What should be DS targets

[LouisEly]

I'm not convinced they need to make a move for a catcher or a starting pitcher. Pina's BABIP is .250 this year - he's been getting a little unlucky. His BB% and K% have both improved over 2017, his ISO has improved over 2017, and his hard-hit% is up slightly too (as is his soft contact%). He's also pulling the ball less and hitting oppo more. I think he's been a little unlucky.

 

What they need is to get Saladino back. Saladino starts at SS, Perez is the backup, Miller is the emergency, Arcia goes to AAA to find his swing and takes Sogard goes with him. Saladino is the upgrade at SS and Miller is an upgrade over Sogard. Two black holes removed.

[Austin Tatious]

To me I just don't get the concept of untouchable or off the table. You have to remain open to any opportunity or you could let good value pass you by. If we had untouchables, Christian Yelich wouldn't be a Brewer. We had an opportunity to add a really good player and we took it.

 

Hiura is the closest thing I would ever have to an untouchable, it would take something great. If the Marlins offered Realmuto for Hiura straight up, no other prospects involved, I can't promise I'd say no.

 

I can't promise I'd say yes, either. But I'd have a price on anyone.

 

I wouldn't put Hiura and Realmuto in the same category as ballplayers. Catcher is a premium position, fine. But, Hiura knows how to hit at a special level. You never know, if he avoids injury he could end up with 2,500 - 3,000 hits some day. I once said that about an injury prone Paul Molitor and my friends laughed at me. I haven't said that for any Brewer since...until now with Hiura.

 

I am not going to move that type of memorable hitter for a JT Realmuto. That would be a bitter disappointment if Stearns and Arnold did that. I really don't think they would.

 

The problem with this is that you're comparing a very known quantity in Realmuto, to a very unknown quantity in Hiura. Realmuto is probably the best overall catcher in baseball right now. If not, certainly top 3. It's incredibly early to project Hiura as a 2,500-3,000 hit guy. That's 1,000 more than where Braun is right now.

 

I'm not saying he can't, and his hit ability does seem very real. But he's not the first. 13 years ago Rickie Weeks looked like a potential superstar 2nd baseman. Sometimes it just doesn't work out, and that's the problem with valuing the unknown. Maybe Hiura comes up and hits .250 with a .325 OBP at this level. You just don't ever know.

 

You are right that you can't put Hiura and Realmuto in the same category as ballplayers -- Realmuto is a proven MLB star, Keston is not.

 

None of this is to say that you should value Realmuto more than Hiura. Far from it, I know there's a ton of upside in Keston's bat and that would be tough for me to part with as well.

 

Just saying -- you referred to Hiura as a memorable hitter, but at this point in time, he's a POTENTIAL memorable hitter. The known elite quantity costs more because it is known. Which is why Yelich cost much more than just Brinson despite Brinson's possible ceiling as a 30/30 player.

 

 

Ok, how are you going to feel if Hiura gets 3000 hits and you traded him away for Realmuto? That’d be a historic blunder. No one can predict anyone to get 3000 hits because only a handful of players have ever done it. Hiura has all the makings of being a special hitter. Weeks never had the hit tool Hiura has, even before the wrist injury. He was a dynamic player and athlete, but Hiura is a different kind of guy who can get a ton of hits. Not all prospects have the same risk. With his hitting tools, the risk that he busts is low, if not very low.

 

If Realmuto was on the table, I wouldn’t trade Hiura for him. I’d be shocked if Stearns thought that was a good idea. Somebody said we don’t know Stearns’ patterns yet and how he makes decisions. I think we do. He values assets. He can make any kind deal, as long as he sees asset value being appropriate. That would require different thinking under different circumstances depending on asset value. Realmuto has some control and thus has value, but as an asset, Hiura blows him away.

 

I guess it depends on your view of Hiura. If you think he’s 50/50 and is a potential .280 hitter who can’t field, you might trade him for a guy like Realmuto. If you think, like I do, that we’ve got a guy who will likely hit .300, with some .320’s in there, consistently, no way do you make that trade.

[Fear The Chorizo]

In what way is Stroman injury prone? He was called up in 2014 and they put him in the bullpen to start to keep his innings in check and he finished the season in the rotation. He had a freak ACL tear in spring training in 2015, came back late in the season and proceeding to pitch 200+ innings in 2016 and 2017.

 

Injury prone refers to people who are prone to injury. All ACL tears are freak injuries in baseball, but Stroman suffered one and missed basically 1 of his 3 full seasons. Then after logging 200 ip the last two years he opens 2018 with shoulder problems that basically have cost him 2 months. Shoulder fatigue on any pitcher, particularly a guy who is small in stature, is a big concern.

 

Stroman has missed almost as much time as he has been healthy since first being called up back in late 2014. That's being injury prone. No way would I back up the prospect truck for him at the deadline - this offseason maybe, if he proves to be healthy and effective.

