Brewers decline option on 1B Eric Thames

[True Blue Brew Crew]

The subtext I see here is more brewing unrest between the union and ownership.

 

Stearns is essentially betting that there'll be more bargain basement deals available at the last minute that he wants to have the cash for. The value in this far exceeds the uncertainty of how he'll fill the hole, especially for a position like 1B where there's abundant internal and external options.

 

Think we'll see another odd looking roster, given his tendency to min/max. Could be several weeks into ST, if not the regular season before the roster is fully set.

 

Agreed. This much potential roster turnover inevitably means shopping in the bargain bin to fill some spots. I'm perfectly fine with that because replacing Arcia and Shaw and getting better results shouldn't be hard even at rock bottom prices.

[MrTPlush]

My guess is that this is a sign of other moves this offseason. I’d guess pitching and offense. We aren’t done yet.

 

This may sound like inside information, but it is just a guess.

[TURBO]

I keep seeing that there are tons of options at 1B, internally and externally.

 

We haven't had a real 1B since Fielder, it has been an issue since he left.

 

Who are the options internally that everyone is so sure of? Braun, is that even an option? Then who?

 

Encarnacion?

[Brewcrewin07]

You have to believe they freed up the money for a reason. You also have to believe they didn't just free up that $$ without knowing exactly what it will take to get whoever they are targeting. My guess is, they are planning on re signing Grandal for sure(and are far enough along in discussions they know what it will take), and hopefully Moose as well. They should still have money available after that to also sign a TOR arm like a Wheeler etc. Remember, contracts are all in how they are structured.

[RollieTime]

My guess is that this is a sign of other moves this offseason. I’d guess pitching and offense. We aren’t done yet.

 

This may sound like inside information, but it is just a guess.

 

Will you be back at 9 pm to tell us this privy information? I’m dying to know what’s happening!

[Brewcrewin07]

I wonder if it's possible Gregorious is one of their targets??

[MrTPlush]

I wonder if it's possible Gregorious is one of their targets??

 

No doubt he is a target. I mean at this stage anyone is a target, even if not an obvious position of need. Didi is probably a big target just based on position of need. Price may get high for the Brewers or they may spend it on Moose/Grandal instead.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Feel like Didi would be wildly popular in Milwaukee.

[pacopete4]

Part of me thinks we need to get a bit younger on offense.

 

This would be the ages of next year's team if everyone were to be brought back.

C: Yasmani Grandal- 31

1B: Eric Thames- 33

2B: Keston Hiura- 23

SS: Orlando Arcia- 25

3B: Mike Moustakas- 31

LF: Ryan Braun- 36

CF: Lorenzo Cain- 34

RF: Christian Yelich- 28

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I actually think that's a pretty decent balance besides the fact that Arcia sucks. Plus you have Thames there. Braun's not an everyday guy obviously so the geezer of the group is really Cain. I'm a bit concerned about him but I'm holding out hope the thumb just lingered all year and maybe he can get it right.

[JohnBriggs12]

I wonder if it's possible Gregorious is one of their targets??

 

No doubt he is a target. I mean at this stage anyone is a target, even if not an obvious position of need. Didi is probably a big target just based on position of need. Price may get high for the Brewers or they may spend it on Moose/Grandal instead.

 

Most contenders are pretty well set at SS, so his market might not be all that strong and coming off his worst year, he may want a one year deal to re-establish his value. At this point, the Brewers don't have a heck of a lot committed for 2020 with the trade of Anderson and not picking up Thames' option. I still think Pomeranz is a high priority for the Brewers in addition to Grandal/Moustakas and he's going to get at least what they'd have paid Chase.

[MrTPlush]

I wonder if it's possible Gregorious is one of their targets??

 

No doubt he is a target. I mean at this stage anyone is a target, even if not an obvious position of need. Didi is probably a big target just based on position of need. Price may get high for the Brewers or they may spend it on Moose/Grandal instead.

 

Most contenders are pretty well set at SS, so his market might not be all that strong and coming off his worst year, he may want a one year deal to re-establish his value. At this point, the Brewers don't have a heck of a lot committed for 2020 with the trade of Anderson and not picking up Thames' option. I still think Pomeranz is a high priority for the Brewers in addition to Grandal/Moustakas and he's going to get at least what they'd have paid Chase.

 

If he starts getting contract offers topping out at $30mil or slight higher I could see him being this years Grandal. At $40mil+ like predicted I don't think he will take that risk. You gotta figure on a one year deal with no draft pick compensation the Brewers would offer a solid $15mil+. It will be something to watch if/when the Grandal bidding gets stupid high.

[Pugger]

Technically we're paying Braun like $2mm a year until he's 50 or something in deferred money. Think we're still paying Garza.

 

Which doesn't start till 2022, ends in his age 47 season. Garza on the books two more years.

 

 

Oh god, I forgot we are still paying for Garza.

[clancyphile]

.851

.890

.877

.821

.820

.681

.733

.841

 

Those are the OPS figures of the primary 1B for the Brewers since Prince Fielder's last season with the team as determined by Baseball-Reference.com. Aside from the Juan Francisco and Mark Reynolds runs in 2013/2014, the team has seen decent production from their primary 1Bs.

 

While I feel that Thames was proven, maybe the Crew can get him back on a multi-year deal at a lower AAV than his option.

[JohnBriggs12]

I could see them signing Encarnacion and Gregorious for one year each. MLBtraderumors is projecting EE to get one year for $8 million. He could probably outproduce Thames and he's a RH bat. They could let Shaw get a start or two a week to give Encarnacion plenty of rest.

[Oxy]

I'll say they sign Grandal and have him play 1st for 75 games and catch for 75 games.

 

That totally defeats the purpose of signing Grandal.

