Best and Worst Stearns Moves

[trwi7]

The Segura trade doesn't look particularly good right now.

[pacopete4]

Segura might be out of the league had he stayed in Milwaukee. Sometimes change just has to occur.

[jerichoholicninja]

The Segura trade doesn't look particularly good right now.

 

Who would have expected a guy with a career OPS+ around 80 to add 40 points to that immediately?

 

And that trade brought in Chase Anderson who's a solid mid-rotation starter at worst, Isan Diaz who was included to get Yelich, and Aaron Hill who brought back Aaron Wilkerson who will probably contribute in some way eventually. I'd label that trade as a push right now.

[TexasCheesehead]

How about bringing back Jeremy Jeffress?

[Brew Crew Buster]

The Will Smith trade may turn out to be a bust. It is to early to claim Bickford a bust at this point. Smith is back and dominating for the Giants. Considering Susac fell into the Land of the Lost as a Brewer it will come down to a Will Smith for Phil Bickford trade. It might not grade out to well unless Bickford progresses to making an impact at the MLB level.

 

On a smaller scale: Not trading Broxton over the winter was a mistake. I am not saying he had great value at that time but he should have been worth something. His value just keeps going down while playing AAA ball.

[bill hAll Star]

On a smaller scale: Not trading Broxton over the winter was a mistake. I am not saying he had great value at that time but he should have been worth something. His value just keeps going down while playing AAA ball.

 

He likely has just as much value for the Brewers as an emergency or future option in AAA than whoever he would have been traded for would have. I'm sure he was dangled in trade talks but nobody was offering much for a right handed platoon bat that could be replaced by just signing a cheap journeyman.

[Jopal78]

I don't know if it counts as a "move" or not, but the tendency to continue to hang with players who cannot play. They have given almost 200 at bats already this season to the likes of Jett Bandy, Ji-Man Choi, Eric Sogard non of whom has an OPS approaching .700.

[Ennder]

The Will Smith trade may turn out to be a bust. It is to early to claim Bickford a bust at this point. Smith is back and dominating for the Giants. Considering Susac fell into the Land of the Lost as a Brewer it will come down to a Will Smith for Phil Bickford trade. It might not grade out to well unless Bickford progresses to making an impact at the MLB level.

 

On a smaller scale: Not trading Broxton over the winter was a mistake. I am not saying he had great value at that time but he should have been worth something. His value just keeps going down while playing AAA ball.

 

 

So I was about to comment on how this topic is so hard to judge because so many players on the list are so marginal that your opinion can go either way. Then you state this opinion and reassure me that someone can be completely without a doubt wrong even in that environment. Will Smith has been beyond awful since we traded him. Even if all we got was 10 used balls which we threw in the trash we won that trade.

[SRB]

The Shaw trade is hard to beat, considering Shaw has turned himself into a player just as good as Christian Yelich (which is very good!), and Thornburg is just a RP even if he had not been injured the last two years.

 

Also, I love Brinson and will always want him to succeed, but in case anyone has missed his stats this year:

 

212 PA, .161/.209/.281 with good but note elite defense. He's been brutal and he's not getting any younger (in fact he's only a couple years younger than Yelich)

[rickh150]

Worst

1. Nottingham

2. Scooter

 

Best

1. Shaw

2. Yelich

[AKCheesehead]

The Will Smith trade may turn out to be a bust. It is to early to claim Bickford a bust at this point. Smith is back and dominating for the Giants. Considering Susac fell into the Land of the Lost as a Brewer it will come down to a Will Smith for Phil Bickford trade. It might not grade out to well unless Bickford progresses to making an impact at the MLB level.

 

On a smaller scale: Not trading Broxton over the winter was a mistake. I am not saying he had great value at that time but he should have been worth something. His value just keeps going down while playing AAA ball.

 

 

So I was about to comment on how this topic is so hard to judge because so many players on the list are so marginal that your opinion can go either way. Then you state this opinion and reassure me that someone can be completely without a doubt wrong even in that environment. Will Smith has been beyond awful since we traded him. Even if all we got was 10 used balls which we threw in the trash we won that trade.

 

Smith's bbref stats

What?

 

He was injured.

[Jenkins5]

If we are going to count Gennett, we also need to blame Stearns for not hiring the Red's hitting coach that fixed his swing.

 

Also have note that Scooters value was so low they couldn’t find a trade partner & had to release him. Reds deserve credit for getting him turned around

[Jenkins5]

Worst

1. Nottingham

2. Scooter

 

Best

1. Shaw

2. Yelich

 

Nottingham just turned 23 & could play major role for Brewers in very near future. Derby has pitch well all the way up & on most teams could find a pullpen spot you’d think. Davis has been great for As Put no room for him & his defensive was brutal. If MLB would toss the no DH rule, he could have stayed but man.... I’ll never miss him & his bottom 5 in baseball arm

[adambr2]

The Will Smith trade may turn out to be a bust. It is to early to claim Bickford a bust at this point. Smith is back and dominating for the Giants. Considering Susac fell into the Land of the Lost as a Brewer it will come down to a Will Smith for Phil Bickford trade. It might not grade out to well unless Bickford progresses to making an impact at the MLB level.

