Hernán Pérez outrighted; declares free agency (Latest: will start 2016 season in minors; post 67)

[brewmann04]

Well since @ this point the crew has no options @3rd and if they don"t make any deals we might just might try to bring him back.

'

[DocLuna7]

Isn't Casey McGehee a free agent?

[clancyphile]

Isn't Casey McGehee a free agent?

 

Yeah, but he's a shadow of the McGehee who was with the Brewers.

 

I am a little upset. I liked Perez, he seemed like an option at short or third, definitely a decent utility player. I hope it's more a case of protecting some folks from the Rule V draft (there are some I am VERY worried about losing).

[MadScientist]

Isn't Casey McGehee a free agent?

 

Yeah, but he's a shadow of the McGehee who was with the Brewers.

 

I am a little upset. I liked Perez, he seemed like an option at short or third, definitely a decent utility player. I hope it's more a case of protecting some folks from the Rule V draft (there are some I am VERY worried about losing).

 

Very likely they want the spot for Rule V. Stearns indicated the Brewers would try to re-sign Perez, so he may still be back. It just makes sense for Perez to look around. It's unlikely that he will get a 40 man spot from anybody until after the rule V draft and after the dust has settled from free agency and trades.

[monty57]

Since this effectively makes him a free agent, if someone signs him will they still get the pre-arby/arby years?

[And That]

Yes, unless otherwise negotiated into the contract (like Aoki). He still has another full year plus before he's arbitration-eligible.

[Thurston Fluff]

i wouldn't be at all surprised if he resigned with us. It makes sense for him to opt for free agency to keep his options open but how many places can Perez go that has less competition at third than the Brewers?

[jerichoholicninja]

i wouldn't be at all surprised if he resigned with us. It makes sense for him to opt for free agency to keep his options open but how many places can Perez go that has less competition at third than the Brewers?

 

Looking at his career numbers, the only teams that should have any interest in giving him significant playing time at any position are bottom feeding rebuilders like us, Reds, Phillies, and Rockies. Those other teams have 3B settled though. I wouldn't be surprised if one of those teams with a history of signing random no-name players and turning them into utility superstars signs him like Pittsburgh or Tampa Bay. No matter where he goes I just don't see him being anything more than a 25th man/infield depth. I think we have players in our minors that could come up and out perform him right now.

[3and2Fastball]

My first inclination would be to say that I wouldn't mind seeing Yadiel Rivera get the spot that Perez would otherwise occupy, but I'm not convinced Rivera is better than Perez. Rivera did very well in the Arizona Fall League and he walks more

[Thurston Fluff]

Rivera also did very poorly in AAA in a larger sample size. I honestly don't get the appeal of a guy who hit .244 /.289/.349 over his minor league career.

[And That]

Rivera has been consistently young for his league and is an exceptionally talented defender. That's not to say his bat will ever turn out, but with three options remaining, we have some time to find out. We did not have that luxury with Perez.

[MNBrew]

Rivera wasn't exactly overly ready for AAA, but it made more sense to promote him than Arcia when Herrera got called up to MIL. I honestly think that's the only reason Rivera got any playing time at AAA this year.

[Thurston Fluff]

I'm not saying we should have taken Rivera off the 40 man instead of Perez. I was just addressing the desire to put him in at third next year. Rivera just isn't ready. The fact that he was young at each level and wasn't really ready for AAA Doesn't change that. In fact it only reinforces he isn't anywhere close to ready for the majors next season. Why use an option on him when he won't help, isn't ready and whose position is cheap to cover?

[Outlander]

They don't want to risk losing him because they feel he can help the team someday in the future.

[monty57]

I'm not saying we should have taken Rivera off the 40 man instead of Perez. I was just addressing the desire to put him in at third next year. Rivera just isn't ready. The fact that he was young at each level and wasn't really ready for AAA Doesn't change that. In fact it only reinforces he isn't anywhere close to ready for the majors next season. Why use an option on him when he won't help, isn't ready and whose position is cheap to cover?

 

Good point. I'm all for the rebuild, but that doesn't mean putting young guys on the MLB roster if they aren't ready. If they don't have a good option for 3B next year, and can't find a long-term option in trade, I have no problem with them picking up some journeyman on a 1-year deal to cover the position until a better option arises. We are not going to have high-upside young players at every position... especially early in the rebuild.

