What's Next

[Eye Black]

Rosenthal Article: Brewers face some big decisions after scooping up elite outfielders Yelich and Cain

 

He says that sources have told him the Brewers have discussed moving Ryan Braun to 1B. He isn't sure the Brewers are going to move Santana because he thinks they want Yelich in LF, Cain in CF, and Santana in RF. He brings up Thames .664 OPS against left-handers in comparison to his .933 OPS against righties. He doesn't use the term platoon and Braun in the same sentence, but he certainly seems to allude to it. Also brings up Attanasio having a close relationship with Braun as a reason they might be careful about letting it be known that they would want trade him (he cites avoiding the McCutchen situation). He says a trade of a current outfielder remains the most likely outcome, but thinks trading Santana would "deprive the Brewers of the chance to build a powerhouse offense."

[Eye Black]

Maybe Stearns is keeping Santana because he's going to flip Yelich for pitching.

 

Or what if Braves have a change of heart and want Yelich so bad they decide to offer the Brewers Ronald Acuna for him?! The possibilities are endless!

[KeithStone53151]

I'll go on record saying I don't generally like the moves. It's an all-in window type move. That said, this is going to be a fun year/window...especially considering we aren't done yet. What if we trade Santana for SP(my money is on Salazar+), sign Walker for 2/22 or 3/33, package phillips/ortiz as the headliners for Duffy and Herrera. This pushes payroll high for the next couple years, maybe the 3rd move doesn't happen. Rotation Salazar, Duffy, Anderson, Davies, Chacin...Woodruff and Burnes open in AAA, Nelson comes back eventually. Lineup Yelich, Walker, Braun, Shaw, Cain, Thames, Pina, Arcia(Yelich/Walker/Cain are mostly interchangeable). Broxton sticks around as a 4th OF that provides good D late in games and a threat on the bases, on days Broxton starts we have a ridiculous defensive outfield. Bullpen Knebel, Hader, Herrera, Logan, Barnes, Jeffress, Suter. That team is probably a hair worse than the cubs on paper, but close enough that we have a real shot to pass them. We also have more pieces available to add at the deadline if needed.

[IndyCrew]

I would rather keep Phillips than Santana.

[TJseven7]

Rosenthal Article: Brewers face some big decisions after scooping up elite outfielders Yelich and Cain

 

He says that sources have told him the Brewers have discussed moving Ryan Braun to 1B. He isn't sure the Brewers are going to move Santana because he thinks they want Yelich in LF, Cain in CF, and Santana in RF. He brings up Thames .664 OPS against left-handers in comparison to his .933 OPS against righties. He doesn't use the term platoon and Braun in the same sentence, but he certainly seems to allude to it. Also brings up Attanasio having a close relationship with Braun as a reason they might be careful about letting it be known that they would want trade him (he cites avoiding the McCutchen situation). He says a trade of a current outfielder remains the most likely outcome, but thinks trading Santana would "deprive the Brewers of the chance to build a powerhouse offense."

 

Good!!! good!!!!

 

And yes, thames does platoon braun at 1b. Thames only gets days vs rhp. Braun gets every day he can go where he isn't in LF. Thames is the platoon. Braun plays. In the rare rest days for yelich cain santana... slide to the right!

 

I said after cain... santana gone by midnight. The more I looked at the pieces the more I thought, no we can't move santana. Braun needs to go to 1b.

[tmwiese55]

It wouldn't be a strict L/R platoon like Thames/Jesus would be doing. Braun would play his normal schedule and his off days would be scheduled vs righties and Santana and cain's off days would be vs righties when Braun would go to the OF and Thames at first. The term platoon generally alludes to the L/R system like Thames/Jesus would be doing.

[fondybrewfan]

I do have a concern with the productivity at 1st base going forward. Thames had an outstanding April and after that was entirely mediocre. I don't know if Braun is a good idea at first or not but the Brewers should be looking to upgrade at that position.

 

They shouldn't be trading Phillips; 4th OF with GG capabilities that can play all 3 spots don't grow on trees. Trade Broxton for whatever you can get.

 

I wish there was a reasonably attractive 1st basemen out there in FA that made sense for the Crew so Stearns could fall back on that if he trades Santana and Braun stays in the OF. That being said neither Braun or Yellich profile as a RF defensively which is also a concern. So I guess the point being is that there are still a lot on unanswered questions that Stearns needs to address before Spring Training.

