2018 Brewers 25 Man Roster [Latest: Starting rotation set, post #445]

[clancyphile]

I'm very torn on the Walker/Villar debate. On one hand, I'd like to see Villar head into the offseason, work his tail off, and get back to 2016 form. I'm sure everyone on this board would be happy to have 2016 villar back. On the other, a player like walker is incredibly valuable to this team and the price might be right. It may end up moot if Walker commands big bucks in FA. I'll be curious the route we go.

 

Ideally, the Crew has both. If Villar returns to 2016 form, and Walker stays - awesome. If Walker stays, but Villar is closer to 2017 than 2016, hey, not bad. If Villar returns and Walker gets big buck, not bad, either.

 

But if Walker stays and Villar returns to 2016... heck, if Arcia can't get his OPS higher than .730, you can always move Villar to short, play Walker at second, and you gain 96 points of OPS at short and Walker will add 10 points over Villar's 2016 numbers at second while Arcia can work on getting the OPS up.

[bill hAll Star]

I'm very torn on the Walker/Villar debate. On one hand, I'd like to see Villar head into the offseason, work his tail off, and get back to 2016 form. I'm sure everyone on this board would be happy to have 2016 villar back. On the other, a player like walker is incredibly valuable to this team and the price might be right. It may end up moot if Walker commands big bucks in FA. I'll be curious the route we go.

 

Ideally, the Crew has both. If Villar returns to 2016 form, and Walker stays - awesome. If Walker stays, but Villar is closer to 2017 than 2016, hey, not bad. If Villar returns and Walker gets big buck, not bad, either.

 

But if Walker stays and Villar returns to 2016... heck, if Arcia can't get his OPS higher than .730, you can always move Villar to short, play Walker at second, and you gain 96 points of OPS at short and Walker will add 10 points over Villar's 2016 numbers at second while Arcia can work on getting the OPS up.

 

I'm not sure it matters what Arcia's OPS is. I'd probably rather have him there for the defense.

[KeithStone53151]

I'm very torn on the Walker/Villar debate. On one hand, I'd like to see Villar head into the offseason, work his tail off, and get back to 2016 form. I'm sure everyone on this board would be happy to have 2016 villar back. On the other, a player like walker is incredibly valuable to this team and the price might be right. It may end up moot if Walker commands big bucks in FA. I'll be curious the route we go.

 

Ideally, the Crew has both. If Villar returns to 2016 form, and Walker stays - awesome. If Walker stays, but Villar is closer to 2017 than 2016, hey, not bad. If Villar returns and Walker gets big buck, not bad, either.

 

But if Walker stays and Villar returns to 2016... heck, if Arcia can't get his OPS higher than .730, you can always move Villar to short, play Walker at second, and you gain 96 points of OPS at short and Walker will add 10 points over Villar's 2016 numbers at second while Arcia can work on getting the OPS up.

 

You won't get Walker and 2016 villar, either one or the other. You won't be able to get both regular at bats to keep their production at a high level.

[monty57]

I think Garza and Walker will walk as free agents. Walker because he'll get a three-year deal somewhere, and even at $5M Garza's option won't be exercised.

 

I'd re-sign Swarzak or a comparable late-inning reliever. I'd also look at re-signing Sogard as a LH-hitting backup middle infielder, allowing us to trade Perez. Broxton seems to be the other logical option from the MLB roster to be traded.

 

C: Pina, Vogt - Vogt's defense is atrocious, but he's proven to be an MLB-caliber player. Bandy and Susac still haven't done that.

 

1B: Thames / Aguilar - I normally don't like keeping two 1B on an NL roster, but Aguilar has shown that he can hit well as a part-time player/bat off the bench which has value, and Thames can at least passably back up LF.

 

2B: I'm not against re-signing Walker. I'm just hesitant to sign him to a three-year deal, which he'll probably get from someone. Hoping Villar will bounce back seems risky, so I'd rather have him as a utility guy unless he earns his starting spot back. This is no doubt our biggest positional question mark going into 2018. Getting a high-OBP lead-off hitter would be ideal.

 

SS: Arcia - I think he was brought up too early last year, but there's no doubt he's settled into the starting role going forward.

 

3B: Shaw - great pickup by Stearns

 

LF: Braun - he's a Brewer for life, and he can still play... as long as he can stay healthy.

 

CF: Brinson / Phillips with both guys getting PT at the corners when they're not starting

 

RF: Santana - great to see him have a healthy season and prove he belongs as a starter.

