KROD to the Tigers for Betancourt and PTBNL (PTBNL is catcher Manny Piña, post 157)

[3and2Fastball]

Could potentially be in MLB when Scooter is in his arbitration years of 2018 or 2019. As a RH hitter could platoon with Scooter. Segura is a free agent in the 2019 season. I could see Segura platooning with Scooter once Arcia is MLB ready

 

Obviously all of these things are just possibilities, but in my opinion could reveal Stearns' type of thinking. Betancourt is exactly the type of prospect that the Brewers should be bringing in..... a great trade in my opinion, for a declining closer who we just saved millions of dollars not having to pay

[patrickgpe]

Two questions:

 

1) where would you rank Javy B amongst the Brewers prospects? without looking closely at it yet, I peg him in that 25-35 range and above Yadiel Rivera & Tucker Neuhaus.

 

20th according to mlb.com

 

 

http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2015?list=mil

[bjkrautk]

The offensive numbers aren't impressive, but how much of that is due to his being aggressively promoted remains to be seen.

 

I like that Betancourt's scouting report talks about hitting behind runners, moving from first to third, etc. There's a tendency - at least in my mind - for stats-heavy analysis to lose sight of the situational aspects of baseball. (Offenses are based on the macro-level numbers; runs are scored or not scored on the micro-level.)

 

There's also a natural tendency to put too much stock into the first moves a person / organization makes, but I will be curious to see if there's any sort of through-line on the players Stearns looks for in deals.

[MadScientist]

Depending on the PTBNL, the return may go from marginal to ok. I wasn't expecting the massive haul Kimbrel got, but I was hoping for a prospect that has a good chance to be an above average MLB player. KRod has been really good the last two years. The salary dump is nice for the Brewers bottom line, but I'm not sure how it means anything to the on field product.

[KCBrewerfan34]

What's not to like we dump the entire 9.5 million and get 2 prospects for a team that won't win 75 games. Come on people. The purge has just begun. Lind is probably next.

[trwi7]

Just glad K-Rod is off my favorite team.

[JohnBriggs12]

Roughly half of the Brewers projected payroll for 2016 is now tied up in two players, Braun and Garza. They can still add some pieces and stay under $80 million.

[Baldkin]

You guys. You really scared me with the thread title.

 

Phew.

 

http://onmilwaukee.com/images/articles/yu/yunieskybetancourtneeded/yunieskybetancourtneeded_fullsize_story1.jpg

[rwa12]

It's no worse return than Nicky Delmonico. A team expecting to lose 90 doesn't need to pay a closer. Regardless of his usefulness, there just isn't a market for the guy. It seems the moment we sign him, he instantly becomes trade bait (the 32 times we've signed him), and no one is particularly interested. Maybe it's because power arms are en vogue for closers, maybe it's his personal issues. Either way, I wasn't expecting much, we didn't get much, and life goes on.

 

I would agree with others who believe the PTBNL is a Rule 5 guy. I'm not holding out hope for much.

[1992casey]

The rules might have changed but the Indians got Brantley instead of Green because of the Brewers performance post trade.

It could be like contracts that vest where some stats are allowed (such as starts or games finished) while others aren't (like ERA or BA). But performance is going to be irrelevant in this situation. Because players to be named have to be exchanged within six months of a trade, there won't be any time for K-Rod to "perform."

[Mudville9]

Is there any chance Stearns DFA's Garza before Friday to free up another 40 man spot? I personally don't think he should because I don't think he can pitch worse than last year, but if there is a player that Stearns either really wants in Rule V or wants to protect in them minors, it might be easier to do with K-Rod's money off the books.

[Jenkins5]

Honestly, offensively.... His scouting reads a lot like everything you read about Arcia outside of power & Sbs. High baseball IQ, great knowledge of strike zone, makes every pitcher earn there outs. High contact & hand eye coordination. Sprays ball all over the field. Extremely competitive, hard working, and dedicated to improving. Both are low strike out/ low walk guys.

 

This season he was 19/20 in FSL and managed to still hit .260 in a pitchers league. Like Arcia due to his high IQ, natural talent, & work ethic he has been aggressively pushed. Arcia started to put it together in FSL then busted out in AA. Maybe Bethancourt will bust out as well.

 

Not saying he is next Arcia, more of a poor mans version but potential is there. The kind of prospects we should be looking at.

[QuevedosTongue]

From today's Baseball Prospectus, where the Tigers Top 10 prospects was posted:

 

Betancourt ranked 8th on the list.

Future tools: 60 Field, 50 hit, 50 arm (ranked on the 20-80 scale)

Role: 45 - Utility infielder/fringe average starter at 2B

 

"Betancourt is the antithesis of the Dombrowski prospect; an infielder without a high ceiling but with a fairly high floor. He has excellent hand-eye coordination and a short, compact swing, and there's very little here in terms of contact issues. Unfortunately, his lack of strength and bat speed mean he doesn't make much loud contact, as the power is well below average. he also won't draw many walks, so this is a player who needs to provide value with the glove.

