First Baseman for 2020

[JohnBriggs12]

Have to think that they'll be going with Braun at first, and are thinking about Shaw playing there too if his bat comes back around.

 

Outfield of Yelich/Cain and either Grisham or Ray.

 

They'd be compromising their outfield depth by moving Braun to 1B. Cain needs days off and they do have a nice option in Gamel, but honestly Grisham is not proven by any means and if he gets off to a slow start, he'll probably be optioned. They desperately need another RH hitting corner OF if they move Braun to 1B. If they keep him in LF sharing time with Grisham and or Gamel, they need a RH bat at a corner infield spot.

[homer]

Can't blame Stearns for losing Choi in the roster crunch, but it sure would be nice to have him now. Looking back at the return for Ji-man makes me want to puke. Always liked Ji-Man and, yep, it sucked that we couldn't find a way to keep him.

 

Speaking of...are there any guys in the foreign leagues worth signing to play 1st?

[MrTPlush]

Choi is nothing special. He posted an .822 OPS this year...at 1B that is hardly special. Hardly a crippling move that will cost us tons of money. If you wanted to find a cringy move Jonathan Villar would probably be more appropriate. Though there I am not really sure Villar+Hiura is anything we really would want anyway.

 

That being said losing a run of the mill 1B isn't much of a huge loss.

[Surhoff5]

Choi is nothing special. He posted an .822 OPS this year...at 1B that is hardly special. Hardly a crippling move that will cost us tons of money. If you wanted to find a cringy move Jonathan Villar would probably be more appropriate. Though there I am not really sure Villar+Hiura is anything we really would want anyway.

 

That being said losing a run of the mill 1B isn't much of a huge loss.

 

I think his point was that Choi is cheap and basically produced as good as Thames this year. He would have been an ideal lefty replacement for a fraction of the cost. I agree its not a bad move or huge loss, but it would have been a perfect fit.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Choi is nothing special. He posted an .822 OPS this year...at 1B that is hardly special. Hardly a crippling move that will cost us tons of money. If you wanted to find a cringy move Jonathan Villar would probably be more appropriate. Though there I am not really sure Villar+Hiura is anything we really would want anyway.

 

That being said losing a run of the mill 1B isn't much of a huge loss.

 

I think his point was that Choi is cheap and basically produced as good as Thames this year. He would have been an ideal lefty replacement for a fraction of the cost. I agree its not a bad move or huge loss, but it would have been a perfect fit.

 

Except that it's totally a "hindsight is 20/20" argument. Thames and Choi have nearly identical skillsets, so there is really no way that the Brewers would have hung on to both of them the last two seasons. I get the feeling that the Brewers originally signed Choi to a minors deal as insurance against a big Thames regression in 2018. When Thames came out of the chute fine, on top of Aguilar knocking the snot out of the ball, it made Choi expendable. Their attempt to catch lightning in a bottle with Brad Miller obviously didn't work out, but it made a ton of sense at the time.

[bill hAll Star]

Brad Miller in limited plate appearances was on pace to be as good or better than Choi this year.

[Surhoff5]

Choi is nothing special. He posted an .822 OPS this year...at 1B that is hardly special. Hardly a crippling move that will cost us tons of money. If you wanted to find a cringy move Jonathan Villar would probably be more appropriate. Though there I am not really sure Villar+Hiura is anything we really would want anyway.

 

That being said losing a run of the mill 1B isn't much of a huge loss.

 

I think his point was that Choi is cheap and basically produced as good as Thames this year. He would have been an ideal lefty replacement for a fraction of the cost. I agree its not a bad move or huge loss, but it would have been a perfect fit.

 

Except that it's totally a "hindsight is 20/20" argument. Thames and Choi have nearly identical skillsets, so there is really no way that the Brewers would have hung on to both of them the last two seasons. I get the feeling that the Brewers originally signed Choi to a minors deal as insurance against a big Thames regression in 2018. When Thames came out of the chute fine, on top of Aguilar knocking the snot out of the ball, it made Choi expendable. Their attempt to catch lightning in a bottle with Brad Miller obviously didn't work out, but it made a ton of sense at the time.

 

Oh I am 100% in agreement that this is a hindsight argument and I certainly don't think he is a big loss.

[clancyphile]

Have to think that they'll be going with Braun at first, and are thinking about Shaw playing there too if his bat comes back around.

 

Outfield of Yelich/Cain and either Grisham or Ray.

 

They'd be compromising their outfield depth by moving Braun to 1B. Cain needs days off and they do have a nice option in Gamel, but honestly Grisham is not proven by any means and if he gets off to a slow start, he'll probably be optioned. They desperately need another RH hitting corner OF if they move Braun to 1B. If they keep him in LF sharing time with Grisham and or Gamel, they need a RH bat at a corner infield spot.

 

*COUGH*Shouldn't have waived Troy Stokes*COUGH*

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Have to think that they'll be going with Braun at first, and are thinking about Shaw playing there too if his bat comes back around.

 

Outfield of Yelich/Cain and either Grisham or Ray.

 

They'd be compromising their outfield depth by moving Braun to 1B. Cain needs days off and they do have a nice option in Gamel, but honestly Grisham is not proven by any means and if he gets off to a slow start, he'll probably be optioned. They desperately need another RH hitting corner OF if they move Braun to 1B. If they keep him in LF sharing time with Grisham and or Gamel, they need a RH bat at a corner infield spot.

 

*COUGH*Shouldn't have waived Troy Stokes*COUGH*

 

Yeah, that .726 OPS he put up while playing in a hitter's haven last year was gonna help.

