Brewers claim 1B Jesus Aguilar, DFA Adrianza

[Greenleaf1]

Adrianza is versatile but so is our infield. We're pretty well covered on the 40-man at 2B/SS/3B right now, I didn't see much reason to keep Adrianza.

 

1B on the other hand is potentially an area of extreme weakness on our 40-man with no real prospects in sight (I love Garrett Cooper probably more than 90% of the people on this forum but his realistic chances of being an everyday 1B are slim). If Thames doesn't work out or can't hit lefties, we're going to need a righty 1B who can platoon with him. Aguilar makes way more sense to me right now on the 40-man over Adrianza. Perez can't play both 1B AND 3B against lefties.

 

Also I don't see how all these moves are wasting time and money. Any money spent on waiver claims pales in comparison to money spent on other things, and it's the offseason so I don't see what exactly a waiver claim is taking time away from. There's more than enough hours in the day any time of year for Stearns to check the waiver wire. Also he has people working for him I'm sure that do the legwork on this stuff.

 

He's doing everything he can to accumulate talent in our organization. And acting like Liriano has such a higher chance of being a contributor over Aguilar seems like nonsense to me. I thought Scahill would provide nice bullpen depth but I'm not exactly lamenting his loss. We aren't even talking about the 25th man here, we're talking about the 40th man who likely won't even be on the 25-man roster when all is said and done. I know it's the offseason and we don't have much to talk about but complaining about Stearns here seems like much ado about nothing to me.

[monty57]

It would take them going with a 12 man pitching staff for there to be a open spot on the opening day roster as barring a trade the 12 positional guys are pretty set: Shaw, Arcia, Villar, Thames, Perez, Gennett, Braun, Broxton, Santana, Nieuwenhuis, Susac and either Bandy or Pina.

 

Could they get enough AB's for Arguilar with that roster? Would need I think to use Thames in LF on days were Braun takes off. Could they make Perez the backup in CF in addition to IF utility role , and replace Nieuwenhuis with Aguilar as a bench bat? He has hit RHP well in the minors and Gennett's around to be prime LH bench bat.

 

Barring trade, I think you're right. Unless the Brewers plan on using Perez & Thames as their 4th/5th OFs, I don't see him making the club. However, he could be good insurance against a Thames injury, as we don't really have a backup 1B.

[miggs721]

Time to DFA Aguilar and pick up Byung Ho Park

[CheeseheadInQC]

I'm not sure what to make of this move. He's not really a platoon partner, given his reverse splits, and he has no real versatility or minor league options. Unless they see something they think they can fix to get him to hit lefties the way most right-handers who put up his kind of stats against righties do, I guess I'm not really seeing the upside. Given that this is a multi-year problem, I'm not even sure he offers more upside than Cooper at AAA if they can get him through waivers.

[jerichoholicninja]

Time to DFA Aguilar and pick up Byung Ho Park

 

Not that money's really an issue but he's got about $10M left on his deal and will essentially be a RHB platoon at first lacking any positional versatility. Like Aguila he doesn't seem like a Stearns guy.

 

Having said that it will be interesting to see if anyone claims him. He's paid peanuts compared to most veterans and was doing well until his wrist injury. I'd think someone will but I highly doubt it's Milwaukee.

[FVBrewerFan]

Right now, I think Aguilar should be on the 25 when they break from ST. They have enough options as backups in the OF, and the IF for that matter. A product of having versatile guys like Perez and Villar. I just like the thump of Aguilar's bat as a PH late in games, and can spell Thames at 1B. Also, nice insurance if Thames struggles.

 

The alternative, I guess, would be Rivera or some other UT player. I think you get more out of Aguilar, and could also be flipped. (Judging by the inability to flip Carter, this is a very secondary reason but still possible.)

[Lee16]

I agree that they need to find a spot for Aguilar. He's been on base all 4 times to the plate again today. If he hasn't earned a spot on the team, then why invite the guy in the first place. Thames has looked...um, unimpressive so far, I think we need the insurance.

[nate82]

I think Aguilar has secured a spot on the roster with his play so far. I wish he had more flexibility to be the 5th OF and be the back up at 1B but this is one of those times where you wish the NL had the DH rule.

[brewmann04]

Think his spot will be backup 1st base think CC will find him Ab. To impressive to not keep him on the roster.

[Greenleaf1]

Would not be surprised at this point if 1B turns into a full platoon until 1 of those guys stands out (or maybe Thames gets a limited shot to see if he can hit lefties). Aguilar is doing everything humanly possible this spring to show he belongs, and at this point I'd be surprised if he wasn't on the 25-man roster.

 

Keeping Aguilar isn't the most flexible bench option, but it keeps Perez from having to make starts at 1B if Thames struggles with lefties, which could allow Perez to platoon at 3B against tough lefties and also sub in the outfield more (especially on the road if Nieuwenhuis's splits last year weren't a 1-year phenomenon).

 

I also like having a big bat on the bench, but it's hard to say if Aguilar is the kind of guy who can sit on the bench for 2 days and then come out and have a good AB, that's tough to do.

[MillerParkSouth]

I wonder if there's a chance they would DFA Scooter and give his spot to Aguilar? We've seen what Scooter can do and we have Kirk and Perez to cover the back up OF and IF spots. I'd like to keep Aguilar's power around if we can.

[brewers4eric]

I like the idea of having Aguilar's bat on the bench. But, I'm biased, as I can remember when we had Bob Hamelin in that role in 1998 ("The game isn't over until the fat man swings"). I favor the power hitter over the slick fielding no-power utility middle infielder.

