Allen Craig

[superfly]

I'm of the mindset that Gallardo has a shot to retire a Brewer. I don't foresee us trading our homegrown man especially at his age. I don't think we should trade Lohse either, he's a solid pitcher at decent value who probably would command more on the open market than he's getting.

 

Boston has very little incentive to keep Craig IMO, with his salary and injury history...we can get him without dealing our pitching depth. If we can't, lets keep pitching a strength and find an alternative.

[RockCoCougars]

Craig's Cardinals mojo has worn off. I want no part of him at that contract... wouldn't take him for 'free', never mind giving up anything of value for him.

[SoupTown]

It always amazes me how the guys, when leaving St Louis, seem to lose weight (muscle) and power and get injured a whole lot more. Yet when they GO to St Louis they gain muscle and power and injuries are gone. Funny coincidence.

[jerichoholicninja]

It always amazes me how the guys, when leaving St Louis, seem to lose weight (muscle) and power and get injured a whole lot more. Yet when they GO to St Louis they gain muscle and power and injuries are gone. Funny coincidence.

 

Craig was already injured in St. Louis.

[WV Brew]

Not to worry. Sounds like RR is happy with Jimenez as the RH 1B, back up 3B because he once had a good fielding series against the Brewers:

 

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/for-brewers-manager-ron-roenicke-next-season-is-new-page-b99404892z1-285172111.html

[pete]

Boston has very little incentive to keep Craig IMO, with his salary and injury history...we can get him without dealing our pitching depth. If we can't, lets keep pitching a strength and find an alternative.

 

I have no idea and you could be completely correct, but when I was tooling around a couple Red Sox sites, they had the exact opposite opinion - that there is very little incentive to trade him. To them he is cheap, a premium hitter and they don't seem troubled by his injuries. And of course the Brewers have nothing to offer them.

[3and2Fastball]

Not to worry. Sounds like RR is happy with Jimenez as the RH 1B, back up 3B because he once had a good fielding series against the Brewers:

 

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/for-brewers-manager-ron-roenicke-next-season-is-new-page-b99404892z1-285172111.html

 

Hasn't hit MLB pitching yet

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?id=jimenlu02&year=Career&t=b

 

But he has hit MiLB pitching well, with a nice low walk-rate which will fit right in with the free-swingin' Brew Crew

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=jimene006lui

[Mass Haas]

The Red Sox are in a no-win situation with Craig if other clubs play their cards right.

 

Saw my share of Red Sox action down the stretch in my neck of the woods, and Craig was basically unwatchable, as his .425 OPS (94 AB's) attests in its sample-size relevance.

 

Boston is set now at DH, 1B, LF, and with a variety of options in RF, including a self-declared healthy Shane Victorino, Craig wasn't going to see time in perhaps baseball's toughest RF to play, anyway.

 

I'd be very upset if the Brewers give up anything of significance or pick up anything but a fraction of his remaining salary in a deal. If they give up both talent and pick up the bulk of Craig's salary obligations, it'd be an absolutely hideous transaction.

 

(This would have David Freese written all over it...ask Angels fans).

[Austin Tatious]

Allen Craig, 1B/OF, Red Sox — The Marlins have Craig on their list of possible acquisitions as they pursue a righthanded hitter to play first base. They’re doing their homework on the 30-year-old, who had very good years with St. Louis before he was sent to Boston at last year’s trading deadline. Milwaukee also has some interest in Craig in a platoon with Adam Lind.

 

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/12/14/major-league-teams-always-wonder-whether-they-did-enough/QZPIQPpUESa8wldXu09OJP/story.html

 

I agree with the comment that we should not have to give up much for Craig. High salary and a part time player. The Bosox should be happy we would take him off their hands.

[superfly]

Assuming the previous media reports were true, I think we may be working on getting Craig. (Miami signed Morse, Mariners got their "right handed bat," etc. Guess I'd want to see the deal before I like or dislike if it is us pulling the trigger.

