Matt Dominguez claimed and optioned; Wei-Chung Wang designated for assignment (Wang outrighted; post 100)

[craigharmann]

Dominguez has no range. Sure, he can hit homers. Whoop de do. I saw him last season. Offensively and defensively, he's mediocre at best. Yes, the Brewers need to completely rebuild. Blow up the team and start over. If Dominguez is the kind of guy they looking for, then it will be a long, long time before the Brewers get above .500, let alone sniff the playoffs.

 

There is, "what you want", and, "what is available"....when a team is this flat on its face, unfortunately, both will play a role.

 

Fill the holes, while you build - like it or not.

 

The Astros and the Cubs are two examples of what the Brewers need to do. Get what young talent you can get for the collection of stinking garbage you have, play all the young players you can while you invest heavily in building your young assets.

[adambr2]

Sure, he can hit homers. Whoop de do.

 

You say that like it's not something really good to do in baseball.

 

That's all he can do. Walk? Nope. Field? Not that great. Hit for average? Not really. So, great, you've got a guy who either gets out out or hits homers. Enjoy.

 

I don't disagree with your main point, I would just never use the phrase "whoop de do" to describe hitting homeruns since it's a rather useful trait, but I agree he still doesn't carry enough OPS or glove to likely be a good long-term option, and his minors numbers don't indicate that he ever will be.

 

In all likelihood they are just trying to plug a hole that they know they will have for cheap the next few years while they ride out the rebuild. At least I hope that's what they are doing.

[TheCrew07]

I don't really think most people have a problem with acquiring Dominguez, it's keeping around all the other useless dead weight and exposing Wang to waivers which many don't like. If it was just about talent, the move makes no sense, why risk losing a lefty who works in the low 90s?

 

I could list a plethora of top prospects who have struggled for longer and turned out okay, Wang's start to the season was concerning, but not deal breaking. Hopefully he clears waivers and then it's all good and with that salary there's a good chance he won't be taken.

 

A part of me is skeptical that isn't about talent or performance and is in fact just about trying to unload Wang's salary to save some money, the Brewers are sincerely hoping someone bites.

 

The revelation about the $300K shed much more light on the subject.

[jerichoholicninja]

Sure, he can hit homers. Whoop de do.

 

You say that like it's not something really good to do in baseball.

 

That's all he can do. Walk? Nope. Field? Not that great. Hit for average? Not really. So, great, you've got a guy who either gets out out or hits homers. Enjoy.

 

Like I posted earlier, a younger Mark Reynolds.

[splitterpfj]

Dominguez has no range. Sure, he can hit homers. Whoop de do. I saw him last season. Offensively and defensively, he's mediocre at best. Yes, the Brewers need to completely rebuild. Blow up the team and start over. If Dominguez is the kind of guy they looking for, then it will be a long, long time before the Brewers get above .500, let alone sniff the playoffs.

 

There is, "what you want", and, "what is available"....when a team is this flat on its face, unfortunately, both will play a role.

 

Fill the holes, while you build - like it or not.

 

The Astros and the Cubs are two examples of what the Brewers need to do. Get what young talent you can get for the collection of stinking garbage you have, play all the young players you can while you invest heavily in building your young assets.

 

Yes, and the Brewers are in the process of doing that. The farm system has more talent in it than its had in a while, but the guys we'll want to see are all AA and below right now. There isn't a third baseman ready to fill the spot when Aramis is gone, and obviously someone has to fill that spot, while the team is rebuilt, so why not try Dominguez?

 

This is going to take some time, just like it did in Chicago and Houston, and someone has to play for now...I really don't see a problem with claiming a kid like this at this point.

[502 to Right]

Wang sucks. Should never have been on the roster in 2014. I hope someone picks him off waivers so this club can be free of his suckitude.

[MNBrew]

Sure, he can hit homers. Whoop de do.

 

You say that like it's not something really good to do in baseball.

 

That's all he can do. Walk? Nope. Field? Not that great. Hit for average? Not really. So, great, you've got a guy who either gets out out or hits homers. Enjoy.

Russell Branyan, anyone? I ask because he fits that exact same description and he got ridiculous love on this site LONG past when he deserved it. What's the difference?

 

People clearly want Ramirez gone. Someone besides a backup middle IF needs to play there. What other options are there? Braun & Rogers aren't among them, that's for sure, and thankfully that's how it ought to be.

