First Baseman for 2020

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

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

 

Abreu was never a possibility.

 

Certainly not at the qualifying offer price. There was no way he was going to see anything close to that on the open market. I saw him as a $2 year/$20 million guy max.

[JosephC]

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.

 

Yoshitomo Tsutsugo is reported to be much more of a left fielder than an infielder. A brief mention at Fangraphs gives the impression that he'd probably be just awful if asked to see significant time in the infield, but I have a feeling that will be the case with Braun as well.

 

Kiley McDaniel (Fangraphs) guessed a 2 year, 16 million dollar deal while the Crowdsource went with 4 years, 40 million. It will be interesting to see the contract he gets. But if one just takes the average of the above estimates, it comes out to 3 years, 28 million. If that's the contract he gets, the player will get 28 million and the Japanese team would get 5.525 million, so it ends up costing the MLB team 33.525 for three years of Tsutsugo. If it stays as a 16 million dollar deal, the MLB club would have to compenstate the Japanese club an additional 3.2 million dollars. Sounds like Tsutsugo will cost a MLB somewhere between 9-12 million dollars per season after the fee is added in.

 

Kind of wish we kept Thames considering how cold I've grown on the free agent pitchers in this market.

[JohnBriggs12]

Not picking up Thames option is a headscratcher to be sure, but I'm wondering if they feel he'll still be out there if their preferred options fall through.

[stoutdude04]

Bird DFAd today.

[TURBO]

Bird DFAd today.

 

Yup, this is a guy I'd like to take a flyer on for sure.

[wntrtxn21]

Bird DFAd today.

 

Yup, this is a guy I'd like to take a flyer on for sure.

 

Maybe and it's a big maybe, sign him to a minor lg. contract with an invite to spring training. He hasn't hit even .200 in the big leagues since 2015.

[stoutdude04]

True. He has also been battling a lot of injuries, so that would be something to be worried about as well.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

What has Greg Bird done in his career to indicate he has any value or upside? I mean, there are a ton of power hitting 1B types on the free agent market that have drastically better resumes. If the Brewers are going to move on from Thames, I'd much rather they get a 1B that has shown that they can do anything at the major league level.

[JohnBriggs12]

What has Greg Bird done in his career to indicate he has any value or upside? I mean, there are a ton of power hitting 1B types on the free agent market that have drastically better resumes. If the Brewers are going to move on from Thames, I'd much rather they get a 1B that has shown that they can do anything at the major league level.

 

Bird has 32 HR in 700 major league plate appearances. He also has a career .881 OPS in the minors. Injuries derailed him the last few years. With 3 options remaining, what's the downside? He gives them insurance if they start the year with Shaw/Freitas platoon at 1B and Shaw is still in his funk.

[homer]

I would absolutely take a flier on Bird and stick him at AAA.

[KeithStone53151]

I would also have no problem with him on a minor league deal with a major league invite. I could say the same about probably 100 other players though, minor league deals are virtually zero risk aside from the opportunity cost...as you can only have so many guys at ST so you want to take the best gambles with those guys. I think there's some upside in the bat though, work a flier.

[wntrtxn21]

What has Greg Bird done in his career to indicate he has any value or upside? I mean, there are a ton of power hitting 1B types on the free agent market that have drastically better resumes. If the Brewers are going to move on from Thames, I'd much rather they get a 1B that has shown that they can do anything at the major league level.

 

Bird has 32 HR in 700 major league plate appearances. He also has a career .881 OPS in the minors. Injuries derailed him the last few years. With 3 options remaining, what's the downside? He gives them insurance if they start the year with Shaw/Freitas platoon at 1B and Shaw is still in his funk.

 

I can't believe Freitas is even on Stearns radar for any playing time, much less a platoon. Even after call-ups and the injury to Pina last year, Freitas didn't play a single inning on defense and was used as a pinch hitter very sparingly. There are a multitude of guys out there that have hit at least 32 HRs. Bird has stunk since 2015. Certainly not worth a spot on the 40-man roster.

[monty57]

Not exercising Thames' option had to be a cost-cutting move to spend the $ elsewhere, so I don't think we're going to spend much on a first baseman. Braun is a sunk cost, so it makes a lot of sense to put him at 1B for his final season as a Brewer. If Shaw is back, he makes a good LH backup option/bat-off-the-bench. This also allows them to start Grisham at league minimum, again to spend the money elsewhere.

 

I think they'll be in on Moose, as he shouldn't be overly expensive, seems to like it in Milwaukee, and hasn't been able to sign a long-term deal in the past so would probably take a short-term deal. This should leave them plenty of money to go after a starting pitcher, which should be an even greater need now that they can't call up as many people for September bullpen duty like they have the last two years.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Not exercising Thames' option had to be a cost-cutting move to spend the $ elsewhere, so I don't think we're going to spend much on a first baseman. Braun is a sunk cost, so it makes a lot of sense to put him at 1B for his final season as a Brewer. If Shaw is back, he makes a good LH backup option/bat-off-the-bench. This also allows them to start Grisham at league minimum, again to spend the money elsewhere.

