Brewers acquire OF Rymer Liriano from SD for farmhand LHP Trevor Seidenberger; Shane Peterson DFA'd (Update: Peterson clears waivers, accepts NRI)

[JohnBriggs12]

I'm I the only one that would like to see Michael Reed given a shot at the CF job (barring another deal for an established CF)? Seems to me he fits best as a possible leadoff hitter and at 23 has the most upside of this group.

[splitterpfj]

Briggs, I'd like to see Reed get a fair shot too .... why not let 'em call compete for it?

[Jenkins5]

I'm I the only one that would like to see Michael Reed given a shot at the CF job (barring another deal for an established CF)? Seems to me he fits best as a possible leadoff hitter and at 23 has the most upside of this group.

 

I don't think he showed last year in AAA that he was ready. I'm all for him getting a look though. His lack of CF experienced mixed with how big he is getting (in a good way but looking more like a LF) makes me think he will never be more than a fill in CF.

 

I would strongly disagree he has more upside than Lirano. He may be able to steal a few more bases and walk a little more but Liriano wasn't the #49 best prospect in baseball for no reason. Broxton is another guy who is like a Lorenzo Cain type who has all the tools to be understanding....it is if he puts them all together. Essentially Broxton is what we were hoping D'Vo Richardson would be able to offer us.

[jerichoholicninja]

Barring anymore trades, I think it's all but guaranteed that Reed won't make the opening day roster. Liriano is out of options so he needs to be on the roster. There just won't be enough AB's in Milwaukee to using Reed's service time worthwhile.

[djoctagone]

shane peterson has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to the minor leagues. he will be in big league camp as a non-roster invitee.

 

should he be added to the brewers 25-man roster, he will have no minor league options remaining.

[QuevedosTongue]

Barring anymore trades, I think it's all but guaranteed that Reed won't make the opening day roster. Liriano is out of options so he needs to be on the roster. There just won't be enough AB's in Milwaukee to using Reed's service time worthwhile.

 

I totally agree. There are too many guys with no options left for there to be much roster flexibility coming out of spring training this year, barring injuries. After the season begins, guys will play there way into the lineup or out of Milwaukee over the season, but I'd be the position players on the Opening Day 25 could be predicted now without too many questions.

[Outlander]

Kind of surprised Peterson wanted to stick around. Think Reed/Phillips/Broxton or Santana if sent down would get time in the outfield and Wilikins/Ramirez at first.

[JohnBriggs12]

I'm I the only one that would like to see Michael Reed given a shot at the CF job (barring another deal for an established CF)? Seems to me he fits best as a possible leadoff hitter and at 23 has the most upside of this group.

 

I don't think he showed last year in AAA that he was ready. I'm all for him getting a look though. His lack of CF experienced mixed with how big he is getting (in a good way but looking more like a LF) makes me think he will never be more than a fill in CF.

 

I would strongly disagree he has more upside than Lirano. He may be able to steal a few more bases and walk a little more but Liriano wasn't the #49 best prospect in baseball for no reason. Broxton is another guy who is like a Lorenzo Cain type who has all the tools to be understanding....it is if he puts them all together. Essentially Broxton is what we were hoping D'Vo Richardson would be able to offer us.

 

In Lorenzo Cain's last full season at AAA, he struck out 102 times in 487 ABs and hit 312/.380/.494. Last year at age 25 in AAA, Broxton fanned 105 times in 367 AB's and hit .256/.352/.423. Broxton does not compare with Cain. Sorry.

 

Reed may not be an everyday CF, but neither is Liriano, who's made one error in every 10 games he's played in CF about the same rate as Reed. Liriano has not been rated in the top 100 as a prospect in 3 years so those ratings are completely irrelevant.

 

I don't expect Reed to make the roster out spring training. He won't beat out a guy they traded for (Broxton) or who's out of options (Liriano), but he's younger than both of those guys who I and I think his ceiling is higher. That's my opinion. Others may disagree.