 

Rivera has some promise, but if he isn't ready for the big leagues, it isn't going to help his progression to throw him to the wolves. Let him develop a little longer in the minors until he is ready.

[jerichoholicninja]

I'm not saying we should have taken Rivera off the 40 man instead of Perez. I was just addressing the desire to put him in at third next year. Rivera just isn't ready. The fact that he was young at each level and wasn't really ready for AAA Doesn't change that. In fact it only reinforces he isn't anywhere close to ready for the majors next season. Why use an option on him when he won't help, isn't ready and whose position is cheap to cover?

 

Good point. I'm all for the rebuild, but that doesn't mean putting young guys on the MLB roster if they aren't ready. If they don't have a good option for 3B next year, and can't find a long-term option in trade, I have no problem with them picking up some journeyman on a 1-year deal to cover the position until a better option arises. We are not going to have high-upside young players at every position... especially early in the rebuild.

 

Rivera has some promise, but if he isn't ready for the big leagues, it isn't going to help his progression to throw him to the wolves. Let him develop a little longer in the minors until he is ready.

 

What exactly are the projections for Rivera? I've never seen anything about his bat being anything special but his defense should be good. If he projects to be a utility infielder then what's the harm in breaking camp with him and rotating him around the infield? I'd find it hard to believe that his bat is going to get that much better by spending more time in the minors or that his development is going to be hindered by being brought up early. Sure, he might put up a .650 OPS but that's what got from Segura and Perez anyway.

[Thurston Fluff]

I'm not saying we should have taken Rivera off the 40 man instead of Perez. I was just addressing the desire to put him in at third next year. Rivera just isn't ready. The fact that he was young at each level and wasn't really ready for AAA Doesn't change that. In fact it only reinforces he isn't anywhere close to ready for the majors next season. Why use an option on him when he won't help, isn't ready and whose position is cheap to cover?

 

Good point. I'm all for the rebuild, but that doesn't mean putting young guys on the MLB roster if they aren't ready. If they don't have a good option for 3B next year, and can't find a long-term option in trade, I have no problem with them picking up some journeyman on a 1-year deal to cover the position until a better option arises. We are not going to have high-upside young players at every position... especially early in the rebuild.

 

Rivera has some promise, but if he isn't ready for the big leagues, it isn't going to help his progression to throw him to the wolves. Let him develop a little longer in the minors until he is ready.

 

 

What exactly are the projections for Rivera? I've never seen anything about his bat being anything special but his defense should be good. If he projects to be a utility infielder then what's the harm in breaking camp with him and rotating him around the infield? I'd find it hard to believe that his bat is going to get that much better by spending more time in the minors or that his development is going to be hindered by being brought up early. Sure, he might put up a .650 OPS but that's what got from Segura and Perez anyway.

 

He was young at each level and did get better the longer he played at that level. I don't really know what his offensive ceiling is but what I do know is if we start his major league time now it will be less likely he will be with us if/when he does reach that ceiling. Not to mention we will be essentially wasting those years because the team won't be competitive with or without him.

The minor leagues are there for a reason. It is to develop young talent and not waste controllable years in the process. Seems to me we could end up having the same issues with Rivera as Detroit did with Perez if we start his major league service time too early.

[Outlander]

Service time had nothing to do with Perez, it was options. Service time and options don't really have much to do with each other. They put Rivera on the 40 man prior to the 2015 season because they didn't want to lose him to the rule 5 draft, doesn't mean he will get called up to the majors. He can still develop.

[thumperden]

Pro Baseball Trade Rumors reported Detroit having interest in resigning Hernan Perez. So, there seems to be competition for his services. That being said, I still can't imagine him getting a major league deal with anyone.

[reillymcshane]

I'm not saying we should have taken Rivera off the 40 man instead of Perez. I was just addressing the desire to put him in at third next year. Rivera just isn't ready. The fact that he was young at each level and wasn't really ready for AAA Doesn't change that. In fact it only reinforces he isn't anywhere close to ready for the majors next season. Why use an option on him when he won't help, isn't ready and whose position is cheap to cover?

