Ryan Braun and August Waivers

[coolhandluke121]

 

One of Stearns few mistakes imo. Anyway, I can't see a team claiming him where he'd accept the move. The Brewers are in the position that most players want to be in.

 

Yep. I will say this - playing hardball like that could have an indirect positive effect on your negotiations with other teams. But still, you gotta make that trade happen. Bluff like you don't want to trade him and act like you're relenting. Then hang up the phone and laugh at LAD for taking on that risk.

 

Oh well. He's better than Perez against LHP's I guess. "If he's healthy." So sick of saying that though, LOL.

[KeithStone53151]

From a strictly baseball/team building point of view, I think it probably makes sense to let him walk if another team claims him. But there would be significant negative feedback from fans and it may be viewed negatively in the clubhouse. If Braun leaves and ever plays elsewhere, it has to happen the right way.

 

Is anyone outside of the ultra-casual fan really going to have negative feedback on Braun leaving anymore? I just don't see anyone these days saying "Well Braun is gone, so I'm not watching or going to games."

 

Hypothetically, if the Packers were able to survive the backlash from moving on from Brett Favre after 16 seasons, I think the Brewers would do just fine if they decided to move on from Braun. People find new favorites. At the end of the day if you're winning, that pretty much takes care of everything else.

 

That's fair, it does help that we are winning. Braun was just called up when I first started carefully tracking the team and has been my favorite player ever since...it will be a major bummer as a fan of his when he leaves. That point in time coincided with the Brewers finally getting good, so it could be similar with many other people. Letting Braun leave after his contract would be one thing, but letting him get claimed off waivers to dump his contract in the middle of a playoff race would bug me as a fan of his and as a Brewer fan.

 

We probably won't know what the reaction is because it probably doesn't happen, just my thought.

[trwi7]

Why would Braun agree to a trade at this point? Remember he needs to approve any deal.

 

Wouldn't need to be a trade. We could just let him go to the team if they claimed him. Of course Braun could decline with his 10/5 rights but we wouldn't have to work out a trade with another team if we just wanted to get rid of his contract.

[monty57]

If the Brewers had a way of relieving themselves of his salary obligation for the next couple of years, they would jump at it, and there would be no backlash from the fans over losing a $20M bench player. But, it's not going to happen so the point is moot. He'll easily clear waivers, but that won't matter because the Brewers won't waste the effort trying to trade him.

 

I guess some justification can come from the idea that we will finally have another "player for life" whose number can deservedly be added to the rafters in a few years. Yount is the only other player in team history who played his entire career in Milwaukee who deserved to be honored.

[3and2Fastball]

I still like the potential of Ryan Braun vs LHP in big games and in the postseason. He still has value.

[coolhandluke121]

I still like the potential of Ryan Braun vs LHP in big games and in the postseason. He still has value.

 

Sure. Now that he's not automatically starting and hitting 3rd in the lineup, there's not much to complain about in terms of his ability to contribute as a bench player. Since getting out of his salary is not an option anyway, it's not a question of Braun vs. what you could get for his salary in free agency. It's Braun vs. the Broxtons and Hernans of the world. It's not quite an open-and-shut case anymore, but he clearly still deserves a roster spot until/unless Santana gets it together.

[Oldcity]

Yep, too late for this now. Brewers are stuck with Braun.

[3and2Fastball]

Even if/when Domingo gets it together, at the age of 34 Braun I think deserves the benefit of the doubt vs LHP in the playoffs. He is a proven clutch performer in the playoffs. Not everyone can deliver in the postseason. (Another reason why I'm thrilled to have Moustakas, Cain, & Soria on the roster. Those guys have been there done that before).

[Jopal78]

If a player is put on revocable waivers, and a team claims that player, there are three options:

 

1. The team who placed the player on revocable waivers, lets the player go and the claiming team assumes the contract without having to give compensation. (See Alex Rios in 2009)

 

2. The team who placed the player on revocable waivers, works out a trade with the team claiming him.

 

3. The team who placed the player on revocable waivers, pulls the player back when they are claimed.

 

In Braun's case, I think the Brewers would love to move on from his contract (as evidenced by the fact they tried to trade him in 2016), however with 40 million or so left on his contract I don't think any team would claim him. If a team did claim him, I'm 100% sure the Brewers would let him go without compensation to be off the hook for the remainder on his contract.

 

As for a trade, Braun will only go to a certain few teams and there is no way the Brewers could trade him to any of those teams without absorbing an equal dollar amount in bad contracts from the claiming team.

[FVBrewerFan]

From a strictly baseball/team building point of view, I think it probably makes sense to let him walk if another team claims him. But there would be significant negative feedback from fans and it may be viewed negatively in the clubhouse. If Braun leaves and ever plays elsewhere, it has to happen the right way.

 

Is anyone outside of the ultra-casual fan really going to have negative feedback on Braun leaving anymore? I just don't see anyone these days saying "Well Braun is gone, so I'm not watching or going to games."

 

Hypothetically, if the Packers were able to survive the backlash from moving on from Brett Favre after 16 seasons, I think the Brewers would do just fine if they decided to move on from Braun. People find new favorites. At the end of the day if you're winning, that pretty much takes care of everything else.

 

My sense is casual fans don't really care. They care more about racing wieners, bobble heads, and what the new beers are at the craft stand. When it comes to Braun, I think they've gone from love, to hate after the whole PED/lying thing, to now just meh, whatever.

 

Either way, it wouldn't prevent Stearns from unloading $40MM+ in salary if he had the chance.

