Is it possible that we could be buyers at the deadline?

[Madhawk23]

With that amazing series sweep over the Mets, our Brewers are 4 games over .500. Maybe this is all smoke and mirrors and we'll be back under .500 by the end of this month, but what if this team really is ahead of schedule here and are sitting 5-10 games over .500 by July 1? While I certainly don't want to trade away many of the prospects that we've worked so hard to accumulate over the past 2 years, would you be more willing to trade a couple of them if we were picking up a player that isn't just a 3 month rental, but a guy that we would have control of for the next few years? And, how many of those guys do you think might be on the trade market this July? Would the Mets be willing to part with deGrom if their season continues as it has? Or, how about a Jose Quintana?

 

Would you be willing to part with one of our OF prospects as the headliner in a deal? For example, maybe the White Sox would have a lot of interest in bringing hometown kid Corey Ray to the southside? Obviously, Ray would have to start hitting here soon to even make this an option, but I wonder if he could be a headliner in a deal?

 

I absolutely wouldn't want to trade any of our prospects for a rental, but I might be willing to part with a couple of guys in our deep system, if it helped bring back a pitcher that we could still control for awhile.

 

I know I might be putting the cart ahead of the horse here, but curious to get some thoughts on this.

[Oxy]

It's difficult to know. We've accumulated dozens of scrapheap players and fringy/aging prospects the last couple of years, and we've kept the guys who have been hot (namely Villar, Guerra, Broxton, Perez, and recently Thames, Bandy, and Shaw). It's not likely they stay hot-- and we still desperately need pitching.

 

If Guerra comes back strong and Garza finds the fountain of youth, it might be fun to acquire another starter and a bullpen arm at the deadline as long as we don't actually give up anything super-promising. We have enough minor league depth that we are going to need to do this anyway as when next year rolls around we will likely be losing a lot of the fringy older prospects regardless--so a trade here or there to make August and September exciting wouldn't be the end of the world.

[MrTPlush]

Ok I am not going to get into who we could trade or the likelihood we are still doing well in two months or so....but of course it is possible this team could buy at the deadline. I don't see us selling off any major assets for help, but an under the radar type addition is plausible. The team is winning and if it keeps happening the team will be in the race. Heck right now they hold a wildcard spot one game out of 1st place. If that is the case in July why not make an addition?

[Oxy]

Ok I am not going to get into who we could trade or the likelihood we are still doing well in two months or so....but of course it is possible this team could buy at the deadline. I don't see us selling off any major assets for help, but an under the radar type addition is plausible. The team is winning and if it keeps happening the team will be in the race. Heck right now they hold a wildcard spot one game out of 1st place. If that is the case in July why not make an addition?

 

 

Aye, "major asset." The masses of us are fanatical rubes, and the spectrum of our assets is wide and vast--sold as Rays of hope to the Haders. If we lose a Cordell or a Woodruff or a Nottingham, only time will tell if "major" was actually "minor." At this point, they are all in the Minors, no? Except for our 21 Wins?

[MKEguy]

Dance with the one that brought you.

 

I don't see this team as a contender IN the playoffs, mainly due to the pitching. I don't think it's close. If Guerra returns to last year's form, maybe they promote Woodruff to the rotation and throw Hader in the pen for the stretch run. Archer can bring his 3.42 era to Milwaukee. The bats in CO would give us a monster bench.

 

That would be an improve team and we're not giving anything away.

 

When you think about a trade that would improve the club more than the above moves, we're talking about a system altering trade moving multiple highly regarded prospects.

[Jose Cardenal1]

Well, if we are buyers it is clear we would be buying pitching. I don't think Stearns is far enough in the rebuild at this point to flip prospects for a true rental like Yu Darvish. Does a Sonny Gray interest people? Would the Braves be willing to trade Teheran? If so, that is the kind of guy I would be all on board using multiple top prospects to obtain.

 

Add a starter and call up Hader & Woodruff to be used in the bullpen if we are still playing well in July.

[Madhawk23]

My enthusiasm was brought back down to earth a bit here this morning when I saw that we are at or near the bottom in several team pitching statistics. In fact, I believe we are dead last in hits allowed, whip and batting average against. Obviously, this isn't a recipe for success long term. Maybe Junior helps these stats a little bit when he returns, but I also don't think we can expect that he'll be our savior.

 

I agree - probably is best to just let this whole thing play out and see how far this team can go on their own, and then look to potentially promote guys like Woodruff (rotation) and Hader (pen) later this summer to see if they can give the team a bit of a boost?

 

Just too many holes still in this pitching staff.

[brewcrewdue80]

Well, Braun probably dictates a bunch of this. If hes a certainty to be on the team The OF becomes crowded in depth, you have to move somebody. I mean that's been the point Im argued with the last 2 drafts. BPA. When it becomes a problem you trade your area of depth. So Id hope Ray or Clark are used for a SP. That proves the BPAs right and my impatience and idea on drafting wrong.