[Warning Track Power]

I would love to acquire Josh Harrison for this team. He would fit in perfectly in the leadoff spot with Yelich, Cain, Shaw and Aguilar to follow.

 

I have my sights set on Harrison to fill 2B.

[bill hAll Star]

I would love to acquire Josh Harrison for this team. He would fit in perfectly in the leadoff spot with Yelich, Cain, Shaw and Aguilar to follow.

 

I have my sights set on Harrison to fill 2B.

 

I would not bat him leadoff. He'd be a decent upgrade but I would probably put him 6 or lower. Get our best hitters the most at bats. Harrison doesn't even check the box of a good OBP.

 

I think Villar is basically as good as Harrison at this point other than striking out a bit more often so I'm not even sure I'd bother with it.

[Warning Track Power]

I would love to acquire Josh Harrison for this team. He would fit in perfectly in the leadoff spot with Yelich, Cain, Shaw and Aguilar to follow.

 

I have my sights set on Harrison to fill 2B.

 

I would not bat him leadoff. He'd be a decent upgrade but I would probably put him 6 or lower. Get our best hitters the most at bats. Harrison doesn't even check the box of a good OBP.

Harrison doesn't walk much I agree but is a .280 career hitter. I don't need him to bat leadoff but very much like the idea of him in the lineup.

[clancyphile]

I would love to acquire Josh Harrison for this team. He would fit in perfectly in the leadoff spot with Yelich, Cain, Shaw and Aguilar to follow.

 

I have my sights set on Harrison to fill 2B.

 

I would not bat him leadoff. He'd be a decent upgrade but I would probably put him 6 or lower. Get our best hitters the most at bats. Harrison doesn't even check the box of a good OBP.

 

I think Villar is basically as good as Harrison at this point other than striking out a bit more often so I'm not even sure I'd bother with it.

 

But I'd rather, if Thames hits a home, he has a good chance of hitting it with someone on base. Harrison's a good fit for that slot.

 

He has too much power to head off.

[TooLiveBrew]

I agree that I'd like more guys on base in front of Thames, but Harrison & his .315-.320 OBP is not a good way to accomplish that.

[bill hAll Star]

I would love to acquire Josh Harrison for this team. He would fit in perfectly in the leadoff spot with Yelich, Cain, Shaw and Aguilar to follow.

 

I have my sights set on Harrison to fill 2B.

 

I would not bat him leadoff. He'd be a decent upgrade but I would probably put him 6 or lower. Get our best hitters the most at bats. Harrison doesn't even check the box of a good OBP.

 

I think Villar is basically as good as Harrison at this point other than striking out a bit more often so I'm not even sure I'd bother with it.

 

But I'd rather, if Thames hits a home, he has a good chance of hitting it with someone on base. Harrison's a good fit for that slot.

 

He has too much power to head off.

 

Guys like Thames, Joc Pederson, Dozier, Springer, etc. are the ideal leadoff man for teams these days per the analytics. Springer has turned into an OBP stalwart and Dozier has fallen off this year, but you get the idea.

 

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/baseballs-new-leadoff-hitters-dont-need-to-be-speed-demons/

 

I'm assuming it's that they see a lot of fastballs and are good on-base guys. Also, you generally have 2 outs when it swings back around later in the game and they act as a cleanup hitter later in the game.

 

And regardless, Harrison doesn't get on base enough. About as much as Villar, so I'll pass.

[KeithStone53151]

Guys like Thames, Joc Pederson, Dozier, Springer, etc. are the ideal leadoff man for teams these days per the analytics. Springer has turned into an OBP stalwart and Dozier has fallen off this year, but you get the idea.

 

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/baseballs-new-leadoff-hitters-dont-need-to-be-speed-demons/

 

I'm assuming it's that they see a lot of fastballs and are good on-base guys. Also, you generally have 2 outs when it swings back around later in the game and they act as a cleanup hitter later in the game.

 

And regardless, Harrison doesn't get on base enough. About as much as Villar, so I'll pass.

 

I would argue that k rate is very important when considering a leadoff guy. Which for me, rules out some of those guys. Often you'll have the pitcher bunting a guy over and have guys on 2nd, 3rd, or both. You don't want someone that strikes out close to 30% of the time up there.

 

As far as targets, SP and a rental that plays a good SS. I'm not sure how much longer Suter, Guerra, and Chacin can keep putting up solid starts. At best, those guys are back end starters. We should definitely explore the SP market, but at the same time I'm not willing to trade Hiura...so that likely limits the ceiling of what we can obtain. The SS rental piece should be very cheap in prospects, I'm assuming we won't be targeting Machado

[bill hAll Star]

Guys like Thames, Joc Pederson, Dozier, Springer, etc. are the ideal leadoff man for teams these days per the analytics. Springer has turned into an OBP stalwart and Dozier has fallen off this year, but you get the idea.