 

Rotation (until Nelson is back) Anderson, Davies, FA pickup, Woodruff/Suter, Hader

 

I think Hader needs to get the chance to prove himself in the rotation. If he succeeds, he could be one of the best SP in the league, so he needs to get the chance. "Bullpen ace" is his fallback if he can't cut it as a starter. Woodruff is either a starter at the MLB level, or starts the year as our #1 option at AAA. Suter is a fallback option if Woodruff isn't ready. Otherwise he's a good LH option in the pen who can go multiple innings and spot start if necessary. Attanasio might want to do a major FA signing at SP, but I think it's more likely they find a solid starter to slot in at #2/3, which could make for a very solid rotation when/if Nelson returns to full form.

 

Bullpen: I think they'll spend some money to shore up the bullpen this offseason. They'll try to re-sign Swarzak and probably another good reliever. Guerra is probably the top option for "long man" and I like Suter as mentioned above. We should start seeing some good options coming up from the farms as well, as some of our starters are converted to reliever. With the pitching talent we have on the farm, I think we should have a fully homegrown bullpen in the next couple of years.

 

Out of necessity, they had a lot of "bullpen games" this season where the starter was only expected to go 2-4 innings. This can only work if you have a lot of bullpen arms who can go multiple innings. There will be some priority in finding guys like this, whether it's from other teams or by converting starters from our farm.

[Crash2303]

I would be very wary of moving Villar this off-season. You don't trade young(ish) talent like that after just one year removed from his extraordinary 2016- not only because of the hope that he rebounds, but also because of the little value you would get back in return. He still should be considered the 2B of the future (at least until he becomes a FA after 2020) and given another year to re-establish and find himself. and i still think he has potential to be above average defensively at second.

 

However, i don't think this rules out re-signing Walker this off-season. Although i don't think we need to, and would prefer to have Perez and another utility infielder (ie sogard/orf) backing up the infield, I think it could work. Walker has been a modicum of consistency the last three seasons and at 31 isn't that old to where age should severely decline his production in the next two seasons as a stop-gap for another guy in case Villar, who would be used as another super-utility guy off the bench, doesn't regain his form. Walker's positional 'lock' to 2B limits his versatility off the bench, so if Villar does start hitting well next season, Walker doesn't profile as an expensive bench bat, but could be an attractive trade piece to package with some prospects to bring in an extra arm down the stretch next year.

 

But, the picture not to lose sign of, is that Villar should be given a chance to rebound next year, which would be difficult with Walker hitting well at 2B.

[KeithStone53151]

I would be very wary of moving Villar this off-season. You don't trade young(ish) talent like that after just one year removed from his extraordinary 2016- not only because of the hope that he rebounds, but also because of the little value you would get back in return. He still should be considered the 2B of the future (at least until he becomes a FA after 2020) and given another year to re-establish and find himself. and i still think he has potential to be above average defensively at second.

 

However, i don't think this rules out re-signing Walker this off-season. Although i don't think we need to, and would prefer to have Perez and another utility infielder (ie sogard/orf) backing up the infield, I think it could work. Walker has been a modicum of consistency the last three seasons and at 31 isn't that old to where age should severely decline his production in the next two seasons as a stop-gap for another guy in case Villar, who would be used as another super-utility guy off the bench, doesn't regain his form. Walker's positional 'lock' to 2B limits his versatility off the bench, so if Villar does start hitting well next season, Walker doesn't profile as an expensive bench bat, but could be an attractive trade piece to package with some prospects to bring in an extra arm down the stretch next year.

 

But, the picture not to lose sign of, is that Villar should be given a chance to rebound next year, which would be difficult with Walker hitting well at 2B.

 

Walker plays both 1b and 3b, fyi. Signing Walker and making no other roster moves is going to seriously hurt our chances of getting Villar back on track and getting his value back.

[Crash2303]

I would be very wary of moving Villar this off-season. You don't trade young(ish) talent like that after just one year removed from his extraordinary 2016- not only because of the hope that he rebounds, but also because of the little value you would get back in return. He still should be considered the 2B of the future (at least until he becomes a FA after 2020) and given another year to re-establish and find himself. and i still think he has potential to be above average defensively at second.

 

However, i don't think this rules out re-signing Walker this off-season. Although i don't think we need to, and would prefer to have Perez and another utility infielder (ie sogard/orf) backing up the infield, I think it could work. Walker has been a modicum of consistency the last three seasons and at 31 isn't that old to where age should severely decline his production in the next two seasons as a stop-gap for another guy in case Villar, who would be used as another super-utility guy off the bench, doesn't regain his form. Walker's positional 'lock' to 2B limits his versatility off the bench, so if Villar does start hitting well next season, Walker doesn't profile as an expensive bench bat, but could be an attractive trade piece to package with some prospects to bring in an extra arm down the stretch next year.

 

But, the picture not to lose sign of, is that Villar should be given a chance to rebound next year, which would be difficult with Walker hitting well at 2B.

