Jordan Lyles to Pirates

[wallus]

Lyles was likely a payroll casualty. Stearns has pinched pennies so far this off-season which has made me believe we do not have as much payroll flexibility as some have mentioned. (Schoop, Lyles, trading for Claudino)

 

Who is this Claudino I keep seeing reference to?

[sarcasm]I really wish posters would proof read their posts around here.[/sarcasm]

 

Got me there! I guess when you see it written incorrectly so often it almost becomes true. I can still add though so I have that going for me.

[adambr2]

Flexibility is a crucial part of our pitching model in Milwaukee. If Lyles had options remaining, there might have been more consideration given to bringing him back. Lacking that flexibility has consequences. Guys without options tend to get longer leashes, because it's usually either let them work through their problems or lose them. So guys who would normally be sent down to work on things when they struggle end up struggling at the MLB level instead when they can't be optioned (see Matt Albers).

 

Having that flexilbity also lets us adjust our roster accordingly to our needs at the time, upcoming matchups, etc. It's pretty important to our operations and so I'm sure they prefer that their 20-30 guys on the depth chart be guys that can be optioned if needed.

[And That]

My point is that there is no difference between them, so why take on the added salary?

There are differences between them, most notably that Lyles can go extended innings.

 

You take on the whopping $3.5 million to provide depth and take a chance on Lyles’ upside. All three of them would have received considerable big league time had they all stayed healthy.

 

Again, go back to that Morton thread. Someone literally brought up Wei-Chung Wang as a reason why the Brewers didn’t need Morton. My point is, the “we already have enough good pitchers” argument in December/January almost always looks ridiculous by the time you get to June/July.