 

Id say untouchables are Hader, Woodruff, Ortiz, Diplan, Erceg, Harrison, Gatewood, Diaz of course. At about that point Im game for top OF headlining a deal that acquires a Pitcher with at least 2more years of control beyond '17. Theres probably 3-5 more names I'd list untouchable when they are brought up, but Im going off top of my head before coffee.

 

With Braun playing 120-135games. The 4th OF will get a bit of playing time. Brinson, Cordell, Phillips all should do better than previous 4th OFs.

 

We've got the quality depth, so trading at this deadline isnt out of the realm for a piece to help the ML roster. Cant hoard these guys yearly. Thats what the Rule 5 draft is for.

[jerichoholicninja]

Any buying Stearnes does I think will be buying tickets from Coloradp Springs to Milwaukee. Our MLB pitching is crap. Any improvements to have a chance in the playoffs will have to be major and cost players we shouldn't be giving up. Woodruff and Hader are going to be the major deadline acquisitions if we're still in contention come end of July.

[billymac]

There is still alot of fat to be trimmed off the 40 man that can be filled internally, I'd like them to adjust the pitching this way to see what we have in some of the young arms. Woodruff and Espino with starting opportunities and Hader and Lopez in the bullpen.

[JosephC]

If the Brewers are 8-10 games over .500 in July, I think Stearns will be completely out of re-build mode and will look to stand pat or be a limited buyer. Maybe would have a core list of about a half-dozen minor leaguers that he won't move (Brinson, Hader, Woodruff, Ortiz, etc), but would be looking trade players that are not on that list. That probably eliminates getting any "A" or "B" type major league talent back, but still could fill a couple holes on the roster.

 

The problem with becoming a buyer is that the biggest hole on the roster will be starting pitching and to acquire that Stearns would have to give up the prospect(s) that he likely doesn't want to move.

[A Swing and A Drive]

Any buying Stearnes does I think will be buying tickets from Coloradp Springs to Milwaukee. Our MLB pitching is crap. Any improvements to have a chance in the playoffs will have to be major and cost players we shouldn't be giving up. Woodruff and Hader are going to be the major deadline acquisitions if we're still in contention come end of July.

 

 

This seems the most likely to happen. These guys will need MLB inning sometime this year. I hope the Brewers will be smart and limit Hader's inning by using him out of the bullpen, however. If we are still contending, using him as a multiple inning LHP reliever like Andrew Miller would be the best way for him to get his intial MLB experience, IMO. The Brewers can stretch him back out to be a starter next spring.

 

Woodruff threw 158 minor league innings last season vs only 126 for Hader, so I'd be more inclined to give him a shot at the rotation late in the year.

 

The Brewers really need at least one of Wily Peralta, Jimmy Nelson, or Chase Anderson to take their game to the next level over the course of this season.

 

If so, I could envision "decent" rotation that consists of the following:

 

1. RHP Junior Guerra

2. RHP Zach Davies

3. RHP Matt Garza

4. RHP Peralta, Nelson or Anderson

5. RHP Brandon Woodruff (combinded maybe with some spot starts from Lopez/Hader/etc)

 

If two of those guys I mentioned prove worthy of keeping their starting spot, then I'd still like for the Brewers to trade away Garza.

 

Guerra and Davies aren't exactly Top of Rotation pitchers by any stretch, so it really is hard for me to see the Brewers staying in contention with this bunch.

 

I really think Woodruff is at least ready for some MLB starting experience before the year is out. I think Hader has a higher ceiling and should likely recieve the "kid gloves" treatment when it comes to limiting his innings, regardless of the Brewers spot in the standings.

[yoshii8]

With Guerra coming back soon, and Espino and Woodruff dominating in AAA, I'd like to see them try to upgrade the staff and bp internally. Or just keep trying new guys that were DFA'd like we have w/ Drake, Torres etc..

 

I don't want to see prospects traded this season.

[JohnBriggs12]

I don't expect the kind of moves made in 08 for Sabathia or Grienke where they unloaded top prospects, but if this team continues to bang away, I sure could see them acquiring a couple bullpen pieces, notably a reliable lefty to give them a shot. The rotation should get a boost with return of Guerra and they have arms in AAA that could boost the rotation.

[pacopete4]

We probably could get Sabathia back if we wanted to. King Kong could return for a reasonable price these days.

[adambr2]

Bullpen help is really expensive. I mean, the Cubs gave up arguably the best prospect in baseball for a 2 month rental of Aroldis Chapman. No matter how good Chapman is, that is insane.

 

Any reliever worth acquiring will be just too much, and if they're not, they're probably no sure thing anyway. Think we will be better off looking for internal bullpen improvements. If Woodruff moves into the rotation this season, and Hader to the pen for the time being, Nelson and Wily could both audition for the pen, and if one pans out there we might already have some significant upgrades from what we have now.

