Brewers acquire OF Gerardo Parra from Arizona; prospects Mitch Haniger and Anthony Banda to D-backs

[logan82]

No no no no no no. Braun is a terrible infielder. He didn't do anything well. He would be Juan Francisco bad at 1B.

Parra doesn't have a bat we should be making room for. Especially when he is a FA after 2015 and we would have to find another outfielder. Doug just needs to go out and find a 1B. Not the easiest thing to do but Braun is not the answer.

[Invader3K]

Braun has enough athleticism left that I think moving him to 1B would be a waste at this point. Maybe move Aramis there next season and find another option at 3B?

[DoubleSwitch]

I think moving A-ram to 1b would be a waste for the same reasons that moving Braun to 1b would be a waste. Rami has no range which would still be a problem at first. The things that make him still an average 3b are the accurate arm and soft hands, which would be wasted over at first. I'd rather keep guys playing as high up on the defensive spectrum as long as possible. This depends on what's available this off season too. There will be guys like Cuddyer, Victor Martinez, Mike Morse, maybe Adam LaRoche available to play first, and I'm not as high on the potential third base options. I was kind of ticked when Headley went to the Yanks because I think he's going to play well enough to finish the season to take away his status as a solid buy low option.

[fondybrewfan]

Well soft hand are a nice luxury at first if Aram were moved there.

 

What the team does at 1st next year completely depends on what talent is available via FA or trades this offseason. It seems very unlikely the Brewers will give 1st to Morris anymore and it is probably even more unlikely that Reynolds and Overbay will be around so long as talent is available that would be considered an upgrade. Braun moving to 1st would be a longshot at best IMO. Aram maybe if we can get a really good 3rd basemen.

[SRB]

I agree that moving Braun to 1B is something of a waste, because he's really not that bad in in the outfield. Khris Davis is likely a worse defender, but apparently (for whatever reason) the Brewers don't think he can play 1B as was determined last offseason.

 

So what we have now is 1B Lyle Overbay, who is not even a great defensive 1B, and LF/RF Gerardo Parra who is a Gold Glove defender and actually probably a better hitter than Overbay too. It's a no brainer which of those two players should be seeing the most playing time, but if Davis can't be moved, then you have to have Braun play 1B to get Parra's bat and defense in the lineup in place of Overbay. Unless they sign a 1B or 3B (moving A-Ram) it's the exact same situation next year too, with whatever mediocre 1B replaces Overbay.

 

This is surely not going to happen, but ideally in 2014 you would have Braun play 1B/RF: first base against RHP (with Parra in RF), and right field against LHP (with Reynolds at 1B).

[HiAndTight]

No no no no no no. Braun is a terrible infielder. He didn't do anything well. He would be Juan Francisco bad at 1B.

Parra doesn't have a bat we should be making room for. Especially when he is a FA after 2015 and we would have to find another outfielder. Doug just needs to go out and find a 1B. Not the easiest thing to do but Braun is not the answer.

 

Braun would NOT be Juan Francisco. Braun made some extrodinary plays at 3rd and his primary problem was throwing the ball. Braun would be absolutely fine at 1st base. In fact he'd have very good range. This is a guy who played SS at Miami. I just don't understand the logic that he couldn't handle 1st because he was bad at 3rd. They are two entirely different positions.

 

Comparing 1st base to 3rd base is being completely disengenious.

 

Comparing Haniger at BC to Braun at BC is a reference point.

[HiAndTight]

I agree that moving Braun to 1B is something of a waste, because he's really not that bad in in the outfield. Khris Davis is likely a worse defender, but apparently (for whatever reason) the Brewers don't think he can play 1B as was determined last offseason.

 

So what we have now is 1B Lyle Overbay, who is not even a great defensive 1B, and LF/RF Gerardo Parra who is a Gold Glove defender and actually probably a better hitter than Overbay too. It's a no brainer which of those two players should be seeing the most playing time, but if Davis can't be moved, then you have to have Braun play 1B to get Parra's bat and defense in the lineup in place of Overbay. Unless they sign a 1B or 3B (moving A-Ram) it's the exact same situation next year too, with whatever mediocre 1B replaces Overbay.

 

This is surely not going to happen, but ideally in 2014 you would have Braun play 1B/RF: first base against RHP (with Parra in RF), and right field against LHP (with Reynolds at 1B).

 

 

Parra has been worth -.3 WAR this year and his defense has been below average. His OPS is also below .700.

 

He's a nice 4th OF'er, he's not a guy we need to move other guys to get into the lineup. And I don't know why you're emphasis is placed entirely on Overbay as Reynolds has played more 1st base than Overbay.

