Brewers acquire Alex Claudio

[MilwaukeeBeers]

Anyone else starting to get a bit concerned about the lack of impact talent in the minors? That draft pick is far far away from a sure thing but it and the extra bonus pool certainly wouldn’t hurt.

[homer]

I hate giving up the pick, but for career #'s versus lefties, he's far better than Logan, Cedeno, or Jennings.

 

He's going to be a LOOGY only type who probably spends time between Milwaukee and San Antonio, rotating up when we face lefty heavy teams or a dangerous lefty like Harper or Rizzo.

 

He's better than those three guys but he's going to shuttle between AAA and Milwaukee? I doubt that.

[Eye Black]

I am usually not one to overreact, but I think it is a poor move.

 

I think the competitive balance pick could have either 1) had more value as part of a trade for a larger piece; or 2) been valuable to the Brewers as a draft selection that also comes with an increased overall draft signing bonus pool.

[KeithStone53151]

He's going to be a LOOGY only type who probably spends time between Milwaukee and San Antonio, rotating up when we face lefty heavy teams or a dangerous lefty like Harper or Rizzo.

 

And we gave up a draft pick and around $2 million of our bonus pool for this. Just wonderful.

 

I actually highly doubt this guy spends much time if any in AAA. Just because he has an option, doesn't mean we have any intention of exercising it.

[trwi7]

Anyone else starting to get a bit concerned about the lack of impact talent in the minors? That draft pick is far far away from a sure thing but it certainly wouldn’t hurt.

 

Of course. Hell, you keep that pick as a possible incentive for another trade to push it over the top. Don't just throw it away for a LOOGY in mid December.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

He's going to be a LOOGY only type who probably spends time between Milwaukee and San Antonio, rotating up when we face lefty heavy teams or a dangerous lefty like Harper or Rizzo.

 

And we gave up a draft pick and around $2 million of our bonus pool for this. Just wonderful.

 

World Series contender. LHRP was a need. This guy fits the window.

[KeithStone53151]

I would be curious what his stats are against RH hitters on the road over his career. That stadium is such a launching pad, he could be more effective against RH hitters when not in that stadium.

 

I don't have the exact numbers in front of me but I'd wager that hitting the ball out of the park to LF in Miller Park and LF in Arlington are not much different. Probably easier for someone to hit a HR to RF off of Claudio in Texas by a little bit but probably not a huge deal with righty hitters overall.

 

Fair enough. His value is primarily going to come from getting LH hitters out anyway. I do imagine he'll improve against RH hitters this year compared to last. Last year was his worst year by far against them, heavily babip driven.

[bill hAll Star]

I would be curious what his stats are against RH hitters on the road over his career. That stadium is such a launching pad, he could be more effective against RH hitters when not in that stadium.

 

I don't have the exact numbers in front of me but I'd wager that hitting the ball out of the park to LF in Miller Park and LF in Arlington are not much different. Probably easier for someone to hit a HR to RF off of Claudio in Texas by a little bit but probably not a huge deal with righty hitters overall.

 

Fair enough. His value is primarily going to come from getting LH hitters out anyway. I do imagine he'll improve against RH hitters this year compared to last. Last year was his worst year by far against them, heavily babip driven.

 

Don't disagree with any of that.

[amt2138]

I'd image that the Brewers see something in his pitch profile that they think they can unlock to give him success against righties. I imagine that change has a lot to do with doubling his slider usage from the 11% it was at last year. I would bet they are seeing a lack of effectiveness in his tunneling because the way his slider and changeup move could really be devastating on hitters.

 

Not thrilled about losing the slot money but the price of controllable relievers is high and if they feel they can unlock something, I'm all for a little funkiness out of the pen to go along with what else we have.

[bill hAll Star]

There needs to be some sort of bat signal type of thing when a Brewers acquisition that could potentially have some downside comes up so twirly can spring into action and treat it as if we just traded away Yelich for the rights to Yuni Betancourt if he comes out of retirement (actually, he'd probably like that so that we'd tank).

[trwi7]

He's going to be a LOOGY only type who probably spends time between Milwaukee and San Antonio, rotating up when we face lefty heavy teams or a dangerous lefty like Harper or Rizzo.

 

And we gave up a draft pick and around $2 million of our bonus pool for this. Just wonderful.

 

World Series contender. LHRP was a need. This guy fits the window.

 

The market is flooded with decent LHRP.

 

Avilan

Diekman

Perez

Sipp

 

Take a chance that someone like Tyler Lyons bounces back. Claudio doesn't provide close to enough value to the team over some random LOOGY that we could pull from our farm system to give up what we did. Especially with a handful of decent guys on the market.

[RollieTime]

I wonder if there is interest in acquiring another lefty reliever or if this is it. This could be a way of getting a cheap lefty reliever instead of paying for a big name guy and putting that money toward a different area such as the catching market. I see the Brewers addressing their catching situation this offseason and I think Wilson Ramos would be a solid addition.

[JosephC]

I don't hate giving up the pick, this guy throws mid 80s. How is he so effective?