 

I think they'll be in on Moose, as he shouldn't be overly expensive, seems to like it in Milwaukee, and hasn't been able to sign a long-term deal in the past so would probably take a short-term deal. This should leave them plenty of money to go after a starting pitcher, which should be an even greater need now that they can't call up as many people for September bullpen duty like they have the last two years.

 

This is pretty much where I see them going as well. I could see them targeting a couple Tyler Austin-types to stash at AAA as a backup plan, should Shaw not regain his stroke. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of Thames signing a cheap deal to come back, either. Not sure how much of a market he's going to find.

[RollieTime]

Any Rule 5 eligible guys that could be intriguing options to keep cost down at 1B to have money available to be spent elsewhere? How about a guy like Roberto Ramos who was in AAA and hit 30 homeruns while hitting over .300 with an OBP of .400. He could be worth a flier for 1B or as the 26th man for pop off the bench making the minimum.

[jonescm128]

Just because the Brewers declined his option doesn't mean he won't be back. He was due $7.5 million and maybe they felt he wasn't worth that. They could still bring him back at a lower AAV.

[clancyphile]

Just because the Brewers declined his option doesn't mean he won't be back. He was due $7.5 million and maybe they felt he wasn't worth that. They could still bring him back at a lower AAV.

 

They'd still need to go something like 2/$12 or 3/$16.5 at a minimum.

[nate82]

Any Rule 5 eligible guys that could be intriguing options to keep cost down at 1B to have money available to be spent elsewhere? How about a guy like Roberto Ramos who was in AAA and hit 30 homeruns while hitting over .300 with an OBP of .400. He could be worth a flier for 1B or as the 26th man for pop off the bench making the minimum.

 

There are a few:

 

Roberto Ramos (AAA): .309/.400/.580/.980

Brian Mundell (AAA): .333/.399/.521/.919

Jose Marmolejos (AAA): .315/.366/.545/.912

 

All three were in the PCL so take the stats with a grain of salt. Though all three have decent OBP numbers regardless of the league they were playing in.

[brewmann04]

Taking a flyer in the rule 5 does not mean DS is not going to sign any quality FA.He has a plan in mind to continue to keep this team in the playoff hunt. I know for sure Mark A will spend to win.

[Jopal78]

Edwin Encarnacion. Fits the profile. One year deal for decent but not top money

[TURBO]

Edwin Encarnacion. Fits the profile. One year deal for decent but not top money

I'd be pretty happy if that happens!

[balsamlaker]

Roberto Ramos would be an interesting prospect to platoon with Braun. Free agent-wise, unless you are going Howie K., you are probably talking someone like Adams, Thames, or maybe a surprise like Kipnis?

[MadThinker88]

Roberto Ramos would be an interesting prospect to platoon with Braun. Free agent-wise, unless you are going Howie K., you are probably talking someone like Adams, Thames, or maybe a surprise like Kipnis?

 

I've been a fan of the "dirt dog" for years. Kipnis moving over to 1B would be a stunning development..

[KeithStone53151]

Just because the Brewers declined his option doesn't mean he won't be back. He was due $7.5 million and maybe they felt he wasn't worth that. They could still bring him back at a lower AAV.

 

They'd still need to go something like 2/$12 or 3/$16.5 at a minimum.

 

I'm not sure I buy that. All depends on how the market plays out. If enough teams go with internal options at min salary, some established 1b could get left out in the cold or stuck on minor league deals. I doubt that happens to Thames, but it certainly coudl get to a point where 2 teams are left looking for 1b help and 3 or 4 similar guys are still out there.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Just because the Brewers declined his option doesn't mean he won't be back. He was due $7.5 million and maybe they felt he wasn't worth that. They could still bring him back at a lower AAV.

 

They'd still need to go something like 2/$12 or 3/$16.5 at a minimum.

 

I'm not sure I buy that. All depends on how the market plays out. If enough teams go with internal options at min salary, some established 1b could get left out in the cold or stuck on minor league deals. I doubt that happens to Thames, but it certainly coudl get to a point where 2 teams are left looking for 1b help and 3 or 4 similar guys are still out there.

 

Agreed. If Thames gets more than 2 years/$8-10 million, I'd be surprised. There's just so many similar-type hitters on the market, and he's got enough holes in his game that his value is going to remain tempered. The market has really devalued these platoon corner bat types as well. I predict that he's going to be one of those guys that has to wait out the market and sign close to the start of Spring Training, too.