 

 

Red Sox In Active Trade Talks Regarding Allen Craig

By Steve Adams [December 18, 2014 at 1:42pm CST]

The Red Sox are in active trade talks with at least one club regarding first baseman/outfielder Allen Craig, reports Jon Morosi of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Craig is said to be fully recovered from a painful Lisfranc fracture suffered in his left foot in August, Morosi adds.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

[reillymcshane]

The only way we take on Craig is if we get rid of Parra. Craig is set to make $5.5M. Parra should make around $6M, so they pretty much work straight up on a swap. Craig plays BU to LF and RF as well as starting at 1B against lefties. Schafer (or maybe Herrera) would back up CF. With that alignment, there's not enough at bats for Parra and Craig, so Parra get be dealt.

 

Still, there the matter of $9M and $11M salaries in 2016-17 as well (plus a 2018 option). Taking on that is risky, so if we get Craig, we shouldn't give up much.

 

Craig just scares me. I know he was injured last year, so maybe I'm worrying too much.

[BrewBalls]

Either we give up a fringe prospect or Boston eats some of his salary, say $9M, making his salary $3.5M in 2015, $6M in '16 and $8M in '17 in order to receive a decent prospect in return (maybe Tyler Wagner). The remaining $1M will cover the option buyout in 2018.

[TURBO]

That is too much money, this is very scary.

[pacopete4]

Scary? It's money. MA has more to give if he wants. Another big RH bat to have? Get him in our lineup.

[pete]

Is he a big bat? If you get him in the lineup and he stinks how long do you go before admitting failure? If Melvin sells Mark A on getting him and spends money, then he will be on the roster. Giving up a guy with a decent chance of being a mid-rotation starter for him, uh, aw gosh no.

[pacopete4]

I'd say a guy that was batting well over .300 for 3 seasons would be a very nice addition to this team. If he's healthy, the Red Sox are dumb for letting him get away.

[pete]

Bring back Overbay then.

[pacopete4]

Not even close to the same situation. This man is 30 and had an injury plagued season last year. Try again...

[pete]

Overbay hit well for more seasons.

 

There's a significant chance that both of their careers are over. Overbay never had a lisfranc fracture, much less a lost season to the same incredibly crucial joint when it was supposedly completely healed. It might be a different situation, but it might not.

[TooLiveBrew]

Not even close to the same situation. This man is 30 and had an injury plagued season last year. Try again...

Craig never even played a season in which he was truly an everyday player. He's not some well-established bat with a long record of consistency. He had about the same track record of production that David Freese did after 2012.

[JohnBriggs12]

Not even close to the same situation. This man is 30 and had an injury plagued season last year. Try again...

Craig never even played a season in which he was truly an everyday player. He's not some well-established bat with a long record of consistency. He had about the same track record of production that David Freese did after 2012.

 

He wouldn't be an everyday player for the Brewers either. He's only one season removed from back to back years where he posted back to back years of a BA over .300 and over 90 RBI in over 500 plate appearances. I think at 30, he's worth the gamble in a buy low situation.

 

Look at Morse for the Giants last year. He was coming off a very similar year to the one Craig had last year. It was injury plagued and he hit .215 for Seattle and Baltimore. But he turned back into the feared hitter he was in Washington. The situations are very similar.

[brewcrewdue80]

Not even close to the same situation. This man is 30 and had an injury plagued season last year. Try again...

Craig never even played a season in which he was truly an everyday player. He's not some well-established bat with a long record of consistency. He had about the same track record of production that David Freese did after 2012.

 

He wouldn't be an everyday player for the Brewers either. He's only one season removed from back to back years where he posted back to back years of a BA over .300 and over 90 RBI in over 500 plate appearances. I think at 30, he's worth the gamble in a buy low situation.

 

Look at Morse for the Giants last year. He was coming off a very similar year to the one Craig had last year. It was injury plagued and he hit .215 for Seattle and Baltimore. But he turned back into the feared hitter he was in Washington. The situations are very similar.

 

Only his Contract for a (non everyday player) isn't a Buy Low contract. I don't consider 9 and 11mil owed after this season of trying to see if Craig can be an answer a buy low situation. 9 and 11mil is the price for him to perform at full expectations...meaning at or better than his career numbers of .282/.337/.445/.783(which how is that good at 1b w/o elite defense?)

 

If he doesn't reach those numbers with 450+PAs(how will he reach that with Lind on the team?) he's nowhere worth 9 and 11mil dollars in a small market.