 

Walker plays both 1b and 3b, fyi. Signing Walker and making no other roster moves is going to seriously hurt our chances of getting Villar back on track and getting his value back.

 

'plays' is a dubious distinction for Walker at those positions, which is why i put 'lock' in apostrophes. in his 1000+ games as a major leaguer, he has started only 17 games at 3B and 7 games at 1B. the latter of which mostly came this year as a necessity to get his bat in the lineup during a stretch where he and the other 2B were all lighting it up.

[reillymcshane]

I think there are some

 

C - Pina and Vogt. No one likes Vogt's defense, but he's a gritty battler - plus the other options aren't good.

 

1B - Thames and Aguilar. Seems to have worked okay. Not great, but decent. No better options (unless you can move Braun or Santana here).

 

2B - Big question. I'm guessing that - barring a terrible spring - Villar gets the gig again. The club will challenge him to rebound. There will be the temptation to sign Walker, but I'd be wary. He's still a decent player, but he's had injuries the last few years - including a back problem. That kind of thing can really affect a guy. I think it's started to affect his defense - which used to be pretty solid. He's 32, and I just don't see him getting better. I'd rather play for more upside.

 

SS - Arcia - no questions here.

 

3B - Shaw - no questions here.

 

INF - Sogard - left hander who can play decent defense, get on base - and step in at 2B if Villar falters.

 

UT - Perez - He's our super utility guy - playing everywhere and anywhere. He's not great, but he is cheap and valuable. We could take trade offers, but I doubt anyone offers a ton for him.

 

OF - I think that between Santana, Braun, Brinson and Phillips. While you can't start all these guys every day, there are 486 starts to divvy up. That's about 120 starts apiece (all you expect from Braun at this stage). Add in some DH opportunities, defensive replacement situations, pinch hit opps - and you can get those guys 500 ABs each (and that's not even really looking at injuries or ineffectiveness).

 

SP - Anderson, Davies, Woodruff, Hader and FA signing. As much as Hader has been great in relief, the club will need to give him a try at starting again. The upside is simply too high. With Nelson down, the team will then add a starter. Nothing fancy. Someone to plug a hole for a year or two. If Nelson comes back, whoever is doing worst will get replaced. Same could happen with regard to Corbin Burnes. He could be brought up by mid-season due to injury or ineffectiveness. If Guerra looks good, he may displace Woodruff.

 

RP - Knebel, Swarzek, Hughes, Suter, Free Agent, assorted options (Barnes, Drake, Lopez, T. Williams, Wang, Wilkerson probably forgotten a few guys). With Hader in the rotation, the club will make a couple of free agent signings. I'm betting Swarzek. It will cost a lot - $6M per (or more) for three years, but our lack of payroll will allow us to splurge. If not Swarzek, then another good reliever, like Pat Neshek. I think we will add another 'proven' type reliever. Maybe not as expensive as Swarzek (but who knows). Adding the likes of Neshek and Swarzek would greatly solidify the pen.

 

Free agents who leave: Walker (unless the club really thinks Villar is junk), Garza, Torres

Traded: Broxton. Just don't see the space going forward. He's limited as a player, and the club will go with the upside of Brinson/Phillips. Don't know what Broxton can get, but just not any room.

 

Tasks:

 

1. Figure out 2B situation

2. Sign two free agent relievers (one being Swarzek)

3. Trade Broxton

4. Sign a free agent starting pitcher

5. Resign Sogard

 

Those are my guesses

[buckybrewer232]

I'm surprised that everyone on here wants basically the entire lineup back as is, considering they are going to finish up a below average offense. And, that is with a lot of surprise guys having career years- Pina, Shaw, Thames, Santana, etc.

 

That said, I fully expect somewhat of an adjustment next year which probably results in a step back. If I was I Stearns, would be looking to build and bridge toward 2019 and beyond when I think they can really compete for years to come.

 

With that in mind, my first order of business would be determining if Santana or Braun can play 1st base. Phillips and Brinson are ready and I don't want to be platooning them right away, they are both everyday players IMO. Getting them established as full time big leaguers in 2018 will only help for 2019 and beyond. If Braun/Santana can't play 1st, I trade Braun.

 

Yes, I understand they likely won't get anything of significance back. However, his payroll relief alone (if you get someone to take on most of it) will allow the team to improve elsewhere, either this year or in 2019 or later when our own guys are getting more expensive or we need a piece or two to put us over the top. Braun isn't what he used to be and approaching his mid 30's I expect him to get worse, especially defensively where he is already bad. Obviously, we all know of his health issues as well.