 

Fortunately, he does just that. He has plus range and he uses his footwork to make the most of his average throwing arm. He'll never hit anywhere but the bottom of the order, but Betancourt has a chance to start at the keystone one day, and the defense is good enough to make him better than replacement."

 

So, a serviceable player who should make it to the bigs, although he certainly isn't an impact bat.

[I Heart Brewers]

Worst case this helps the Brewers lose a few more games next year increasing their draft position.

[MrTPlush]

Worst case this helps the Brewers lose a few more games next year increasing their draft position.

 

That Top 3 pick sounds quite appetizing.

 

Time to get our Bryant/Schwarber, Harper/Strasburg, or Gonzalez/Beckett combo

[StearnsFTW]

Just glad K-Rod is off my favorite team.

 

A-freakin-men.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

They must think Javi B is worth something...the other option would be wait until the deadline and hope K Rod hasn't imploded. Cost a little extra money, but if they thought they could have gotten a better prospect it could have made sense. They know more than I do so good for them.

[xisxisxis]

As scoring goes up, defense becomes less relevant/valuable and as scoring goes down defense becomes more valuable. As the trend from the last 5ish years shows, scoring is going down, hence their may be a window to acquire defense while it is still undervalued. I believe Stern is correctly emphasizing the value of defense moving forward...

 

If several of the possible PTBNL are rule 5 eligible, it looks to be a nice return for an unnecessary closer who has little market demand.

[Boomer5]

Its a salary shed for what I assume will be 3 players. Yuni Jr, the PTBNL, and the Rule 5 guy with the open 40 man spot.

 

Not sexy but you don't need a close for this team and KRod hasnt had much value since Doug starting this yo yo ride with him.

[MadScientist]

Its a salary shed for what I assume will be 3 players. Yuni Jr, the PTBNL, and the Rule 5 guy with the open 40 man spot.

 

Not sexy but you don't need a close for this team and KRod hasnt had much value since Doug starting this yo yo ride with him.

Factoring in the freedom to get a rule V guy does help push the value of this trade up. I suppose we won't know for a while who might be available. Hopefully there is an intriguing 1B or 3B prospect that some team is trying to slip through unprotected.

[ewitkows]

Could it be we are just freeing up a extra spot on the 40 man to protect more of our guys?

[MrTPlush]

Its a salary shed for what I assume will be 3 players. Yuni Jr, the PTBNL, and the Rule 5 guy with the open 40 man spot.

 

Not sexy but you don't need a close for this team and KRod hasnt had much value since Doug starting this yo yo ride with him.

Factoring in the freedom to get a rule V guy does help push the value of this trade up. I suppose we won't know for a while who might be available. Hopefully there is an intriguing 1B or 3B prospect that some team is trying to slip through unprotected.

 

Or any type of bullpen arm. Wang was a pretty good snag for Rule 5...something like that again would make a lot of sense.

[BrewBalls]

This is the list of corner infielders listed as a top 30 team prospect who are eligible for the Rule 5 draft a could be available.

Cubs: #20 Jeimer Candelario (3B)

White Sox: #28 Keon Barnum (1B)

Royals : #28 Balbino Ruenmayer (1B)

Rays: #27 Patrick Leonard (1B)

Rangers: #23 Ronald Guzman (1B)

Nats: #22 Matt Skole (3B/1B)

Mets: #28 Jayce Boyd (1B)

Yankees: #20 Miguel Andjuar (3B)

Blue Jays: #17 Matt Dean (1B) and #21 Andy Burns (3B)

 

Not sure if any of these players warrant being picked but thought it was an interesting list.

[CheeseheadInQC]

Assuming the reason for the PTBNL is the Rule 5 draft, if I'm calculating the eligibility correctly, it would seem the possibilities the their MLB top 30 list would be pitchers: a trio of low floor big arms (Labourt, Briceno, De La Rosa) or a kitchen sink lefty (Turley).

[pacopete4]

This is the list of corner infielders listed as a top 30 team prospect who are eligible for the Rule 5 draft a could be available.

Cubs: #20 Jeimer Candelario (3B)

White Sox: #28 Keon Barnum (1B)

Royals : #28 Balbino Ruenmayer (1B)

Rays: #27 Patrick Leonard (1B)

Rangers: #23 Ronald Guzman (1B)

Nats: #22 Matt Skole (3B/1B)

Mets: #28 Jayce Boyd (1B)

Yankees: #20 Miguel Andjuar (3B)

Blue Jays: #17 Matt Dean (1B) and #21 Andy Burns (3B)

 

Not sure if any of these players warrant being picked but thought it was an interesting list.

 

I copied this over to the transaction forum. Worthy of discussion there.