 

Tell Boston to throw 20mil the Brewers way and now it's a buy low situation since the 25.5mil owed would leave him at 5.5mil over 3 years. That's a buy low situation. Anything above the ML avg in pay isn't buying low. KRod's deal last season was buying low.

 

I can't get on board with trading for Craig unless his contract is almost paid for. The risk involved of him potentially being closer to forced retirement due to that foot I feel is more than the Reward involved on him returning to a .300 20+HR 90ish RBI hitter. At the cost or a prospect and Money the team desperately needs to buy more established players.

It's one thing if he's on a 1 or 2year deal like Cespedes being traded around. It's another that he's owed 9 and 11mil after 2015. That's around 10% of the Brewers Payroll rolled in to a lottery ticket. With players like Braun aboard who's going to be earning more? The team can't take on that risk. IF Craig sucks, Braun sucks. It's 29mil and 31mil tied in to 2 players for 2016/2017 that aren't worth 10mil combined. So 20% of a teams payroll is exposed to injury riddled numbers in value. Leaves the team 70mil roughly to tackle the other 38 men on the teams roster or less than 2mil per player. Which would be half I'm guess the ML's player's salary avg come 2016/2017. How can you tie you entire franchise in to those two potential complete busts?

[JohnBriggs12]

His 2015 salary is quite reasonable, and considering the Brewers are paying $14 million to Aramis Ramirez, I don't think 2 years and $20 million over 2016 and 2017 is that out of line even if he doesn't quite get back to his St. Louis form of 2012 and 2013. Look what Kendrys Morales got as a FA. I have a lot more faith that Craig at 30 could out produce Ramirez at 37 myself. The question is where do you play him? Can you find enough time in the OF and platooning at 1B to get him 400 AB's? Could he play some at 3B?

 

Lind has a team option for 2016, If Craig returns to form and Lind is just so-so, just don't bring Lind back in 2016 and make Craig the full time 1B.

[MNBrew]

BCD80, you're totally right about the potential risk. However, to improve their roster, I believe some version of risk is inevitable because no one's going to just drop a pot of gold in another's team's lap for minimal cost.

 

The question becomes this: If the Brewers are to make a move to improve their lineup or bench, whether for Allen Craig or someone else, how do they do so where the risk/reward factor is more likely to favorably work for them? If this is about managing risk and making sure not to make moves that screw things up royally, the safest move at this point is to make no further moves of any consequence at all other than a cheap-ish BP addition (or two). Further entrenching the status quo, however, represents a large risk in and of itself given that, far and away, the offense was the glaring reason for the team's fall from a playoff spot.

 

Every year, when we keep looking at teams like the Cardinals, teams who continue to pick up current or former starting players in various trades for depth or filling roster holes, then compare the Brewers' bench construction to theirs, the difference in quality becomes quickly evident. At some point the Brewers need to figure out how to get the right players -- better quality depth -- at the right prices. As much as I'm inclined to root for them, I'm not sold on Luis Jiminez, Jason Rogers, Matt Clark, etc., as being likely difference-makers off the bench.

 

In the end, I think I'd prefer to see Craig & Aoki on the bench rather than Parra, but it would take some significant creative work to make that happen. If Lind ends up injured or proves to need a platoon mate, there's a previously proven everyday 1B in the lineup in Craig. The trick, as always, is that the payroll space to do those moves would need to have to come from somewhere, and the Brewers can't really afford for these types of moves to blow a different hole elsewhere in the roster to fill this one, as Melvin often says.

[JohnBriggs12]

MNBrew

 

I've never believed that benches make an average team good or a good team great. That being said a couple wins a year can be big. I look at Craig as a guy they'd find a place for if he's the guy he was in St. Louis. If he's that guy and last year was an aberration, then he's well worth his contract and you can trade a Davis or move him to the bench. As presently constructed I don't think the Brewer's ceiling is as high as it would be with a healthy Allen Craig on the roster. Is their a risk he'll never be the same player he was? Certainly. But at his best he was one of the best hitters in the NL, and those are guys who I think are worth taking some risk on. I'd much rather do that on a player who still in his prime age range than a guy who's clearly nearing the end.

 

He's not cheap per se, but if he produces like he has in the past, he's well worth that contract.