SS in 2015

[reillymcshane]

Just throwing this out for fun. Is Segura our SS next year? If not, who?

 

Orlando Arcia likely won't be ready for a couple of years, and the only minor league option is 26 year old Hector Gomez, who had a nice season at AAA producing an .808 OPS (in his minor league career he has a .698 OPS).

 

Here are shortstops listed by MLBtraderumors.com as being free agents this off season:

 

Mike Aviles (34) – $3.5MM club option with a $250k buyout

Clint Barmes (36)

Asdrubal Cabrera (29)

Stephen Drew (32)

Rafael Furcal (37)

J.J. Hardy (32)

Jed Lowrie (31)

John McDonald (40)

Nick Punto (37) – $2.75MM club/vesting option with a $250K buyout

Hanley Ramirez (31)

 

Aviles, Barmes, McDonald, Furcal and Punto are probably just backups at this stage of their careers. Ramirez will likely get a ton of cash - and stinks at SS.

 

Lowrie and Cabrera are both switch hitters. Lowrie probably is a bit better defender, but he's had injury issues in the past. Neither is an all star, but represent solid, safe options.

 

Drew is coming off an terrible year after waiting until June to sign. He also struggles against lefties, so a platoonish situation is probably best. He's a plus fielder, and might be had at a reasonable rate considering his poor 2014 and injury history.

 

Hardy is the best of the bunch - he's still an excellent defender, and while his power is down in 2014, he's hitting a solid .281.

 

Any other ideas? Trade candidates? Minor leaguers stuck on other teams?

[pogokat]

Yadiel Rivera is not a terrible option and had decent numbers at AA...I'm sort of hoping this teams gets blown up in the off season, so i'd like to see Jean get one more shot...

[3and2Fastball]

Elian Herrera has an outside chance of pushing for playing time

[LouisEly]

Drew would be a great one year stop-gap to give Segura some time in AAA to get his mechanics in order. Most of the division pitchers are RH (as are most pitchers in baseball) so not hitting LHP isn't a big issue, and if he could hit LHP he would cost a lot more. For his career he is a .664 OPS vs. LHP, which that in and of itself is an upgrade from Segura's OPS this year. Drew would also add some much-needed LH balance to the lineup.

 

I stated earlier this year that I thought not trading for Drew at the deadline, when all it seemed like someone needed to do was absorb his salary, was a mistake.

[TooLiveBrew]

Drew would be a great one year stop-gap to give Segura some time in AAA to get his mechanics in order. Most of the division pitchers are RH (as are most pitchers in baseball) so not hitting LHP isn't a big issue, and if he could hit LHP he would cost a lot more. For his career he is a .664 OPS vs. LHP, which that in and of itself is an upgrade from Segura's OPS this year. Drew would also add some much-needed LH balance to the lineup.

 

I stated earlier this year that I thought not trading for Drew at the deadline, when all it seemed like someone needed to do was absorb his salary, was a mistake.

He's only notched a .616 OPS against RHP this season, & OPS'd .531 overall in August. It sure doesn't look like a mistake. That's 2014 Segura-caliber, but at least Jean's only making the minimum.

 

For next season, Drew would be an option at SS (career .784 OPS v. RHP), and Segura could even be utilized as the MIF utility RH bat to back up SS & 2B, with as many spot-starts as necessary -- Drew has obviously had durability issues, & will probably not be given a QO heading into the offseason. If he could be had for around $5M or so, that seems like a decent gamble to me. The trick is that he just hasn't been the same player over the past 3 seasons -- a cumulative OPS under .700, after his previous seasons combined were around .775. Will he bounce back, or has he just left his productive years in the rearview mirror?

[reillymcshane]

Drew would be a great one year stop-gap to give Segura some time in AAA to get his mechanics in order. Most of the division pitchers are RH (as are most pitchers in baseball) so not hitting LHP isn't a big issue, and if he could hit LHP he would cost a lot more. For his career he is a .664 OPS vs. LHP, which that in and of itself is an upgrade from Segura's OPS this year. Drew would also add some much-needed LH balance to the lineup.

 

I stated earlier this year that I thought not trading for Drew at the deadline, when all it seemed like someone needed to do was absorb his salary, was a mistake.

He's only notched a .616 OPS against RHP this season, & OPS'd .531 overall in August. It sure doesn't look like a mistake. That's 2014 Segura-caliber, but at least Jean's only making the minimum.

