Allen Craig

[Warning Track Power]

Would Allen Craig be an option for the Brewers to look into to be the RH platoon with Lind and the 4th OF? He has a career .285/.323/.514 in 520 PAs against LHP. With Boston acquiring Hanley for LF, he may be someone the Brewers could target. I would like to see his bat in our lineup if the cost were affordable.

[bensheeps]

I thought about the same. Only due $5.5 million this year (salary does bump up to $9 and $11 million over the next two).

 

Maybe get greedy and see if Gallardo or Lohse could fetch both Craig and Cecchini?

[TooLiveBrew]

Craig is signed through 2018 (age-33) for a guaranteed amount of $26.5MM ($13MM club option in '18 w/$1MM buyout). I'd have to be really confident that he'll revert to his prime-aged production to pursue him... and even his prime was three incomplete seasons. It would be a pretty expensive way to cover 200-300 PAs in a given season.

[bill hAll Star]

I would imagine he's terrible at 2B/3B, but he played some of those spots in 2010/2011. If he could do that as A-Ram insurance, a platoon-mate for Scooter as well, and also man the 1B/OF corner duties we'd expect, then I'd take him.

 

Otherwise overpriced as TooLiveBrew says.

[pacopete4]

I like the idea of Cecchini and Craig joining the crew for Gallardo or Lohse. Then flip Gomez over to SEA for Walker and Jackson. Possibly a shot at it for now and gives us pieces for the future.

[danzig6767]

Craig is signed through 2018 (age-33) for a guaranteed amount of $26.5MM ($13MM club option in '18 w/$1MM buyout). I'd have to be really confident that he'll revert to his prime-aged production to pursue him... and even his prime was three incomplete seasons. It would be a pretty expensive way to cover 200-300 PAs in a given season.

Too much money for my tastes considering the abysmal season he had last year. Sure there is a chance that was a fluke bad year, but i wouldn't want to risk 26 million dollars to find out because there is also a decent chance that Craig won't regain his hitting ability of the previous seasons.

 

The Cardinals were quick to bail on Craig and now Boston looks to be also. That's telling to me that neither was/is confident that he'll get back to being the hitter he was because an .800 plus OPS bat in this skyrocketing salary environment would be worth quite a bit more cash than the contract he has.

[3and2Fastball]

I would love to see the Brewers take a chance on Craig, but I don't see it happening (as others have said) due to his contract.

 

He was injured last season, I think he'll rebound to being productive if healthy, but I suppose that is the "if" that is of concern. He is the exact kind of hitter that the Brewers desperately need more of: patient, high on-base percentage, a smart hitter and a "clutch" hitter. He'll be 30 in 2015, way too young to just give up on.

[pete]

The time lost last season was to a "lisfranc sprain," but the season before the foot sustained the lisfranc fracture. That's 2 seasons in a row where recovery included not putting weight on the foot (crutches?) for 6 weeks or more. He was never the most athletic guy to start with. He's also had a screw put into his knee to repair a fracture.

 

I wouldn't describe myself as well informed about the health topics involved, but it seems risky and while many fans (and I'd guess Melvin as well) don't want to test some of the fringy guys in the minors like Rogers, not using them is essentially giving up on them as he can't keep them in the minors forever.

[reillymcshane]

Craig scares me a bit. OPS has declined every year since 2011. He doesn't walk much. Defensive and base running metrics have never been kind to him - and as he ages (he'll be 31 next year) it likely won't get any better. He never seemed to be that good of an athlete - he has a body type that may not age well. I worry his injuries (and age) will sap a little speed, a little power, a little bat speed - and just suck him of his skills rather quickly.

 

It's hard to ignore three straight .300 seasons - especially so recently (2011-13). But I'd be very wary of taking on his contract. You'd have to feel comfortable that last season's performance was an aberration.

[Mass Haas]

Via Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo --

 

Allen Craig, OF, Red Sox — Three evaluators told me that Craig will have a market if the Red Sox decide to deal him. The Marlins and Brewers have been interested. One evaluator told me there’s no way Craig is done as a premier hitter at age 30, and that foot injuries derailed his season. The evaluator said the Red Sox should be careful on this one and stick to their original evaluation of him — a clutch, impact, professional bat when he’s right.

