Evan Gattis

[SRB]

This is more of a devil's advocate thread than a bout of angry pessimism about Aguilar, but at what point do the Brewers start shopping around for 1B alternatives to either split time with Thames or take over the primary job, and if they eventually do what about taking a flier on Evan Gattis?

 

Gattis has career splits that would work with Thames or by himself:

 

vs. LHP: .336 wOBA

vs. RHP: .326 wOBA

 

He was solid for most of 2018 before a dismal second half tanked his chances of getting a major league deal so far in 2019.

 

1st Half: .330 wOBA

2nd Half: .262 wOBA

 

He's only 32 and does not have a lot of 1B experience, but he's a former catcher after all and would probably start any deal working on the position at AAA (where we currently have Tyler Saladino manning 1B most of the time...)

 

I think we should take a flier on him sooner rather than later. Even on a split deal he will be cheap at this point.

[SRB]

To expand on this a bit further, I am more confident in Thames than Aguilar because I think Thames is simply a very streaky hitter who can give you an overall solid line if he is getting regular starts. The problem with Thames is that he should not be playing against LHP. Likewise, I am not concerned about Gattis hitting poorly at the end of last season because he has a long enough track record of being pretty much the same guy year after year.

 

I try not to be pessimistic about Brewers players, but I'm genuinely concerned that the league may have simply figured out how to pitch to Aguilar and this is not a fluke.

[RollieTime]

I think we could see a move sooner rather than later at first base. One possible guy that is still waiting to be signed is Danny Valencia. I mentioned him earlier in the offseason as a guy that could provide very good production as a right handed platoon hitter. He’s a career .312 hitter with an OPS of .864 against lefties. He has solid power and would be a guy that can mash left handed pitching. He can play either third or first and would allow Counsell to get creative to get certain guys in the lineup.

 

It was obvious going into the season that the Brewers could have serious issues with left handed pitching. The Brewers just don’t have a consistent right handed bat in the lineup outside of Cain and Braun (who has struggled so far this season outside of a few timely hits).

[wntrtxn21]

I think we could see a move sooner rather than later at first base. One possible guy that is still waiting to be signed is Danny Valencia. I mentioned him earlier in the offseason as a guy that could provide very good production as a right handed platoon hitter. He’s a career .312 hitter with an OPS of .864 against lefties. He has solid power and would be a guy that can mash left handed pitching. He can play either third or first and would allow Counsell to get creative to get certain guys in the lineup.

 

It was obvious going into the season that the Brewers could have serious issues with left handed pitching. The Brewers just don’t have a consistent right handed bat in the lineup outside of Cain and Braun (who has struggled so far this season outside of a few timely hits).

 

Valencia was not picked up by any MLB team including the extremely weak O's. The Brewers don't have room for another guy like Thames who plays only against certain pitchers. Perez hit .277 against lefties last year, plus he is the backup at numerous positions. Valencia would have to take his place. Gamel is the only lefty on the bench and can play all three OF positions. Valencia doesn't fit into many teams' rosters, including the Brewers. The Crew isn't going to give up on Aguilar to pick up an unwanted journeyman like Valencia.

[wntrtxn21]

This is more of a devil's advocate thread than a bout of angry pessimism about Aguilar, but at what point do the Brewers start shopping around for 1B alternatives to either split time with Thames or take over the primary job, and if they eventually do what about taking a flier on Evan Gattis?

 

Gattis has career splits that would work with Thames or by himself:

 

vs. LHP: .336 wOBA

vs. RHP: .326 wOBA

 

He was solid for most of 2018 before a dismal second half tanked his chances of getting a major league deal so far in 2019.

 

1st Half: .330 wOBA

2nd Half: .262 wOBA

 

He's only 32 and does not have a lot of 1B experience, but he's a former catcher after all and would probably start any deal working on the position at AAA (where we currently have Tyler Saladino manning 1B most of the time...)

 

I think we should take a flier on him sooner rather than later. Even on a split deal he will be cheap at this point.

 

Gattis has played a total of 5 games at 1B since 2012. There is a reason for that; he's a butcher on defense at any position. He is strictly a DH who is unwanted by any MLB team because of his horrendous performance last year. He would seriously harm the Crew's defense that's already weak at 2B.

[JosephC]

To expand on this a bit further, I am more confident in Thames than Aguilar because I think Thames is simply a very streaky hitter who can give you an overall solid line if he is getting regular starts.

 

That's why I really don't like Gattis and just don't see him as a fit for Milwaukee. If the Brewers decide to bench Aguilar, then they would probably want to have a 3+ week run where Thames plays everyday against righties, and still play Aguilar most of the time against lefties. Even though the results for Thames has been poor so far, the Brewers probably would want to see what he would do when getting more regular at-bats. If Thames crapped out, then they could bounce Shaw to first, Moustakas to third, and since Perez is off to a nice start they could give him some regular playing time at second base. While I don't think there is any chance that Perez could come close to maintaining a .292/.346/.583/.929 over a full season....well, maybe the guy could maintain a plus-plus batting line during one big career year. Look at what Marwin Gonzalez did in 2017, and then look what he's done the rest of his career. Gonzales slashed .303/.377/.530/.907 in 2017, the rest of his career he has a .253/.304/.390/.694 line. I don't think Perez could ever maintain what he'd done so far in this small sample size, but he definitely deserves more playing time if he keeps hitting close to this level. Hiura could factor into this equation, but I have a real hard time thinking the Brewers want him in the majors this year after sinking all that money into Moustakas. Certainly SHOULD happen in an emergency situation, but Counsell probably already has the hots to play Perez more and it would actually be pretty hard to blame him for that now with Perez on a pretty good offensive run.

 

Gattis is a power bat but he's a historical low OBP guy. I just think the Brewers would see too many other viable internal options where they just wouldn't be interested in a player like Gattis.

[SRB]

I think we could see a move sooner rather than later at first base. One possible guy that is still waiting to be signed is Danny Valencia. I mentioned him earlier in the offseason as a guy that could provide very good production as a right handed platoon hitter. He’s a career .312 hitter with an OPS of .864 against lefties. He has solid power and would be a guy that can mash left handed pitching. He can play either third or first and would allow Counsell to get creative to get certain guys in the lineup.

 

It was obvious going into the season that the Brewers could have serious issues with left handed pitching. The Brewers just don’t have a consistent right handed bat in the lineup outside of Cain and Braun (who has struggled so far this season outside of a few timely hits).

 

This is an even better idea than Gattis! I didn't realize Valencia was still out there when I was searching for possible options.

 

I see zero reason not to sign one of these guys to start playing 1B in AAA in case things don't improve in the majors. We have no backup options right now.

[Devinep]

I’d like to see them get Gattis and play him at AAA with the hopes of him becoming a backup 1B/LF/3rd C (at least enough of a C that Grandal can be used as a PH when he doesn’t start) or at least a solid RHB come September