Allen Craig

[pete]

Is he the player he was in St. Louis? I'd guess if he was, he'd still be in St. Louis and/or he wouldn't be available from Boston.

 

He kind of faked it in the OF when he was healthy and I don't know if I'd call him injury prone, but he's had his fair share including getting a screw into his knee if I'm not mistaken and a huge, huge question mark in a recurring lisfranc injury. That is a potential career ender and even if its ok, I don't think it would be smart to having him sprinting around the OF or diving for balls at 3rd.

 

I don't think anyone disagrees that if he was like he was during his shining couple years in St. Louis, he'd be a huge addition. But I don't think there's a lot of optimism about him. Did you read the article at Fangraphs on how bad he was against fastballs?

 

Even if he ware good, I think it would be crazy to trade Davis.

[MNBrew]

As already stated by several, it represents several significant if's, but ... if Allen Craig is healthy and Boston's OF surplus is sufficient enough that they'd eat some cost to clear an OF & the remainder of his cost from their roster, I'd think that would be a move worth making.

 

Possibly trading Davis is a different question, but I've noticed a few significant times over the years when the Brewers have had both a promising-but-unproven young guy & a proven veteran at the same position, and when they've traded the veteran, the young 'un never ended up matching the vet's production and the Brewers came out on the short end of their own decision (trading Overbay for Fielder to play is an obvious counterexample; I'm thinking of trading Vina rather than Belliard, for one, but there were at least 1-2 similar trades around the same time). Davis strikes me as possibly a current version of Belliard's talent. In some cases you're better off gaining a better return on the value of a guy's plusses & potential vs. hanging onto that guy and having him prove he's not going to come close to his projected ceiling.

 

The Brewers don't need to get older, for sure, and Davis is cheap and can mash the ball. However, I think there are only so many low-walk-rate/low-OBP guys you can get away with having in the lineup at once over a long period of time. Davis, Segura, & Gennett, plus Gomez (who's not going anywhere), represent a nice collection of talent but with a similar glaring flaw.

 

I'm not saying I'd be out shopping Davis, but LF isn't the toughest of positions to replace and I'd think Davis' power, youth, salary, & promise might help net a better return than Parra would, for instance -- and not a Parra or Craig type of veteran in return, but comparable young talent at either a different position or with a different set of skills that fits the Brewers' needs better.

[pete]

Parra might be worth a reliever. You'll get a whole lot more for Davis. I'd guess that buyers would also look at his minor league OBP which is quite high. I think based on that its reasonable to assume it will improve going forward.

 

Gomez had a .356 OBP, Gennett .320, MLB average .314

 

Average is always a dangerous stat because its meaning is distorted by the composition of the pool. Gomez is strange because as Brewers fans we've seen him give away so many strikes or even complete at bats.