3B?

[Outlander]

He was moved off third to make room for Franco, not because he couldn't handle the position but his bat is a bit lacking for a corner OF spot.

Disagree with that part, his defense has always been a concern at third and he is not good at all there. He is a Shane Peterson type that can play 3B if necessary similar to Shane Peterson can play CF if necessary. The Brewers don't need another corner outfielder so he would have limited value on this team.

[JohnBriggs12]

He was moved off third to make room for Franco, not because he couldn't handle the position but his bat is a bit lacking for a corner OF spot.

Disagree with that part, his defense has always been a concern at third and he is not good at all there. He is a Shane Peterson type that can play 3B if necessary similar to Shane Peterson can play CF if necessary. The Brewers don't need another corner outfielder so he would have limited value on this team.

 

Look up his record. He was exclusively a 3B in minors and majors until Franco, the Phils #1 prospect showed up forcing them to move Asche. That doesn't compare at all with Shane Peterson playing CF. Asche had never played in the OF prior to Franco's arrival in Philly. He's a complete newbie in the OF.

 

We're not talking Brooks Robinson but he's certainly no Ryan Braun either. He had a .949 fielding percentage in the minors at 3B and .946 in the majors. League average is right around .950. If Franco was a leftfielder instead of a 3B, Asche would have stayed at 3B. Teams are interested in him as a 3B. That's where he'd play if he comes to the Brewers and it's his natural position. CF is not Peterson's natural position.

[MNBrew]

There's a chance the Twins could part with Trevor Plouffe in the right deal. They don't want Miguel Sano to be a DH (he did this year mostly due to nagging injuries). He has to play somewhere and it likely won't be in the OF, plus they have Mauer at 1B and Hunter who'd probably come back if he could play most everyday.

 

The Brewers do have some pitching depth the Twins are probably envious of.

 

Kind of like the Neal Cotts thing, there could be the possibility of a match here.

[paul253]

Why not go for a HR. Franco and a prospect for Davis and Peralta.

[Jenkins5]

Matt Dominquez at least offered gold glove defense and power (while it was down this season). He doesn't hit for enough average or walk enough as you'd hope for but I was surprised they turned away his power and defensive potential. Really to get any 3B we can build around, we will need to trade Luc, Davis, or Peralta. Lind or Garza could maybe land us a younger level AA, A+ 3B with higher ceiling. K-Rod could net another Delmonico type prospect

[RockCoCougars]

Agreed on Dominguez. I cannot for the life of me figure out why the Brewers let him walk without even giving him a chance in September. I'm not sure what they see in Perez, but I must be missing it.

[superfly]

There's a chance the Twins could part with Trevor Plouffe in the right deal. They don't want Miguel Sano to be a DH (he did this year mostly due to nagging injuries). He has to play somewhere and it likely won't be in the OF, plus they have Mauer at 1B and Hunter who'd probably come back if he could play most everyday.

 

The Brewers do have some pitching depth the Twins are probably envious of.

 

Kind of like the Neal Cotts thing, there could be the possibility of a match here.

 

Plouffe is precisely the type of mediocrity we shouldn't be going after at this point IMO. I don't think it's out of the realm that they move Plouffe to 1b, Sano to 3b, and Mauer to DH either...sprinkling in a few starts at 1b.

[pacopete4]

Why not go for a HR. Franco and a prospect for Davis and Peralta.

 

I like this idea but giving up Davis and Peralta better net a very good prospect.

[bensheeps]

LA Angels fan-site, Halos Heaven, recently did this article on David Freese entitled "David Freese and the third base abyss"

 

http://www.halosheaven.com/2015/10/7/9465985/david-freese-and-the-third-base-abyss

 

The part of the story that deals with the Brewers says,

 

"Milwaukee always seems to toe the line between going for it and rebuilding. They have a fairly decent farm system but no immediate solution for third base. Freese could fill the void for a few years and they've shown before they won't shy away from signing an older third baseman (Aramis Ramirez). Assuming the Angels do not make him a qualifying offer, Freese could be on the table for the Brewers."