 

Good point. I'm all for the rebuild, but that doesn't mean putting young guys on the MLB roster if they aren't ready. If they don't have a good option for 3B next year, and can't find a long-term option in trade, I have no problem with them picking up some journeyman on a 1-year deal to cover the position until a better option arises. We are not going to have high-upside young players at every position... especially early in the rebuild.

 

Rivera has some promise, but if he isn't ready for the big leagues, it isn't going to help his progression to throw him to the wolves. Let him develop a little longer in the minors until he is ready.

 

What exactly are the projections for Rivera? I've never seen anything about his bat being anything special but his defense should be good. If he projects to be a utility infielder then what's the harm in breaking camp with him and rotating him around the infield? I'd find it hard to believe that his bat is going to get that much better by spending more time in the minors or that his development is going to be hindered by being brought up early. Sure, he might put up a .650 OPS but that's what got from Segura and Perez anyway.

Looking at his stats, he doesn't look like he's going to hit much:

 

- Poor walk rates

- Little power

- Mediocre batting average

- In video of Rivera batting (at least this year), he doesn't look like he's driving the ball. It looks his approach is all arms, no legs in his swing. The swing is kind of long. I have to stress what I've seen is really limited - no more than a dozen at bats.

 

But there are a few signs he could do better:

 

- As noted, he's been young for his league.

- He's hit 9 and 12 HRs in a season (at rookie and A ball) - not great, but not bad for a middle infielder.

- Rivera looks pretty skinny, but the guy is actually 6'3" and 180 lbs. If he can mature physically a bit more, get a little stronger, it could change his game a lot.

- The batting approach can mature with experience - and maybe a some more strength.

 

Right now he looks like a utility player. If he could improve his hitting - even a little - he might be fringe starter at 2B or SS. His glove will add value no matter what.

[monty57]

He's really the type of guy that you let the people who watch him everyday make the decision on. If the Brewers think he could develop into an everyday player, then he's probably best served spending some more time in the minors to develop, and to save some service time, so we still have him when he's a serviceable MLB player.

 

If the Brewers think that his ceiling is that of a "good glove/no bat" utility player, then saving his service time is less of an issue. In the not-too-distant future, Arcia should be our SS, and Segura will either be traded, or become our utility middle IF, so the likely future for Rivera is that he can make Segura even more expendable if he can man the same positions for less money.

 

But who knows? With our current black hole at 3B, he could find a home there for a couple of years.

[Thurston Fluff]

Service time had nothing to do with Perez, it was options. Service time and options don't really have much to do with each other. They put Rivera on the 40 man prior to the 2015 season because they didn't want to lose him to the rule 5 draft, doesn't mean he will get called up to the majors. He can still develop.

 

 

I thought Rivera wouldn't need to use an option next season if he wasn't in the majors but I think I am wrong about that. My only argument is he shouldn't be considered an option for the majors next season. We have very little money invested into next season's payroll and don't need a cheap, young player to stay within budget. We could get any old league minimum guy and not waste a year of Rivera when he clearly isn't ready and isn't needed. That may come into play a few years from now when we have to offset the money going to those deferred salaries the Brewers handed out the last couple years. So the choice is to use him before he is ready and get next to nothing out of him in a period when he isn't needed, or let him develop as much as he can and use him when he is closer to what he is really capable of. Presumably during a time when we may be competitive or be in more of a salary crunch. To put him in the majors next season just seems like an awful waste of a resource to me.

[MNBrew]

He's on the 40-man, which means if he's not exclusively on the Brewers' MLB roster (or MLB injured reserve) for the entire year, then it takes using an option to get him to AAA.

[1992casey]

He's on the 40-man, which means if he's not exclusively on the Brewers' MLB roster (or MLB injured reserve) for the entire year, then it takes using an option to get him to AAA.

 

… with the caveat that if he spends 20 days or less in the minors, a option isn't used. In that case, he'd receive Major League service time for those days.

[Thurston Fluff]

No matter how you look at it he has three years to develop before we have to decide if he's MLB ready/capable. Similarly he has three years of cheap, pre-arby years when he reaches the majors. To spend any of those when he isn't ready and isn't needed is not a wise way to use a potentially useful player.