Michael Brantley to Astros

[KeithStone53151]

 

Expected to be 2/32, good deal for him.

[KeithStone53151]

Looks like it is officially 2 years, 32 million, no options.

[ThisIsMyCrew]

Wow. Good deal for the Astros!

[brewmann04]

Making thei move to get back to the WS

[TooLiveBrew]

According to Baseball-Reference, Brantley had made about $36M in his career after the 2018 season. Then a 2-yr deal almost doubles those earnings!

 

Good deal for Houston, but that's also pretty great money for Brantley. I hope he's able to sign another big money deal after this one. Nice to see him do so well post-CC trade.

[RollieTime]

Great deal for Houston. Top of the order bat on a very reasonable two year deal. Brantley was my top target in free agency this offseason. I think he would of really helped this lineup.

[long ball]

So I think this is a great example of what the Brewers should be doing at second base. Hear me out...

 

The Astros are within striking distance of a World Series. They have a top prospect ready to step in in the outfield, but there's some risk with anyone who hasn't played a ton (or at all) in the big leagues. So they sign a very good, mid-market, free agent to a two year deal. If the prospect forces his way onto the roster, I'm sure the Astros will shuffle things around in order to get both in the line up. Shift Brantley to some DH/1b PAs.

 

The Brewers could do the same thing with Jed Lowrie. Attempt to sign him to a two year deal. If Hiura forces his way to the bigs by May, you can shift Lowrie into a Ben Zobrist type role where he starts 5-6x/week, but he plays a little 3b, 1b, ss, 2b.

 

Lowrie might not want to sign up for a role where he isn't primarily a starting second baseman, but that's the type of move the Brewers should make IMO.

[brewmann04]

I agree on Jed and then in year 2 of his contact he can be that super utility guy.

[jerichoholicninja]

So I think this is a great example of what the Brewers should be doing at second base. Hear me out...

 

The Astros are within striking distance of a World Series. They have a top prospect ready to step in in the outfield, but there's some risk with anyone who hasn't played a ton (or at all) in the big leagues. So they sign a very good, mid-market, free agent to a two year deal. If the prospect forces his way onto the roster, I'm sure the Astros will shuffle things around in order to get both in the line up. Shift Brantley to some DH/1b PAs.

 

The Brewers could do the same thing with Jed Lowrie. Attempt to sign him to a two year deal. If Hiura forces his way to the bigs by May, you can shift Lowrie into a Ben Zobrist type role where he starts 5-6x/week, but he plays a little 3b, 1b, ss, 2b.

 

Lowrie might not want to sign up for a role where he isn't primarily a starting second baseman, but that's the type of move the Brewers should make IMO.

 

That's all well and good for the Brewers to want to do but the player you sign has to be ok with it. You need to find a player willing to accept a short term deal and the fact that they are just holding a spot until Hiura is ready to replace them, which could likely be all of two months.

[bill hAll Star]

So I think this is a great example of what the Brewers should be doing at second base. Hear me out...

 

The Astros are within striking distance of a World Series. They have a top prospect ready to step in in the outfield, but there's some risk with anyone who hasn't played a ton (or at all) in the big leagues. So they sign a very good, mid-market, free agent to a two year deal. If the prospect forces his way onto the roster, I'm sure the Astros will shuffle things around in order to get both in the line up. Shift Brantley to some DH/1b PAs.

 

The Brewers could do the same thing with Jed Lowrie. Attempt to sign him to a two year deal. If Hiura forces his way to the bigs by May, you can shift Lowrie into a Ben Zobrist type role where he starts 5-6x/week, but he plays a little 3b, 1b, ss, 2b.

 

Lowrie might not want to sign up for a role where he isn't primarily a starting second baseman, but that's the type of move the Brewers should make IMO.

 

That's all well and good for the Brewers to want to do but the player you sign has to be ok with it. You need to find a player willing to accept a short term deal and the fact that they are just holding a spot until Hiura is ready to replace them, which could likely be all of two months.

 

And you need to have a giant payroll. They may be fine this year, but Lowrie could be making $7 million on next year's payroll and after an injury/under-performance they now have their resources incorrectly allocated.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for it and they may do something similar to the suggestion...but it isn't so easy.

[long ball]

So I think this is a great example of what the Brewers should be doing at second base. Hear me out...

