Jose Iglesias and Jordy Mercer

[reillymcshane]

I'm going to throw out Jose Iglesias and Jordy Mercer as a potential Brewer targets in the next month or so.

 

Iglesias is a roughly league average offensive player. He's hit .255. 255 and .262 over the past few years. He plays very good defense.

 

Mercer hits about the same as Iglesias (.255-.265 over the past three years), but has generally show a little more pop. His glove is generally about average.

 

Both players are free agents at the end of the year. And both make around $6.5M. Both are right handers who - as expected - hit lefties better than righties.

 

For Milwaukee, if Arcia is still struggling in July, they could add someone like Mercer or Iglesias and get a solid, if unspectacular player that would solidify a very volatile position.

 

Due to their modest production and fairly high salaries, plus their impending free agency, neither guy should cost much to acquire. At 28, Iglesias is younger than Mercer by three years - but I don't think that really matters if they are only rentals.

 

Iglesias would probably be my favored player of these two, because he's a better defender.

 

I'm not advocating either guy - just saying that they could be potential targets if Arcia continues to struggle, and we don't see the answer in Saladino or Miller (or someone else).

[JohnBriggs12]

I think either make sense. We don't see Iglesias much, but we know Mercer is solid. I actually think Pirates would be willing to deal Mercer in the division too in this situation. There's little love for the Cubs in Pittsburgh and he'd be just a rental so no long term consequences for Pirates. It's not the game changing type move, but worth considering.

[Eye Black]

Both interesting targets.

 

I think I would favor Iglesias due to his defensive abilities, but it seems Jordy Mercer would have the higher probability to get hot offensively during a short stretch of time. I think either could be a solid pickup that wouldn’t deplete the farm system much.

 

Trading with the Tigers also makes sense from the standpoint they have greater flexibility with their 40-man roster to potentially protect decent prospects that will possibly otherwise be exposed in the upcoming Rule 5 draft if they remain in the Brewers organization.

[hurricanecrush]

They aren’t as sexy as some of the other names thrown out there and some here will likely be disappointed that he didn’t “go for it” but I think these are exactly the types of players Stearns will target as the deadline approaches.

[MrTPlush]

Jose Iglesias is a pretty sexy name if he can keep his offensive production near what it is now or better. He plays really good defense (one of the best rated) and honestly is essentially what we were hoping Arcia was going to be this year.

 

He is coming off two pretty bad years offensively, but what he is doing now is something he has done multiple times over the course of an entire season.

 

He would definitely be my #1 target at SS assuming the Tigers fall out of the race.

[reillymcshane]

They aren’t as sexy as some of the other names thrown out there and some here will likely be disappointed that he didn’t “go for it” but I think these are exactly the types of players Stearns will target as the deadline approaches.

This is exactly what I was thinking when I started the thread. Stearns isn't likely empty the farm system for a guy. Instead, he can look for value for Milwaukee. A league average player at SS is a potentially big upgrade for us. A league average upgrade at catcher is a big upgrade for us. It might not be for other teams, but for us - it's pretty good. It doesn't mean we won't swing for the fences on some deals - but smaller moves can have a big impact.

 

It isn't sexy have Jordy Mercer at SS - but it's a lot nicer than having a sub-.200 slap hitter.

 

Plus, we can just send Arcia to AAA and tell him to get his stuff in order for 2019.

[jerichoholicninja]

Either would be a .150 to .200 increase in OPS over Arcia. That would be a mammoth improvement. Basically replacing an average hitter with Manny Machado and would cost a hell of a lot less.

[buckybrewer232]

These are exactly the type of moves I would like to see this year. One of these guys would be ideal for the rest of the season. Send Arcia down to AAA and see if he can figure it out before next season while also getting a much needed upgrade at the SS position for the rest of this season. All without giving up a significant prospect- I'm assuming.

[MrTPlush]

Either would be a .150 to .200 increase in OPS over Arcia. That would be a mammoth improvement. Basically replacing an average hitter with Manny Machado and would cost a hell of a lot less.

 

Okay I get what you are saying, but your logic to go with one of these two over Machado can be used to prove Machado is worth it too. Acquiring Manny Machado would be like an NL team replacing their pitcher in the line-up with an MVP potential bat. Yes he would cost more, but he is also a major improvement over Mercer/Iglesias.

 

You get what you pay for because we currently are getting about zero value from SS. But a medium or a large, you are going to get your moneys worth. Just a matter of how much you want.

 

What isn’t worth it is paying the price to get an average player at 2B when we already have an arguably average player there already. Probably not worth the price for a questionable improvement.

[bill hAll Star]

If the Tigers want to just give Iglesias away, sure, I'm OK with that.

 

I may be too optimistic on Arcia and I understand he may have something fundamentally wrong with his swing/approach, but I'm too stubborn to take a deal on a guy who is hitting right to his career baseline (Iglesias) and give up on a guy that is having a terrible year at the plate but in his short career, was probably a better hitter than Iglesias. And Iglesias may be a slightly better defender, but it's basically elite vs. really good there.

[KeithStone53151]

I think these are both good targets, as noted specifically because their acquisition cost will be between trivial and zero. Heck it's absolutely possible we don't even have to cover their entire remaining salary on trade. Of the 2, I think I'd take Iglesias so we don't have a drop off defensively...and it's actually possible he's currently a better defender than Arcia(at least more consistent). Having an elite defender in the club house for 2 months may be beneficial for Arcia's development, and going the rental route similar to last year with Walker will give Arcia a chance to work hard in the offseason and win his job back for 2019.

[jerichoholicninja]

Either would be a .150 to .200 increase in OPS over Arcia. That would be a mammoth improvement. Basically replacing an average hitter with Manny Machado and would cost a hell of a lot less.

 

Okay I get what you are saying, but your logic to go with one of these two over Machado can be used to prove Machado is worth it too. Acquiring Manny Machado would be like an NL team replacing their pitcher in the line-up with an MVP potential bat. Yes he would cost more, but he is also a major improvement over Mercer/Iglesias.

 

You get what you pay for because we currently are getting about zero value from SS. But a medium or a large, you are going to get your moneys worth. Just a matter of how much you want.

 

What isn’t worth it is paying the price to get an average player at 2B when we already have an arguably average player there already. Probably not worth the price for a questionable improvement.

 

Well, I don't want to pay for a half season of Manny Machado, so that's that.