Since we are nearing the allstar break

[brewmann04]

I noticed the Races are getting tighter -- the Pirates are winning at a good clip even though not against the best teams and also at home. The Reds with a very good rotation and quality hitters who just seem to beat up the Crew are moving quicky.

 

My thoughts are -- what does DM need to do to keep the Crew in first place?

 

OF with some pop and possibly another relief pitcher.

[superfly]

Not much to do, other than get an ace SP or a 1B which has been covered ad nauseum.

[brwrsfan]

There's more than that. We desperately need a 1b - I don't care what DM says, that platoon is horrid. We also need an improved bench player or two, but most importantly to me is we need another bullpen arm. Our pen is going to be fried. RR only seems to trust 2-3 guys and that just simply can't last. Thornburg and Henderson don't appear to be close, and even if they are, we can figure something out.

[JohnBriggs12]

Henderson isn't too far away. He's basically going through ST again. If he's healthy that would alleviate some issue with the pen but I still think they need to add one veteran RH out there. The platoon at 1B situation is exasperated when one of the OF is down and Reynolds isn't hitting HR. In the last week +, we've seen Gomez go down, then Davis and now Braun. These guys have to all be in the lineup at the same time for the offense to be at peak. Nice game yesterday by Schafer but he's had them occasionally and they haven't been a signal of better things ahead. Sure it would help if they got more out of 1B. Where is that guy? Who knows? Internal options?? Morris has been out of the lineup and his numbers just ok. Was the signing of Clark meaningful? He's got nice numbers. Halton's up to .294 but the power's been strangely lacking for a guy his size. Zarraga?? I don't think we'll see them roll the dice on those guys in a pennant race even though they might actually be a slight upgrade.

[ewitkows]

A 4th outfielder who can hit

[JohnBriggs12]

A 4th outfielder who can hit

 

Only a need because apparently the starting outfielders can't handle the workload. One seems to go down every other day. If they aren't running into each other or foolishly sliding head first or swinging so hard they pull something, they'll find something that keeps them out for a few days. Somebody tell them Advil is approved by MLB.

 

Lest I forget, the reluctance of Weeks to play anywhere but 2B also makes the need for a backup OF bat more pressing.

[HiAndTight]

Henderson isn't too far away. He's basically going through ST again. If he's healthy that would alleviate some issue with the pen but I still think they need to add one veteran RH out there. The platoon at 1B situation is exasperated when one of the OF is down and Reynolds isn't hitting HR. In the last week +, we've seen Gomez go down, then Davis and now Braun. These guys have to all be in the lineup at the same time for the offense to be at peak. Nice game yesterday by Schafer but he's had them occasionally and they haven't been a signal of better things ahead. Sure it would help if they got more out of 1B. Where is that guy? Who knows? Internal options?? Morris has been out of the lineup and his numbers just ok. Was the signing of Clark meaningful? He's got nice numbers. Halton's up to .294 but the power's been strangely lacking for a guy his size. Zarraga?? I don't think we'll see them roll the dice on those guys in a pennant race even though they might actually be a slight upgrade.

 

The only comment I've heard on Henderson's progress is that his velocity was still poor in his first appearance in Arizona. If that's the case, then he's no closer than he was on opening day. If he starts throwing 96-97 again and Thornburg comes back healthy, then we probably don't need to worry about the BP.

 

We also have Jeffress throwing darts down in AAA and not walking anyone.

 

Morneau at 1st base would be ideal. It would be even better because he's a left handed bat and you could just plug him into the #5 spot and have one helluva offense. Gomez/Braun/Luc/Aram/Monreau/Davis/Gennett/Segura since RR seems to want Gomez back in the leadoff spot.

 

But beyond him, Loney would be a great fit. Not the power, but we don't need power as much as a good consistent hitter, also a lefty.

Beyond that, Martin Prado would be the best fit. He can fill in any OF spot, he could play anywhere in the IF save for short, and he could be a major contributor the next couple of years. The D-backs would have to send at least 6-7 million back if they want a good prospect though. I believe he's owed 22 million from '15-16.