 

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/baseballs-new-leadoff-hitters-dont-need-to-be-speed-demons/

 

I'm assuming it's that they see a lot of fastballs and are good on-base guys. Also, you generally have 2 outs when it swings back around later in the game and they act as a cleanup hitter later in the game.

 

And regardless, Harrison doesn't get on base enough. About as much as Villar, so I'll pass.

 

I would argue that k rate is very important when considering a leadoff guy. Which for me, rules out some of those guys. Often you'll have the pitcher bunting a guy over and have guys on 2nd, 3rd, or both. You don't want someone that strikes out close to 30% of the time up there.

 

As far as targets, SP and a rental that plays a good SS. I'm not sure how much longer Suter, Guerra, and Chacin can keep putting up solid starts. At best, those guys are back end starters. We should definitely explore the SP market, but at the same time I'm not willing to trade Hiura...so that likely limits the ceiling of what we can obtain. The SS rental piece should be very cheap in prospects, I'm assuming we won't be targeting Machado

 

I'm not concerned about Suter, Guerra, and Chacin, really. Davies may come back and we've got other similar guys in the minors plus maybe something from Nelson. I'm not expecting it but he may provide something late. Those pitchers are all pitching to what we'd expect if they're only asked to go 5 innings, 6 if conditions are right. Guerra is a bit over his head but it's probably because he's off of last year's injury. Velocity up, locating pitches better, etc.

 

If we're going to trade for a pitcher, I'd want it to be a clear upgrade. 90% of the names out there would be very marginal upgrades, if that. Obviously depends on cost. If a team wanted to give us yet another ~4 ERA/FIP/xFIP guy that can go 5-6, sure, I'd take him for free I guess.

 

Back to the leadoff hitter thing: You run into strikeout situations with almost every spot in the order. I get the pitcher bunting thing but it must not be a huge enough concern. I'm not saying the analytics are always perfect, but it appears that generally they're OK with high strikeout guys at the top.

 

Pederson seems to be improving his K-rate and Springer did in years past. It's probably more on the player recently improving, but I wonder if being in the leadoff spot has helped a bit. The other team is afraid of loading the bases for Christian Yelich or Altuve so they'll give you something to hit.

 

And I realize that it's been Cain most of the year for us, but I don't mind Thames there.

[brewmann04]

I am not sure but I can see DS make an under the radar type of trade and it might just come before the deadline. I don't think he going top move pitching but he has a lot of bats in the system he can move.

[brewmann04]

I know we're missing Cain and Yelich but thinking more DS needs to gets a bat or two instead of pitching

[Boomer5]

Machado, Machado, Machado.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Wouldn't surprise me to see a huge move for a controllable ace-type. I mean, he's already alluded that he wasn't going to be in the market for a middle rotation guy. They have 7-8 of those already. A couple bats wouldn't surprise me either. I don't think Machado, but a catcher and a middle infielder wouldn't surprise me.

[Boomer5]

Wouldn't surprise me to see a huge move for a controllable ace-type. I mean, he's already alluded that he wasn't going to be in the market for a middle rotation guy. They have 7-8 of those already. A couple bats wouldn't surprise me either. I don't think Machado, but a catcher and a middle infielder wouldn't surprise me.

 

A controllable TOR type will require a minimum of Hiura and Burnes. There is no way around that on the minor league level.

 

I’m assuming Hader is untouchable for anyone not named Trout.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Wouldn't surprise me to see a huge move for a controllable ace-type. I mean, he's already alluded that he wasn't going to be in the market for a middle rotation guy. They have 7-8 of those already. A couple bats wouldn't surprise me either. I don't think Machado, but a catcher and a middle infielder wouldn't surprise me.

 

A controllable TOR type will require a minimum of Hiura and Burnes. There is no way around that on the minor league level.

 

I’m assuming Hader is untouchable for anyone not named Trout.

 

Yep, you are right. I'm totally ok with that. This team is a contender right now. If you don't go for it now, when do you? Personally, Im getting sick of the "5 year plan". Other than 2008 and 2011, the "5 year plan" has taken 30.

[JosephC]

With Villar going in the tank offensively in June, Stearns should be focusing on shortstop and that would allow him to slide Miller to second base. I don't think it's even necessary to find a shortstop that is a plus-hitter for the position. They have dealt with .193/.243/.279/.522 out of that position so far...even a good defensive shortstop that could OPS .675+ would be a significant upgrade.

[Boomer5]

I’m fine with going for it. We have never won a WS. If we are a TOR type and an elite hitter way then you get them.

