What's the one move you wish we would have made?

[brewerfan82]

It's been a crazy offseason on many fronts, but once the Yelich/Cain acquisitions happened the entire board has gone into overdrive wanting to complete whatever that supposedly started. The ensuing conversations/arguments/cat fights on what the Brewers should or shouldn't do have never been louder and more passionate.

 

With that said, it's going to be interesting to see how the season plays out and which of our favorite (or most disliked) trade and free agent suggestions would have actually worked out for the best. So if you could have forced the Brewers to make one more move this offseason that they didn't make, what would it be?

 

There were a lot of ideas thrown around from re-signing Walker to bringing back Lucroy, but for me, it has to be something to improve the rotation. I think it would be easiest for me to just say they should waved a magic money wand and signed Darvish, but regardless of his current injury status, I think I have to go with the deal that made too much sense to actually ever happen:

 

To Milwaukee: Danny Salazar

To Cleveland: Domingo Santana

 

It just felt like this was the move that was supposed to happen after we overloaded the outfield and it never materialized. Maybe the injury popped up just before a deal went through, or the Indians up'd what they wanted in return thinking they could swindle DS once he *had* to move an outfielder, or it was just never in the works in the first place, but I still would have liked to see how that move would have balanced out this team this year.

 

What's the one move you wish would have happened?

[CrewFanBrewMan69]

2 part answer for me. Simple one is don’t sign Cain and sign Darvish.

 

Long answer..... don’t sign Cain, Vogt or Sogard and sign Avila, Walker and 1 of Dyson or Austin Jackson and trade Broxton+ a prospect for Corbin

[TJseven7]

 

Don't ask.

 

[adambr2]

This one is a very tough one to answer for me because we just don't know what was really available. Signing Darvish instead of Cain seems reasonable, but I don't believe Darvish ever really wanted to come here so I have no idea how much we would have had to beat the Cubs' offer by to land him. I wouldn't have wanted us to go 6/150 guaranteed on Darvish.

 

Same with Santana for Salazar. I probably would have done it, but I really have no idea if that was even available. A trade for Archer centered around Santana would have been great, but I'm betting the Rays weren't that interested in Santana and preferred a prospect heavy package.

 

To me, it's been kind of a fascinating off-season because I think moreso than before any other year, I just have no idea what to expect. My instincts say our rotation isn't good enough and our roster construction sucks, but I also thought we'd win 70-75 games last year, so I'm pretty convinced these guys know how to run a baseball team better than I would.

 

It's quite a defining off-season for Stearns. I think it's possible that the fears of some end up justified, we win 75 games, and Stearns ends up rightfully second guessed for this off-season.

 

I also think it's possible that some combination of Woodruff/Suter/Guerra/Miley/Burnes work out well at 4/5, Nelson comes back strong, the roster construction allows for the perfect timeshare all around in terms of everyone getting ABs and enough time off to stay 100%, we win 90 games, and Stearns is not only vindicated but ends up as a trailblazer for other GMs in how strongly they emphasize bench and rest.

 

We'll find out soon enough. Either way, I'm excited for the season to begin.

[Eye Black]

I have no idea how much more the Brewers would have had to pay to land Darvish, but he is the only pitcher I felt was worth taking a chance on in free agency. I will be quite happy to be wrong, but I think Darvish is going to pitch at a high level for at least a few seasons.

 

Trades are harder since we don’t know what options were on the table, but for a team that was close to acquiring Quintana last summer I still think they may have a big splash ahead of them at some point this July.

[JohnBriggs12]

The trouble with this thread is that hindsight is 20-20. Walker was holding out for 3 years back when decisions were made to sign Sogard and tender Villar. If they knew they could get Walker for what the Yankees paid, you probably don't do either of those other moves.

[clancyphile]

I kinda wish they could have worked out a way to bring Greinke back to Milwaukee.

 

A Greinke-Anderson-Davies-Chacin-Suter rotation to start, with Jimmy Nelson on the way back...

 

I even suggested a three-team trade to do it, too.

[Roderick]

The Big 1: Either sign Cain, but then at minimum sign Lynn. Or don't sign Cain if you weren't going to follow up with acquiring more starting pitching than Chacin.

 

The Little 1: Thing that came back to bite even though it wasn't a guaranteed contract was the Vogt signing. Hopefully Bandy provides some bat this year or Vogt comes back and has at least more than a noodle arm. Don't want to wear down Pina like last year.

[brewerfan82]

The trouble with this thread is that hindsight is 20-20. Walker was holding out for 3 years back when decisions were made to sign Sogard and tender Villar. If they knew they could get Walker for what the Yankees paid, you probably don't do either of those other moves.

Completely agree you can't hold some of what actually happened against DS and there's way too much going on behind the scenes that we're not privy to to be able to suggest anything was actually on the table with any certainty. I'm more just curious what people "wish" had happened differently. I think it'll be fun to look back and see which armchair GMs on this board had the best crystal balls going into the season

[pacopete4]

Sogard being signed was silly. We have Perez. We have Villar. We have Orf and Dubon. And as it turned out, we could have had Walker. Spending $3+M on that guy is foolish.