[monty57]

Only a need because apparently the starting outfielders can't handle the workload. One seems to go down every other day. If they aren't running into each other or foolishly sliding head first or swinging so hard they pull something, they'll find something that keeps them out for a few days. Somebody tell them Advil is approved by MLB.

 

Braun has always missed time with various injuries, and I suspect the HGH use was to help keep him on the field. Without it, he's definitely going to miss some time with things like oblique strains, and his thumb may never be right. He's probably best served getting a day or two a week off, but that isn't likely to happen.

 

Gomez has an extremely violent swing. He is also very daring in the field. That combo is what has him starting in the All Star game, but also could lead to injuries. I'm surprised his back hasn't snapped :-)

 

These guys are two of our best players, and are a big part of the reason we're in first place, but I think we need to have a capable backup for them. We have some options in house, but keeping two guys who only play 2B and a backup who only plays 1B means we can't have two backup OF, so the backup we have has to be able to play CF.

 

But, above all, getting an everyday 1B would be the biggest upgrade we could make. Morneau has to be on the Brewers' radar... he would be a great pickup.

[brewcrewdue80]

Henderson isn't too far away. He's basically going through ST again. If he's healthy that would alleviate some issue with the pen but I still think they need to add one veteran RH out there. The platoon at 1B situation is exasperated when one of the OF is down and Reynolds isn't hitting HR. In the last week +, we've seen Gomez go down, then Davis and now Braun. These guys have to all be in the lineup at the same time for the offense to be at peak. Nice game yesterday by Schafer but he's had them occasionally and they haven't been a signal of better things ahead. Sure it would help if they got more out of 1B. Where is that guy? Who knows? Internal options?? Morris has been out of the lineup and his numbers just ok. Was the signing of Clark meaningful? He's got nice numbers. Halton's up to .294 but the power's been strangely lacking for a guy his size. Zarraga?? I don't think we'll see them roll the dice on those guys in a pennant race even though they might actually be a slight upgrade.

 

 

Morris Broke a bone in his forearm I believe and is shelved a minimum of 6weeks if not more. Clark fills in his 1b position.

 

 

Morneau. Well he certainly didn't do anything to help out Pittsburgh last season, He didn't even wind up playing 1b everyday. So I look at his numbers and attach Coors to them. The problem is, Morneau will cost a Prospect of his Coors Numbers value and not the value he's likely anywhere else...which appears a .700-.765OPS batter. I'm definitely for him, but for the right cost. Not to overpay for him. He was worth Alex Presly and a PTBNL. Which have resulted in nothing in truth for a return. Presly is an underachieving below Replacement Level OF. Sounds like Logan Schafer to me. Of course if we got rid of Schafer we'd have to find an OF to replace him. It would potentially be an ideal fit for Colorado with Schafer's Defense ability in the expanse of Coors Field. And of course He likely raises his OPS some .150-.200pts overall making him a .750+ CF with great Defense. It's worked for Drew Stubbs so I'm sure it will work for Schafer. Stubbs btw is heading in to his 3rd year Arb and based on his season this year, Colorado really could look to trade him to and avoid what may turn in to a 8mil Arb cost.

 

This move would open the door then to aggressively seek a 4th OF with a better bat. And I'd target Josh Willingham. OR David Dejesus, who is LH. Neither will require a major piece in trade they are older but have OB ability with some Pop in their bat.

 

How bad would Braun be in CF if Gomez were to go down? That's the only big problem with losing Schafer for the upgrades in Morneau+ Willingham or Dejesus as 4th OF.

[vegasbrewcrew1993]

I think the Brewers should acquire a reliever. The rotation is fine and will get some help soon from the addition of Jimmy Nelson and the subtraction of Marco ''Home Run'' Estrada. There are no 1B worth trading for. Brewers would have to overpay to get someone good and I don't think 1B is that big of a problem that the Crew need to overpay. Might as well just go after a RP or 2. This would help keep our 2 best RP's in Will Smith and K-Rod fresh.

