2015 bench

[bill hAll Star]

Parra is an excellent bench piece. Assuming 6 games in a week, I hope Parra plays 3. 2 for Davis against the tougher RH pitchers and one break for Braun or Gomez. He's also a nice bat to have in the 9th given that almost every closer is right-handed. He has a high .700s career OPS against RH pitchers.

 

Other than that, the bench mostly is crap. I think Jiminez could be useful if matched-up correctly.

[Warning Track Power]

Baseball Reference has Jimenez listed at 6'1"...after standing near him on Saturday I cannot imagine he is even 5'11". If he is the backup at 1B, the Brewers IF better not sail any balls as it will be a challenge to come down with them.

[JohnBriggs12]

If Matt Clark keeps slugging home runs, we better find a place for him on this roster. Back up 1B/corner OF, I do not care.

 

I totally agree. Start him some in LF against RHP to keep him sharp. Maybe give Braun a rest here and there without loss of power threat too. Also wouldn't hurt to stick him in there at 1B one day when they are facing a long string of RHP. DH him in AL parks. There's 3 series in AL parks in the first 3 months.

 

If it's a given that Parra's the 4th OF, then the 5th OF spot is between Schafer, Shane Peterson and Clark, all lefty swingers. Because Parra's such a good defender at all 3 positions, why not select the best bat for the other spot? That guy is Clark.

 

I'm guessing he doesn't make the team though. Interestingly, he's a right handed thrower, but he's never gotten a look at 3B, so I'm guessing his arm isn't very strong. It would be great to have a power lefty bat to share time at 3B.

[monty57]

Good to see that the guys fighting for a spot are all hitting well to start the spring, making for a tough decision. Clark seems the obvious choice, but in the limited time I've seen him play 1B (TV games this spring), he's been awful. He dove out of the way of a throw in the dirt from Segura in one game, and had a weak grounder to first bounce off his chest allowing the runner to reach on what should have been an easy out in another. Has anyone seen him play on a regular basis. Is he really as bad as he's shown, or is this just an anomaly?

[FVBrewerFan]

When I look at the bench, I'm most interested in PH role. Yes, defense is important for backup catcher, maybe even middle IF and 4th OF. All of that is covered with Maldy, Hector Gomez, and Parra. So, for the last two spots I don't care about positions or defense. If a player is needed for a longer stint due to injury, a better mid long term fix can be brought up from AAA if necessary. I want two guys who are capable of stepping to the plate in late innings and delivering a base hit.

 

All that brings me to this point. Logan Schafer has no business being on the 25 man roster at the start of the season, yet he probably will be. I would be comfortable with Clark, Jimenez, Long, Peterson probably in that order. Rogers would be nice, but better served playing every day in AAA, for his glove as well as his bat. Same with Rivera. At some point, maybe even later this year, one or both could be on the bench.

[monty57]

When I look at the bench, I'm most interested in PH role. Yes, defense is important for backup catcher, maybe even middle IF and 4th OF. All of that is covered with Maldy, Hector Gomez, and Parra. So, for the last two spots I don't care about positions or defense. If a player is needed for a longer stint due to injury, a better mid long term fix can be brought up from AAA if necessary. I want two guys who are capable of stepping to the plate in late innings and delivering a base hit.

 

All that brings me to this point. Logan Schafer has no business being on the 25 man roster at the start of the season, yet he probably will be. I would be comfortable with Clark, Jimenez, Long, Peterson probably in that order. Rogers would be nice, but better served playing every day in AAA, for his glove as well as his bat. Same with Rivera. At some point, maybe even later this year, one or both could be on the bench.

 

I pretty much agree with all of this, except that if Clark is indeed as bad as he has appeared, then I don't want him anywhere near first base. He's probably not as bad as he's looked, but a first baseman who ducks his head away and throws his glove in the general direction of a ball thrown in the dirt is going to cost you just about every game he starts. First is generally regarded as the easiest position to play, but the one thing you have to be able to do is scoop balls thrown in the dirt.

 

Hopefully I just saw him with "early spring jitters." He's made it this far as a first baseman, so I hope he's actually a decent defender. If so, and especially if he can fill in at corner OF if needed (not as a normal player, but on the rare occasion when Parra has already subbed in and for whatever reason the LF/RF needs to come out), then he could be a good option for a bench spot. Generally speaking, he would mainly be a LH bat off the bench, so his most important feature would be his ability to hit.

 

Maldonado (lock to backup C), Parra (lock to backup all OF positions), one of Gomez/Herrera/Sardinas (Backup middle IF), one of Jimenez/Rogers (backup 3B, maybe 1B), and Clark (LH bat, backup 1B/corner OF). All in all, not terrible. Certainly better than having two players who only play 2B and two players who only play 1B, which hamstrung us last season. Of course, our backup middle IF may have to play about a quarter of the games if Gennett cannot hit LHP, our backup 3B may need to play a lot if Ramirez's body doesn't hold up, ditto our backup 1B as Lind's back is already forcing him to sit this spring, and our backup C will have to play around a quarter of the games because we can't seem to find a RH-hitting first baseman (normally the easiest-to-find commodity in baseball). Therefore, our bench will be extremely important this season, so let's hope they perform well.

[djoctagone]

as many predicted, shane peterson and luis sardinas optioned today. the remaining bench candidates (other than parra and maldonado) for three bench spots are: nevin ashley (not on the 40-man), juan centeno, matt clark, hector gomez, elian herrera (not on the 40-man), luis jimenez, matt long (not on 40-man), jason rogers and logan schafer.

[FVBrewerFan]

I guess I would go with Gomez, Jimenez, and Clark to start with. Rogers needs to work on his defense at 1B/3B and get ABs every day. Same with Sardinas, he needs his ABs every day. At some point in the season, hopefully both of them will be up.