 

I would have loved for us to get Realmuto with Yelich. Would have been awesome.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

The Big 1: Either sign Cain, but then at minimum sign Lynn. Or don't sign Cain if you weren't going to follow up with acquiring more starting pitching than Chacin.

 

The Little 1: Thing that came back to bite even though it wasn't a guaranteed contract was the Vogt signing. Hopefully Bandy provides some bat this year or Vogt comes back and has at least more than a noodle arm. Don't want to wear down Pina like last year.

 

I agree 50%. Cain is Cain and if he helps us, which he does, I want him. But I wanted Lynn. He was the value signing of the offseason.

[3and2Fastball]

Traded Braun for Puig plus pitching a few years back

 

As far as this offseason: I would have outbid the Phillies for Arrieta

[jerichoholicninja]

Signed one of those relievers that signed for 2 years at $6-8M a piece early in the offseason. Maybe Lynn if he would have signed for only 1 year.

[Roderick]

The Big 1: Either sign Cain, but then at minimum sign Lynn. Or don't sign Cain if you weren't going to follow up with acquiring more starting pitching than Chacin.

 

The Little 1: Thing that came back to bite even though it wasn't a guaranteed contract was the Vogt signing. Hopefully Bandy provides some bat this year or Vogt comes back and has at least more than a noodle arm. Don't want to wear down Pina like last year.

 

I agree 50%. Cain is Cain and if he helps us, which he does, I want him. But I wanted Lynn. He was the value signing of the offseason.

 

Yeah, I'm sure Cain will technically help. But I think he is getting us from 81 wins to 84 wins, while getting a year older in the process. Another OF also brings along the potential for morale problems with not enough at bats to go around. I hope I am proven wrong and the wins are enough to challenge for the playoffs.

 

I just think if you weren't going to pull the trigger on pitching, I would have ran with Braun/Yelich/Santana with Broxton/Phillips on the bench and banked the cash forward. And if you have enough pitching for 2019 and forward, then you can find the missing positional piece to push you over the edge.

[Warning Track Power]

The trouble with this thread is that hindsight is 20-20. Walker was holding out for 3 years back when decisions were made to sign Sogard and tender Villar. If they knew they could get Walker for what the Yankees paid, you probably don't do either of those other moves.

Briggs you seriously need to stop bashing Villar at every opportunity you get. We get it. You don't like him. However, there was no way that he was getting non-tendered.

[Never Outhustled]

I wanted to sign Zack Cozart to play 2B.

 

As another already said, finish the Braun deal with the Dodgers 2 years ago.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

The Big 1: Either sign Cain, but then at minimum sign Lynn. Or don't sign Cain if you weren't going to follow up with acquiring more starting pitching than Chacin.

 

The Little 1: Thing that came back to bite even though it wasn't a guaranteed contract was the Vogt signing. Hopefully Bandy provides some bat this year or Vogt comes back and has at least more than a noodle arm. Don't want to wear down Pina like last year.

 

I agree 50%. Cain is Cain and if he helps us, which he does, I want him. But I wanted Lynn. He was the value signing of the offseason.

 

Yeah, I'm sure Cain will technically help. But I think he is getting us from 81 wins to 84 wins, while getting a year older in the process. Another OF also brings along the potential for morale problems with not enough at bats to go around. I hope I am proven wrong and the wins are enough to challenge for the playoffs.

 

I just think if you weren't going to pull the trigger on pitching, I would have ran with Braun/Yelich/Santana with Broxton/Phillips on the bench and banked the cash forward. And if you have enough pitching for 2019 and forward, then you can find the missing positional piece to push you over the edge.

 

If he gets us from 85 to 88 wins that's a possible WC berth and a chance. All you need is a chance, especially in baseball.

 

I think he'll be a good performer for at least 3 years. We'll see.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

The Big 1: Either sign Cain, but then at minimum sign Lynn. Or don't sign Cain if you weren't going to follow up with acquiring more starting pitching than Chacin.

 

The Little 1: Thing that came back to bite even though it wasn't a guaranteed contract was the Vogt signing. Hopefully Bandy provides some bat this year or Vogt comes back and has at least more than a noodle arm. Don't want to wear down Pina like last year.

 

I agree 50%. Cain is Cain and if he helps us, which he does, I want him. But I wanted Lynn. He was the value signing of the offseason.

 

Yeah, I'm sure Cain will technically help. But I think he is getting us from 81 wins to 84 wins, while getting a year older in the process. Another OF also brings along the potential for morale problems with not enough at bats to go around. I hope I am proven wrong and the wins are enough to challenge for the playoffs.

 

I just think if you weren't going to pull the trigger on pitching, I would have ran with Braun/Yelich/Santana with Broxton/Phillips on the bench and banked the cash forward. And if you have enough pitching for 2019 and forward, then you can find the missing positional piece to push you over the edge.

