Adam Lind acquired from Toronto for Marco Estrada

[The stache]

Reynolds will not be back, for more than one reason.

Ya no kidding. I want nothing to do with Reynolds and his LHP splits:

2014 - .173 / .277 /.296 /.573 / 113 PA / 3 HR

2013 - .225 / .319 /.406 /.725 / 182 PA / 8 HR

 

He cemented his get out of town card when he forgot how many outs there were in a pennant race. Sorry, I just don't want him back.

 

If we kept Reynolds, he wouldn't be batting against lefties, remember? Rogers is supposedly the answer there. Because, it's sure not Lind if Rogers goes down. As bad as Reynolds was against lefties in 2014, he was still better than Lind.

 

Lind against left handed pitchers in 2014: 2 for 33, .061 AVG, 11 K and a .223 OPS.

[bill hAll Star]

No need to go anywhere else for a RH platoon. Rogers, Jimenez (might not be a terrible corner guy), and LuCroy could do it. Defense isn't that great with Luc/Lind but very solid.

[The stache]

Why the hell are you comparing Reynolds of 5 years ago? That Reynolds is long gone. Brewers 1st basemen hit a combined .208/.299/.374 last year. That's what you need to be comparing Lind to.

 

I'm not comparing Reynolds of 5 years ago. I'm comparing his total production over the last five years, just as I am comparing Lind's production over the last five years.

 

Or, did you suddenly think that Lind, after hitting .237 in 2010, .251 in 2011, .255 in 2012, and .288 in 2013--suddenly turned into a .321 hitter? Whenever you are making a comparison of two players, you always look at more than the last year. Because basing a decision off of a one year comparison, especially when both players being compared are veterans, is absolutely silly.

[The stache]

No need to go anywhere else for a RH platoon. Rogers, Jimenez (might not be a terrible corner guy), and LuCroy could do it. Defense isn't that great with Luc/Lind but very solid.

 

Rogers, Jiminez and Lind don't really provide anything more than Rogers, Jiminez and Reynolds would provide, except that Lind was a left handed bat that could only hit against right handed pitchers.

 

You guys are placing an awful lot of responsibility in Jason Rogers lap, and nothing he has done at the Major League level yet has shown me that he can handle it. Rogers was never as highly touted as either Mat Gamel or Hunter Morris, and neither one of those guys ever showed they were up to the challenge.

 

Yes, Reynolds was pretty bad against lefties last year. History tells us he will be better, unless we think that Reynolds has gone off a cliff when it comes to hitting lefties at age 31. And truth be told, I feel much more comfortable in his ability to bounce back, and a lot less comfortable that Jason Rogers is the answer at first base 75% of the time against left handed pitchers.

 

Plus, here's something else to think about. Reynolds, if needed, can play third base. Should Aramis Ramirez, who will be 37 early in the 2015 season, get hurt, who plays third base with Reynolds gone? Ramirez missed 29 games last year, and 70 games in 2012. Adam Lind can't play third base. He never has.

 

We're getting rid of Weeks, who was our second baseman against left handed pitchers. We need somebody to play second against lefties.

We're getting rid of Mark Reynolds, who was our emergency backup third baseman. Who plays third if Ramirez gets hurt?

We're counting on Jonathan Lucroy, who is our catcher, not getting nicked up, and being one of our first baseman against lefties, with Jason Rogers being the other option. That means Maldonado better not get hurt behind the plate. Because if he does, now Lucroy is the only catcher, meaning he can't play first base against lefties, meaning that Jason Rogers is it at first base.

 

We have a boat that is springing leaks all over the place.

[bill hAll Star]

Why the hell are you comparing Reynolds of 5 years ago? That Reynolds is long gone. Brewers 1st basemen hit a combined .208/.299/.374 last year. That's what you need to be comparing Lind to.

 

I'm not comparing Reynolds of 5 years ago. I'm comparing his total production over the last five years, just as I am comparing Lind's production over the last five years.

 

Or, did you suddenly think that Lind, after hitting .237 in 2010, .251 in 2011, .255 in 2012, and .288 in 2013--suddenly turned into a .321 hitter? Whenever you are making a comparison of two players, you always look at more than the last year. Because basing a decision off of a one year comparison, especially when both players being compared are veterans, is absolutely silly.

 

In a platoon as he was allowed to do last year, he may well be an .850 or better OPS guy as he was last year. May not have a .321 batting average but if he's on base around .350 and a SLG of about .475 or .500, that is really good.

[superfly]

No need to go anywhere else for a RH platoon. Rogers, Jimenez (might not be a terrible corner guy), and LuCroy could do it. Defense isn't that great with Luc/Lind but very solid.