 

While I'm fascinated by the spring training battles, the results are often tempered by the fluidity of the 25 and 40 man rosters. We'll be racking up frequent flyer miles between Colorado Springs and Milwaukee all year.

[reillymcshane]

I wonder if there's a chance they would DFA Scooter and give his spot to Aguilar?

I wouldn't be surprised if Gennett is gone. There just isn't going to be a lot of playing time for him.

 

Just cutting him saves the club around $2M - not that the money is a huge deal. But $2 million bucks is still a decent chunk of change.

 

But I'm betting someone will trade for Scooter - even if it's just a throwaway prospect.

[monty57]

Barring a trade, I think the decision is basically whether they want to keep Rivera or DeJesus on the roster to back up SS, or if they will use Villar at SS when Arcia needs a day off. If they're willing to do the latter, then there is no need to keep DeJesus or Rivera on the 25-man, freeing up a spot for Aguilar. If they don't want to move Villar, then I don't really trust Perez to be the backup SS, so they may need to keep DeJesus or Rivera.

 

With a lot of positional flexibility on the roster, I have no problem keeping a guy like Aguilar as the "big bat off the bench." This is much better than a few years ago when we had Overbay and Reynolds who should have only played 1B (although Reynolds was forced to 3B), and Weeks and Gennett who would only play 2B.

[pacopete4]

If they don't want to move Villar, then I don't really trust Perez to be the backup SS, so they may need to keep DeJesus or Rivera.

 

Just out of curiosity, why? I have knocked Perez for not getting on base enough but he's played good defense all around the diamond which makes him valuable to any team imo.

[adambr2]

I wonder if there's a chance they would DFA Scooter and give his spot to Aguilar?

I wouldn't be surprised if Gennett is gone. There just isn't going to be a lot of playing time for him.

 

Just cutting him saves the club around $2M - not that the money is a huge deal. But $2 million bucks is still a decent chunk of change.

 

But I'm betting someone will trade for Scooter - even if it's just a throwaway prospect.

 

Are you sure? I thought Scooter had a fully guaranteed contract. It was my understanding that since his contract was given prior to arbitration, not actually awarded in the arbitration process, that the non -guaranteed aspect of arbitration contracts did not apply.

[monty57]

He's only started 5 games at SS in his MLB career, plus 7 games where he played SS without starting there for a total of 56.2 IP.

 

He can play there in a pinch, but I wouldn't want him to be the guy getting every start when Arcia needs a day off, and going in defensively in close games if Arcia is pinch hit for. I'd much rather see Villar move to SS with Perez or Gennett coming in to play 2B. But, as I mentioned earlier, if they don't want Villar moving from 2B this year, I'd rather see Rivera or deJesus retained as the backup SS even if it means we have a relatively weak-hitting bench.

[JohnBriggs12]

How many times have guys had great springs to make a team only to start a year 0 for 20? That being said, I don't see both Aguilar and Rivera making the team. It could be Aguilar vs. keeping a 13th pitcher. Perez can play adequate SS for a day a week. If Arcia's bat is in question, why replace him with a lesser bat? Could we see an all RH lineup vs. LHP on occasion? They'd have that option with Aguilar.

[brewmann04]

I think they need to keep Aguillar at this point.

[FVBrewerFan]

How many times have guys had great springs to make a team only to start a year 0 for 20? That being said, I don't see both Aguilar and Rivera making the team. It could be Aguilar vs. keeping a 13th pitcher. Perez can play adequate SS for a day a week. If Arcia's bat is in question, why replace him with a lesser bat? Could we see an all RH lineup vs. LHP on occasion? They'd have that option with Aguilar.

 

Not very often, but I get your point. But it's not like Aguilar came to camp and suddenly showed he has big power. Can he be effective in a limited role as PH and occasional starter at 1B? We don't know. But we do know what kind of hitter Rivera is at this point in his career. (And I'm a big Rivera fan, he may figure out how to hit at some point but he needs to be in AAA getting his 4-5 ABs every night,)

 

13th pitcher is always an option, but I guess I'm curious to see what Aguilar can do off the bench. As far as platoon goes, that will all depend on performance. As always, the bat plays.

[brewmann04]

Like your thought Process on that.

[Jenkins5]

Aguilar.... another day, another bomb! I get your point but I think Aguilar is a guy you keep. You don't know what you have in Thames. Thames is also versatile & can move out to OF on some days. Overall, having a big power bat on bench who can walk is a big plus! I don't see him clearing wavers. He has proven everything he could in AAA. Give him a chance & if like Brad Nelson he falls flat on face.... you move on, nothing lost. Rivera has options. His D is only sell right now. Haven't see Scooters D yet off 2B. Think it comes down to a Scooter trade if they want Rivera or they give Scooter a chance to be a utility guy. Remember, Villar can play 2B,SS, 3B. Perez can play 7 positions. CC is not afraid to move guys around to find ABs for others & for hot bats

[RobertR]

To me it comes down to the fact that Scooter and Rivera aren't particularly rare commodities. I don't know if Aguilar is either, but if one of the three was going to turn into something valuable, he's the one to bet on because of his power.

[pacopete4]

The problem with keeping Aguilar is if you don't plan to play him much in the very first part of the season and he becomes bench boy, you might as well try to get him to AAA for playing time.

[MillerParkSouth]

The problem is you're virtually guaranteed to lose him if you try to get him through at this point.