 

Assuming, you trade Braun my 2018 roster would look something like this:

 

C: Pina and Avila- let Vogt walk and sign Avila. Bringing Luc back would be tempting here, he'll be cheap.

1B: Hosmer- I'm a Hosmer fan, I think his bat is legit and he plays great D. Thames is traded

2B: Villar- Gotta figure out what you have with him but ideally Hiura is ready in 2019. Let Walker walk.

3B: Shaw

SS: Arcia

LF: Santana

CF: Brinson

RF: Phillips

Bench: Broxton, Perez, Aguilar I guess Sogard would be OK but he was not good before this year. Would also be interested in a guy like Jon Jay. Type of hitter that is needed with this squad.

 

SP: Anderson, Davies, Woodruff, Hader, Free Agent

Pen: Would be interested in Swarzak but I think he gets expensive. Sign a FA or two and fill the rest out with all the options in house.

[Crash2303]

now that the brewers are all but mathematically eliminated (c'mon Brewers- prove me wrong!) i can justify adding to this thread. So here are my off-season moves that might impact the 25 man roster:

 

FREE AGENCY

I would prefer that the Brewers remain inactive in FA this off-season, because i love our in-house talent and believe its important for our younger guys to be given an opportunity to see what we have in them. the only 'hole' i see that this team has next season is the absence of a young, true TOR and there is no one in free agency that fits that description. and the only TORs out there are on the wrong side of 30 who we'd have to sign to a dangerous, big, long term deal. If we're going to bring someone in like that i think it is going to happen next year or through a trade (a la greinke). In terms of signing a strong, mid-rotation FA guy like Cobb or Chatwood, I see our young pitchers like Woodruff and Hader with the potential to match anything those guys do next season and for that matter the same with 2019 rookie hopefuls L.Ortiz, F.Peralta, & Burnes (who could realistically be up next year), but would be blocked. i think if the brewers wanted to go after a reclamation project like Pineda (low risk, high reward) that would be fine, but nothing long-term.

 

I'd also love for them to sign Hosmer, especially with his defensive value, but first- he is going to sign a huge, long term deal and second, we'd probably have to unload both Aguilar and Thames, which would dilute an already diluted pool of available low-end 1B, and third i still think that Braun (or Santana for that matter) is a possibility down the road at 1B if he's still on the team, and there's a good chance he will be. So, i would lay-off and keep it in-house.

 

TRADE

Vogt - he has been awesome this year both in the clubhouse and the field. but, his defense is only getting worse and he's only getting older. Bandy doesn't have any options next year, and i don't see us keeping 3 catchers on the 25 man roster. although his second half was as cold as ice, he showed enough of his potential early on and is young enough that he should only be getting better. I think he should provide more than enough to backup Pina next year, and with Susac still having an option left and Heineman also in house, we should be fine at catcher. and Bandy to boot, adds his own charismatic personality to the clubhouse. We could probably trade Vogt for some young, relief pitching depth.

 

Either Broxton or Santana - whoever the team can get more for. Broxton probably has a little bigger upside and would play a much better RF and can also back up the other two positions superbly, but his offensive inconsistency is a concern, whereas Santana has consistently hit well all-season in his first healthy year and should only get better. with Phillips and Brinson in the wings- my preference would be to keep both of them. Phillips provides defensive value and along with his left-handed bat provides a greater span of flexibility. I think Brinson is going to be a star, both from the eye test and from his minor league stats (particular the continued adjustments he's made up the ladder). Braun's contract and health leave him anchored to the Crew (which isn't necessarily a bad thing)- so the four OFs we keep should get plenty of ABs each. but, five is a crowd. although i think Santana is better than Broxton, i think you also could get a tremendous return for him that would be too attractive to turn down.

 

DANGLE

Hughes - has been a consistent, quality reliever over the past six seasons and this season, is putting up at or better numbers than most of his career avgs. But at 32 years old how long can he keep up this production? better to trade a year too early than too late- and this offseason, i think could bring back a nice return. plus, we have a plethora of young arms with higher upside who could plug in the bullpen. with that said, hughes would be hard to lose as consistent bullpen depth is valuable and is probably similar to what the brewers would look to acquire at the deadline. and since we already have him on a nice deal- there is no need to trade him unless he is packaged in a deal that brings back someone significant.