[monty57]

I don't think 1B is that big of a problem that the Crew need to overpay

 

I'll start by saying that I don't like to overpay for anything, so if you are correct that the only thing out there is prohibitively expensive, than I'll agree we should not give up the farm for an upgrade.

 

However, as we near the All-Star break, playing in favorable match-ups (Overbay mainly against RHP and Reynolds overweighted against LHP), here are the respective lines:

 

Overbay: 161 AB, 3 HR, .236 avg / .319 OBP / .335 SLG / .654 OPS

Reynolds: 250 AB, 13 HR, .208 avg / .304 OBP / .388 SLG / .692 OPS

 

Other than Segura, everyone else in the lineup is producing. The most impactful thing we could do to upgrade the team is to find an everyday 1B.

[chadomac]

I don't think 1B is that big of a problem that the Crew need to overpay

 

I'll start by saying that I don't like to overpay for anything, so if you are correct that the only thing out there is prohibitively expensive, than I'll agree we should not give up the farm for an upgrade.

 

However, as we near the All-Star break, playing in favorable match-ups (Overbay mainly against RHP and Reynolds overweighted against LHP), here are the respective lines:

 

Overbay: 161 AB, 3 HR, .236 avg / .319 OBP / .335 SLG / .654 OPS

Reynolds: 250 AB, 13 HR, .208 avg / .304 OBP / .388 SLG / .692 OPS

 

Other than Segura, everyone else in the lineup is producing. The most impactful thing we could do to upgrade the team is to find an everyday 1B.

 

Agreed 100%. I was drinking the Mark "Raw Power" Reynolds kool-aid for awhile, but his shine has faded in the past month. I like him fine as an occasional 1B/3B back-up but it sure would be nice to get a .750+ OPS guy in there at 1B everyday. And for Segura to stop being horrible offensively.

[HiAndTight]

Henderson isn't too far away. He's basically going through ST again. If he's healthy that would alleviate some issue with the pen but I still think they need to add one veteran RH out there. The platoon at 1B situation is exasperated when one of the OF is down and Reynolds isn't hitting HR. In the last week +, we've seen Gomez go down, then Davis and now Braun. These guys have to all be in the lineup at the same time for the offense to be at peak. Nice game yesterday by Schafer but he's had them occasionally and they haven't been a signal of better things ahead. Sure it would help if they got more out of 1B. Where is that guy? Who knows? Internal options?? Morris has been out of the lineup and his numbers just ok. Was the signing of Clark meaningful? He's got nice numbers. Halton's up to .294 but the power's been strangely lacking for a guy his size. Zarraga?? I don't think we'll see them roll the dice on those guys in a pennant race even though they might actually be a slight upgrade.

 

 

Morris Broke a bone in his forearm I believe and is shelved a minimum of 6weeks if not more. Clark fills in his 1b position.

 

 

Morneau. Well he certainly didn't do anything to help out Pittsburgh last season, He didn't even wind up playing 1b everyday. So I look at his numbers and attach Coors to them. The problem is, Morneau will cost a Prospect of his Coors Numbers value and not the value he's likely anywhere else...which appears a .700-.765OPS batter. I'm definitely for him, but for the right cost. Not to overpay for him. He was worth Alex Presly and a PTBNL. Which have resulted in nothing in truth for a return. Presly is an underachieving below Replacement Level OF. Sounds like Logan Schafer to me. Of course if we got rid of Schafer we'd have to find an OF to replace him. It would potentially be an ideal fit for Colorado with Schafer's Defense ability in the expanse of Coors Field. And of course He likely raises his OPS some .150-.200pts overall making him a .750+ CF with great Defense. It's worked for Drew Stubbs so I'm sure it will work for Schafer. Stubbs btw is heading in to his 3rd year Arb and based on his season this year, Colorado really could look to trade him to and avoid what may turn in to a 8mil Arb cost.

 

This move would open the door then to aggressively seek a 4th OF with a better bat. And I'd target Josh Willingham. OR David Dejesus, who is LH. Neither will require a major piece in trade they are older but have OB ability with some Pop in their bat.