 

On a smaller scale: Not trading Broxton over the winter was a mistake. I am not saying he had great value at that time but he should have been worth something. His value just keeps going down while playing AAA ball.

 

Based on what? He has a .745 OPS, nothing great but nothing that's going to plummet his value. He likely has a greater value as organizational depth than as a trade piece anyway. I agree with the poster who said he has no less or more value than he had preseason.

 

If there's one guy who to me has really hurt his trade value, it's Brett Phillips. Coming into this season he was still a BA Top 100 prospect and somewhat significant trade asset. I had hoped that, with him being blocked, he would tear up AAA this year and present himself as a very attractive option in trade, giving us options on what to do with him. Hasn't happened at all.

[cesser000]

Worst

1. Nottingham

 

Nottingham just turned 23 and has torn up AAA so far this year. Hard not to be encouraged by his .345/.412/.621/1.033 line, especially after posting a .695 OPS in AA last year. He probably would've been called up to MLB over the past few weeks had he not been hurt. By all accounts he has majorly improved his defense.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Worst

1. Nottingham

 

Nottingham just turned 23 and has torn up AAA so far this year. Hard not to be encouraged by his .345/.412/.621/1.033 line, especially after posting a .695 OPS in AA last year. He probably would've been called up to MLB over the past few weeks had he not been hurt. By all accounts he has majorly improved his defense.

 

It's because people see all the HRs Davis hits, and think we should have gotten more for him. I agree with you completely, though. Nottingham is a very nice prospect, and Derby also has a big league future. And considering where MLB valuations seem to be going (judging by the lack of interest in Santana in the offseason), Davis isn't worth a hill of beans, despite his good power numbers.

[FVBrewerFan]

Letting Scooter go was a mistake, no reason for us to get defensive about it. I understand why the move was made, and it made sense at the time, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a mistake.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Letting Scooter go was a mistake, no reason for us to get defensive about it. I understand why the move was made, and it made sense at the time, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a mistake.

 

I would agree that, given what he's done since he left, letting him go for nothing was a mistake. But despite his good numbers, he doesn't fit the athletic and versatility profile Stearns seems to target with his up-the-middle players. No one really knows what would have happened had the Brewers hung onto him, but if I had to guess, I'd say that his production wouldn't be anywhere near what it has been in Cincy, where he is playing with really no pressure or without having to look over his shoulder.

[jerichoholicninja]

When the Reds inevitably trade Scooter, I'd be interested to hear people's opinions of releasing him if he reverts to his old self with his new team.

[FVBrewerFan]

Letting Scooter go was a mistake, no reason for us to get defensive about it. I understand why the move was made, and it made sense at the time, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a mistake.

 

I would agree that, given what he's done since he left, letting him go for nothing was a mistake. But despite his good numbers, he doesn't fit the athletic and versatility profile Stearns seems to target with his up-the-middle players. No one really knows what would have happened had the Brewers hung onto him, but if I had to guess, I'd say that his production wouldn't be anywhere near what it has been in Cincy, where he is playing with really no pressure or without having to look over his shoulder.

 

Yea, I get the lack of versatility. That's why he was released to begin with. But when you have other players like Villar and Perez who can play multiple positions it really wasn't that necessary.

 

We'll never know, but I do believe he would be almost as productive if he stayed in Milwaukee. Slugging may be a little lower, but that's about it. I don't buy that he'll revert back to being a .725ish hitter. He has steadily improved, hits LHP much better, and more consistent power.

[Jaylyn]

To add another wrinkle to the Villar trade, the young man that was actually traded to Houston for Villar, Cy Sneed, tossed a nice game last night against CS and outside a blowup in early May has put up some good numbers this season.

[Roderick]

To add another wrinkle to the Villar trade, the young man that was actually traded to Houston for Villar, Cy Sneed, tossed a nice game last night against CS and outside a blowup in early May has put up some good numbers this season.

 

Looks like this is best season, considering it is in the PCL.

[MrTPlush]

How about bringing back Jeremy Jeffress?

 

I’d say Stearns deserves little credit for that one. He essentially wanted to only be here. If I remember correctly we didn’t even offer the best contract, he came here for less.

[MrTPlush]

To add another wrinkle to the Villar trade, the young man that was actually traded to Houston for Villar, Cy Sneed, tossed a nice game last night against CS and outside a blowup in early May has put up some good numbers this season.

 

Jonathan Villar has 6 WAR (and counting) while Cy Sneed has been rather unimpressive his entire minor league career. I think we got a pretty good head start.

[MadScientist]

How about bringing back Jeremy Jeffress?

 

I’d say Stearns deserves little credit for that one. He essentially wanted to only be here. If I remember correctly we didn’t even offer the best contract, he came here for less.

 

But he pulled the trigger on trading for Jeffress last season. That deserves some credit. From a team standpoint the contract signed is extremely low risk. I don't know if there was another contract offered, but I think Josh thought that he might be able to get a little more guaranteed for one year elsewhere, but both he and Jeremy essentially thought that Jeremy would pitch better here and do better over the length of the contract.