 

Thames - This is more about what i believe we have in Aguilar than a knock on Thames. I think Aguilar has big-time power potential that he is still growing into and Thames is keeping him from that consistent playing time. And speaking of which Thames is who he always has been. Take away his April and his numbers this season are almost identical to his career numbers before he went to Korea. I normally agree with the notion that you can't arbitrarily just take away a player's best or worst month and say, "now look at his numbers." but, this isn't a normal situation. First, he was gone from the majors for two years and second, it was the first month of the year. if a player has a hot first month and then is cold the rest of the year, that is probably pointing more to a trend than if the month was in the middle of the summer. and to the first point, pitchers didn't have much of a scouting report on him. but, once they adjusted and built a profile for him, he subsequently proved unable to make further successful adjustments. i think going forward his numbers (minus April) are a stronger predictor for his performance in the next two years of his contract than his full season stats. that and his overall pretty lousy defense at 1B and worse defense in the OF, are good reasons to dangle him out there and see what we can get. but, there's no pressing need to get rid of him, so if there's not much interest, keep him and at worst he is an awesome bench bat and at best- well he's babe ruthesq lol on a team-friendly contract.

 

PROPOSED TRADE PACKAGE FOR A YOUNG TOR- (probably more appropriate in the Transactions/Rumors thread, but since it relates to the above trades listed above- i'm putting it here)

Thames, Santana/Broxton (recipients choice), Vogt, Hughes, Jungmann (out of options- and long shot to make the team [double side-note, really wish he had been called up in September- believe he could have helped the team down the stretch and helped his own cause too- especially in those late-inning games against the Cubs)] and a low-level lottery ticket like Carlos Luna for a true Ace, under 30 and under team contract for at least three years.

 

RE-SIGN

Sogard - hopefully he doesn't have to start too many games, but think we could get him on a fair, 2-3 year contract for him to back up, along with Perez, the middle infield. great clubhouse guy fwiw and is nice to have the defensive flexibility and another veteran on the team. If we don't re-sign him, i think Orf should be given a shot and could fill in all over as the 25th man (provided he's re-signed, see below)

 

LET WALK

Swarzak - relievers are notoriously inconsistent year to year. unless your name is Andrew Miller or can throw 105 mph, i don't see giving big payouts to relievers as wise (and even then i'm not sure it's worth the cost), but a better option is to instead fill with a swarm of decent arms still under rookie contracts (seeing what sticks). Swarzak has been everything and so much more for the brewers during the stretch run and after his breakout season this year he'll be looking for a big, multi-year pay day. but prior to this year he only had one good season out of seven, back in 2013, and the rest were mediocre at best. And at 32 years old, his sudden ability to miss bats (10.7 k/9 compared to career 6 k/9 and hit rate way down this year) is questionable. but, guys like Guerra and Pina have made similar late-aged adjustments and show that it can be possible. if he put up numbers during his contract like this season, he could be worth it, but i think it's a more prudent move to look at younger, in house options- of which there are plenty.

 

Walker - i posted about him already in a post above. He is a solid hitter and provides value at 2B. but with his age and the attractive rebound possibility of Villar already under contract- i think it would be better to let Walker walk.

 

Garza- I don't care if his option was only for $1 million. I don't want him back next year and he would only take away playing time from the younger arms. good bye Garza.

 

SIX, RULE V ELIGIBLE PLAYERS TO PROTECT (already posted this in the Rule V thread, so this is just an updated summary as it relates to current 25 man-ners)

Protected Six - Freddy Peralta, Marcos Diplan, Mauricio Dubon, Nottingham, Tyrone Taylor, Nathan Orf

DFA Three - Quintin Berry, Oliver Drake, Carlos Torres (no explanation necessary, would be nice though if they pass through waivers and were re-signed to minor league deals)

the three other spots opened from the free agency of Swarzak, Walker and Garza

 

IN-HOUSE MINOR LEAGUE FREE AGENTS TO RE-SIGN (in preferential order)

Yhonathan Barrios, Nick Ramirez, Sean Nolin, Angel Ventura, Michael Reed, Tim Dillard, Ivan DeJesus, Hiram Burgos, Yadiel Rivera, Kyle Wren, Jorge Ortega, Parker Berberet, Dustin Houle

The rest of the MiFA i would love to have back, too- but see as interchangeable with the myriad of other MiFAs out there and imagine we'll re-sign a bunch as always, of who the team has an eye on, particularly pitchers to compete for the last bullpen spot or two.

 

*EDIT- apologies to Wily Peralta- but you need a fresh start

[reillymcshane]

I'm surprised that everyone on here wants basically the entire lineup back as is, considering they are going to finish up a below average offense. And, that is with a lot of surprise guys having career years- Pina, Shaw, Thames, Santana, etc.

This is a huge deal in my book. The offense hasn't been great. The big question is how do you improve?

 

One problem we have is that we have a lot of good - but not great - players. That's not a bad thing, but improving from good to great can cost a lot.

 

Is Hosmer better then Thames/Aguilar? Yes. But is Hosmer at $20M (for many years) better to have than Thames/Aguilar at $5.5M? I don't think so. There's immense value in financial flexibility, and when we sink superstar dollars into a player who give us an incremental push improvement - it's not the best use of our dollars.