 

How bad would Braun be in CF if Gomez were to go down? That's the only big problem with losing Schafer for the upgrades in Morneau+ Willingham or Dejesus as 4th OF.

 

 

Morneau has a .824 OPS on the road in 42 games, and an .895 OPS at home in 43 games. His BABIP is higher .317 at home vs .325 on the road. I don't see why he'd be a .750 OPS player. Just taking what he did last year for the Pirates or the compensation is flawed in my opinion. He's increased his value and is performing better. He also had a .773 OPS in the pitcher friendly Target Field in 2012. You're assigning far too much value to the 25 games in Pitt last year. He'd fit in perfectly in our lineup and as a left handed bat. But he'd cost a lot more than what the Pirates had to give up to get him, and the Rockies also have no need for more athletic OF'ers from what I've seen.

His current road OPS is also lower than his career OPS which, again, included playing most of his career in a significant pitchers park.

 

I think you're vastly overestimating the impact of Coors field. I don't see Logan Schafer improving his OPS 200 points just by going to Colorado. He might be a .750 OPS guy in Colorado only because I think he would be a .720 OPS guy in Milwaukee with regular playing time. But again, with Gonzalez, Dickerson, Stubbs, Blackmon and Cuddeyer, I don't see the Rockies wanting him.

 

And lets not forget that while his value has improved on the field, he's now getting paid 5 million dollars as opposed to 14 million dollars.

[HiAndTight]

I think the Brewers should acquire a reliever. The rotation is fine and will get some help soon from the addition of Jimmy Nelson and the subtraction of Marco ''Home Run'' Estrada. There are no 1B worth trading for. Brewers would have to overpay to get someone good and I don't think 1B is that big of a problem that the Crew need to overpay. Might as well just go after a RP or 2. This would help keep our 2 best RP's in Will Smith and K-Rod fresh.

 

 

2 relievers? I think upgrading Lyle Overbay with Justin Morneau or James Loney and staying in house with the relievers would make this team a whole lot better than adding two relievers and sticking with Overbay/Reynolds.

 

Though of course it depends on who you're getting back, but the top RH'ed relievers are likely to cost at least close to what either 1st basemen would cost, the difference is both those 1st basemen are good defensively and they have team friendly deals, meaning we wouldn't have to worry about 1B the next 2 years.

 

 

This conversation would obviously be easier if we had any idea what it would cost to add Morneau or Loney vs Soria, Uehara, Benoit. There are less teams looking for upgrades at 1st base then are looking for relievers.

[brewmann04]

Henderson and Jeffress might be working there way to Milwaukee soon and it might not be a need to pull a trade for a Reliever.

[superfly]

What about signing AJ Pierzynski and moving Lucroy to 1B for the rest of the year? Pierz is clearly on the decline, but would provide an OK left handed bat, and would keep Luuuuc fresher/upgrade 1B for the rest of the season. Not exactly ideal, but it would be a way for us to bench Reynolds/Overbay without parting with any of our assets. I don't buy the "cancer" bull$hit in Boston, those high strung idiots out there always find a scapegoat and blame everything on it. IE-chicken and beer in dugout last time they sucked.

[JohnBriggs12]

I don't think the combo at 1B has been the problem it's being portrayed here. Overbay's been as good as anyone could expect. He's hit a lot of balls hard and has gotten a hits in key situations. Reynolds hasn't done much the last month but those that romanticize Rob Deer need to realize that's what Deer did too. The issue with those guys is magnified when one the the OF is out, which has happened with some frequency, and the 1B have to bat higher than 7th.

[jerichoholicninja]

I don't think the combo at 1B has been the problem it's being portrayed here. Overbay's been as good as anyone could expect. He's hit a lot of balls hard and has gotten a hits in key situations. Reynolds hasn't done much the last month but those that romanticize Rob Deer need to realize that's what Deer did too. The issue with those guys is magnified when one the the OF is out, which has happened with some frequency, and the 1B have to bat higher than 7th.