 

If he gets us from 85 to 88 wins that's a possible WC berth and a chance. All you need is a chance, especially in baseball.

 

I think he'll be a good performer for at least 3 years. We'll see.

[Brewer Fever]

I'm thrilled with the Cain and Yelich acquisitions and would have done them 100 times out of 100 even if they did nothing else. I'm beyond thrilled that they're remaking this lineup with contact hitters, cutting out K's, and making sure the additions are good with the glove. I'm on board with that direction even if Chacin wasn't signed. Our offense will be better at producing runs and our defense will save runs. It's all about adding winning players as they become available. And I give the team the benefit of the doubt that not all winning pieces can be acquired at once.

 

IMO, the biggest piece missing from the puzzle if a TOR arm. It's also the hardest to acquire which is why it shouldn't stop you from adding Cain and Yelich when you can. I was excited about the possibility of adding Quintana. I was (and still am) excited about potentially adding Archer. I'm excited about the other unknown possible TOR arms that may be available or will be soon. I realize its going to be very costly in terms of prospects if they add that TOR arm via trade. I'm perfectly okay with that. I think it will come sometime between today and the Rule V draft in December. I honestly think it could come any day. It will happen when the price is right, when the prospects requested by the team we're trading with match what Stearns is willing to part with. I think it could come tomorrow just as easily as it could at the trade deadline. I think the Brewers have the foundation in place for multiple trades. I believe they have named their price and it's just a matter of another team blinking.

 

So to answer the question at hand and a WISH of what could have happened. I WISH a team would have already said Yes to an offer for their TOR arm. I'm hopeful a team will say Yes soon enough.

[AKCheesehead]

The trouble with this thread is that hindsight is 20-20. Walker was holding out for 3 years back when decisions were made to sign Sogard and tender Villar. If they knew they could get Walker for what the Yankees paid, you probably don't do either of those other moves.

Briggs you seriously need to stop bashing Villar at every opportunity you get. We get it. You don't like him. However, there was no way that he was getting non-tendered.

 

I didn't see any Villar bashing in that post. The way I read it, he's saying with hindsight, he'd prefer to have Walker at 1/$4m at 2b instead of the combination of Sogard 1/$2.4m and Villar 1/$2.55m. I can certainly understand that opinion.

[A Swing and A Drive]

The trouble with this thread is that hindsight is 20-20. Walker was holding out for 3 years back when decisions were made to sign Sogard and tender Villar. If they knew they could get Walker for what the Yankees paid, you probably don't do either of those other moves.

Briggs you seriously need to stop bashing Villar at every opportunity you get. We get it. You don't like him. However, there was no way that he was getting non-tendered.

 

I didn't see any Villar bashing in that post. The way I read it, he's saying with hindsight, he'd prefer to have Walker at 1/$4m at 2b instead of the combination of Sogard 1/$2.4m and Villar 1/$2.55m. I can certainly understand that opinion.

 

Mentioning that the Brewers were forced to tender Villar because they didn't want to give Walker a 3 year deal is bashing.

 

If you want to see REAL Villar bashing I can certainly help you out.

 

The dude has the lowest Baseball I.Q. I've ever seen a Brewer have. (And with guys like Gomez that IS saying something!)

[Fear The Chorizo]

I wish the Brewers would've pushed the envelope and given Hader a shot at going back to a starting role - with how this offseason has shaken out, IMO this would've been the perfect spring training to do it. You've got Nelson probably returning by mid-season, so any concerns about Hader's innings could easily be solved by letting him start until Nelson could take his rotation spot, then let Hader wrap up 2018 in the pen. As it's played out, now the Brewers will be in the same spot next offseason with Hader - I'd rather at least give him a shot sooner than later.

 

Maybe they don't see Hader as a starting pitcher option at all and that ship has sailed - I for one think they have to at least try before giving up on the organization's best arm as a starter.

[adambr2]

I wish the Brewers would've pushed the envelope and given Hader a shot at going back to a starting role - with how this offseason has shaken out, IMO this would've been the perfect spring training to do it. You've got Nelson probably returning by mid-season, so any concerns about Hader's innings could easily be solved by letting him start until Nelson could take his rotation spot, then let Hader wrap up 2018 in the pen. As it's played out, now the Brewers will be in the same spot next offseason with Hader - I'd rather at least give him a shot sooner than later.

 

Maybe they don't see Hader as a starting pitcher option at all and that ship has sailed - I for one think they have to at least try before giving up on the organization's best arm as a starter.

 

Not sure how the organization views Hader going forward. But I'd feel pretty uncomfortable with this year's pen if he wasn't in it.

[wallus]

For the Brewers, I wish they had ponied up and signed Darvish.

 

For me personally, I wish I would have not wasted so much time on the HH garbage. That whole thing brought a lot of crap to this website.

[82brewcrew82]

What I wish had happened was that the team had acquired a TOR arm. Not my job to figure out how to get that done, DS gets paid for that.