 

Then the Petersons, Long, Herrera, Centeno, Herrera, and Schafer are in the wings for insurance/depth.

 

I'm not blown away by the bench, but it's ok. Especially if/when Sardinas and Rogers can come up to contribute.

[torts]

yeah, my guess its Gomez, Jimenez and Clark on the bench on 4/6, but I dont think it'll take long to see Rogers up if Clark struggles in limited at bats and starts.

[pacopete4]

Shane Peterson and Sardinas were optioned today. Bench becoming a little more clear.

[brewmann04]

will they play Rogers or Sardinas at third in Colorado Springs.

[brewmann04]

will they play Rogers or Sardinas at third in Colorado Springs.

[SoupTown]

stutterbrewmann... I hear in my read today it is Sardinas at short, with a bit of 2nd and 3rd to keep sharp. So I assume Rogers at third (one last try there for him... he is still learning). I am guessing Morris gets on last chance at first. And Clark will make the MLB 25 man. Would 2nd base in AAA be Herrera?

[SoupTown]

I was noticing today that Clark's three home runs this spring have been off lefties. I really think he will be the back up first baseman, left hand power bat off the bench.

[FVBrewerFan]

I would guess Sardinas/Herrara will both play 2B/SS, same with Arcia/Rivera in AA. Since it's unclear at this point where they will be needed, best for all of them to learn both positions.

[JohnBriggs12]

stutterbrewmann... I hear in my read today it is Sardinas at short, with a bit of 2nd and 3rd to keep sharp. So I assume Rogers at third (one last try there for him... he is still learning). I am guessing Morris gets on last chance at first. And Clark will make the MLB 25 man. Would 2nd base in AAA be Herrera?

 

"One last try for Rogers?" He didn't fall on his face last year at 3B. His bat should play very will in Colorado Springs. He's got multiple options left.

 

Herrera will float all over the field. Veteran Orr still will get some time at 2B too I presume.

[djoctagone]

barring a trade, the opening day bench is set: hector gomez, luis jimenez, martin maldonado, gerardo parra and logan schafer.

[JohnBriggs12]

barring a trade, the opening day bench is set: hector gomez, luis jimenez, martin maldonado, gerardo parra and logan schafer.

 

Not a real impressive group particularly the duo of Gomez and Jimenez in the IF who between them are a combined 38 for 167 (.228) in the big leagues. You would think Melvin could have come up with a tad more accomplished pair in the offseason to back up an aging 3B in decline, a SS coming off a subpar year and a 2B who's untested to this point vs. LHP.

 

Not a real strong PH threat anywhere either. Parra's the only sub who's ever seen time as a regular in the big leagues.

 

That's not say the bench won't turn out to be adequate but it's hard to look at it as a strength based on the track record of these guys.

[SRB]

Good defensive bench, but having zero players available to come off the bench as a real offensive threat is a problem, surely?

[MNBrew]

Good defensive bench, but having zero players available to come off the bench as a real offensive threat is a problem, surely?

If that proves to be a persistent issue over the first 2 months of the season, I'd bet one if not two of the bench residents will be different by the All-Star break if not sooner.

[endaround]

Good defensive bench, but having zero players available to come off the bench as a real offensive threat is a problem, surely?

If that proves to be a persistent issue over the first 2 months of the season, I'd bet one if not two of the bench residents will be different by the All-Star break if not sooner.

Good thing the Brewers play in the American League so don't have to worry about finding 3 pinch hitters in a game, other wise they might give 100 PAs to Schafer.

[JohnBriggs12]

Schafer and Parra aren't the problems. The 100 or so PA's Schafer gets won't be make or break. He'll get a few hits here and there. Sure it would be nice if one or the other had a bit more power. The problem is the infield duo of Jimenez and Gomez. They are going to need a guy to play a lot between 3B and 1B. Jimenez projects to more like 300 PA and he's unproven. I'd really prefer a salty veteran in that role. They also might need those two against a tough lefty reliever late in games. I'm hoping Gomez doesn't play much. That means Gennett and Segura are producing. If either of those two get hurt and miss time, I would hope they'd call on Sardinas over Gomez.

[brewcrewdue80]

I'm confident in Hector Gomez's backup ability. I think he's being undersold here as a backup bat. 15 Hrs in his 442 PAs in AAA total of 46 XBH. This was someone who's been oft-injured and never really got to put B2B seasons together prior to '13 & '14. Former top 100 way back when. Like Luis Sardinas, I think there's upside to be had for a backup MIF.

 

Now, speaking of Sardinas, What does his role become? Anyone know if he's just going to play MIF? Or will he be tried at 3b?

 

Obviously with Aram's age you have to have a Luis Jimenez 3b backup. I'm not really enthused about him like I am Gomez. I think he'll have a negative impact to the team when he takes the field, more so than even Schafer's batting issues. So big part of me is hoping Sardinas plays some 3b in AAA to remove Jimenez when his time has come and gone.

 

Really need healthy ARam for this season as long as we can have him. And I hope the phone's being used non-stop throughout the season working to solve the 3b problem Milw will face in 2015 and especially in 2016.

[SoupTown]

Jimenez is in the exact role needed to measure him. He is good D, so that will stay. The O, in minors was pretty good, so he either will be a MLB player or one of the AAAA guys that is of not much value. I am excited to see what he will do in 200 at bats or so. As I posted in another thread, if he becomes an average player overall at league min, that is just great for a couple of years. Very Scooterish. Heck, I guess we hope Segura is Scooterish for a couple of years.

[bork]

I was surprised to read Melvin state that Schafer has a .270 average as a PH in his 4 years. I had to look it up and he is right. So Schafer's problem hasn't been PH, it's that he's stunk when he has started. That makes me feel a bit better about him on the bench.