[SRB]

I agree that moving Braun to 1B is something of a waste, because he's really not that bad in in the outfield. Khris Davis is likely a worse defender, but apparently (for whatever reason) the Brewers don't think he can play 1B as was determined last offseason.

 

So what we have now is 1B Lyle Overbay, who is not even a great defensive 1B, and LF/RF Gerardo Parra who is a Gold Glove defender and actually probably a better hitter than Overbay too. It's a no brainer which of those two players should be seeing the most playing time, but if Davis can't be moved, then you have to have Braun play 1B to get Parra's bat and defense in the lineup in place of Overbay. Unless they sign a 1B or 3B (moving A-Ram) it's the exact same situation next year too, with whatever mediocre 1B replaces Overbay.

 

This is surely not going to happen, but ideally in 2014 you would have Braun play 1B/RF: first base against RHP (with Parra in RF), and right field against LHP (with Reynolds at 1B).

 

 

Parra has been worth -.3 WAR this year and his defense has been below average. His OPS is also below .700.

 

He's a nice 4th OF'er, he's not a guy we need to move other guys to get into the lineup. And I don't know why you're emphasis is placed entirely on Overbay as Reynolds has played more 1st base than Overbay.

 

He was also worth 4.6 fWAR last season and has won two Gold Gloves. You have to judge advanced defensive metrics on multiple years worth of attempts, not a single season and much less the limited time Parra has seen in 2014.

 

As for his offense, Parra still has a .294 wOBA this season versus Lyle Overbay's .289 wOBA. That's not adjusted for position. Lyle Overbay is a worse hitter by any metric. You don't even have to like Parra as more than a 4th OF to conclude that he is a better option that Overbay.

 

Reynolds has been fine, I agree, but he's not being used as the everyday 1B and in days he sits they should be using Parra instead of Overbay. And over their careers, Reynolds and Parra have complementary platoon splits.

 

It's not going to happen in the real world, but really I don't even see how it's debatable on paper that Parra should be playing instead of Overbay.

[adambr2]

Why do we assume that we could just plug Braun in at 1st and go? He has never played a single inning at 1st in his entire career. Now you want to just throw him in there 2/3rds of the way through the season, play at 1st against RHP (so basically every day) and expect passable defense from him?

 

I don't particularly enjoy seeing Lyle Overbay in the lineup, but Gerardo Parra is not a guy that you shuffle Ryan Braun to a position he's never played just to accommodate every day playing time.

[torts]

Why do we assume that we could just plug Braun in at 1st and go? He has never played a single inning at 1st in his entire career. Now you want to just throw him in there 2/3rds of the way through the season, play at 1st against RHP (so basically every day) and expect passable defense from him?

 

probably for the same reason Pirates fans think Pedro Alvarez could move from 3B to 1B with no issues... complete blind optimism. "I mean, if Yuni can do it, Braun totally can"

[TooLiveBrew]

Why do we assume that we could just plug Braun in at 1st and go? He has never played a single inning at 1st in his entire career. Now you want to just throw him in there 2/3rds of the way through the season, play at 1st against RHP (so basically every day) and expect passable defense from him?

 

probably for the same reason Pirates fans think Pedro Alvarez could move from 3B to 1B with no issues... complete blind optimism. "I mean, if Yuni can do it, Braun totally can"

If a guy can competently play 3B, there's absolutely no question he'll be able to play 1B with no issues after a small amount of playing time there.

 

Someone like Braun, who was completely awful at 3B... now that's a different story.

[torts]

Why do we assume that we could just plug Braun in at 1st and go? He has never played a single inning at 1st in his entire career. Now you want to just throw him in there 2/3rds of the way through the season, play at 1st against RHP (so basically every day) and expect passable defense from him?

 

probably for the same reason Pirates fans think Pedro Alvarez could move from 3B to 1B with no issues... complete blind optimism. "I mean, if Yuni can do it, Braun totally can"

If a guy can competently play 3B, there's absolutely no question he'll be able to play 1B with no issues after a small amount of playing time there.

 

Someone like Braun, who was completely awful at 3B... now that's a different story.

 

Alvarez IS completely awful at 3B. he has committed 109 errors in 5 seasons, already at 24 errors this year and has been demoted to bench duties because of it (and the fact he's been terrible at the plate).

[TooLiveBrew]

Alvarez IS completely awful at 3B. he has committed 109 errors in 5 seasons, already at 24 errors this year and has been demoted to bench duties because of it.

I didn't realize he's been that bad. Are his issues fielding related, throwing related, or both?

[torts]

Alvarez IS completely awful at 3B. he has committed 109 errors in 5 seasons, already at 24 errors this year and has been demoted to bench duties because of it.