 

To me, the best way to improve is by identifying the poor areas of production. That would be 2B and CF. The potential to improve 2B is there if Villar can rebound (big question), and the potential to improve in CF is there in Brinson and Phillips over Broxton.

 

The Brewers really lack superstar position players. To get one costs a lot - either in prospects or in free agency. Thus, the best way for us to get an all star caliber player is to home grow one. Right now, the guy who has the tools is Brinson - but he's had injury issues and he's no sure thing. But if anyone is likely to become a consistent all star - he's the guy.

 

The tough part is that there is no easy answer. Getting an all star caliber guy isn't cheap or easy. 'Letting young guys get better' is a strategy - but a very dicey one. But for the most part, that's what I would do.

[Crash2303]

So my 25 man would look like this (which includes the trade proposed in my above post):

STARTERS

2B- Villar (S)

SS- Arcia

LF- Braun

3B- Shaw (L)

1B- Aguilar

CF- Brinson (would wait to bring up until after super 2)

RF- Phillips (L)

C- Pina

------------------

BENCH

OF- Broxton

U- Perez

UI- Sogard (L)

C- Bandy

------------------

ROTATION

TOR acquired through trade (see above post)

Nelson (Injured)

Anderson

Davies

Hader (L)

Woodruff

-------------------

BULLPEN

Knebel

Guerra (if Hader or Woodruff falters in the rotation switch out)

T. Williams

Barnes

Suter (L)

Jeffress

Webb (L) or Wang (L)

open competition for last spot - let's be fun and say Barrios

[bork]

The thing I struggle with is that I'd really like to see them improve their bad defense, but for the most part their best hitters are their worst defenders (Braun, Santana, Thames).

[clancyphile]

I think Garza and Walker will walk as free agents. Walker because he'll get a three-year deal somewhere, and even at $5M Garza's option won't be exercised.

 

I'd re-sign Swarzak or a comparable late-inning reliever. I'd also look at re-signing Sogard as a LH-hitting backup middle infielder, allowing us to trade Perez. Broxton seems to be the other logical option from the MLB roster to be traded.

...

2B: I'm not against re-signing Walker. I'm just hesitant to sign him to a three-year deal, which he'll probably get from someone. Hoping Villar will bounce back seems risky, so I'd rather have him as a utility guy unless he earns his starting spot back. This is no doubt our biggest positional question mark going into 2018. Getting a high-OBP lead-off hitter would be ideal.

 

 

Actually, a three-year deal for Walker makes sense, since the Brewers have Hiura rocketing through the system.

 

2018: Hiura in Carolina/Biloxi

2019: Hiura in Biloxi/AAA

2020: Hiura in AAA/majors

 

That allows Walker to play a role in 2018-2019, then hand it off to Hiura in 2020. Use Villar as a utility player/backup for those three years.

 

I'm all for depth on the bench. A "Bench Mob" is a good thing.

[clancyphile]

So all in all, I don't expect them to go back into rebuilding mode, but I could see a bit of a step back to the 75-80 win range. Then with some top arms emerging and Nelson (hopefully) returning to full strength, 2019 may really be when our window starts to open.

 

They may choose to be rather aggressive in the off-season with signs and trades to try to keep that from happening, and that's fine, but I hope they don't get too aggressive with trading away farm pieces to do it.

 

I agree that's a route we COULD go. We could retool a couple pieces and give more young guys opportunities. I think it's more likely that we spend some money on 2-3 year deals for significant bullpen pieces, make a play for a high-end SP, make the obvious move with our OF situation(trade broxton, phillips starting with brinson at AAA briefly), and possibly try and re-sign walker depending on his price tag. If we sign walker, I would think we also trade one of Villar/Thames. Those moves along with improvement from our young players would likely net us more wins in 2018 than this year.

 

I'm going to hope that Stearns recognizes that Milwaukee is not Chicago, and money for free agents doesn't grow on trees in this market.

 

1. Trade Broxton to the White Sox for a package that includes 1B Casey Gillaspie, LHP Ian Clarkin, and LHP Bernardo Flores.

2. Let Garza walk, re-sign Walker and Sogard

3. Load up the pen with younger arms. See about trading Hughes/Drake/etc. for the "lottery tickets" to net more Freddy Peraltas.

 

Going back to 75-80 wins is not a bad thing, especially if the younger players can be refined.

 

I favor a Phillips/Brinson platoon in CF, and not opposed to Thames/Aguilar at first, but Gillaspie could be a short-term option if one or both of Thames/Aguilar struggle. Gillaspie is showing a good walk rate, and some power.