[KeithStone53151]

I do have a concern with the productivity at 1st base going forward. Thames had an outstanding April and after that was entirely mediocre. I don't know if Braun is a good idea at first or not but the Brewers should be looking to upgrade at that position.

 

They shouldn't be trading Phillips; 4th OF with GG capabilities that can play all 3 spots don't grow on trees. Trade Broxton for whatever you can get.

 

I wish there was a reasonably attractive 1st basemen out there in FA that made sense for the Crew so Stearns could fall back on that if he trades Santana and Braun stays in the OF. That being said neither Braun or Yellich profile as a RF defensively which is also a concern. So I guess the point being is that there are still a lot on unanswered questions that Stearns needs to address before Spring Training.

 

Look at Thames September numbers. He went out on a good note after making mechanical adjustments in season.

[tmwiese55]

Still strikes out a ton and has terrible splits vs lefties. I think with what they just added you can certainly give a Thames/Jesus strict platoon a shot and it'll likely be just fine. However, Thames has those issues and the book is out on him at this point that he can't hit a breaking ball. And Jesus came out of nowhere, could just easily turn into nothing next year. It's a question but with the money they just spent it's not like they can spend a bunch more to upgrade it, and putting their splits together they're more than adequate as long as they do reasonably close to what they did last year

[SRB]

Thames is a streaky hitter, you can't just ignore his hot streaks. He is by far the best hitter on the team when facing RHP, it's just that he probably needs to be platooned. Cutting into his PA vs. RHP would be a waste, in my opinion.

[KeithStone53151]

Thames is a streaky hitter, you can't just ignore his hot streaks. He is by far the best hitter on the team when facing RHP, it's just that he probably needs to be platooned. Cutting into his PA vs. RHP would be a waste, in my opinion.

 

That's not necessarily true, especially after the moves we just made.

[brewmann04]

SOME day for HH to go Ice Fishing

[TJseven7]

Thames is a streaky hitter, you can't just ignore his hot streaks. He is by far the best hitter on the team when facing RHP, it's just that he probably needs to be platooned. Cutting into his PA vs. RHP would be a waste, in my opinion.

 

That's not necessarily true, especially after the moves we just made.

 

If hes losing ab vs rhp its to braun santana cain yelich. Assuming Santana stays. Worse crimes have been committed. Resting cain santana braun vs rhp gets thames on the field. Yelich's splits arent massive enough to require him to hit all rhp either.

[82brewcrew82]

Rosenthal Article: Brewers face some big decisions after scooping up elite outfielders Yelich and Cain

 

He says that sources have told him the Brewers have discussed moving Ryan Braun to 1B. He isn't sure the Brewers are going to move Santana because he thinks they want Yelich in LF, Cain in CF, and Santana in RF. He brings up Thames .664 OPS against left-handers in comparison to his .933 OPS against righties. He doesn't use the term platoon and Braun in the same sentence, but he certainly seems to allude to it. Also brings up Attanasio having a close relationship with Braun as a reason they might be careful about letting it be known that they would want trade him (he cites avoiding the McCutchen situation). He says a trade of a current outfielder remains the most likely outcome, but thinks trading Santana would "deprive the Brewers of the chance to build a powerhouse offense."

 

Good!!! good!!!!

 

And yes, thames does platoon braun at 1b. Thames only gets days vs rhp. Braun gets every day he can go where he isn't in LF. Thames is the platoon. Braun plays. In the rare rest days for yelich cain santana... slide to the right!

 

I said after cain... santana gone by midnight. The more I looked at the pieces the more I thought, no we can't move santana. Braun needs to go to 1b.

That's fine as long as they can find some pitching somehow.

[wallus]

The Thames/Aguilar platoon has a relatively good chance of outperforming Braun just playing 1B himself. Also, Santana has to have better trade value than Thames/Aguilar and we need to keep adding.

 

I think Stearns will make the trade with Santana and sign at least one more free agent.

 

I am stealing this from another board, "the Brewers had a $114 million payroll in 2012 (the year I think was the highest), which ranked 12th in the league. The league’s average payroll was $107 million that year. In 2017, a $112 million payroll would have ranked 25th in the league. The average payroll was $152 million, up $45 million in 5 years. "

 

It is quite possible that there is more room to add payroll than most of us expect.