[The stache]

He is very good with the glove and there is still potential in his bat.

 

Dominguez? Very good? Did you watch him play? I did all last season. Mediocre in the field and atrocious at the plate. So much so that he started the year in the minors! I don't care about Wang, but I care about bringing garbage like Dominguez. Moves like this have me ready to give up on this team. And I've been a fan since 82. The ups and downs, I was there. Now, I just don't know.

 

He might not have, but as I said, I tracked him extensively in the minors (watching him when I could, monitoring his progress). The guy has the talent. You don't

 

He had a 0.1 dWAR last year, and a 1.3 dWAR the year before. That's hardly mediocre at the hot corner. As far as why he dropped in 2014? Maybe because he was only hitting .215...for the Astros, who were awful. Often times, defensive play will follow offensive output, and if it's not happening at the plate, a player might just lose their enthusiasm with the glove before. I've seen it happen many times. A new environment could be just the ticket he needs to get his career back on track.

 

Wang, on the other hand, had absolutely NO business being on a Major League 40 man. Now, he may develop at some point in the future. But we have an immediate need at third base. Dominguez is at least somebody who doesn't look completely out of place at third. We have nobody else that we can say that about anywhere in our organization.

[The stache]

Dominguez has no range. Sure, he can hit homers. Whoop de do. I saw him last season. Offensively and defensively, he's mediocre at best.

 

"Mediocre at best defensively."

 

Hmm.

 

Now, let's get into the really real world, and look at some tangible, irrefutable data.

 

In the now 47 year history of the Milwaukee Brewers, do you know how many third baseman (playing a minimum 125 games) have had a higher single season dWAR at the hot corner than the 1.3 dWAR Matt Dominguez put up in the 152 games he played at third for the Houston Astros in 2013?

 

One. Here is the report I ran on Baseball Reference.

 

Let me repeat that. In the 47 years this franchise has existed (including the one year in Seattle), a single third baseman...again, in nearly half a century of Brewer baseball, has ever had a better overall defensive performance at third base. That man was Jeff Cirillo. In 1997, Cirillo put up a 2.1 dWAR in 154 games, and he put up a 1.9 in 156 games at third in 1998. In 1982, Paul Molitor put up a 0.2 dWAR at third base, and a 1.0 in 1983 at third.

 

Other than Jeff Cirillo, no third baseman in the history of the Milwaukee Brewers has ever had the kind of defensive performance Dominguez had the year before last.

 

Now, I'm not saying the guy is Brooks Robinson, or Michael Jack Schmidt at what I consider to be perhaps the trickiest defensive position in the Majors. But if he could come in here, and replicate that performance, and hit 20 home runs, that would be a workable short term solution. And considering where this young man's ceiling was at one time, he might just surprise us all, and do better. Wouldn't it be nice if we got another Carlos Gomez-type success story again? We've had enough bad luck, we could use some good.

 

"He doesn't hit for average. He doesn't walk"

 

Who gives a [expletive deleted by moderator]? Nobody else on this team hits for much average, and they certainly don't walk. Third base is supposed to be a power position, and a defensive position. If Dominguez plays solid defense, hits .240, hits 20 home runs, and some of our gnats at the top of the order are doing their jobs, and getting on base, the RBIs will come, too. That's better than anything else in our system. Maybe he does better (not likely, but we can hope). Hopefully, within two years we can move Jake Gatewood or Gilbert Lara to third, and have our long term answer.

 

"He has no range."

 

Again, let's look back at the numbers.

 

Jeff Cirillo's range factor per 9 innings in the two seasons I alluded to were 3.02 and 3.10. In 2013, Dominguez, who is nowhere near as fleet a foot as Cirillo was at age 27/28, had a 2.85 range factor per 9 innings. Molitor in 1982 and 1983 had a 3.15 and a 3.10. That's not too far off, guys. And Dominguez has good arm strength, too.

 

From MLB.com's 2011 Prospect watch (Matt Dominguez was the #35 prospect in all of baseball at the time.

 

Scouting report: When most people start talking about Dominguez, it's the glove that comes up first, and with good reason. Dominguez is a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman who would be good enough to play the position defensively very well in the big leagues right now, ability-wise. He's got good hands, footwork and a strong throwing arm. He's extremely composed and even-keeled on the field. The question about the 2007 first-rounder has always been about the bat as he hasn't been a consistent performer at the plate. The adjustments he made last year made the Marlins hopeful, though he wasn't quite ready for the big leagues this spring as hoped and then hit the DL after a pitch fractured his elbow.