[RollieTime]

Have to think that they'll be going with Braun at first, and are thinking about Shaw playing there too if his bat comes back around.

 

Outfield of Yelich/Cain and either Grisham or Ray.

 

They'd be compromising their outfield depth by moving Braun to 1B. Cain needs days off and they do have a nice option in Gamel, but honestly Grisham is not proven by any means and if he gets off to a slow start, he'll probably be optioned. They desperately need another RH hitting corner OF if they move Braun to 1B. If they keep him in LF sharing time with Grisham and or Gamel, they need a RH bat at a corner infield spot.

 

I agree with this take. Grisham is not a lock by any means. And Gamel is not a guy you want starting 120+ games for you. I could see the Brewers signing an outfielder and a lot of people will probably question why. But rolling with Grisham and not having any sort of backup plan is a very risky move. I would rather sign an outfielder and have Grisham get his 300+ at bats filling in or spot starting without risking a possible black hole. Especially if Arcia is starting at SS.

[LouisEly]

Yeah, that .726 OPS he put up while playing in a hitter's haven last year was gonna help.

[sarcasm]5'8" guys play real well at 1B too.[/sarcasm]

[buckybrewer232]

I think the Brewers are planning on resigning Moose and 1st will covered by current in house options like- Braun, Shaw, Gamel, etc. or someone taken off the FA scrap pile (Bird, Matt Adams, etc.).

 

Resigning Grandal and playing him a bunch at 1st base wastes his value as a +hitting Catcher. Speaking of Grandal, I really like him but I'm starting to hope the Brewers don't sign him just because I think his price will get high and Catchers do not age well into their mid 30's. I would just sign Jason Castro and platoon him with Pina. Use the $$$ elsewhere.

[Yount19]

Speaking of...are there any guys in the foreign leagues worth signing to play 1st?

 

 

Yoshitomo Tsutsugo might be posted.. he can play 1B.. don't know too much about him..

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/10/japanese-slugger-yoshitomo-tsutsugo-to-be-posted.html

[mlloyd10]

Im saying Wilmer Flores -

[clancyphile]

Speaking of...are there any guys in the foreign leagues worth signing to play 1st?

 

 

Yoshitomo Tsutsugo might be posted.. he can play 1B.. don't know too much about him..

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/10/japanese-slugger-yoshitomo-tsutsugo-to-be-posted.html

 

Here is his B-R page:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=tsutsu000yos

 

Mostly played outfield, significant experience at 1B and 3B, but none recent.

 

VERY nice OBP skills and power... bats left-handed, which could be very beneficial in Miller Park.

 

I'd go for that.

[3and2Fastball]

I could see the Brewers signing Asdrubal Cabrera as a lower cost utility guy. He could play 1st, or 3rd with Braun/Shaw at 1B

[long ball]

Im saying Wilmer Flores -

 

This actually isn't a bad call. I'm hoping the re-sign Moustakas for 3b. I'm also somewhat thinking they tender Shaw. Flores as a right handed hitting complement who can cover 1b, 3b, and 2b would be useful. He ended the year healthy.

 

He's also probably significantly cheaper than Frazier or Kendrick who I was kicking around in my head to fill that role.

[homer]

Im saying Wilmer Flores -

 

Hopefully he reacts better than the last time he thought he was coming here:

 

[JohnBriggs12]

If they go the "scrap heap" route, I'm still all over Ryon Healy. His full season average is 28 HR and 86 RBI. Put him in Miller Park and he's a 30 HR guy.

[MrTPlush]

If they go the "scrap heap" route, I'm still all over Ryon Healy. His full season average is 28 HR and 86 RBI. Put him in Miller Park and he's a 30 HR guy.

 

Pass, just pay an extra few million to have Thames back. As I have said before it just doesn’t make sense to drop Thames and go for a scrap heap 1B...the cost difference just isn’t there. Just screams in house options is what they plan.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

If they go the "scrap heap" route, I'm still all over Ryon Healy. His full season average is 28 HR and 86 RBI. Put him in Miller Park and he's a 30 HR guy.

 

Pass, just pay an extra few million to have Thames back. As I have said before it just doesn’t make sense to drop Thames and go for a scrap heap 1B...the cost difference just isn’t there. Just screams in house options is what they plan.

 

That's where I sort of think they are going as well. Wouldn't surprise me to see a soft R/L platoon of Braun and Shaw, with Braun seeing quite a bit of time against righties as well. That is assuming they devote funds to resigning Moose or grabbing another 3B. I imagine they'll grab another lefty-hitting 1B on a minors deal as insurance in case Shaw can no longer be redeemed as a ML hitter.

[bill hAll Star]

I haven't looked all the way around the league, but I'm also assuming there might be some arby casualties. Cron may get non-tendered. Guys like that will either be available for cheap or will at least depress the price of Thames given greater supply.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Abreu accepting the qualifying offer from the White Sox takes one 1B possibility away from the Brewers.

[reillymcshane]

I haven't looked all the way around the league, but I'm also assuming there might be some arby casualties. Cron may get non-tendered. Guys like that will either be available for cheap or will at least depress the price of Thames given greater supply.

Cron is an ideal guy to get non-tendered. MLB Trade Rumors have him making $7.7M - that's pretty steep for an okay player. Especially on a team like the Twins. I'm guessing he ends up getting non-tendered, and (like Thames) ends up landing someone for $4-5M.

[nate82]

Abreu accepting the qualifying offer from the White Sox takes one 1B possibility away from the Brewers.

 

Abreu was never a possibility.