 

No thanks, please.

[SRB]

I would be happy to take a chance on Craig if his inclusion in the deal is treated as partially a salary dump benefiting Boston.

 

1B/OF Allen Craig (and most or all of his contract) and 3B Garin Cecchini for SP Kyle Lohse?

[nate82]

I would be happy to take a chance on Craig if his inclusion in the deal is treated as partially a salary dump benefiting Boston.

 

1B/OF Allen Craig (and most or all of his contract) and 3B Garin Cecchini for SP Kyle Lohse?

 

Would have to give up more to get Cecchini in that deal. I am not sure who the Red Sox would want but it would probably start with a higher ranked prospect than Jungmann.

 

Now Lohse for Craig and the Red Sox pay about $15m of his contract that would be fine.

[SRB]

I would be happy to take a chance on Craig if his inclusion in the deal is treated as partially a salary dump benefiting Boston.

 

1B/OF Allen Craig (and most or all of his contract) and 3B Garin Cecchini for SP Kyle Lohse?

 

Would have to give up more to get Cecchini in that deal. I am not sure who the Red Sox would want but it would probably start with a higher ranked prospect than Jungmann.

 

Now Lohse for Craig and the Red Sox pay about $15m of his contract that would be fine.

 

You think so? I feel like Cecchini is not a top-top prospect (his ceiling is probably an average-ish 3B) and they have no use for him anymore with the Sandoval/Hanley signings.

 

Lohse deserves a nice return.

[molitor fan]

I could be making a jump here, but it seems that Brewer fans are really under-estimating what Lohse has given to the Brewers the last 2 years..3 IP shy of 400 innings, 3.45 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP is in the top10-15 stats lines over the last 2 years in the national league....Lohse seems like a guy that could stay effective far beyond the age expectation as well....Lohse deserves a very substantive haul if he is the outgoing pitcher

[superfly]

If we could somehow keep Lohse and Gallardo, i'd be interested...I don't think it's worth it otherwise.

[MNBrew]

I could be making a jump here, but it seems that Brewer fans are really under-estimating what Lohse has given to the Brewers the last 2 years..3 IP shy of 400 innings, 3.45 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP is in the top10-15 stats lines over the last 2 years in the national league....Lohse seems like a guy that could stay effective far beyond the age expectation as well....Lohse deserves a very substantive haul if he is the outgoing pitcher

I don't think you're making a leap at all. I think folks are focusing on his age and kind of (selectively) forgetting or dismissing his results on the mound, which as you say have been overall VERY solid the last two years. Ace? Of course not -- precious few ever are. However, trading Lohse for anything less than a VERY significant return -- in other words, LOTS more than a single mid-grade prospect -- is ridiculous. Who would replace his production NOW? Seriously, after trading Greinke, about all we had of consequence in the rotation was Gallardo. Lohse came in and made for a very nice, stabilizing upgrade to the rotation, then didn't drop off at all in Year 2 in MIL.

 

Let's not forget that more often than not it often takes years of being a bottom-dwelling MLB team to develop a large arsenal of high-end prospects (the present Cubs come to mind as an example), and any lasting success out of that status is not automatic at all. It took the post-Bando Brewers a hugely long time to become even remotely respectable, and even with that stable of top-tier (mostly hitting) prospects, it still took the mid-year addition of Sabathia in '08 and the Greinke & Marcum trades going into '11 to upgrade the pitching significantly enough for the team have a strong shot at making the playoffs. . . . To wit, it also took the Royals much, much longer than a decade of having nice prospects to finally get over the hump -- that was a long, long time of living on promise. While we all seem to agree that the Brewers' drafting & developing needs to perform a whole lot better than they've done the past decade, you still need good starting pitching to get your house in order or the trickle-down ramifications on the rest of the roster and its performance are, well, exactly what the Macha years were -- a serious mess with no real hope of likely success.

 

In the end, it comes back to pitching & defense. The pitching part starts with the rotation, and there the Brewers are pretty darn respectable. The bullpen's an annual crapshoot at least to some extent, and also easier than most areas to find/acquire suitable short-term fixes. If the hitting remains upper-half, let alone upper-tier like it's been most of the past few years, then the defense just has to be average to have a decent chance at playoff contention -- logically, something appreciably better than average defense only improves the outlook.