 

Upside potential: He has the chance to be a Gold Glove-winning third baseman who could develop into a decent hitter with 20-25 homer potential.

 

Need I remind anybody of the teams Dominguez played on from 2012-2014? He played 340 games for an Astros team that went 55-107 in 2012, 51-111 in 2013, and 70-92 in 2014, or 176-310 combined for the three seasons. Nobody in Houston was very good while he was there. The Astros, as a team, had a .302 OBP in 2012, a .299 OBP in 2013, and a .309 OBP in 2014, good for 15th, 15th and 13th (out of 15 teams) those years. Only Jose Altuve's .341 AVG boosted their team OBP up from dead last in '14.

 

Guess what. Dominguez was stuck on a team where nobody had any real discipline.

 

Look at J.D. Martinez, another guy I've been watching for a few years. He played 86 games for Houston in 2013, and had a .286 OBP. Awful, right? Look what happened when he moved to Detroit. The very next season, Martinez, who was basically cast off, hit 23 home runs, drove in 76 with a .912 OPS, which included a .358 OBP.

 

Change of scenery.

 

If we can get Dominguez to work with a decent hitting coach, I'll bet we could at least get his walk rate up a little bit.

 

The point to all of this? As always, perspective.

 

Between 2013 and 2015, Aramis Ramirez, playing 279 games, had a 1.5 WAR total. In 2013, Dominguez had a 2.2 WAR. Now, last year was abysmal, but if you were stuck in Houston for three seasons before this most recent turn around, bought with years of top three picks, you'd probably take your foot off the gas, too, a little bit.

 

The kid has talent. He still has potential.

 

He's only 25 years old!

 

Maybe he's a complete wash, and out of town by this time next year. Or, maybe...just maybe, he starts to flash some of the talent that scouts from MLB.com, Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus all named him one of the top prospects in baseball. Sometimes, all it takes is a change to a player's approach, or an adjustment to their swing mechanics, to get them back on track. If Matt Dominguez can come anywhere near the level that was projected for him, then we've got a steal. Maybe the odds are against it. But isn't he worth a shot? Who else are we going to put there instead? If he plays well for the next two seasons, good for us! If not us, what was the real cost? At worst, a couple hundred thousand bucks a year, and an exposed work-in-progress lefty that is at the very best still two to three years away?

 

Ok, I'll take that. Gold Glove caliber, power hitting third basemen don't grow on trees. Stick him in there, and let's see what he can do.

 

And as for his power?

 

 

430 foot bomb against the Cardinals.

 

 

Two home runs against the A's (7 home runs in a 12 game span).

 

 

And a grand slam against us.

 

Take it from somebody who spent a good deal of time watching him, reading scouting reports (hell, buying his darned baseball cards). That potential is still there.

 

Give the kid a chance.

[The stache]

By the way, in his last game at AAA on the 9th of June, Dominguez was 3 for 5 with a grand slam and 7 RBI in total.

[MrTPlush]

The funniest thing I am taking away from this is fans plead for Jason Rogers to get a chance at 27, but Matt who hit the MLB at 21 and has had some success AND still 24 is apparently washed up garbage.

 

Amazing

[dacbrewers]

I would rather see Rivera, Segura, Sardinas or Arcia at third right now than waste time with this guy.

[pacopete4]

The funniest thing I am taking away from this is fans plead for Jason Rogers to get a chance at 27, but Matt who hit the MLB at 21 and has had some success AND still 24 is apparently washed up garbage.

 

Amazing

 

I want Rogers to get a chance... at first base. Hopefully we can get someone to overpay for Lind and we slide Rogers right in there and maybe call up Matt Clark as well. Let Dominguez start at 3B after hopefully someone is dumb enough to take Aram.

[Roderick]

I would rather see Rivera, Segura, Sardinas or Arcia at third right now than waste time with this guy.

 

Would bringing up Rivera or Arcia "start the clock" and the Brewers would have one less season of those guys later, or is it past that point?

 

I wouldn't bring up an almost 21 or a 23 year old up, if it would start the arby clock. it isn't like we will be competing for anything next year, so you need to see what the young guy can do this year. They can bring them up June 2016, get the rest of the year under their belt and hopefully the team would be competitive in 2017.