[Patrick425]

Funny, every year about this time there are rumors of Braun moving to 1B:

 

Article from 2/8/2016

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/will-brewers-move-ryan-braun-to-1b/c-163980862

 

Article from 2/5/2017

 

https://dairylandexpress.com/2017/02/05/milwaukee-brewers-could-ryan-braun-moved-first-base/

[TJseven7]

Funny, every year about this time there are rumors of Braun moving to 1B:

 

Article from 2/8/2016

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/will-brewers-move-ryan-braun-to-1b/c-163980862

 

Article from 2/5/2017

 

https://dairylandexpress.com/2017/02/05/milwaukee-brewers-could-ryan-braun-moved-first-base/

 

Did we have enough talent to force it?

 

Are there interviews in october the previous year where he said he'd make the change?

[Patrick425]

Funny, every year about this time there are rumors of Braun moving to 1B:

 

Article from 2/8/2016

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/will-brewers-move-ryan-braun-to-1b/c-163980862

 

Article from 2/5/2017

 

https://dairylandexpress.com/2017/02/05/milwaukee-brewers-could-ryan-braun-moved-first-base/

 

Did we have enough talent to force it?

 

Are there interviews in october the previous year where he said he'd make the change?

 

I wasn't trying to make the point that it's not going to happen because they talk about it every year and it never happens. I was just making an observation. This might actually be the year that it happens.

[PlayerHader]

I would rather keep Phillips than Santana.

 

Really? I would bet that Brett Phillips never has an offensive season that surpasses what DS did last year at 24 years old.

 

You must REALLY value defense.

[Mudville9]

I think his point was that he thinks Phillips + whoever we get for Santana > Santana and loss of Phillips.

 

...not to put words in his mouth, that is just how I took it.

[Patrick425]

I would rather keep Phillips than Santana.

 

Really? I would bet that Brett Phillips never has an offensive season that surpasses what DS did last year at 24 years old.

 

You must REALLY value defense.

 

Seems like Stearns is making the point that he hates Ks. While Santana's K rate is not great, he at least get's on base. Broxton and Phillips have very high K rates, so I see him favoring trading those two. The obvious flip side to that is Santana has more trade value.

[JosephC]

It certainly is possible that I've misread Cleveland's corner outfield situation and they are perfectly content where they stand. But if not, the Santana/Salazar swap just makes too much sense.

 

I still think something like this:

 

Cleveland gets:

OF-Domingo Santana

one of the two: RHP-Phil Bickford OR LHP-Kodi Medeiros

 

Milwaukee gets:

RHP-Danny Salazar

SS-Yu-Cheng Chang

RHP-Aaron Civale

 

Also a side note. Even though he had a bad year last year, I still really like Cleveland minor leaguer LHP-Juan Hillman and think he could be a major sleeper. Wouldn't mind one bit to see him get worked into a swap with the Indians.

[TJseven7]

The Thames/Aguilar platoon has a relatively good chance of outperforming Braun just playing 1B himself. Also, Santana has to have better trade value than Thames/Aguilar and we need to keep adding.

 

I think Stearns will make the trade with Santana and sign at least one more free agent.

 

I am stealing this from another board, "the Brewers had a $114 million payroll in 2012 (the year I think was the highest), which ranked 12th in the league. The league’s average payroll was $107 million that year. In 2017, a $112 million payroll would have ranked 25th in the league. The average payroll was $152 million, up $45 million in 5 years. "

 

It is quite possible that there is more room to add payroll than most of us expect.

 

If our number is 125 mil instead of 110: 33 mil....

 

Puts cobb walker oh within reach and we keep a filthy offense and lose nothing else from the farm. Sogard Broxton Gallardo can be cut or flipped for a bag o balls.

[pacopete4]

I would rather us not run up our bill to the max payroll now so that we have flexibility come June/July if we have a glaring need. One thing that Melvin/Mark A always have talked about was giving themselves roster flexibility. As much as it seems like we should just go spend, spend, spend... I'm advocating the other way. See what we have going on this year and make the appropriate moves.

[mrn1ceguy]

LF- Yelich / CF- Cain / RF- Santana / 1B- Braun w/Thames

 

My preference on this:

 

1B: Braun (81 games), Thames (81 games w/ 0 against LHP)

LF: Yelich (100 games); Braun (52 games)

CF: Cain (110 games); Yelich (52 games)

RF: Phillips (120 games); Cain (42 games)

 

Trade Santana for Salazar + or for Meija and sign a FA pitcher.

 

This keeps Braun at ~130 games, Yelich & Cain at ~150 games, Phillips at ~120 games and Thames at ~80 games. Seems like a good split to me.