 

For the rotation, exploring the in-house options makes much more sense. I have Jungmann as 5th starter, but it could be Hader, could be Angel Ventura... there are folks who deserve a shot in Milwaukee's system now. Also, who knows how fast Corbin Burnes could hit the majors? If he's pitching in 2018 like he did in 2017...

 

I would also not be surprised if the Brewers decide to move Santana to an AL team, especially if Troy Stokes continues his development.

[buckybrewer232]

I'm surprised that everyone on here wants basically the entire lineup back as is, considering they are going to finish up a below average offense. And, that is with a lot of surprise guys having career years- Pina, Shaw, Thames, Santana, etc.

This is a huge deal in my book. The offense hasn't been great. The big question is how do you improve?

 

One problem we have is that we have a lot of good - but not great - players. That's not a bad thing, but improving from good to great can cost a lot.

 

Is Hosmer better then Thames/Aguilar? Yes. But is Hosmer at $20M (for many years) better to have than Thames/Aguilar at $5.5M? I don't think so. There's immense value in financial flexibility, and when we sink superstar dollars into a player who give us an incremental push improvement - it's not the best use of our dollars.

 

To me, the best way to improve is by identifying the poor areas of production. That would be 2B and CF. The potential to improve 2B is there if Villar can rebound (big question), and the potential to improve in CF is there in Brinson and Phillips over Broxton.

 

The Brewers really lack superstar position players. To get one costs a lot - either in prospects or in free agency. Thus, the best way for us to get an all star caliber player is to home grow one. Right now, the guy who has the tools is Brinson - but he's had injury issues and he's no sure thing. But if anyone is likely to become a consistent all star - he's the guy.

 

The tough part is that there is no easy answer. Getting an all star caliber guy isn't cheap or easy. 'Letting young guys get better' is a strategy - but a very dicey one. But for the most part, that's what I would do.

 

Fair points and I totally understand where you're coming from. A lot would hinge on really how much it would take to sign Hosmer. I'm also just not a huge fan of Thames going forward.

 

He had the benefit of being an unknown and taking the league by storm the first month of the season, and I don't think you see a .870 OPS season from him again. Plus his defense negates a lot of his value and I think the Brewers have room for improvement defensively. You're a much better team defensively if you put Hosmer at 1st base and your OF is Santana, Brinson, Phillips compared to what we are seeing now.

 

Also, totally agree on your concern of the Brewers having no superstar position players. This is one of the things that concerns me a bit with this organization right now. Brinson is about the only one in the system who I think has that potential, and I'm not sure if he'll ever put it all together. Look around the league and all the playoff teams have a superstar position player or superstars. They're all young too. The rest of the NL is loaded with them- Bryant, Rizzo, Harper, Rendon, Bellinger, Seager, Goldschmidt, Blackmon, Arenado, etc.

[Lathund]

PROPOSED TRADE PACKAGE FOR A YOUNG TOR- (probably more appropriate in the Transactions/Rumors thread, but since it relates to the above trades listed above- i'm putting it here)

Thames, Santana/Broxton (recipients choice), Vogt, Hughes, Jungmann (out of options- and long shot to make the team [double side-note, really wish he had been called up in September- believe he could have helped the team down the stretch and helped his own cause too- especially in those late-inning games against the Cubs)] and a low-level lottery ticket like Carlos Luna for a true Ace, under 30 and under team contract for at least three years.

 

That won't even come close to landing a young ace with years of control remaining. Consider the kind of team that would trade away such a player, and it'd be a team not expecting to compete at all for the duration of the remaining team control. So most likely a team just entering a rebuild. What would they want with Thames, Vogt or Hughes? Santana/Broxton would have some value, but it's not really the trade a rebuilding team would make.

[pacopete4]

If we do sign Walker (can't see it happening) then I want Villar moved back to a super utility guy. Put him all over the diamond and get him acclimated all over. Perez can do the same thing and if we had two of them, even with injuries we should be covered all year long. As nice of a story as Sogard has been this year, I'm over him in our lineup.

[KeithStone53151]

If we do sign Walker (can't see it happening) then I want Villar moved back to a super utility guy. Put him all over the diamond and get him acclimated all over. Perez can do the same thing and if we had two of them, even with injuries we should be covered all year long. As nice of a story as Sogard has been this year, I'm over him in our lineup.

 

I don't think Villar could handle sporadic playing time, he's been completely ineffective in his bench role down the stretch. Maybe he'd be better coming back from a lost season, who knows. I think if we sign Walker, then someone needs to be moved so Villar can get more playing time. And it probably would mean either Thames or Villar, more likely Villar.