[pacopete4]

It probably would depend on how it ended too. Say he was let go to the Dodgers and he helped them win a WS. There would be some fans pretty ticked off at Stearns. But yeah, the casual fan doesn’t care much. He’d be forgotten until he’s put in the wall of honor and whatever else Milwaukee does with him.

[MrTPlush]

Jeez at this point Braun hardly plays, healthy or not. If they cared about Braun so much they probably already left. A healthy Braun that is actually producing consistently is pretty rare.

[tmwiese55]

I really don't think there would be any fan revolt, as some have said most folks at this time have a meh attitude and anyone even moderately knowledgeable knows he's on a pricey contract and not living up to it. Nearly everyone would understand and accept it as the right move.

[jerichoholicninja]

Once the calendar hits August the Wisconsin sports fan tunes out the Brewers for Packers and Badgers football. The Brewers could be given Mike Tout for free and I doubt the average fan would even notice right now.

[homer]

Once the calendar hits August the Wisconsin sports fan tunes out the Brewers for Packers and Badgers football. The Brewers could be given Mike Tout for free and I doubt the average fan would even notice right now.

 

I was just in north central wisconsin. I saw a TON of brewer gear.

[xisxisxis]

I was just in north central wisconsin. I saw a TON of brewer gear.

 

Probably a lot different than South Central Los Angeles.... where the preferred gear is the St.Louis Cardinals...

 

Why? I learnt from my 2+ months of jury duty on a gang murder trial in LA that many of the gangs in LA have a "stone" included in their names like the "Pea stones" or "bitty stones" and that Stoner Love is also a big part of their lingo, making the Cardinals the obvious choice. So, if you are in LA and get lost and notice a lot of St. Louis Cardinal gear, get your butt the heck out of there....

[nate82]

Why would Braun agree to a trade at this point? Remember he needs to approve any deal.

 

Wouldn't need to be a trade. We could just let him go to the team if they claimed him. Of course Braun could decline with his 10/5 rights but we wouldn't have to work out a trade with another team if we just wanted to get rid of his contract.

 

His no trade also covers this. Braun could just refuse to go to whoever claims him. He would then become a free agent or return to the Brewers.

[rickh150]

The only question is would the Dodgers claim him. They are the only team he would go to while the Brewers are in a pennant race of their own. There could be real drama in August if we hear that claim happening.....

[coolhandluke121]

Once the calendar hits August the Wisconsin sports fan tunes out the Brewers for Packers and Badgers football. The Brewers could be given Mike Tout for free and I doubt the average fan would even notice right now.

 

I was just in north central wisconsin. I saw a TON of brewer gear.

 

They are Brewer fans, but their standing relative to the Packers is an embarrassment. The Brewers can be in the thick of a playoff chase and newscasts here will still start with a Packers training camp story about some rookie free agent who probably won't even make the team. The Brewers went 21-7 in August of 2011 and there were a few times the newscast out of Green Bay just gave the score at the end of the sports broadcast without a single highlight or detail from the game.

 

(I teach in NYC and spend a lot of time in NE Wisconsin in the summers.)

[coolhandluke121]

The only question is would the Dodgers claim him. They are the only team he would go to while the Brewers are in a pennant race of their own. There could be real drama in August if we here that happening.....

 

If he reads the writing on the wall, you'd think he'd be more open to finishing his career for an AL team instead of riding the pine for the Crew. I don't know what team would want him though. Seattle has done some weird things in the past. Indians have a short-term need.

[TexasCheesehead]

I'd be really upset if the Brewers let Braun walk. I get not many people agree with this mentality, but IMO winning a World Series with Braun would make it that much more special. He's the only person left from the original group of young studs and he's been here through the good years and the bad and signed a team-friendly deal, all while saying he wants to finish his career in Milwaukee. Again, I get a lot of you are of the 'feelings don't matter, just results' mindset. That's fine, I just want to see Braun finish as a Brewers and win a title here. He deserves it. That's just me though.

 

Furthermore, Braun's line-drive percentage is at an all-time high. He's been a lot better than the numbers indicate.

[pacopete4]

 

If he reads the writing on the wall, you'd think he'd be more open to finishing his career for an AL team instead of riding the pine for the Crew. I don't know what team would want him though. Seattle has done some weird things in the past. Indians have a short-term need.

 

Maybe he is actually being truthful when he says he loves playing in Milwaukee.

[markedman5]

He isn't going anywhere. Why this subject keeps coming up is beyond me.

[LouisEly]

With the Cubs now having four LH SPs, I think it's worth every penny of someone else's $40M to have Braun crush those lefties and beat the Cubs in the playoffs.

 

Rationally, Braun's line drive % is higher this year than his career average and his hard-hit % is slightly higher than his career average. I'm inclined to believe that his .264 BABIP this year - with the line drive % he's had - will eventually normalize towards his career BABIP of .328 and result in a higher OPS.

[TexasCheesehead]

 

If he reads the writing on the wall, you'd think he'd be more open to finishing his career for an AL team instead of riding the pine for the Crew. I don't know what team would want him though. Seattle has done some weird things in the past. Indians have a short-term need.

 

Maybe he is actually being truthful when he says he loves playing in Milwaukee.

 

I think he's 100% retiring once his contract is up here. He's gotta be sick of the nagging injuries, lower back pain, etc. He's also said, very openly, how much he hates spring training. I think he still has a spark and wins to win, but I can't imagine him trying to stick around when he's up. He's made his money and he's ready to move on in two years.