 

Pitch Info actually has him as throwing no four seam fastballs and the rare cutter. They classify all of his "fast balls" as sinkers, which makes him a classic sinker/slider/change pitcher that is out of fashion these days. Their breakdown has him as about 50% sinkers, 35-40% change up and 10-15% sliders.

 

https://www.mlb.com/player/alex-claudio-592222

Scroll down and check out the zone chart. There is no secret as to what this guy does, keep the ball down, move it in-and-out and try to induce ground balls and keep the ball in the park. Occasionally go up and in on left-handed hitters to keep them honest. Nothing fancy. The one real concern with those chart is that they show he pretty much got beat-up when hitting the bottom of the strike zone last year. That could be due to bad luck with the BABIP, or really bad infield defense, or that MLB hitters are now just expecting everything down and are sitting on it and hammering him. I guess we'll find out about that soon enough.

[Lathund]

Not a big fan of giving up draft picks, but he does have 3 years of control remaining. And while I don't like mortgaging the future, you have to keep in mind that this draft pick would, at the earliest, help us in 2021 (If it's a polished college player) but most likely 2023 or so if he even makes it. I want us to remain competitive for a long time, but that's the kind of horizon I'm fine with.

 

As for Claudio himself I can't say I've seen him pitch. But a low 3s ERA and FIP is good, a ton of ground balls. vs lefties he's even better: .191/.220/.278. Aminor league option remaining for some flexibility. Some people in this thread have cited his 2018 stats; They're basically the same as previous years, simply got BABIPd.

[Eye Black]

Álex Claudio, future playoff "opener"?

[KeithStone53151]

 

The market is flooded with decent LHRP.

 

Avilan

Diekman

Perez

Sipp

 

Take a chance that someone like Tyler Lyons bounces back. Claudio doesn't provide close to enough value to the team over some random LOOGY that we could pull from our farm system to give up what we did. Especially with a handful of decent guys on the market.

 

It's hard to know what the asking prices are on these guys. Every team that lost a lefty is probably looking at these guys as well. If these guys end up getting 2/16 type deals, this deal looks fine. Plus, I'd argue Claudio is better than most of those guys.

[coolhandluke121]

I wouldn't have done it, but I'm glad they're improving the team (on paper, at least). This is a need, and he'll spend some time in AAA when they don't need a LOOGY - which I assume is the only reason they didn't just keep Cedeno (who has no options) and the pick. They just won more games than any other team in the NL, and it's not like they traded a top prospect for him, so this makes sense.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

 

The market is flooded with decent LHRP.

 

Avilan

Diekman

Perez

Sipp

 

Take a chance that someone like Tyler Lyons bounces back. Claudio doesn't provide close to enough value to the team over some random LOOGY that we could pull from our farm system to give up what we did. Especially with a handful of decent guys on the market.

 

Again this team is in win-now mode. Claudio provides much more of a sure thing than some rando lefty signed to a minors deal. I agree that the price was seemingly high, but with the issues they’ve had finding an effective LOOGY, it’s hard to blame them.

[bill hAll Star]

 

The market is flooded with decent LHRP.

 

Avilan

Diekman

Perez

Sipp

 

Take a chance that someone like Tyler Lyons bounces back. Claudio doesn't provide close to enough value to the team over some random LOOGY that we could pull from our farm system to give up what we did. Especially with a handful of decent guys on the market.

 

Again this team is in win-now mode. Claudio provides much more of a sure thing than some rando lefty signed to a minors deal. I agree that the price was seemingly high, but with the issues they’ve had finding an effective LOOGY, it’s hard to blame them.

 

The guys he listed are majors players but may sign for a higher dollar amount or may be less of a sure thing.

 

A 3 year/$8 million deal probably with the ability to non-tender is probably preferable to most of the guys listed. Is it worth a comp pick? That I don't know.

[trwi7]

Claudio provides much more of a sure thing than some rando lefty signed to a minors deal.

 

Claudio just had a bad year. He's no more of a sure thing than any other reliever.

[KeithStone53151]

The guys he listed are majors players but may sign for a higher dollar amount or may be less of a sure thing.

 

A 3 year/$8 million deal probably with the ability to non-tender is probably preferable to most of the guys listed. Is it worth a comp pick? That I don't know.

 

This is where JosephC and his analysis comes in handy...

[3and2Fastball]

Claudio has consistently gotten LH hitters out. This improves the team while still keeping trade assets & money available for other deals. Good move.

[KeithStone53151]

Claudio provides much more of a sure thing than some rando lefty signed to a minors deal.

 

Claudio just had a bad year. He's no more of a sure thing than any other reliever.

 

He had a down year, but not a bad year. And this down year was driven very heavily by BABIP. He still crushed lefties, even last year in his down year.

[MrTPlush]

High price to pay, but then again he fills a need people constantly complained about and thought a big part of our downfall was due to.

[trwi7]

Claudio provides much more of a sure thing than some rando lefty signed to a minors deal.

 

Claudio just had a bad year. He's no more of a sure thing than any other reliever.

 

He had a down year, but not a bad year. And this down year was driven very heavily by BABIP. He still crushed lefties, even last year in his down year.

 

His LD% went up 6.4% from the previous year. His hard contact % went up 11.2%. Is it any surprise that his BABIP spiked when looking at those numbers?