[MrTPlush]

Jonathan Villar has a grand 9 PAs in his last 14 days and has an OPS of .833....but ok. How can you even say he has had an impact either way?

[monty57]

I'm surprised that everyone on here wants basically the entire lineup back as is, considering they are going to finish up a below average offense. And, that is with a lot of surprise guys having career years- Pina, Shaw, Thames, Santana, etc.

This is a huge deal in my book. The offense hasn't been great. The big question is how do you improve?

 

One problem we have is that we have a lot of good - but not great - players. That's not a bad thing, but improving from good to great can cost a lot.

 

I think the biggest improvement would be finding a leadoff hitter who can get on base. We have guys up and down the order who can hit home runs, but we need someone at the top of the order getting on base to be knocked in. We were at our best offensively this year when Sogard came up and played well. I don't expect him to maintain that, but if we could find someone who could, we could improve our runs scored. I know this terminology is frowned upon in today's society, but I'd like to find a good "professional hitter" for the top of the order. Someone like Sogard, but with more talent.

 

Who knows, maybe some combo of Brinson / Phillips in CF will take on that role. If not, then 2B is the most likely spot to find someone. I would not be surprised to see Stearns pull off a Shaw-type trade where we get a young 2B at a low value point with another organization who ends up being a "surprise" for us in 2018. That seems more Stearns' style than taking the easy way out by offering a big multi-year deal to an "old guy."

[bill hAll Star]

I have thought all along that we have some excess $ to "overpay" guys for the next 1-2 years, but I think Mark is going to spend some money this offseason and next on short deals AND some longer ones. I think there is room to add some bigger ticket items over the next few years at positions where help is needed and I don't think it will have a major effect on 2021-2022 as I had thought. Be prepared.

 

I'm OK with it as long as we don't block major pieces in the organization and don't trade prospects in our system away to get said big $ players. Just free agents or salary dumps.

[monty57]

I have thought all along that we have some excess $ to "overpay" guys for the next 1-2 years, but I think Mark is going to spend some money this offseason and next on short deals AND some longer ones. I think there is room to add some bigger ticket items over the next few years at positions where help is needed and I don't think it will have a major effect on 2021-2022 as I had thought. Be prepared.

 

I'm OK with it as long as we don't block major pieces in the organization and don't trade prospects in our system away to get said big $ players. Just free agents or salary dumps.

 

I think there is little doubt that we will spend to bolster the bullpen this offseason. I think we'll probably also land a starter in either trade or free agency. If the right deal is there, I'm sure Attanasio would like to add a "big name" starter to the rotation. I just hope Stearns is able to keep him from doing something stupid. I wouldn't mind a big (by Milwaukee standards) deal for a young starter we could have through his prime years. I'd be worried about signing someone in their 30's like we continually did in the Melvin era.

 

The good thing about having good young talent and a strong farm is that we will have a lot of good, pre-arby talent on the MLB roster for the foreseeable future, allowing us to handle a few bigger contracts... as long as we don't do something dumb like trading away all of our good prospect talent in a couple "win now" moves.

[OnaBadger58]

Who knows, maybe some combo of Brinson / Phillips in CF will take on that role. If not, then 2B is the most likely spot to find someone. I would not be surprised to see Stearns pull off a Shaw-type trade where we get a young 2B at a low value point with another organization who ends up being a "surprise" for us in 2018. That seems more Stearns' style than taking the easy way out by offering a big multi-year deal to an "old guy."

With Keston Hiura and Isan Diaz getting closer to the MLB, I don't think Stearns will need to look for a Shaw-type trade. 2B can be more of a stop-gap situation like sticking with Villar, Sogard, Walker or getting a veteran like Howie Kendrick or Kinsler.

[KeithStone53151]

Who knows, maybe some combo of Brinson / Phillips in CF will take on that role. If not, then 2B is the most likely spot to find someone. I would not be surprised to see Stearns pull off a Shaw-type trade where we get a young 2B at a low value point with another organization who ends up being a "surprise" for us in 2018. That seems more Stearns' style than taking the easy way out by offering a big multi-year deal to an "old guy."

With Keston Hiura and Isan Diaz getting closer to the MLB, I don't think Stearns will need to look for a Shaw-type trade. 2B can be more of a stop-gap situation like sticking with Villar, Sogard, Walker or getting a veteran like Howie Kendrick or Kinsler.

 

The Shaw trade was the home run of all home runs as far as trades go. It might be a better deal than the Gomez/Fiers trade. If another opportunity like that is located and presents itself, we would be absolutely silly not to entertain it. Any time Dombrowski calls you with an idea for a trade, literally everything else stops and you listen. Dombrowski hasn't spotted the sucker at the table in 20 years, yet he somehow gets to keep making bad baseball decisions for someone...