[JohnBriggs12]

The funniest thing I am taking away from this is fans plead for Jason Rogers to get a chance at 27, but Matt who hit the MLB at 21 and has had some success AND still 24 is apparently washed up garbage.

 

Amazing

 

I want Rogers to get a chance... at first base. Hopefully we can get someone to overpay for Lind and we slide Rogers right in there and maybe call up Matt Clark as well. Let Dominguez start at 3B after hopefully someone is dumb enough to take Aram.

 

Nobody is going to overpay for Lind and nobody is dumb enough to take Aram. Lind's value is not significantly greater than what the Brewers used to get Parra last year. He's worth about 2 B level prospects. I'd be curious to see what Rodgers could do playing every day for couple months though. I did notice Clark was in LF yesterday, which I thought was curious and leads me to believe maybe Parra is getting more interest than Lind.

 

As for Dominguez, he's not a prolific strikeout guy like a lot of young guys with power. He fanned 125 times in over 600 PA last year. That's not bad in this age. His career BABIP is a very low .255. With a little better idea at the plate and learning to use the entire field, if he can increase that to a more respectable .280 something, he'd be a decent offensive player.

[monty57]

I would rather see Rivera, Segura, Sardinas or Arcia at third right now than waste time with this guy.

 

I would rather see Segura traded while he seems to have some decent trade value. Then we could put two guys with upside potential (Dominguez and Sardinas) on the left side of the infield during our down years to see if either or both of them live up to their potential. If so, well, that's great. If not, Arcia is probably the answer at SS in a year or so and will be around when (hopefully) the Brewers are once again ready to compete. Giving him more "seasoning" in the minors and holding him for another year of his prime seems like a better idea than rushing him to the majors now when it's meaningless.

 

We suck this year and are not likely to be good next year. Why not take a flier on a high upside guy like Dominguez?

 

As far as Ramirez, he's a known quantity, so if we're not getting anything in trade offers now, his value probably won't go up with a hot streak. Therefore, I'd use him as a bench bat and make Dominguez the starter. It won't happen because Ramirez is making $14M more than he's worth, but I'd play the guy who has some upside potential and could help the team in the future.

[JohnBriggs12]

I would rather see Rivera, Segura, Sardinas or Arcia at third right now than waste time with this guy.

 

I would rather see Segura traded while he seems to have some decent trade value. Then we could put two guys with upside potential (Dominguez and Sardinas) on the left side of the infield during our down years to see if either or both of them live up to their potential. If so, well, that's great. If not, Arcia is probably the answer at SS in a year or so and will be around when (hopefully) the Brewers are once again ready to compete. Giving him more "seasoning" in the minors and holding him for another year of his prime seems like a better idea than rushing him to the majors now when it's meaningless.

 

We suck this year and are not likely to be good next year. Why not take a flier on a high upside guy like Dominguez?

 

As far as Ramirez, he's a known quantity, so if we're not getting anything in trade offers now, his value probably won't go up with a hot streak. Therefore, I'd use him as a bench bat and make Dominguez the starter. It won't happen because Ramirez is making $14M more than he's worth, but I'd play the guy who has some upside potential and could help the team in the future.

 

Segura's trade value is more likely to rise in the next 1-2 years than it is to fall. He's still only 25. That's why he's not going to be traded anytime soon. Exposing Sardinas on the other hand actually hurts his trade value. He's simply not physically ready.

 

I'd release Ramirez rather than make him a bench bat. Rotate Dominguez and Perez at 3B and see who takes advantage. At least they'd be better defensively. Some team will pick Ramirez up for the minimum and hope he can get a big hit or two, but he's essentially done both offensively and defensively where he's got no range anymore. In the same vein, a good start or two isn't going to restore value for Lohse. Release him too and bring Cravy back up.

 

Brewers have made some boneheaded moves, but forking out the extra $10 million to bring Ramirez back was the worst in recent years. It was clear at the end of last year that he was done.

[Thurston Fluff]

Russell Branyan, anyone? I ask because he fits that exact same description and he got ridiculous love on this site LONG past when he deserved it. What's the difference?

