C Yasmani Grandal signs with White Sox - 4 years $73 million

[homer]

So as of now we are looking at a bottom of the order, 6-9, as this:

 

6. Shaw

7. Pina

8. Arcia

9. Pitcher

 

UUGGGHHH!

 

And that is not taking into account that we don't have a 1B to speak of yet.

 

CF Cain

RF Yelich

2B Hiura

1B ? (Braun)

LF Braun (Grisham)

3B Shaw

C Pina

SS Arcia

P Pitcher

 

THAT is UGLY! I can't even come up with a fake line-up, just bad.

 

There needs to be something on the horizon, or offensively, this team is going to blow!

 

 

It's November 21st.

[pacopete4]

Pasting a lineup write now is only going to get you worked up. It's November. R-E-L-A-X

[bill hAll Star]

If there is one thing that would shock me it would be Attanasio cutting costs and slashing payroll to pocket cash during a competitive window of the Brewers.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

So as of now we are looking at a bottom of the order, 6-9, as this:

 

6. Shaw

7. Pina

8. Arcia

9. Pitcher

 

UUGGGHHH!

 

And that is not taking into account that we don't have a 1B to speak of yet.

 

CF Cain

RF Yelich

2B Hiura

1B ? (Braun)

LF Braun (Grisham)

3B Shaw

C Pina

SS Arcia

P Pitcher

 

THAT is UGLY! I can't even come up with a fake line-up, just bad.

 

There needs to be something on the horizon, or offensively, this team is going to blow!

 

A reminder that it is Nov. 21. The Hot Stove hasn’t even been stoked yet.

[PeaveyFury]

I'd think this move allows them to pursue a legit upgrade at both 1B and SS.... you'd have to think that the cost savings of having a 5-ish million catcher vs. 20 million lets them pursue someone like Gregorious more seriously, while giving them some wiggle-room for pitching.

[long ball]

I'm definitely bummed Grandal won't be back. He was awesome in 2019 and he was the #1 guy I wanted back. He got 4 years which I wasn't expecting, but good for him. the AAV is about what I was expecting if not a little low.

 

I'm glad it's the white sox though. I live in Chicago and I find myself watching a fair amount of white sox games too. Glad they landed a big free agent after a disappointing 2018 off season.

 

I think the Brewers should pivot toward Didi Gregorious for a big upgrade at SS.

[buckybrewer232]

I loved Grandal but glad the Brewers didn't sign him at that price. Just sign Jason Castro and that gives you a solid platoon with Pina- both offensively and defensively.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

If there is one thing that would shock me it would be Attanasio cutting costs and slashing payroll to pocket cash during a competitive window of the Brewers.

 

Personally I wouldn't hate this and it does make some sense if you are trying to load up once with Yelich. But I don't think DS rolls this way. Sustainably competitive has been his mantra since the beginning and you don't achieve that by essentially tanking a season.

[MrTPlush]

Yah, we could have afforded him...doesn’t mean we should have done it. Signing someone like Yaz to that kind of deal is about as risky of a signing one could do as a small market.

 

Actually I’d argue we can’t afford it. We can afford 4/$73mil contracts...but to a catcher? Debatable.

 

I think this is a horrid deal for the White Sox. They will get 0-2 years of elite production and they haven’t even proven to be near a .500 ball club yet.

[adambr2]

I think people disappointed about this need to understand that Grandal was only a Brewer in 2019 because he was a market inefficiency -- or market efficiency, depending on how you want to look at it.

 

Barring that happening again, he was never going to be back.

[clancyphile]

I'll get in before anyone else:

 

Please, no, we should not trade for James McCann. Unless he is a juiced ball mastermind, he will not put up anything close to a .359 BABIP again this year.

 

Yeah, his jump in offensive production last year seems a little excessive. Still, he's a solid trade chip for the White Sox now, unless they plan on keeping him around as Yasmani's backup.

 

Put it this way, if they DH Grandal a fair bit, it will keep the wear and tear down, and they get a good C for four years.

[JimH5]

They could have afforded Grandal at that salary.

 

Just because they chould doesn't mean they should.

 

The Brewers are lucky to have so many fans who are concerned about them getting a good deal on their player contracts.

 

We don't do that with anything else in our lives. We don't concern ourselves that the furnace repair company is paying their workers too much. Or the barista at the coffee shop.

 

But somehow, despite never opening their books, in a league without a salary cap, and for a franchise that has grown in value by $1Billion since he bought the team, lots of good and loyal fans fret and stew that Mark A not spend too much on the players he wants us to root for.

 

I am more interested in the Brewers winning games than I am in whether or not they do so at a bargain.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I'll get in before anyone else:

 

Please, no, we should not trade for James McCann. Unless he is a juiced ball mastermind, he will not put up anything close to a .359 BABIP again this year.