 

 

I would prefer for the Angels to buy into Freese's "clutchness" and re-sign him, thus leaving young 3rd basemen Kubitza or Cowart available in a trade for Milwaukee.

[JohnBriggs12]

Lets get realistic here. I buy the idea that the Brewers are 2-3 years away at best especially in this division. That doesn't mean all you make are deals involving your best current players for more prospects or that you don't look at upgrading the roster some for the 2016 season, especially when there are 25 year olds who've already had some success in the major leagues who won't cost you much in terms of depth in your system or current players.

 

What are some issues with the current roster that can be addressed with small moves? One is that the lineup is way too right handed, especially if Lind does get moved and the other is that 3B is a job where there is Perez who showed some flashes with the bat and is good defensively, but is not a sure thing at this point though he too is young. So there's a chance they could add a LH hitting 3B who's still just 25 who has some pop and like Perez has at least some upside who 2-3 years from now will only be 27-28 and still controllable. Long term answers? Probably not but not out of the question. Buy time to develop a true stud there (Lara)? Absolutely.

[ewitkows]

I think Gatewood gets to MKE before Lara. I think he'd be a pretty good 3B and at 6'5 he should be a good 1B if that spot is open when he gets here

[bill hAll Star]

Why not go for a HR. Franco and a prospect for Davis and Peralta.

 

I like this idea but giving up Davis and Peralta better net a very good prospect.

 

Are you guys talking about Maikel Franco? The player that's already about as valuable as Davis and Peralta combined and he's only 22?

[Boomer5]

Agreed on Dominguez. I cannot for the life of me figure out why the Brewers let him walk without even giving him a chance in September. I'm not sure what they see in Perez, but I must be missing it.

 

When I see a team that has a screaming need for a position and they let a viable player who plays that position go, my thought goes to his personality and make up. Those are key issues and ones we as fans are rarely informed about.

[jerichoholicninja]

Why not go for a HR. Franco and a prospect for Davis and Peralta.

 

I like this idea but giving up Davis and Peralta better net a very good prospect.

 

Are you guys talking about Maikel Franco? The player that's already about as valuable as Davis and Peralta combined and he's only 22?

 

That trade seems rather ridiculous. There is no reason for the Phillies to trade Franco unless they are getting some superstar prospect in return and neither Davis nor Peralta are that, both of whom are also older and have more service time than Franco. Davis and Peralta wouldn't be enough to Franco alone.

[jerichoholicninja]

Agreed on Dominguez. I cannot for the life of me figure out why the Brewers let him walk without even giving him a chance in September. I'm not sure what they see in Perez, but I must be missing it.

 

When I see a team that has a screaming need for a position and they let a viable player who plays that position go, my thought goes to his personality and make up. Those are key issues and ones we as fans are rarely informed about.

 

Maybe there's some behind the scenes stuff with him but he put up an uninspiring stat line in a very hitter friendly AAA park. Even his MLB numbers, except for HR totals, are pretty underwhelming and those too were in a hitter friendly park. He's just not a good hitter.

[pacopete4]

Why not go for a HR. Franco and a prospect for Davis and Peralta.

 

I like this idea but giving up Davis and Peralta better net a very good prospect.

 

Are you guys talking about Maikel Franco? The player that's already about as valuable as Davis and Peralta combined and he's only 22?

 

His WAR is 1.7 for a whole season where played in a sand box in Philly. He had a negative dWar. I'm not trying to sell the guy short but I'm just not sure I'd give up Davis & Peralta for the guy. Davis and a lesser player? Sure. But Peralta is too young to put in a trade for a 3B that could be a very similar hitter to Davis.

[bill hAll Star]

 

I like this idea but giving up Davis and Peralta better net a very good prospect.

 

Are you guys talking about Maikel Franco? The player that's already about as valuable as Davis and Peralta combined and he's only 22?

 

His WAR is 1.7 for a whole season where played in a sand box in Philly. He had a negative dWar. I'm not trying to sell the guy short but I'm just not sure I'd give up Davis & Peralta for the guy. Davis and a lesser player? Sure. But Peralta is too young to put in a trade for a 3B that could be a very similar hitter to Davis.

 

Would you trade Orlando Arcia AND a prospect for a late-20s no defense power-only OF and a #4 starter with 3 years of team control?

