Nick Franklin claimed off waivers from Tampa; Blazek DFA'd

[markedman5]

INF/OF Nick Franklin claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay and expected to report on Friday. RHP Michael Blazek designated for assignment.

[ewitkows]

[sarcasm]Our new starting 2B[/sarcasm]

[pacopete4]

Nice pickup for our bench. Like the move.

[liveforoctober]

Here is the other lefty option off the bench most were clamoring for.

[StearnsFTW]

Nice move. Good player to have in the NL. He was actually pretty good with the bat last year in a small sample size.

[HighHeat19]

Love this move!!!!!

[bork]

So this means a pitcher gets sent down: Suter, Barnes or Jungman?

[wildcat2237]

Excellent move.

 

Franklin essentially replaces Scooter.

 

I never liked Blazek, so whatever on that.

[FVBrewerFan]

So this means a pitcher gets sent down: Suter, Barnes or Jungman?

 

Or a trade coming.

 

Not a bad pick-up, he has no options remaining FWIW.

[bork]

He is also arby eligible next year.

 

He will report on Friday, so they have a couple days to make a move.

[Boomer5]

Baseball Reference had him as a -0.9 dWAR last year, so another guy who doesn't play defense.

[djoctagone]

So this means a pitcher gets sent down: Suter, Barnes or Jungman [sic]?

 

Or a trade coming.

 

Not a bad pick-up, (Franklin) has no options remaining FWIW.

if the brewers attempt to outright blazek to the minor leagues and no team claims him, he will be forced to accept the minor league assignment.

[3and2Fastball]

Worth taking a shot on. Exactly the type of player you pick up to see if he can take the next step. He is certainly more defensively versatile than Scooter but so far has never been as good with the bat.

 

He is younger than Eric Sogard and perhaps a better hitter but shouldn't be expected to bring a lot more to the table than Sogard would have this year. Sogard is better on defense. This is giving a player a chance

[FVBrewerFan]

So this means a pitcher gets sent down: Suter, Barnes or Jungman [sic]?

 

Or a trade coming.

 

Not a bad pick-up, (Franklin) has no options remaining FWIW.

if the brewers attempt to outright blazek to the minor leagues and no team claims him, he will be forced to accept the minor league assignment.

 

Blazek isn't on the 25, I think bork was pointing out what the corresponding move may be on the 25 man roster. When Franklin is added, someone has to go.

[monty57]

Good. I'm not a fan of 13-man pitching staffs.

[TURBO]

Excellent move.

 

Franklin essentially replaces Scooter.

 

 

...and what is the point of getting rid of Scooter, then adding another one?

[Thurston Fluff]

Good. I'm not a fan of 13-man pitching staffs.

 

Neither am I but with our starting rotation I wonder if it isn't going to be necessary. Like others, I like the versatility and another lefty off the bench.

[Boomer5]

Excellent move.

 

Franklin essentially replaces Scooter.

 

 

...and what is the point of getting rid of Scooter, then adding another one?

 

Who knows. This is a move for making a move sake.

 

The Brewer problems are defense and pitching; two areas this guy won't help. Though he did actually pitch an inning at some point.

[Boomer5]

Versatility only matters if the player can play multiple positions well or at least adequately. Otherwise what is the point? This guy isn't much of a player, which is why he was available in the first place.

 

Villar is technically our most versatile player FWIW

[monty57]

Good. I'm not a fan of 13-man pitching staffs.

 

Neither am I but with our starting rotation I wonder if it isn't going to be necessary. Like others, I like the versatility and another lefty off the bench.

 

I get the logic of that, but with the short outings in the first two games, we've blown through the bench, limiting Counsell's options, while we still have a couple of relievers who haven't pitched. I guess either way can blow up on you, depending on the situation.

 

One important thing this year will be having bullpen arms who we can option to/from Colorado when we have a few short starts in a row. DFA'ing Blazek to pick up Franklin may hurt our ability to do this, but we don't have a lot of 40-man position player who deserve to be called up right now, so this move probably makes sense.

[JohnBriggs12]

Excellent move.

 

Franklin essentially replaces Scooter.

 

 

...and what is the point of getting rid of Scooter, then adding another one?

 

Agree but worse is that Scooter has been a much more productive hitter than Franklin so only explanation is they wanted to save a couple million. I'm okay with the move as Franklin did pretty well off the bench last year but sure seems like an admission they were hasty and cheap waiving Scooter.

[pacopete4]

Excellent move.

 

Franklin essentially replaces Scooter.

 

 

...and what is the point of getting rid of Scooter, then adding another one?

 

Agree but worse is that Scooter has been a much more productive hitter than Franklin so only explanation is they wanted to save a couple million. I'm okay with the move as Franklin did pretty well off the bench last year but sure seems like an admission they were hasty and cheap waiving Scooter.

 

 

It couldn't be that Scooter is a two bagger only and this guy plays all around the diamond?

[liveforoctober]

Excellent move.

 

Franklin essentially replaces Scooter.

 

 

...and what is the point of getting rid of Scooter, then adding another one?

 

Who knows. This is a move for making a move sake.

 

The Brewer problems are defense and pitching; two areas this guy won't help. Though he did actually pitch an inning at some point.

 

It doesn’t matter and it is not worth fighting about, but I always smile at the thought process of some fans. “The Brewers need pitching and defense and he helps neither so this is a terrible move.” (paraphrasing) Packers fans are notorious (I am a GBP fan FWIW) for this … we sign Martellus Bennett and there is a contingent that gets upset “How is this going to help our pass defense?!”

 

I half expect some fans to go crazy if the Brewers announce they are going to repaint the dugouts a lighter shade of blue because “How is that going to help our base running mistakes?!? Terrible decision!!”

 

Stearns’ job (I’m generalizing) is to try to improve all aspects of the organization from a talent perspective, top to very bottom. Why get salty because the move he just made isn’t acquiring Clayton Kershaw?

 

I'm not necessarily directing this at the quoted poster.. just the thought process in general.

[homer]

Franklin played 2B, 1B, SS, and OF last year. Much more versatile in the field than Scooter.

[Ennder]

Nice to have a switch hitting option off of the bench. He is more versatile than Scooter defensively. He was a better hitter than Scooter last year at least. It probably doesn't matter but he was a real prospect so maybe the Brewers see something in him the way they did with some of the other guys they grabbed last year.