 

Yeah, his jump in offensive production last year seems a little excessive. Still, he's a solid trade chip for the White Sox now, unless they plan on keeping him around as Yasmani's backup.

 

Put it this way, if they DH Grandal a fair bit, it will keep the wear and tear down, and they get a good C for four years.

 

Except that McCann is looking at a pretty nice raise through arbitration this year. The White Sox may have more money to play with than the Brewers, but it doesn't grow on trees for them, either.

 

Also, Grandal's bat is great at catcher. It's average at best as a DH, though.

[jonescm128]

With Thames, Anderson, and now Grandal off the books they are about $33 million less in obligations than they were last year...Yes, guys are do for raises but I still expect Mark to increase the payroll from where we were at last year.

 

$33 million is a lot of money to play with and I don't think you can go into the year with Pina as your primary catcher. A guy like d'Arnaud intrigues me but you can bet there will be a few upgrades Stearns has up his sleeve.

[markedman5]

[bill hAll Star]

They could have afforded Grandal at that salary.

 

Just because they chould doesn't mean they should.

 

The Brewers are lucky to have so many fans who are concerned about them getting a good deal on their player contracts.

 

We don't do that with anything else in our lives. We don't concern ourselves that the furnace repair company is paying their workers too much. Or the barista at the coffee shop.

 

But somehow, despite never opening their books, in a league without a salary cap, and for a franchise that has grown in value by $1Billion since he bought the team, lots of good and loyal fans fret and stew that Mark A not spend too much on the players he wants us to root for.

 

I am more interested in the Brewers winning games than I am in whether or not they do so at a bargain.

 

Good lord, dude. This was the first major signing of the offseason.

 

If you want Attanasio to be a benevolent billionaire and go up to $400 million this year, none of us will be alive for this event.

 

If you have reasonable expectations...Attanasio actually overspends relative to the market. The Brewers are generally the ~#15 payroll in the league when they're contending and they are one of the smallest markets. All of 2008-2014 and then in 2019 they were in this territory and will likely continue to do so for 2-5 more years.

 

It won't be Grandal but they will definitely spend this offseason.

[adambr2]

They could have afforded Grandal at that salary.

 

Just because they chould doesn't mean they should.

 

The Brewers are lucky to have so many fans who are concerned about them getting a good deal on their player contracts.

 

We don't do that with anything else in our lives. We don't concern ourselves that the furnace repair company is paying their workers too much. Or the barista at the coffee shop.

 

But somehow, despite never opening their books, in a league without a salary cap, and for a franchise that has grown in value by $1Billion since he bought the team, lots of good and loyal fans fret and stew that Mark A not spend too much on the players he wants us to root for.

 

I am more interested in the Brewers winning games than I am in whether or not they do so at a bargain.

 

It's not that people care about how much money Mark A. is saving. It's understanding the reality of their payroll constraints that will always exist and knowing they're just never going to willingly operate at a loss, so we do have an interest in seeing available capital spend efficiently. If there really was no ceiling and unlimited capital, no one would care whether we gave Grandal 4/73 or 4/200.

 

I am not sure what you mean that they haven't opened their books. They report their operating revenue from year to year.

[Jopal78]

I think people disappointed about this need to understand that Grandal was only a Brewer in 2019 because he was a market inefficiency -- or market efficiency, depending on how you want to look at it.

 

Barring that happening again, he was never going to be back.

 

I think you can say the same thing for all their free agents from the 2019 season. Grandal, Moustakas, Gio Gonzalez. They got all those players on their terms after waiting them out. I’d expect the same for any free agent they sign this year.

[RollieTime]

With Thames, Anderson, and now Grandal off the books they are about $33 million less in obligations than they were last year...Yes, guys are do for raises but I still expect Mark to increase the payroll from where we were at last year.

 

$33 million is a lot of money to play with and I don't think you can go into the year with Pina as your primary catcher. A guy like d'Arnaud intrigues me but you can bet there will be a few upgrades Stearns has up his sleeve.

 

Don’t forget Chacin, Moose, Perez, Jeffress, and Albers as well. They have a lot to play with. I am guessing they will make an upgrade at SS for sure since there will be a big downgrade at C.

 

Maybe instead of neglecting the starting staff and going with a bunch of bats like the last couple years, we bring in a couple arms like Wheeler and Strasburg and go with a mediocre offense and hope for progression from internal options offensively! (Half blue)

[jonescm128]

With Thames, Anderson, and now Grandal off the books they are about $33 million less in obligations than they were last year...Yes, guys are do for raises but I still expect Mark to increase the payroll from where we were at last year.

 

$33 million is a lot of money to play with and I don't think you can go into the year with Pina as your primary catcher. A guy like d'Arnaud intrigues me but you can bet there will be a few upgrades Stearns has up his sleeve.