 

Rogers, Jiminez and Lind don't really provide anything more than Rogers, Jiminez and Reynolds would provide, except that Lind was a left handed bat that could only hit against right handed pitchers.

 

You guys are placing an awful lot of responsibility in Jason Rogers lap, and nothing he has done at the Major League level yet has shown me that he can handle it. Rogers was never as highly touted as either Mat Gamel or Hunter Morris, and neither one of those guys ever showed they were up to the challenge.

 

Yes, Reynolds was pretty bad against lefties last year. History tells us he will be better, unless we think that Reynolds has gone off a cliff when it comes to hitting lefties at age 31. And truth be told, I feel much more comfortable in his ability to bounce back, and a lot less comfortable that Jason Rogers is the answer at first base 75% of the time against left handed pitchers.

 

Plus, here's something else to think about. Reynolds, if needed, can play third base. Should Aramis Ramirez, who will be 37 early in the 2015 season, get hurt, who plays third base with Reynolds gone? Ramirez missed 29 games last year, and 70 games in 2012. Adam Lind can't play third base. He never has.

 

We're getting rid of Weeks, who was our second baseman against left handed pitchers. We need somebody to play second against lefties.

We're getting rid of Mark Reynolds, who was our emergency backup third baseman. Who plays third if Ramirez gets hurt?

We're counting on Jonathan Lucroy, who is our catcher, not getting nicked up, and being one of our first baseman against lefties, with Jason Rogers being the other option. That means Maldonado better not get hurt behind the plate. Because if he does, now Lucroy is the only catcher, meaning he can't play first base against lefties, meaning that Jason Rogers is it at first base.

 

We have a boat that is springing leaks all over the place.

 

Christ man, its November 1st, 2014, not March 1, 2015. Did anyone in here expect we would have addressed our 1B situation with a COMPETENT player already? Half of us were resigned to the possibility of Overbay/Reynolds again.

 

We will find utility INF. We will address our lack of depth. DM isn't an idiot, neither is Attanasio. They saw how badly we wore down towards the end of the season. Just like they saw we can't have another season of production at 1st base like we have had the past two years. Lind is an immense upgrade for us, and by far the best 1st baseman since Prince. Think about it...we're set for 2 years now at a modest price if he doesn't get hurt.

 

Linds BA, OBP, and OPS were all higher than any player on our regular roster last year, INCLUDING Lucroy.

 

In the words of the GREAT Aaron Rodgers.... R - E - L - A - X.

[bill hAll Star]

'Stache, it's 2014 and baseball has changed. Look at Oakland's team the last year. How do you think they led the league or were near the top in runs the last 2 years? Answer: platoons.

 

Lind is possibly our best hitter in the lineup against a righty. He can ride the pine when we face Gio Gonzalez...it's really quite simple.

[The stache]

In a platoon as he was allowed to do last year, he may well be an .850 or better OPS guy as he was last year. May not have a .321 batting average but if he's on base around .350 and a SLG of about .475 or .500, that is really good.

 

I certainly hope he's able to do that. There will be an adjustment coming to the National League. He has never seen these pitchers before, so he will likely need a season to acclimate. His recent OBP + SLG pairings:

 

Lind's OBP and SLG since 2009:

 

2010: .287 OBP, .425 SLG

2011: .295 OBP, ,439 SLG

2012: .314 OBP, .414 SLG

2013: .357 OBP, .497 SLG

2014: .381 OBP, .489 SLG

 

I'm hoping that his recent trend continues. We have to hope it does, because if he reverts to old form, that's a big drop off in production that we can't afford. I'm being positive about this. I hope he shows us that this was a wise move. I'm just trying to look at it from as many different angles as possible.

 

Looking at the infield right now, it's construction is just too precarious for my liking. An injury to Lucroy, and we're in deep trouble. I will look more at our options for Scooter's platoon mate. His mate, and the contingency plan if Ramirez goes down are my two biggest questions right now.

[JohnBriggs12]

Please not Reynolds. Just let Rogers have a crack at it.

 

Sean Halton's still in the organization and had nice splits vs. lefties this past season: .342/.387/.509. I would hope he's in the mix. Rogers should be playing 3B everyday waiting for them to realize Ramirez is done. I wouldn't bring back Reynolds.

 

Like this deal. Before his nice work out of the pen the last month or so, Estrada was almost a certain non-tender. Lind is on par with LaRoche in my book at least vs. RHP for a lot less cash.

[djoctagone]

Is Estrada the best waiver claim of the Melvin era?