[Boomer5]

With Villar going in the tank offensively in June, Stearns should be focusing on shortstop and that would allow him to slide Miller to second base. I don't think it's even necessary to find a shortstop that is a plus-hitter for the position. They have dealt with .193/.243/.279/.522 out of that position so far...even a good defensive shortstop that could OPS .675+ would be a significant upgrade.

 

Machado, Machado, Machado

 

Miller needs to move to 2B since he is a terrible SS and we need either Arcia to get it going or trade for a real SS immediately.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

With Villar going in the tank offensively in June, Stearns should be focusing on shortstop and that would allow him to slide Miller to second base. I don't think it's even necessary to find a shortstop that is a plus-hitter for the position. They have dealt with .193/.243/.279/.522 out of that position so far...even a good defensive shortstop that could OPS .675+ would be a significant upgrade.

 

I'm hopeful that Saladino can be that guy. He looked good in limited action before getting hurt, but it really wasn't enough action to draw any conclusions from. I think how he looks over the next couple weeks will go a long way toward determining whether a SS is pursued via trade.

 

I love Villar's skillset, but I agree that it is time for him to take a seat for Miller. I've liked Miller's approach so far at the plate, and whie his defense hasn't been great, he hasn't been a butcher out there either.

[Luke99]

My targets that I think we can get for reasonable prices

 

1) Eduardo Escobar - Twins - on pace for over 65 doubles and has HR power.,switch hitter. A FA after the season. I think we can get him for a Gatewood/Supek type package which I much prefer to whatever we have to give up for Machado. Not a strong SS but passable and can play 2nd, 3rd, and some OF. He is basically Hernan but about 75% better. Plays 6 days a week at various spots with most starts at 2nd, pending target #3 below. I would also make a strong offer to keep him after this season.

 

2) Jon Gray - If the Rockies are willing to sell at even a slight discount I would be all over it. He has high level stuff

3) Asdrubal Cabrera - Shouldn't cost much and would be a huge upgrade the rest the year at SS.

 

II would also like to see Nottingham up shortly to replace Kratz and starting 4 days a week. . This would lengthen our lineup and hopefully make our offense less boom and bust.

[Lathund]

A bat or two should be the definite target(s) the way I see it. I see people on here, and in the media, talk about this offense being good. It isn't. It's not even in the top half in runs scored (17th) or wRC+ (19th). It is, at best, average. Whereas the run prevention is fine (5th in ERA-). It can get better too, of course, but it's fine.

 

The 5 from Thames, Aguilar, Cain, Yelich, Braun, Shaw who play on any given day are absolutely fine, even if Braun is struggling. What creates the inconsistent offense is that the #6-#9 spots are a black hole offensively. Baseball being what baseball is, sometimes you score 5 runs on 4 hits, sometimes you score 1 run on 9 hits. When the top of the lineup either have an off day, or have one of those days where they hit but don't have runs to show for it, this team falters. The bottom of the order are rally killers, making too many outs. Among the players with 50+ PAs, 4 of them (Arcia, Sogard, Perez, Bandy) have combined for 460 PAs with none of them above .270 OBP. Few baserunners, even if you have power, is what creates a boom-or-bust offense. Even a 2017-style Sogard, who gets on base but has no power, would help this offense a lot. Sadly the 2018 version doesn't.

 

So improve C, 2B, SS. Maybe Nottingham can be one of those guys, maybe Miller can. Or maybe they can't. But improve there, somehow. Could be Escobat, Dietrich, Merrifield, Cabrera or whoever. But it needs to be something.

 

I'm even warming up to the idea of Machado. I still think the cost will be higher than it warrants for a rental, but at the same time I can't think of any single upgrade, anywhere, that would be as big an improvement without emptying the farm. Yeah, his SS defense hasn't been great, but using fWAR he has been 3.6 wins more valuable than Arcia at the halfway point (Yeah, Arcia hasn't had as much playing time. But he's at negative WAR, so more playing time at the same level would make the difference even bigger). There's the contextual effect of lengthening the lineup as well. If your #6 hitter is Ryan Braun or Eric Thames, you're doing quite damn well. deGrom might be similar in terms of wins added, but you could probably get Machado plus a rental like Happ without giving up Hiura or Peralta.

[JDBrewCrew]

Mark Feinsand

Verified account

@Feinsand

10m10 minutes ago

According to a source, the Blue Jays have been extensively scouting the Brewers' system. J.A. Happ could be on Milwaukee's radar, as the Brewers need a starter and the lefty is one of the top arms expected to be traded this month.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Mark Feinsand

Verified account

@Feinsand

10m10 minutes ago

According to a source, the Blue Jays have been extensively scouting the Brewers' system. J.A. Happ could be on Milwaukee's radar, as the Brewers need a starter and the lefty is one of the top arms expected to be traded this month.

 

That is interesting. I imagine Happ is the target, as I can't imagine they'd sell low on Stroman. Sanchez is a possibility too.