 

The Astros are within striking distance of a World Series. They have a top prospect ready to step in in the outfield, but there's some risk with anyone who hasn't played a ton (or at all) in the big leagues. So they sign a very good, mid-market, free agent to a two year deal. If the prospect forces his way onto the roster, I'm sure the Astros will shuffle things around in order to get both in the line up. Shift Brantley to some DH/1b PAs.

 

The Brewers could do the same thing with Jed Lowrie. Attempt to sign him to a two year deal. If Hiura forces his way to the bigs by May, you can shift Lowrie into a Ben Zobrist type role where he starts 5-6x/week, but he plays a little 3b, 1b, ss, 2b.

 

Lowrie might not want to sign up for a role where he isn't primarily a starting second baseman, but that's the type of move the Brewers should make IMO.

 

That's all well and good for the Brewers to want to do but the player you sign has to be ok with it. You need to find a player willing to accept a short term deal and the fact that they are just holding a spot until Hiura is ready to replace them, which could likely be all of two months.

 

Very true.

 

Luckily there's a deep FA pool of 2b. The Brewers should be searching for certain skills not certain players. When you're targeting certain skills it's easier to pivot when the price isn't right. Jed Lowrie is just the perfect example for my argument because he's already demonstrated the capability of moving around the infield a little.

 

Asdrubal Cabrera could be the bargain version of Jed Lowrie.

 

My main point is that the Brewers shouldn't just roll out Perez and Saladino at 2b until they call up Hiura in May. They should probably have another layer to that plan and the Astros executed what I think the Brewers should be trying to do.

[tmwiese55]

Lowrie turns 35 at the beginning of next season, can he really expect more than a 2 year deal? The accepting a potential multi position role instead of everyday 2B could be a hurdle though after he had such a good year. Still, you can almost promise him that he'll play all this year at 2B as long as he performs.

[Mr Southpaw]

Jed Lowrie on a Chacin type deal would be great. 2 years $15 million. $9 the first year and $6 the second. Sound pretty good if I were a 35 year old infielder.

[long ball]

I actually kinda think this Brantley deal might be a pretty reasonable contract comparison for Lowrie. Yes Lowrie is a few years older, but on a 2 year deal what's the big difference? Maybe the Astros bumped the AAV a little to avoid a third year, but I think this is pretty close to what Lowrie will get.

[sveumrules]

During his age 33-34 seasons Ben Zobrist put up a 118 OPS+ & 6.9 WAR as a switch hitting mostly second baseman. He then signed a 4 year, 56 million dollar contract.

 

During his age 33-34 seasons Jed Lowrie put up a 120 OPS+ & 8.8 WAR as a switch hitting mostly second baseman.

 

I'd love Jed at 2/15, but I have a feeling he is holding out for more than that & will get it.

[StearnsFTW]

Really good landing spot for Brantley. I like this deal for both him and the Astros. If he stays healthy that lineup just got even more scary. Replacing Tony Kemp with a player of Brantley's caliber is a big upgrade.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I'm kinda starting to think that the Brewers may be sneaky players for Marwin Gonzalez. Switch hitter and plays all over the diamond. He'd be the ideal bridge 2B, then another jack-of-all-trades along with Perez that can fill in anywhere. He's likely going to be more pricey than the other 2B candidates, but he is also younger and more versatile. Plus the Stearns/Astros connection is there. Signing Gonzalez would be a big ticket move in my opinion.

[RollieTime]

I'm kinda starting to think that the Brewers may be sneaky players for Marwin Gonzalez. Switch hitter and plays all over the diamond. He'd be the ideal bridge 2B, then another jack-of-all-trades along with Perez that can fill in anywhere. He's likely going to be more pricey than the other 2B candidates, but he is also younger and more versatile. Plus the Stearns/Astros connection is there. Signing Gonzalez would be a big ticket move in my opinion.

 

It would also allow the Brewers to move Perez for a couple low level prospects and clear his salary. Whether they decide to move him now, mid-season, or next offseason, somebody will want his services. He is going to start to get expensive after this season.