 

Don’t forget Chacin, Moose, Perez, Jeffress, and Albers as well. They have a lot to play with. I am guessing they will make an upgrade at SS for sure since there will be a big downgrade at C.

 

Maybe instead of neglecting the starting staff and going with a bunch of bats like the last couple years, we bring in a couple arms like Wheeler and Strasburg and go with a mediocre offense and hope for progression from internal options offensively! (Half blue)

 

How great would that be?! In reality I would like to see them go after a guy like Dallas Keuchel. He seems like a Stearns fit and he wont command top tier money like Cole and Strasburg.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

With Thames, Anderson, and now Grandal off the books they are about $33 million less in obligations than they were last year...Yes, guys are do for raises but I still expect Mark to increase the payroll from where we were at last year.

 

$33 million is a lot of money to play with and I don't think you can go into the year with Pina as your primary catcher. A guy like d'Arnaud intrigues me but you can bet there will be a few upgrades Stearns has up his sleeve.

 

Don’t forget Chacin, Moose, Perez, Jeffress, and Albers as well. They have a lot to play with. I am guessing they will make an upgrade at SS for sure since there will be a big downgrade at C.

 

Maybe instead of neglecting the starting staff and going with a bunch of bats like the last couple years, we bring in a couple arms like Wheeler and Strasburg and go with a mediocre offense and hope for progression from internal options offensively! (Half blue)

 

I think there is something to this. The offense was better in 2019 than in 2018, but remember that the 2018 team did come within a few outs of a World Series birth ... without Yasmani's big bat in the lineup. A lot went right that year, but there are some very nice pieces already in place that get get them to that point again.

[3and2Fastball]

They could have afforded Grandal at that salary.

 

Just because they chould doesn't mean they should.

 

The Brewers are lucky to have so many fans who are concerned about them getting a good deal on their player contracts.

 

We don't do that with anything else in our lives. We don't concern ourselves that the furnace repair company is paying their workers too much. Or the barista at the coffee shop.

 

But somehow, despite never opening their books, in a league without a salary cap, and for a franchise that has grown in value by $1Billion since he bought the team, lots of good and loyal fans fret and stew that Mark A not spend too much on the players he wants us to root for.

 

I am more interested in the Brewers winning games than I am in whether or not they do so at a bargain.

 

I very strongly agree. I spent much of last winter saying & posting similar things. It is an extremely frustrating aspect of being a Brewers fan, however I’ve resigned myself that it isn’t going to change.

 

And I still am a Brewers fan. “It is what it is.” If I can accept that the Brewers have a limited payroll, my hopes are that they will prioritize spending what little “extra” they have on pitching...

[RollieTime]

With Thames, Anderson, and now Grandal off the books they are about $33 million less in obligations than they were last year...Yes, guys are do for raises but I still expect Mark to increase the payroll from where we were at last year.

 

$33 million is a lot of money to play with and I don't think you can go into the year with Pina as your primary catcher. A guy like d'Arnaud intrigues me but you can bet there will be a few upgrades Stearns has up his sleeve.

 

Don’t forget Chacin, Moose, Perez, Jeffress, and Albers as well. They have a lot to play with. I am guessing they will make an upgrade at SS for sure since there will be a big downgrade at C.

 

Maybe instead of neglecting the starting staff and going with a bunch of bats like the last couple years, we bring in a couple arms like Wheeler and Strasburg and go with a mediocre offense and hope for progression from internal options offensively! (Half blue)

 

I think there is something to this. The offense was better in 2019 than in 2018, but remember that the 2018 team did come within a few outs of a World Series birth ... without Yasmani's big bat in the lineup. A lot went right that year, but there are some very nice pieces already in place that get get them to that point again.

 

Oh I agree. Pina is a good catcher in this league. Move Braun to first, hope for a rebound from Cain and Shaw, get a little progression from Arcia, and give Grisham a spot in the outfield with Gamel. If a couple guys take a step forward, the offense would be fine. You could then roll with a rotation of Strasburg, Woodruff, Wheeler, Lyles, and Davies with Houser, Peralta, and Burnes ready to fill a spot as needed. It’s far fetched to think about, but it’s realistic with the money they have available. Especially if they are comfortable operating around a $135 million payroll. It can be done for sure. I wouldn’t bank on it, but it can be done if they wanted to go the route of a dominant rotation.

[Jopal78]

To be honest this is probably what it is going to be every year. They have their core: Yelich, Braun, Cain, Hiura, in the field, Woodruff and Hader on the mound and they look to fill in the gaps with players they can get on short term deals or bargain buys, etc.

[pacopete4]

 

I didn't want the Brewers going down this road with Grandal at 4-years so I am happy but the "we tried" quote should be painted on Miller Park somewhere.