[pacopete4]

I guess I didn't see the prospect added in but I sure would like to think that Arcia is a better player and will have more value than this guy. Otherwise boy, we are in trouble.

[bill hAll Star]

Are you aware that Franco is a year younger than Kris Bryant and that his bat was just a notch below what Kris Bryant provided? Franco only played about half of the games is the issue.

 

Franco hit 14 HR with an .840 OPS and .280 average in 80 games at age 22.

Bryant hit 26 HR with an .855 OPS and .275 average (did have 13 steals) in 151 games at age 23.

 

As for his defense, again, I'll defer as I'm not sure what his projection eventually is...but he was young. Franco was did have a negative dWAR this year and Bryant was in the positive...but we don't have a major picture to look at yet here.

 

I'd like to imagine that Arcia is a 15-20 HR guy with a .300 average and ~.820 OPS and studly defense at SS.

 

Franco is going to be 30+, .280, .900 OPS guy in his prime. I'd take Arcia, but it's not that far off.

[JohnBriggs12]

The talk about Franco is silly and shows how a suggestion about genuine Brewer interest in someone who actually might be available (Asche) quickly devolves into a blockbuster proposal that's completely unrealistic. Peralta may well be a trade candidate a year from now but not coming off an injury plagued season. There's also no reason for Phillies to trade the one young gem in their lineup for a power bat with limited other tools. Not every deal being discussed here needs to be earth shattering. Can't their be intelligent discussion of lesser deals? The interest in Asche which I believe was genuine may or may not be a priority of Stearns but it shows that Brewers a. are looking to find another LH bat to stick in the lineup which coincides with a position the appears to need an upgrade. Stearns mentioned something about Herrera being that guy but they should still explore other options. I've suggested offering Segura (plus a sweetener if needed) to get Solarte from SD. Maybe Kelly, once he's added to the staff officially will lobby for that. Another guy I'd like is Jake Lamb from Arizona but I'd be less confident there'd be a match there. Anyway I don't see any team trading a top of the line 3B prospect with a high ceiling like a Franco, so that doesn't mean they can't set sights lower and hope that adequate suffices at that position for now.

[bill hAll Star]

I feel as though Maikel Franco projects to Aramis Ramirez. Comparison numbers-wise and with assumed defense feels almost perfect.

 

I like Lamb but I think they are looking to platoon Lamb and Tomas at 3B going forward and have Tomas in the OF most days against RHP. I do like Lamb if available and Solarte/Asche might be solid undervalued pickups.

[trwi7]

The talk about Franco is silly and shows how a suggestion about genuine Brewer interest in someone who actually might be available (Asche) quickly devolves into a blockbuster proposal that's completely unrealistic.

 

People aren't talking about Asche because it's a horrible idea and the guy who was interested in him is no longer the GM.

[clancyphile]

If we want a .280 batting average, 25-30 homers, and an .850-.900 OPS at third base, there is no need to trade for Franco and risk losing a top prospect in the Brewers' system like Arcia, Jorge Lopez, Brent Suter, Maverick Phillips, or Michael Reed.

 

Instead just fix the biggest mistake of the 2007-2008 offseason and return Ryan Braun to the hot corner. But the fandom - and the front office - decided long ago that it was preferable to have that revolving door at the hot corner since then - which Bill Hall, Casey McGehee, Aramis Ramirez, and Hernan Perez, among others have failed to lock down.

[MNBrew]

Clancyphile, Braun was terrible at playing 3B. He played 3B for one major league season but he never really was a 3B. He was drafted as a SS and is a far better OF than he ever was or will be a 3B.

 

Braun at 3B is about the equivalent of Betancourt & Alex Gonzalez at 1B -- or Izzy Alcantara playing anywhere in the OF -- in other words, something that the plain eye knows is a terrible idea. I believe I remember hearing that Braun himself was never comfortable playing at 3B.

 

When the answer to the question of Braun at 3B seems that obvious, why waste time considering it or consider forcing it?

[Outlander]

There should be no more talk if Braun at third as he even said it was a disaster recently. Time to move on, it is not going to happen.