 

To the point of the thread, the Allen Craig notion intrigues me. Given his large contract & non-starting role in Bean Town, I'd think trading a SP should net at least a Craig & Cecchini in return, and I wonder if it'd take less than Yo or Lohse to net that return if the Brewers took on all of Craig's contract. (Cecchini's MiLB numbers show some promise but aren't consistently high-end, and the guy's extremely blocked by the newly-signed Panda, so I'd agree with the previously poster that he's a hugely valuable asset to BOS.)

[WV Brew]

Craig, AA .304/.373/.494

Jason Rogers last year AA & AAA: .296/.365/.489

 

Pass at the price. Just give Rogers a chance. Not many at bats there anyway, according to Doug. If they trade a starter they need to get a 3B who can start next year.

[JohnBriggs12]

Craig, AA .304/.373/.494

Jason Rogers last year AA & AAA: .296/.365/.489

 

Pass at the price. Just give Rogers a chance. Not many at bats there anyway, according to Doug. If they trade a starter they need to get a 3B who can start next year.

 

 

Simple solution. Expand the deal. Ramirez, Lohse and Rogers for Craig, Cecchini, and Anthony Ranaudo. Brewers send enough $ Boston's way to absorb Craig contract and get a young arm in the deal. Boston gets seasoned veteran for 3B, a proven starter and a guy with some upside in Rogers.

[brewerfan82]

Pretty sure Boston's set at 3B right now

[BrewBalls]

Personally I would prefer to trade Lohse because I think the Brewers will extend Gallardo a qualifying offer after 2015. I could see a Cecchini and Craig for Lohse and Lopez/Jungmann deal, with the Boston throwing in $5-8M, working out for both sides.

[molitor fan]

Holy crap...these Lohse trades on this thread suck to no end...Briggs and Brewballs I just do not get your logic

[Warning Track Power]

@Molitorfan:

 

Man...I don't know about that. Trading Lohse + for some combo of:

 

1. Cecchini, who based on the minor league stats, could be Cirillo-like at 3B and solve an organizational hole long term.

2. Craig, a former/potentially still, elite hitting RH 1B to platoon with Lind

3. Ranuado, a really solid looking RHP

 

Seems like a pretty solid deal to me. Lohse isn't likely to be re-signed, Jungmann is a worse prospect than Ranaudo and we have no RH option at 1B or long term solution at 3B. If Boston were to offer those three for 1 season of Lohse, Jungmann and something else I would be all over it.

[pete]

I'm not all that well informed, but doesn't Ranaudo project to be a BOR starter or reliever? Do you see Jungmann as worse than that? He's got a great GB/FB ratio while maintaining a near K per inning.

 

Cecchini would be a nice get.

 

Craig spent about a YEAR on the DL with an injury that can be career ending for athletes. He's cheap if he hits like his best years or he could be just like lighting 20 some million dollars on fire.

[nate82]

I believe the Brewers are in on Craig right now they are just waiting on a team to take Parra. I don't see the Brewers giving up Gallardo or Lohse in a trade here and there may have to be a 3rd team to get a deal done.

[Eye Black]

Craig is signed through 2018 (age-33) for a guaranteed amount of $26.5MM ($13MM club option in '18 w/$1MM buyout). I'd have to be really confident that he'll revert to his prime-aged production to pursue him... and even his prime was three incomplete seasons. It would be a pretty expensive way to cover 200-300 PAs in a given season.

Too much money for my tastes considering the abysmal season he had last year. Sure there is a chance that was a fluke bad year, but i wouldn't want to risk 26 million dollars to find out because there is also a decent chance that Craig won't regain his hitting ability of the previous seasons.

 

The Cardinals were quick to bail on Craig and now Boston looks to be also. That's telling to me that neither was/is confident that he'll get back to being the hitter he was because an .800 plus OPS bat in this skyrocketing salary environment would be worth quite a bit more cash than the contract he has.

Agree with both of these posts. Making a $26.5 million commitment to a player who is 30 yrs old with injury concerns that has never played 135 games in a regular season seems much riskier than the Brewers can afford to be this off-season. Sure it would be great if you could guarantee Craig would stay healthy and regain his previous production levels, but I am not convinced the odds of it are very high.