I didn't realize he's been that bad. Are his issues fielding related, throwing related, or both?

 

far more throwing than fielding... he's got a cannon of an arm that cant seem to find its target... ever.

[torts]

infact, I swear that there have been at least one or two instances where he Elian Hererrra'd the ball.

[TooLiveBrew]

Alvarez IS completely awful at 3B. he has committed 109 errors in 5 seasons, already at 24 errors this year and has been demoted to bench duties because of it.

I didn't realize he's been that bad. Are his issues fielding related, throwing related, or both?

 

far more throwing than fielding... he's got a cannon of an arm that cant seem to find its target... ever.

Then maybe a move to 1B would be smart. He's a big potential target over there.

[adambr2]

I think we often (and I have myself) underrate the importance of 1B defense. Partly because it might be the easiest position to fill in a pinch. You can, for instance, get by for a day in a pinch with Lucroy or Maldonado as your first baseman, but definitely not at SS or CF.

 

But I would have to assume that the first baseman is involved in more balls in play than any other position. Range, a decent stretch, instincts (go for the ball, or cover the base?) and particularly an ability to snag short hops are all pretty important characteristics and probably lead to saving (or costing) a pretty decent amount of runs.

[3and2Fastball]

Regardless of who moves where in 2015, I sure would like to see Parra getting more playing time now. It is not as if we have been scoring a ton of runs. Having Davis start against Wainwright was dumb, and I don't want to see him start vs Lincecum tonight

 

Davis this season: .284 OBP vs RHP, .357 OBP vs LHP (.604 SLG vs LHP). In the last 70 at-bats vs both LHP & RHP total he has a .270 OBP/.699 OPS

[swheeler23]

Regardless of who moves where in 2015, I sure would like to see Parra getting more playing time now. It is not as if we have been scoring a ton of runs. Having Davis start against Wainwright was dumb, and I don't want to see him start vs Lincecum tonight

 

Davis this season: .284 OBP vs RHP, .357 OBP vs LHP (.604 SLG vs LHP). In the last 70 at-bats vs both LHP & RHP total he has a .270 OBP/.699 OPS

 

Is Parra batting going to be that much better that you want to plattoon the guy you think is your future? Parra hasn't looked that great atbat when he was with Arizonia this year.

[monty57]

I wouldn't rock the boat too much this year. Parra should get plenty of PAs getting some starts at every OF position, coming in late in games as a defensive replacement in LF and being the primary LH pinch hitter. He makes the team better this year, and he gives Melvin more to think about this offseason when he's putting together next year's roster.

[3and2Fastball]

Who cares about "rocking the boat" or "messing with Davis' confidence". He is a professional athlete and he has a terrible OBP vs RHP. I wouldn't just straight platoon him, but Parra should be getting starts vs the better RHP's. We're in a pennant race, go with the best percentages possible and hire a sports psychologist for Davis if he has a problem with that.

 

Besides the slight percentage upgrade offensively of Parra>Davis vs RHP's, it is a huge defensive upgrade, and defense is incredibly important.

 

Meanwhile, anytime Parra & Braun are in the same game, Braun should be in LF and Parra in RF. Leaving Braun in RF with Parra in the game is just plain silly as Parra is a vastly better RF than Braun. And again, Braun is a pro athlete and can get over himself if he doesn't like it. He has had plenty of experience in LF. Hire him a sports psychologist if he has a problem with that, too.

 

These players need to do whatever is best for the team.

 

The Brewers as an organization and RR especially need to be smarter about this kind of thing. This is not a rebuilding year, the Crew is in it to win it, they need to be smarter

[monty57]

"Rocking the boat" wasn't about Davis "having a problem" with something. I'm not sure where you got that idea.

 

The team has been in first place basically from day one this season, and Davis has done nothing to deserve being benched half to two-thirds of the remaining games. Why make semi-drastic changes (platooning LF or bouncing Braun from LF to RF) because of the addition of a guy like Parra. I like the acquisition of Parra, but let him be the 4th OF. He'll see action nearly everyday in that role

[TURBO]

We could have had Nyjer for FREE! (should this be in blue?)

 

Indians released OF Nyjer Morgan.

 

Morgan has been sidelined for nearly three months with a sprained PCL in his right knee and now the Indians have decided to cut ties. The 34-year-old batted .341 (14-for-41) with one home run, six RBI, and three stolen bases over 15 games with the Indians.

 

Source: Nick Camino on TwitterAug 5 - 3:24 PM

[SRB]

Why blue? Nyjer Morgan would be an outstanding 5th OF, would be a lot of fun to have him back down the stretch. But with Overbay and Weeks clogging the bench, no room for him really.

[pacopete4]

Can Nyjer play 1st?