 

How about Wei-Chung Wang? I know he was a disaster here years ago but he was obviously far from ready, and now he sports a 2.87 ERA pitching for the toughest environment for pitchers in the minors. If we're going to add a lefty to this pen, he makes the most sense to me.

[FVBrewerFan]

Insane, but adding Chapman put them over the top and they won the WS.

 

As for the Brewers, yes on Woodruff or Espino and Wang. Just a matter of the timing, and maybe just temporary in the case of Espino, but time is coming where a couple guys may need to be sent down. Peralta and Nelson are being discussed here, but if Davies doesn't figure it out soon he hasn't been any better. Hader in the bullpen, veto. His biggest issue is figuring out how to get deeper into games as a starter. Putting him in the BP is not going to help him, or the Brewers long term at all. Finally, I keep seeing Lopez name sprinkled in across various threads, and he's struggling in AA so not sure that's an option right now.

[Jose Cardenal1]

If the Brewers are not in the playoff race then I agree that Hader should continue to be used as a starter to figure it out. But this thread assumes we are competing in July. At that point I would try Hader in the bullpen (also to manage innings) to see if he can give us a poor mans Andrew Miller. Able to get 4, 5 or 6 important outs a couple times a week.

 

He very well may blow up in that role but it would be worth the shot. Also easing Woodruff into the bigs through the bullpen (where he has the experience) makes some sense too. Especially as has been pointed out the ridiculous cost of acquiring bullpen arms in the middle of the season.

[A Swing and A Drive]

We probably could get Sabathia back if we wanted to. King Kong could return for a reasonable price these days.

 

Let's get the band back together.

 

To all those fans that are too nostalgic to move on from Ryan Braun, this makes a ton of sense.

[Madhawk23]

Here's an July/August bullpen idea that hasn't already been discussed: Taylor Williams.

 

He's on the 40 man already, and they are clearly trying to limit his innings this year. So, if he's still dealing come July/August and showing that he is back to being completely healthy, why not consider him for a pen spot? We know the guy has nasty stuff. Just don't know how he'd handle himself coming out of the pen in the Major Leagues. Might be an option to consider though if he's still progressing nicely in a couple of months.

[BrewCrewBlueDevil]

Sabathia for Peralta even up but the teams pay their original players salary. A change in scenery and league might help both pitchers who are on thin ice. At worst, Sabathia goes to the bullpen for tough left handed hitters. Both pitchers are then free agents at the end of the year.

[adambr2]

Insane, but adding Chapman put them over the top and they won the WS.

 

As for the Brewers, yes on Woodruff or Espino and Wang. Just a matter of the timing, and maybe just temporary in the case of Espino, but time is coming where a couple guys may need to be sent down. Peralta and Nelson are being discussed here, but if Davies doesn't figure it out soon he hasn't been any better. Hader in the bullpen, veto. His biggest issue is figuring out how to get deeper into games as a starter. Putting him in the BP is not going to help him, or the Brewers long term at all. Finally, I keep seeing Lopez name sprinkled in across various threads, and he's struggling in AA so not sure that's an option right now.

 

Hader is not going to be able to give us more than 150 innings this year before having to be shut down, and he's nearly a third of the way there already . Don't see how he's going to be expected to give any contributions to the MLB club down the stretch unless it's out of the pen. If his future is as a power reliever rather than a starter then it would help both him and the Brewers.

 

Lopez was doing fine up until yesterday. Kind of an ERA buster for him yesterday.

[adambr2]

I thought we were all just joking around about CC. No thanks.

[RobDeer 45]

No!

 

We have to stay patient and let this develop. We still don't know anything about these guys long term. We have built up a great farm system and we need to that that carefully so that we always have a steady stream coming up. Do I think we should trade for pitchers at some point with position players that we have several of? Yes. But I think we should be trading for guys with high potential, not guys that are already there. At least not for the foreseeable future.

[Madhawk23]

No!

 

We have to stay patient and let this develop. We still don't know anything about these guys long term. We have built up a great farm system and we need to that that carefully so that we always have a steady stream coming up. Do I think we should trade for pitchers at some point with position players that we have several of? Yes. But I think we should be trading for guys with high potential, not guys that are already there. At least not for the foreseeable future.

 

Let me just say that I definitely fall on your side of the argument with this. But, what if we are talking about a pitcher that we'd have control over for the next few seasons beyond 2017? Again, maybe a deGrom or Quintana type guy that would/should be a bit piece of your rotation for the next few years as you try to build a championship level team? I too don't like the idea of selling off any of our big prospects that we've worked hard to acquire, but I might at least entertain the idea if we were getting back a quality starting pitcher that we could build the rotation around. Eventually, we are going to have to do this anyway as I just don't see much high-end starting pitching in our system right now. I guess the question would be: is this year the right year to start looking at deal like this? Coming into the year, we all would have said that NO, it is way too soon, but perhaps our timelines get moved up a season if this team continues winning games with the offense over the next month+ here?