[B-Train]

I'm kinda starting to think that the Brewers may be sneaky players for Marwin Gonzalez. Switch hitter and plays all over the diamond. He'd be the ideal bridge 2B, then another jack-of-all-trades along with Perez that can fill in anywhere. He's likely going to be more pricey than the other 2B candidates, but he is also younger and more versatile. Plus the Stearns/Astros connection is there. Signing Gonzalez would be a big ticket move in my opinion.

 

A month ago, a Cub fan (and apparently very casual baseball fan) asked me if the Brewers were going to make a big splash this off-season. I stated with all sincerity that a big splash for the Crew would be Marwin Gonzalez. There was an awkward pause followed by some laughter from my colleague, the Cub fan. I take it the guy had no idea who I was talking about. How great would it be for the Crew and the fans to get the last laugh once again at the expense of the baby bears.

[pacopete4]

During his age 33-34 seasons Ben Zobrist put up a 118 OPS+ & 6.9 WAR as a switch hitting mostly second baseman. He then signed a 4 year, 56 million dollar contract.

 

During his age 33-34 seasons Jed Lowrie put up a 120 OPS+ & 8.8 WAR as a switch hitting mostly second baseman.

 

I'd love Jed at 2/15, but I have a feeling he is holding out for more than that & will get it.

 

This is spot on I think. Jed probably will get more and deserves more. Something like 3 year - $40M might get it done. Frontload it so it is $15M-$14M-$12M. (maybe include a buyout in year #3?

[wallus]

 

This is spot on I think. Jed probably will get more and deserves more. Something like 3 year - $50M might get it done. Frontload it so it is $15M-$14M-$12M. (maybe include a buyout in year #3?

 

Paying Jed Lowrie that much would be an anchor for the Brewers in the years moving forward. Also, when you are deferring that 9 million that is unaccounted for?

[pacopete4]

 

This is spot on I think. Jed probably will get more and deserves more. Something like 3 year - $50M might get it done. Frontload it so it is $15M-$14M-$12M. (maybe include a buyout in year #3?

 

Paying Jed Lowrie that much would be an anchor for the Brewers in the years moving forward. Also, when you are deferring that 9 million that is unaccounted for?

 

Sorry, it was a typo. It was roughly 3 year - $40M. And yes, as much as of an anchor as Zobrist has been for the Cubs over the years.

 

Maybe even something like 3yr-$36M gets it done as Zobrist was overall a better player during the course of his career.

[wallus]

 

This is spot on I think. Jed probably will get more and deserves more. Something like 3 year - $50M might get it done. Frontload it so it is $15M-$14M-$12M. (maybe include a buyout in year #3?

 

Paying Jed Lowrie that much would be an anchor for the Brewers in the years moving forward. Also, when you are deferring that 9 million that is unaccounted for?

 

Sorry, it was a typo. It was roughly 3 year - $40M. And yes, as much as of an anchor as Zobrist has been for the Cubs over the years.

 

That typo was 10 million dollars which would make a pretty big difference don't you think?? Not to mention your math didn't even add up to 40 million, sigh. Also, the payroll for the Cubs is much larger so they can afford to make some pricey mistakes.

 

I would go for 2 years, 25 million max on Lowrie. It would be really interesting to know when the Brewers feel like Hiura will be ready. There is a chance he might be in the minors all of 2019 and that is the plan. Who knows?

[bill hAll Star]

I don't see Lowrie getting 3/$40. I see more of 2/$28-2/$25. Maybe an option.

[pacopete4]

 

That typo was 10 million dollars which would make a pretty big difference don't you think?? Not to mention your math didn't even add up to 40 million, sigh. Also, the payroll for the Cubs is much larger so they can afford to make some pricey mistakes.

 

I would go for 2 years, 25 million max on Lowrie. It would be really interesting to know when the Brewers feel like Hiura will be ready. There is a chance he might be in the minors all of 2019 and that is the plan. Who knows?

 

I'm confused. Are you really upset that I had a typo? The math added to $41M which is "something like" 3yr-$40M. But I do agree that $10M makes a pretty large difference (which is why I corrected myself after you pointed it out). Sigh.

 

But I do agree with you on the fact that the Cubs are able to make more mistakes than us. I just don't think 2 years will get it done for Lowrie and since I see him as more of an all over the field player which seems to be something Stearns and CC love. I think 3 years is worthy of an attempt on our end. Guess we will find out what the Brewers think on that.