 

For next season, Drew would be an option at SS (career .784 OPS v. RHP), and Segura could even be utilized as the MIF utility RH bat to back up SS & 2B, with as many spot-starts as necessary -- Drew has obviously had durability issues, & will probably not be given a QO heading into the offseason. If he could be had for around $5M or so, that seems like a decent gamble to me. The trick is that he just hasn't been the same player over the past 3 seasons -- a cumulative OPS under .700, after his previous seasons combined were around .775. Will he bounce back, or has he just left his productive years in the rearview mirror?

 

Drew on a one year deal for a reasonable rate (say $5 million as suggested above and some playing time incentives) would be an interesting option. The guy is a good defender, and I'm going to assume 2014 is a fluke. But the long list of injuries is worrisome. Problem is that other teams, like the Yankees, will likely want the same thing from Drew. Odds are that someone will overpay him. I just don't want it to be us. But if he could be had for a decent salary, I think he would really fit a need.

[brewcrewdue80]

Jean Segura will play SS for Milw in 2015. 100% positive of that. When the Hitting coach/Manager are canned soon, maybe a fresh voice/approach will do him some good. Don't see the team giving up on him in preArb still.

[superfly]

There were some rumblings around the deadline of the Black Sox shopping Alexei Ramirez. I'd rather stick with Segura but if we want to look outside I'd rather have a guy like Ramirez than Drew...Alexei is solid offensively AND defensively (but not spectacular) and has posted a consistent WAR of 3 his entire career. Drew hasn't been good in years as evidenced by the amount of bouncing around he's done recently.

[TigerUppercut]

Feels like we're playing fantasy baseball again in the transaction rumors thread. Assuming Doug is back, does anyone really believe he's not going to give a guy he tried to lock up long term as recently as 5 months ago another chance next year? And since when is this fanbase so willing to give up on a 24 year old, former all star before he hits his prime? Part of me wonders if that would be the case had he come up through the Brewer system. As a point of reference, there are still people talking here from time to time about Logan Schafer, a never was, being able to OPS .750 in the major leagues if given a starting job. Give me a break.

[logan82]

As long as he is playing solid defense I don't see him moving until one of the guys in our system moves up and supplants him.

[Outlander]

With the unfortunate year Segura had in 2014 I imagine he gets another shot in 2015 with minimal competition. I could see him being sent to AAA in 2015 if his struggles continue but in reality I think he is keeping shortstop warm until Arcia is ready in 2016/2017.

[DHonks]

I'd give Seggy a shot in 2015, knowing that there's a chance Arcia could be up by August making the jump from AA

[davego]

I'm all for Jean having the inside track for 2015 and beyond, but whomever the manager is needs an option if Jean fails. Additionally, some competition might be if benefit.

[HiAndTight]

We have way too much money already committed in contracts as well as needs to give someone like Stephen Drew even a 1 year deal for 5 million.

 

That said, I still like Segura. I'm still confident he's the player he was last year. Not the first half, not the second half, just the end of the year numbers. He's also a spark plug for us, which I know for some people is an annoying term, but I think he is. When Segura's hitting well(which has been rare) this team does not struggle to score runs.

 

I think bringing Aram back is a no-brainer for both sides. I think we might be forced to add a 2nd year if Aram declines his option, but that's a big risk for a 37 year old player who wants to continue to play 3rd base and has 16 million on the table.

 

As much as I would like it, we're not likely going to trade Gallardo or Lohse, so we're going to have ~35 million in the starting rotation.

 

I would like to bring back Duke next year(and even Gorz if he comes back cheap). Duke is going to command 2/8 probably. We're paying 10 million for Broxton next year. My guess is we'll try to sign K-Rod(and regret doing so if it's more than 2-3 for 10-15).

 

I could go on, but the point is we're a veteran team with a high payroll already by our standards. Hoping that Segura can bounce back while continuing to allow Rivera and Arcia to develop and perhaps keeping Hector Gomez or Herrera(whomever earns the spot) on the team to spell Segura makes a lot more sense than replacing Seggy.

[LouisEly]

Weeks' salary will be off the books, and I'd bet that one of Gallardo or Lohse will be dealt to make room for Fiers & Nelson, so that's ~$24M off the books from those two. Plenty of room to add a $5M backup SS/3B.

[TURBO]

Segura should get one more crack at it...This season hopefully was an extension of the issues with his son.

 

Maybe a fresh start to 2015 will bring the first half 2013 Segura back to Milwaukee!!!

