trade from mid-season. Two of AZ's top 3 young pitching prospects, OR one of their young pitching prospects PLUS Justin Upton. If that was a legit trade...man that'd be hard to pass up. Having Bauer and Bradley for instance coming up with Peralta, Rogers, Fiers, Thornburg, Burgos as well as the other half dozen viable big league prospects a year or so away...

 

The infusion of talent into our system could be just incredible as could the savings we'd see from dumping players.