[FVBrewerFan]

Truth is, nobody knows what we'll get with Broxton, Liriano, or Reed. I don't mind Reed staying in AAA again to start the season, as this will all get sorted out. If he really is better than the other temp CFs, he will have a chance to prove it.

[rwa12]

I think it will be a next man up/ ride the hot hand scenario with the assembly of utility men/outfielders he has assembled. I know a lot of these guys are out of options, but I'll be mildly surprised if there is a lot of interest in Brewers' waivers this year. I think it's last shot for a lot of these guys, regardless of age.

[CheezWizHed]

Agreed. There seem to be a lot of people ahead of Peterson right now. Add in the fact that he already got a MLB shot with the Brewers and I'd think he would want to look elsewhere.

[Thurston Fluff]

Agreed. There seem to be a lot of people ahead of Peterson right now. Add in the fact that he already got a MLB shot with the Brewers and I'd think he would want to look elsewhere.

 

Are there that many other places looking for a older bench player with fringe major league talent, no upside and little history of success at the major league level?

[Mass Haas]

Kind of surprised Peterson wanted to stick around.

 

I'm going to ask Baseball America transaction guru Matt Eddy about this.

 

Shane Peterson has enough time in pro ball (since 2008, Baseball Cube), that if he had not been on the 40-man at the end of the year, he would have been a minor league free agent.

 

But I've also read that unless you have three years of big league time on your resume, you can't refuse the outright assignment, so not sure if Peterson had a choice here once he cleared waivers. If that's so, it's like the Brewers gained another year of ownership over him.

 

It's something that has confused me for sometime, will see if we can confirm...

[monty57]

Barring something bad happening, Phillips is the future CF for Milwaukee. All of the other guys are fighting to get their shot to showcase themselves in a down year for the Brewers.

 

In my opinion, one of Broxton / Nieuwenhuis will eventually end up being a backup OF who can play all OF positions, while Santana and Liriano are fighting to show that they are good enough to take over a corner OF starting job when/if Davis and Braun are eventually traded. This doesn't even include the other talented OFs we have in the system. At best, we will stockpile enough talent that we can field a good OF, with plenty of chips to trade in the future. At worst, we have two good corner OF locked up for the next 4-5 years, so we just need to find a guy who doesn't trip over himself in CF until Phillips arrives.

 

Picking up talented guys like Liriano for nothing is a great move, and right now for 2016 we have a lot of options. If Davis gets traded, Santana/Liriano take over a corner, with some combo of Broxton / Nieuwenhuis / Liriano playing CF. If Davis is not traded, I would send Santana back to AAA, allowing Liriano to be the primary backup at the corners with the same three guys holding down CF.

[3and2Fastball]

How does Clint Coulter fit into the future OF? Or will he be a 1B?

[gregmag]

How does Clint Coulter fit into the future OF? Or will he be a 1B?

Coulter to 1b sure makes a ton of sense, if he hits enough to start there. Maybe they'll leave him in the outfield this year at AA, take stock of his bat after his year in the FSL swamp, and judge from there. If his bat doesn't profile as a starting 1b, then he's likely a utility guy or trade bait for us, in which case he should probably stay in the of.

 

About the whole current of logjam . . . I think many of us may be overthinking it with too little information in hand. I've seen smart commentaries that talk about how we have too many ofs, and it's a flaw in Stearns' roster construction. It seems to me, given the way Stearns seems to operate, that he likely has a plan for each of these guys, presumably formed in consultation with Counsell, scouts, etc. "This guy is our first option for cf; this guy is just a 'lightning in a bottle' stab in the dark; this guy starts out as AAA depth; this guy is Davis trade insurance." I don't mean to criticize or discourage speculation or criticism, but it seems pretty likely that the org has a well-developed depth chart that would advance our discussion, except none of us knows for a fact what the chart looks like.

[And That]

Coulter has more potential defensive upside in the OF that does Roache just because of his plus arm, so I would move Roache to first first assuming they're on the same club.

[adambr2]

Wasnt Coulter drafted as a catcher? What happened to that?

[pacopete4]

Wasnt Coulter drafted as a catcher? What happened to that?

 

High school catchers aren't always mlb catchers.