 

Scott Podsednik

Brady Clark

Derrick Turnbow

Todd Coffey

Casey McGehee

 

Good chance Estrada is, when you factor in any benefit from Lind's presence.

daniel ray herrera (claimed from the reds) was one of the two players acquired by the mets after giving up francisco rodriguez.

[The stache]

Christ man, its November 1st, 2014, not March 1, 2015. Did anyone in here expect we would have addressed our 1B situation with a COMPETENT player already? Half of us were resigned to the possibility of Overbay/Reynolds again.

 

We will find utility INF. We will address our lack of depth. DM isn't an idiot, neither is Attanasio. They saw how badly we wore down towards the end of the season. Just like they saw we can't have another season of production at 1st base like we have had the past two years. Lind is an immense upgrade for us, and by far the best 1st baseman since Prince. Think about it...we're set for 2 years now at a modest price if he doesn't get hurt.

 

Linds BA, OBP, and OPS were all higher than any player on our regular roster last year, INCLUDING Lucroy.

 

In the words of the GREAT Aaron Rodgers.... R - E - L - A - X.

 

Firstly, I don't know that we've improved our first base issue at all. We have a new face, that is all I know.

 

Lind's numbers were based off of 290 at bats, and in a league where he's seen the same pitchers for nine years. We're expecting him to get us 500 at bats in a new league with all new pitchers. The chances he will approach those numbers this year are slim. Do not forget, too, that in hitting .321, he only hit 6 home runs in those 290 at bats.

 

Lastly, I'm not anxious. I'm merely making conversation in response to everybody who seems overjoyed by this move, and I am relating what I am seeing. I hope Lind hits 30 home runs, and helps us get to and win a World Series. I will be the happiest guy in Texas next fall if that happens. But I have been watching this game long enough, and I have watched Doug Melvin assemble teams long enough (he was the Ranger GM before coming to Milwaukee, and I live 15 minutes from the Ballpark In Arlington). Only time will tell if this team has truly improved based on today's signing. I am very cautiously optimistic. But I see a lot of hurdles.

[bill hAll Star]

In a platoon as he was allowed to do last year, he may well be an .850 or better OPS guy as he was last year. May not have a .321 batting average but if he's on base around .350 and a SLG of about .475 or .500, that is really good.

 

I certainly hope he's able to do that. There will be an adjustment coming to the National League. He has never seen these pitchers before, so he will likely need a season to acclimate. His recent OBP + SLG pairings:

 

Lind's OBP and SLG since 2009:

 

2010: .287 OBP, .425 SLG

2011: .295 OBP, ,439 SLG

2012: .314 OBP, .414 SLG

2013: .357 OBP, .497 SLG

2014: .381 OBP, .489 SLG

 

I'm hoping that his recent trend continues. We have to hope it does, because if he reverts to old form, that's a big drop off in production that we can't afford. I'm being positive about this. I hope he shows us that this was a wise move. I'm just trying to look at it from as many different angles as possible.

 

Looking at the infield right now, it's construction is just too precarious for my liking. An injury to Lucroy, and we're in deep trouble. I will look more at our options for Scooter's platoon mate. His mate, and the contingency plan if Ramirez goes down are my two biggest questions right now.

 

Assuming his injuries don't flare up, those numbers will stick. In the lesser years (I took 2011) he had 27% of his ABs against lefties, meaning he was basically an every day player. In 2014 only 10% of his ABs were against LHP. So if the Brewers do the right thing and platoon him (and he's healthy), I'd bet on the "upward trend."

[The stache]

'Stache, it's 2014 and baseball has changed. Look at Oakland's team the last year. How do you think they led the league or were near the top in runs the last 2 years? Answer: platoons.

 

Lind is possibly our best hitter in the lineup against a righty. He can ride the pine when we face Gio Gonzalez...it's really quite simple.

 

I know baseball has changed. I study the game's history very closely. Yes, the A's have managed to be relatively successful with the smallest of salary footprints, and recently, they have been doing it with platoons. I also know that we don't have Billy Beane or his scouts working for Milwaukee.

 

I know, too, that our division just got a lot tougher. One of the four or five best managers in baseball just signed with the Cubs. He's been successful with a cash strapped franchise in Tampa Bay. He's now coming to the Cubs, which I would say right now have the deepest minor league talent pool in baseball. And, the Cubs will have money to spend. They will be much better immediately. They knew they were out of it, and they got substantial Major League playing time for some of their best prospects.