[reillymcshane]

Segura should get one more crack at it...This season hopefully was an extension of the issues with his son.

 

Maybe a fresh start to 2015 will bring the first half 2013 Segura back to Milwaukee!!!

I'm hoping something clicks next season for Jean. He obviously has talent. We saw that in the first half of 2013. Maybe he'll come into camp fresh after all the difficulties (to put it mildly) of 2014.

 

That said, I hope the team has someone that can push Segura. Or take over if he keeps producing at a sub. 600 OPS.

[BrewersAA]

I think it would be very ill advised to give up on Segura at this point. From being hit in the face like he was, to losing his son, to what is clearly a lingering quad/leg issue it's clear he's had a rough season, but he has actually started to hit a bit here recently and that's good. It's obvious that he isn't moving like he did last season, a good portion of his batting average was tied to infield hits, in which he lead the league, as well your power comes from your legs. I think healthy legs would have his average a bit higher and his power numbers also.

 

I think Segura needs an offseason... I think he's a special player and it will show up as early as next season. I could be wrong, but I think Segura should be the SS next season and I don't see the brewers manuevering anything to change that.

[nate82]

Weeks' salary will be off the books, and I'd bet that one of Gallardo or Lohse will be dealt to make room for Fiers & Nelson, so that's ~$24M off the books from those two. Plenty of room to add a $5M backup SS/3B.

 

This could be even more if the Brewers do not resign Ramirez this off season. If the Brewers don't resign Ramirez it isn't out of the realm of possibilities that Mark A and Melvin go after Sandoval or possibly even Hanley Ramirez. I am not advocating for either of these signings but this definitely will be a Mark A type of a move.

 

Do not be surprised to see the Brewers and Sandoval mentioned a lot in this upcoming off season.

[3and2Fastball]

I think it would be very ill advised to give up on Segura at this point. From being hit in the face like he was, to losing his son, to what is clearly a lingering quad/leg issue it's clear he's had a rough season, but he has actually started to hit a bit here recently and that's good. It's obvious that he isn't moving like he did last season, a good portion of his batting average was tied to infield hits, in which he lead the league, as well your power comes from your legs. I think healthy legs would have his average a bit higher and his power numbers also.

 

I think Segura needs an offseason... I think he's a special player and it will show up as early as next season. I could be wrong, but I think Segura should be the SS next season and I don't see the brewers maneuvering anything to change that.

 

I agree 100%

 

Segura in the 2nd half this year has a .259 BA & .323 OBP (not All-Star worthy but certainly strong enough for a great defensive player who brings speed on the bases)

 

In the last 28 days Segura is hitting .295 with a .394 BA

 

I like the fact that he is walking more, it shows a maturation with his approach at the plate, although admittedly some of that is because he is hitting 8th

 

I think Segura is a great talent.... at the very worst he can be a fantastic utility man/RH platoon with Scooter.... at the best he'll be our starting SS (and a very good one) until he signs with the Yankees in 2019

[Mr Southpaw]

JJ Hardy.....come on man! 3 years $27 million.

 

let Segura platoon with Scooter at 2b and give ARam and JJ a break. go cheap at first base with Clark, Morris, Reynolds or whoever else. lucroy can always play a few games at 1b.

 

CF. Gomez

SS. Hardy

RF. Braun

3B. ARam

C. Lucroy

LF. Davis

2B. Scooter

1B. Clark/Morris

 

Bench

 

IF. Segura

C. maldandado

IF. Clark/Morris

OF. LH power

[reillymcshane]

JJ Hardy.....come on man! 3 years $27 million.

I bet JJ gets more like $11-12 million a year. I bet he's in NY next season. He'd be perfect for them, and they'll spend.

 

Still, JJ at SS would be sweet.

[TURBO]

I highly doubt he'd want to come back to Milwaukee...

[3and2Fastball]

I highly doubt he'd want to come back to Milwaukee...

 

No kidding, huh?!

 

I think at the age of 32, JJ is past his prime, too... HR's and SLG % is way down, OBP at .319, OPS+ below 100 three years in a row.... no way am I paying $7-$11 million per year for that kind of production

[jerichoholicninja]

I know it's not going to happen but I was wondering about Hanley Ramirez. He could play SS for a few years and then move to 3B. Sort of solves two problems at once. I know the Brewers couldn't compete with the offers he'll be getting but I was really surprised that he's 30. I would have guessed he was 28 or so.