 

Overbay hits the ball hard and Wang is costing us the season. We get it.

 

Lyle has a sub .700 OPS. Reynolds is sub .700. Both could and probably should be replaced.

[JohnBriggs12]

I don't think the combo at 1B has been the problem it's being portrayed here. Overbay's been as good as anyone could expect. He's hit a lot of balls hard and has gotten a hits in key situations. Reynolds hasn't done much the last month but those that romanticize Rob Deer need to realize that's what Deer did too. The issue with those guys is magnified when one the the OF is out, which has happened with some frequency, and the 1B have to bat higher than 7th.

 

Overbay hits the ball hard and Wang is costing us the season. We get it.

 

Lyle has a sub .700 OPS. Reynolds is sub .700. Both could and probably should be replaced.

 

Be careful what you wish for. Kendrys Morales OPS is .582. James Loney's is .706. Ike Davis' is .693. All three were presumably on Brewer radar, and a lot more expensive than Overbay/Reynolds combo either in players or salary.

 

The fact is Overbay's line drive percentage is 23%. The league average is 20%. Overbay is hitting .405 with a 1.071 OPS with runners in scoring position and .333 with 2 outs and RISP. In high leverage situations he's hitting .394/.432/.576. How is that not a net positive? Remember I've never been a big Overbay fan, but I see those numbers, and I have to give him props. Since June 1st, Overbay's hit .292/.363/.431, an OPS of .794.

 

I'm not making these numbers up. Look them up. Are there a lot of better 1B? Absolutely. Are there a lot of better 1B available in a deal? That's debatable. In the short term I don't see much out there. Rockies look at themselves as a solid team that was decimated by injuries in 2014. Morneau is under contract for next year. Unless they could get a major league ready starter for him, he's likely staying put.

 

Wang's presence has affected the way Roenicke has used his pitching staff. He's gone longer with starters (heck nobody's got a longer leash than RR), and he's had to use the other guys a bit more than he should. Smith ended up being gassed. Thornburg ended up on the DL. Wooten and Kintzler have been been inconsistent at best.

[brewmann04]

well now Wang excuse is gone for a while and hopefully Henderson will be back soon so that should ease the burden on the pen

[JohnBriggs12]

well now Wang excuse is gone for a while and hopefully Henderson will be back soon so that should ease the burden on the pen

 

 

True, and Jeffress and Figaro have been throwing very well lately in Nashville too, so there's some reasonable options available internally.

[torts]

at the AS Break, after 96 games, this is the production we have received from 1B..

 

39 Runs, 77 hits, 15 doubles, 1 triple, 10 Hrs, 39 RBI's with 40/98 BB/K and a tripslash of .222/.304/.662

 

thats between 4 players playing 1B, 876.0 Innings, with 822.0 coming from Reynolds/Overbay and the remaining 54 from Lucroy/Maldy.

 

while bullpen help can be fixed with Henderson/Thornburg returning... they have no internal solutions to help at 1B! This is pretty terrible!

 

 

This was the 2013 1B production from 7 players

 

58 Runs, 121 hits, 27 Doubles, 3 Triples, 21 HRs, 86 RBIs 38/171 BB/K Trip Slash of .206/.259/.629

[brewmann04]

I think they could again use a depth Bat that can play OF especially if Brauny can't go a full second half

[FVBrewerFan]

There's a few moves they could make. See what you can get for Yo, Braun, Ramirez, KRod, Duke, Gorz, Maldy, Overbay, Reynolds, Weeks. Would even listen to a deal for Lohse or Gomez.

[Bnowell4evr]

The solution for the missing bat from our lineup is Ben Zobrist. He's an improvement over both 1st basemen, provides the security we need in a 4th OFer and could even start at SS in place of Segura who's been awful vs RHP and beyond putrid vs lefties.

 

Zobrist would be an improvement over any of these guys so getting him into the lineup on a daily basis would be no problem at all.

 

Khris Davis vs RHP

Jean Segura vs Anything

Mark Reynolds vs LHP

Lyle Overbay vs LHP