 

The Cardinals will still be tough. Their offense will reload. Losing Oscar Taveras will hurt them, and it will create a pall over the team. But they will take that tragedy, and turn it into a rallying cry. I know these Cardinals too well. They will be better next year, especially if Molina is healthy next year. Piscotty is now their future right fielder, and while he's not going to be Taveras, he's still going to be pretty darned good.

 

The Pirates have more talent coming, too. And they got some of their best prospects major playing time while in a pennant race. The Reds had a lot of injured players, and they will be back next year. Only now Voto will have Frazier, and Mesoraco to help him and Bruce club the ball out of the park. And then there's their pitching. Johnny Cueto, after Kershaw and maybe Bumgarner, is the best pitcher in the NL. Wait until Robert Stephenson gets up to the Majors. Cueto, Cingrani Latos and Stephenson. Yeah...no. That's a foursome I do not want to face.

 

We have our work cut out for us in a major way. There is lots of time before spring training. Let's see what else we do. If this is the first of several moves Melvin has planned out, okay, I will give him chance to put his cards on the table. But there needs to be more than this.

[The stache]

Assuming his injuries don't flare up, those numbers will stick. In the lesser years (I took 2011) he had 27% of his ABs against lefties, meaning he was basically an every day player. In 2014 only 10% of his ABs were against LHP. So if the Brewers do the right thing and platoon him (and he's healthy), I'd bet on the "upward trend."

 

Which numbers will stick, the average and OBP, or the 6 home runs in a half season. Because that won't fly.

[bill hAll Star]

Assuming his injuries don't flare up, those numbers will stick. In the lesser years (I took 2011) he had 27% of his ABs against lefties, meaning he was basically an every day player. In 2014 only 10% of his ABs were against LHP. So if the Brewers do the right thing and platoon him (and he's healthy), I'd bet on the "upward trend."

 

Which numbers will stick, the average and OBP, or the 6 home runs in a half season. Because that won't fly.

 

Lind's HRs will very likely increase this year, but let's assume for sake of argument that he hits 12 with an .850 OPS in a full platoon season off of last year's 6 HRs in half a year...

 

You know who hit 13 HR last year with an .840 OPS? Jonathan Lucroy. Playing every day and only hit 13.

 

Any way you slice it, unless Lind completely crumbles, he's going to be a great hitter.

[LouisEly]

'stache, remember that the NL Central is, and the Cardinals in particular, very RHP-dominant. Not concerned that Lind doesn't hit lefties because the Brewers don't face many of them. I'm sick of seeing the Brewers get stymied by tough RHP, namely Wainwright, Miller, Lynn, and Wacha (and Rosenthal, Motte, Martinez, etc.). Add to that Cole, Morton, Volquez, and Worley of the Pirates; Cueto, Latos, Simon, and Leake of the Reds; Arrietta and Hendricks of the Cubs...

 

'stache, we need LH bats to win in this division right now. And Lind is a relatively cheap one, much cheaper than LaRoche would have been and that's assuming he would have signed with the Brewers and not some other team. Lucroy and/or Rogers will be his platoon parter, but given how many RH starting pitchers there are in the division that won't be very often.

[SRB]

Reynolds will not be back, for more than one reason.

Ya no kidding. I want nothing to do with Reynolds and his LHP splits:

2014 - .173 / .277 /.296 /.573 / 113 PA / 3 HR

2013 - .225 / .319 /.406 /.725 / 182 PA / 8 HR

 

He cemented his get out of town card when he forgot how many outs there were in a pennant race. Sorry, I just don't want him back.

 

Ok, good point...

 

I hope that they don't just resign themselves to whatever internal options are available though. If they think Jason Rogers can handle it, then perfect, but surely there are some cheap LHP mashers on the FA market? Maybe somebody who can play 1B/OF, like a poor man's Jonny Gomes? Until Rogers has more of a track record, relying on him to be the everyday 1B against LHP seems like yet another lazy solution, and Overbay/Reynolds/Betancourt all over again.

 

The 'stache: I think you're being too pessimistic. Any way you slice it (assuming they go with a straight platoon), Lind + somebody competent against LHP projects to have as good of production as any other viable 1B target, free agent or otherwise. And Lind is coming to us very cheaply.

 

Even his defense is not that bad, if you look at his career numbers at 1B: only -4.0 UZR/150. He played a lot in the OF, where his career numbers are much worse, which brought down his dWAR totals.

[sheetskout]

Lind's HRs will very likely increase this year, but let's assume for sake of argument that he hits 12 with an .850 OPS in a full platoon season off of last year's 6 HRs in half a year...