 

That was what I was thinking too. Personally I never got the Branyan love here but there used to be a lot of love for 3TO players. Something else I never understood, but I digress. I think that is changing because we've seen what having a lot of that type of player does to the team. Part of the problem some people might have with Dominguez isn't with him as much as he is so much like all the rest of the players we have. We need OBP guys not all or nothing power guys. Problem is those types do not come via waiver wire pickups. So while I want a different type of player than Dominguez I don't mind picking him up until something better comes along.

[1992casey]

3TO is something that's fun and interesting. It doesn't add to or detract from value on its own.

 

Branyan's value came from his generally good OBP and excellent SLG. The real debate centered around his strikeouts; stat gurus felt that his K numbers unnecessarily scared GMs away.

[Thurston Fluff]

3TO is something that's fun and interesting. It doesn't add to or detract from value on its own.

 

Branyan's value came from his generally good OBP and excellent SLG. The real debate centered around his strikeouts; stat gurus felt that his K numbers unnecessarily scared GMs away.

 

Fair point. it was his ability to take a walk that made him different. But that is something that can be learned to some extent. Power can't. One ironic thing about stat gurus is they say K's don't matter for hitters but do for pitchers. I know they are measuring different things but if you don't care about one the other is going to be effected.

[logan82]

3TO is something that's fun and interesting. It doesn't add to or detract from value on its own.

 

Branyan's value came from his generally good OBP and excellent SLG. The real debate centered around his strikeouts; stat gurus felt that his K numbers unnecessarily scared GMs away.

 

Fair point. it was his ability to take a walk that made him different. But that is something that can be learned to some extent. Power can't. One ironic thing about stat gurus is they say K's don't matter for hitters but do for pitchers. I know they are measuring different things but if you don't care about one the other is going to be effected.

I am not so sure about that. If it can be learned it takes a really really long time.

[dlk9s]

So this means that Wei Chung Wang Wednesdays are history? The only thing more dumb than him actually clogging up our roster in the first place last year was that he even got a stupid day named after him. Right behind Hank the dog as far as idiotic things go.

You sound like fun.

[Pugger]

Such an immensely flawed player.

 

Yes, Dominguez has some power, but he's a bad hitter. Always has been - even in the minor leagues (he has a .699 OPS for his career at AAA, including .660 this year).

 

He's got 4 walks on 188 plate appearances - at Fresno. Is this the best we could do?

 

Wang wasn't anything special, but at least he had some sort of promise. Why not just get rid of Cotts? It's not like he's part of the future. Perhaps the team just doesn't see anything in Wang. It can understand that. But it seems too early to give up on the guy - especially when there are other players who just don't have a future on the club. Don't get it.

 

He should fit right in...

[monty57]

Segura's trade value is more likely to rise in the next 1-2 years than it is to fall. He's still only 25. That's why he's not going to be traded anytime soon.

 

Therein lies the reason he has trade value right now. He has potential, and some GMs will pay for that. If he "clicks," then he may be worth more in a year or two. If he maintains a sub-.700 OPS, with average-ish defense, his value will go down as he gets more expensive and his "team control" diminishes.

 

If we didn't have a logjam of shortstops, I would not want Segura traded. However, Sardinas is MLB ready now, and Arcia is very close. We don't have room for all of them, so Segura seems to be a logical choice to trade, assuming we get good value in return. Arcia looks like he will be head-and-shoulders above the rest of the crowd, so really all holding onto Segura does is keeps Sardinas (our recent "big" acquisition in the Gallardo trade) on the bench (or in the minors) behind Segura and then Arcia. He has enough potential that I'd like to see what he has before he gets relegated to "utility IF."

 

This once again leads back to the discussion about the direction of the team. I like the Dominguez pick-up because he has upside and could be a great "buy low" candidate that can get playing time on a team going through a rebuild. But then it doesn't look like Segura will be traded, even though he won't be around on the other side of the rebuild and we have another high potential guy in Sardinas who could easily step in and get some playing time to see what he's got before Arcia is ready. We're trying to dump Garza for salary reasons, which will leave us with a shortage of starting pitchers next year, but then we refuse to even listen to offers on Lucroy, who (once again) won't be around on the other side of the rebuild.

 

This team needs to decide if they're going to rebuild or not. Going half-in is just going to keep us in purgatory and make the eventual rebuild even more painful.

[MNBrew]

Now that Wang has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Brevard County, I hope we can now be past all the frenzied angst about possibly losing him.