 

Yah, why pay Grandal $20mil a year to play half his time at 1B and be average. Poor use of money/personnel.

 

Perhaps more like 90 games at C. The point is he can't catch 150 games...and if he catches 130 games he'll get worn down playing 1b 20 -30 other games. Plus, Pina is pretty good (better than Grandal behind the plate) and likely better if he can catch 70-80 games rather than 30 games.

 

If we can get a 1B that is equal/better than Grandal's bat then sure, let him catch 130 or so, but if not, I'd rather have him in the lineup near everyday and only catch 90 games or so--ESPECIALLY if we sign him for 3-4 years as he'll likely age much better with a slightly reduced workload.

 

Right now he is signed for 0 years though, so it's kind of a silly discussion.

[MrTPlush]

so it's kind of a silly discussion.

 

This could be the slogan for the forum. That is what it is, silly discussions because we have zero control over anything, know very little in the grand scheme, and 99% of the stuff we talk about never happens.

[monty57]

Kind of surprised they're letting Thames walk. They did have a higher-than-expected payroll last year, and we do have to pay a decent chunk of money for Moose and Grandal's opt-out incentives, so it will be interesting to see what happens. It's possible they went over payroll last year after the 2017 run, and they may bring it back a little this season. If that's the case, with all of our arby raises we could be under-whelmed with this offseason.

 

On the other hand, if there is a chance to get a "game changer," Attanasio has always been willing to free up some extra cash. Without the ability to bring up a busload of relievers in September this season, I could see them pushing hard for a legitimate starting pitcher. While I could see them dropping opening day payroll, I can't imagine that Attanasio will sit back too much after back-to-back playoff seasons. He'll want to improve.

 

I'm interested to see some of the other moves that should be coming. If we let some other guys (like Shaw) go, then I'd have to think Stearns/Attanasio are freeing up cash and aiming for a big signing or two.

[A Swing and A Drive]

Would love to see the Brewers target a player like FA Howie Kendrick. Right handed hitter, but he can play 1B,3B and 2B to back up Keston Defensively.

 

These are all positions of need for the Brew Crew as we enter the offseason.

[Jopal78]

Would love to see the Brewers target a player like FA Howie Kendrick. Right handed hitter, but he can play 1B,3B and 2B to back up Keston Defensively.

 

These are all positions of need for the Brew Crew as we enter the offseason.

 

Unless he's willing to play in 2020 for $4 million dollars, I wouldn't touch Kendrick. Players with 14 years in the big leagues who obliterate career marks at ages 33, 34, 35 seem ripe to quickly lose whatever it was they found late in their career.

 

As for Thames, I suppose the 7.5 million he would have made in 2020 wasn't so much of a bargain for Milwaukee when they could likely get equally similar players Edwin Encarnacion, Kole Calhoun, etc. for less.

[wntrtxn21]

Would love to see the Brewers target a player like FA Howie Kendrick. Right handed hitter, but he can play 1B,3B and 2B to back up Keston Defensively.

 

These are all positions of need for the Brew Crew as we enter the offseason.

 

Unless he's willing to play in 2020 for $4 million dollars, I wouldn't touch Kendrick. Players with 14 years in the big leagues who obliterate career marks at ages 33, 34, 35 seem ripe to quickly lose whatever it was they found late in their career.

 

As for Thames, I suppose the 7.5 million he would have made in 2020 wasn't so much of a bargain for Milwaukee when they could likely get equally similar players Edwin Encarnacion, Kole Calhoun, etc. for less.

 

I don't think Stearns will have Calhoun on his radar. They don't need an aging OF. I wonder if Stearns will look for a long term solution at 1B instead of the one year type guys? I guess it all depends on Grandal and Moose.

[monty57]

Grandal, Moustakas, and now Thames are free agents, so they should be looked at the same as all other free agents. I know we have an affinity for them because they played here, but they're going to test the market like everyone else, and the Brewers need to do the same.

 

If they are indeed the best fit to help the team to the playoffs next year, then Stearns should make an offer. If someone else is a better fit, then go with the someone else. Stearns can't focus on what he's going to do with Grandal and Moustakas. Unless they're going to give him some super deal because they love the Brewers, he needs to treat them like every other free agent on the market.

 

To topic, it will be interesting to see what's going to happen at first base. They have the option of putting Braun there, opening playing time for Grisham. Otherwise, they don't have a "sure thing" in their system, so if Braun's not the answer, I hope Stearns can find a cheap productive player. I don't imagine they're going to use their free cash to "go big" on a first baseman and it's really nice to get offensive production from your first baseman. To start 2018, we had Thames, Aguilar and Choi. Now we have a question mark.

[DHonks]

Grandal, Moustakas, and now Thames are free agents, so they should be looked at the same as all other free agents. I know we have an affinity for them because they played here, but they're going to test the market like everyone else, and the Brewers need to do the same.

 

If they are indeed the best fit to help the team to the playoffs next year, then Stearns should make an offer. If someone else is a better fit, then go with the someone else. Stearns can't focus on what he's going to do with Grandal and Moustakas. Unless they're going to give him some super deal because they love the Brewers, he needs to treat them like every other free agent on the market.

 

To topic, it will be interesting to see what's going to happen at first base. They have the option of putting Braun there, opening playing time for Grisham. Otherwise, they don't have a "sure thing" in their system, so if Braun's not the answer, I hope Stearns can find a cheap productive player. I don't imagine they're going to use their free cash to "go big" on a first baseman and it's really nice to get offensive production from your first baseman. To start 2018, we had Thames, Aguilar and Choi. Now we have a question mark.

 

 

Don't forget, Grisham is far from a sure thing as well. My current guess is we sign Moose for 3 years and keep shaw for a 1b platoon with Braun