 

You know who hit 13 HR last year with an .840 OPS? Jonathan Lucroy. Playing every day and only hit 13.

 

Any way you slice it, unless Lind completely crumbles, he's going to be a great hitter.

 

Agreed! I don't care if Lind has under 10 HR's. It's his K/BB and OBP that I'm looking at. I find it weird that a ton of the Brewers fanbase will complain about being too HR-reliant and then complain about a players potential power. We want to move in this direction......

 

I'm excited and it's a small-market-friendly contract. Signing LaRoche, would have been much riskier had he failed it may have ruined us for three years. This way, Lind doesn't perform? We look elsewhere next year.

[DuWayne Steurer]

 

Lastly, I'm not anxious. I'm merely making conversation in response to everybody who seems overjoyed by this move,

 

I don't think everyone is 'overjoyed'. I think everyone is happy to see that Doug is doing something to address the 1st base position rather than being happy to stand pat with the guy that hit .196 last year and OBP'd less than .290.

 

Yes LaRoche was out there, but the guy is going to be 36. There's just not a lot out there this off-season. We got rid of a guy who didn't have a lot of value other than as a back of the bullpen guy and who's going to be expensive to boot, at that.

 

You keep bringing up the "if so and so gets injured......" angle, as if the Brewers are the only team that will struggle if they suffer injuries. Lots of teams are in dire straights if they have injuries to key guys. That's just the way it is for small market teams. They don't have starter-quality guys on the bench (in fact, most teams don't). I'm not saying it's not a valid concern, but it's one a small/mid market team has to simply learn to live with if you're going to 'go for it', as we absolutely know Doug and Mark are going to do, every single year.

[vegasbrewcrew1993]

this is why you hold on to a guy like estrada. he either produces for you or gets you a solid return in a trade. A+ move by the Brewers. finally they won't have 50 feet of crap at 1B.

[vegasbrewcrew1993]

Lind's HRs will very likely increase this year, but let's assume for sake of argument that he hits 12 with an .850 OPS in a full platoon season off of last year's 6 HRs in half a year...

 

You know who hit 13 HR last year with an .840 OPS? Jonathan Lucroy. Playing every day and only hit 13.

 

Any way you slice it, unless Lind completely crumbles, he's going to be a great hitter.

 

Agreed! I don't care if Lind has under 10 HR's. It's his K/BB and OBP that I'm looking at. I find it weird that a ton of the Brewers fanbase will complain about being too HR-reliant and then complain about a players potential power. We want to move in this direction......

 

I'm excited and it's a small-market-friendly contract. Signing LaRoche, would have been much riskier had he failed it may have ruined us for three years. This way, Lind doesn't perform? We look elsewhere next year.

excellent point. who cares about HR power. we have enough of those guys. bring in someone that can get on base and post a good average. .321 last year? i'll take that anyday of the week.

[The stache]

excellent point. who cares about HR power. we have enough of those guys. bring in someone that can get on base and post a good average. .321 last year? i'll take that anyday of the week.

 

First, I guarantee you he won't hit .321 next year. New league, new pitchers. He might hit .300, but I'm thinking .275-.280 is more likely. Secondly, no, we really don't have enough of "those guys". If Reynolds is gone, we have two guys that hit 20 home runs last year, Davis and Gomez. Ramirez might hit 20 again if he can stay healthy. Big if. He's hit 29 the last two years. Gomez should hit 20, or close to it again. Braun, who knows what to expect. I think 30 is more likely than a lot of people believe right now. I think his thumb will be better. But besides Gomez and Davis, who was losing playing time at the end of the year, and Braun if he bounces back, we really don't have any other power hitters. Lucroy will hit 15. Gennett 10. Lind may hit 20. But this is not the 2011 team anymore. We hit 150 home runs last year. Good, not great.

 

We shall see.

[SoupTown]

What an interesting, in depth, discussion - maybe a little too in depth. We replaced Overbay with Lind. Is that good or bad?

 

I am in the moderate overjoyed camp.

[sheetskout]

Secondly, no, we really don't have enough of "those guys". If Reynolds is gone, we have two guys that hit 20 home runs last year, Davis and Gomez.

 

We DO have enough of these guys. Khris Davis played in 144 games last season putting up a 2.1 WAR to Lind's 1.9 in 96 games. He provides you a better approach, and his numbers are probably favored to increase playing 81 at Miller Park.

[DuWayne Steurer]

We hit 150 home runs last year. Good, not great.

 

We shall see.

 

 

The 2nd place team in the NL hit 157 homers. The Brewers were at the top of the league in homers and slugging. The landscape of baseball has changed.