[TooLiveBrew]

Wasnt Coulter drafted as a catcher? What happened to that?

His defense was pretty poor. I know TheCrew07 posted quite a bit about Coulter as a defensive catcher in the MiLB forum Link Reports while Coulter was in Appleton (& TC07 could watch him in person). You could probably go through some of those threads & get some solid info. In short, he wasn't good at blocking pitches & in general didn't look like a natural fit at C.

[crickets]

Saw him in Appleton for a few games and saying he wasn't good at blocking pitches is a compliment....way too many balls got past him whether on the actual pitch that flew by him or in the dirt.

[Mass Haas]

Kind of surprised Peterson wanted to stick around.

 

I'm going to ask Baseball America transaction guru Matt Eddy about this.

 

Shane Peterson has enough time in pro ball (since 2008, Baseball Cube), that if he had not been on the 40-man at the end of the year, he would have been a minor league free agent.

 

But I've also read that unless you have three years of big league time on your resume, you can't refuse the outright assignment, so not sure if Peterson had a choice here once he cleared waivers. If that's so, it's like the Brewers gained another year of ownership over him.

 

It's something that has confused me for sometime, will see if we can confirm...

 

Matt Eddy: The only time a player may elect FA following an outright assignment is if (1) he has previously been outrighted to the minors, or (2) he has 3 or more years of MLB service. The latter does not apply to Peterson.

 

This reminds me of a player having spent seven seasons with an organization (one short season, and then fulfilling his six-year contract), and then, just before hitting free agency, being added to the team's 40-man roster.

 

Now, with three option years, that player, has effectively been "owned" for ten years by the organization. We've seen players added by the Brewers like this in the past. Don't think they were long-term 40-man roster players after that, however.

 

And now, with what we just discussed, we realize that the same player could be outrighted on the cusp of the 11th season and effectively be owned by that team for 11 seasons.

 

Probably very rare, but must be an example somewhere.

[brewmann04]

No risk here and just maybe they find a prospect to build toward to the future.

[MKE81]

Barring something bad happening, Phillips is the future CF for Milwaukee. All of the other guys are fighting to get their shot to showcase themselves in a down year for the Brewers.

 

In my opinion, one of Broxton / Nieuwenhuis will eventually end up being a backup OF who can play all OF positions, while Santana and Liriano are fighting to show that they are good enough to take over a corner OF starting job when/if Davis and Braun are eventually traded. This doesn't even include the other talented OFs we have in the system. At best, we will stockpile enough talent that we can field a good OF, with plenty of chips to trade in the future. At worst, we have two good corner OF locked up for the next 4-5 years, so we just need to find a guy who doesn't trip over himself in CF until Phillips arrives.

 

Picking up talented guys like Liriano for nothing is a great move, and right now for 2016 we have a lot of options. If Davis gets traded, Santana/Liriano take over a corner, with some combo of Broxton / Nieuwenhuis / Liriano playing CF. If Davis is not traded, I would send Santana back to AAA, allowing Liriano to be the primary backup at the corners with the same three guys holding down CF.

 

Agree Phillips is CF of future but if Santana shows he can handle it in ST he's starting there opening day with Liriano/Broxton backing up all 3 positions. When Davis is traded Santana shifts to RF with Braun back in LF then Liriano most likely takes over CF with Broxton filling in as well while both still backing up other spots. I think this is the direction they're headed and will change course depending on ST performance and what they're comfortable with. Santana has outperformed Liriano/Broxton at every level (outside of SBs) and should be starting without question. I prefer Santana not play CF but until Davis is traded he needs to be there only because he needs to play every day

[CheezWizHed]

And now, with what we just discussed, we realize that the same player could be outrighted on the cusp of the 11th season and effectively be owned by that team for 11 seasons.

 

Probably very rare, but must be an example somewhere.

 

How long did we "own" Tim Dillard's rights? He has been with the team for 12 seasons. I'm not sure how many times he resigned of his own free will vs. we owning his rights. But its been a long time.

 

If there ever is a guy setup to be the BP equivalent to Bob Uecker...