Zack Wheeler to Phillies - 5 years/$118

[tmwiese55]

I'm not addressing this to anyone specifically in this thread, but I just find it remarkable that a GM who has brought winning baseball back to Milwaukee, made the playoffs in consecutive seasons and has averaged, yes averaged over 90 wins per season the last 3 years has not earned even a little bit of the benefit of the doubt from some. Moose and Grandal go off the board and some other FAs outgain their projections in free agency and it's just mass panic from some.

 

It's early December. There are so many free agents without a home especially after the arbitration deadline. I love the trade we made with the Padres. The winter meetings are coming. There will probably be more trades to be made. It's a fun time of year and I can't wait to see what DS has in store for the 2020 team.

When you lose 1/3 of the starters on your team there is going to be doubt as to the credibility and competitiveness of the future of your beloved team. I get it we are a small market team but the fans have supported this team through attendance and apparel etc as if it was one of the Largest markets in baseball.

 

I agree with the OP. You're not wrong in that we should expect the team to try again for next year. But the initial point was to give the GM benefit of the doubt that he is going to do something and he's proven himself good/competent that he'll put something together. Or at least is going to make the best effort he can given our situation. If this was a proven incompetent FO yea I'd get the worry/pessimism more, like say it was still 2006 type Brewers or the current management of IDK the Mariners. But as of now, I think we sit back and hope/trust he's going to do something and they'll be competitive again next year.

 

That said, I'm sitting here thinking IDK what they're going to do at 3b/1B all the while also needing to address pitching. It's not gonna be easy.

[adambr2]

I'm not addressing this to anyone specifically in this thread, but I just find it remarkable that a GM who has brought winning baseball back to Milwaukee, made the playoffs in consecutive seasons and has averaged, yes averaged over 90 wins per season the last 3 years has not earned even a little bit of the benefit of the doubt from some. Moose and Grandal go off the board and some other FAs outgain their projections in free agency and it's just mass panic from some.

 

It's early December. There are so many free agents without a home especially after the arbitration deadline. I love the trade we made with the Padres. The winter meetings are coming. There will probably be more trades to be made. It's a fun time of year and I can't wait to see what DS has in store for the 2020 team.

When you lose 1/3 of the starters on your team there is going to be doubt as to the credibility and competitiveness of the future of your beloved team. I get it we are a small market team but the fans have supported this team through attendance and apparel etc as if it was one of the Largest markets in baseball.

 

And they've been rewarded for that support with winning baseball the last three years.

 

1/3 of the starters? People couldn't wait to get Shaw out fast enough. A replacement player at 3rd would be an upgrade by default. SS has been upgraded. Yes, they'll miss Moose and Grandal. They still have a ton of time and the most important addition they're making is getting back a top 3 player in all of baseball.

 

As Joey said, still a ton of time.

[bloena12]

I'm not addressing this to anyone specifically in this thread, but I just find it remarkable that a GM who has brought winning baseball back to Milwaukee, made the playoffs in consecutive seasons and has averaged, yes averaged over 90 wins per season the last 3 years has not earned even a little bit of the benefit of the doubt from some. Moose and Grandal go off the board and some other FAs outgain their projections in free agency and it's just mass panic from some.

 

It's early December. There are so many free agents without a home especially after the arbitration deadline. I love the trade we made with the Padres. The winter meetings are coming. There will probably be more trades to be made. It's a fun time of year and I can't wait to see what DS has in store for the 2020 team.

When you lose 1/3 of the starters on your team there is going to be doubt as to the credibility and competitiveness of the future of your beloved team. I get it we are a small market team but the fans have supported this team through attendance and apparel etc as if it was one of the Largest markets in baseball.

 

I think it should be noted, yet again, that it is still extremely early in the offseason. I think a little patience is certainly in order.

 

I think this is fair as Stearns should be given the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise, but the elite TOR starters aren't signing in Milwaukee and neither are the "elite bats."

 

If that's the case they'll have to hunt and peck for value in those second and third tier of free agents --- which are players with warts and are no sure things --- or trade from their big league roster and weaken their best position group (Hader, bullpen) or lineup (Hiura, Cain etc.).

 

Yes, lots of time, but for a team having Yelich's prime years in tow at an extremely valuable rate you'd like to see them at least be in the conversation.

[AKCheesehead]

If the Brewers had made this deal with him, I would be pretty frightened.

Even if over the contract he performs to what his best seasons thus far have shown, I wouldn't want to pay him that much. Nevermind if he's hurt or ineffective or really goes down the tubes.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I would have liked to see him in a Brewers uniform, but it's clear that the Phillies are in a win now mode and aren't as concerned about salary. Hope that the Brewers will find quality pitching that fits within their budget.

 

Same exact post, two different threads within an hour, both relevant and accurate....

 

Not sure if I should feel good about the active FA market early in the off season, or start to feel the doom and gloom of being a small market team....

 

Gerrit Cole (29 years old, 7.4 WAR) Pipe dream

Stephen Strasburg (31, 5.7) Pipe dream

 

Hyun-Jin Ryu (33, 4.8)

Madison Bumgarner (30, 3.2)

Michael Pineda (30, 2.7)

Tanner Roark (33, 2.0)

Wade Miley (33, 2.0)

Brett Anderson (32, 2.0)

Iván Nova (33, 2.0)

Martín Pérez (29, 1.9)

Rick Porcello (31, 1.8)

Kevin Gausman (29, 1.6)

Julio Teheran (29, 1.6)

Jordan Lyles (29, 1.6)

Gio Gonzalez (34, 1.4)

Rich Hill (40, 0.9)

Aaron Sanchez (27, 0.8)

Dallas Keuchel (32, 0.8)

Matt Moore (31, 0.5)

Michael Wacha (28, -0.2)

Alex Wood (29, -0.2)

Tyler Anderson (30, -0.3)

Josh Lindblom (32, N/A)

Kendall Graveman (29, N/A)

Shun Yamaguchi (32, N/A)

Kwang-Hyun Kim (31, N/A)

 

Obviously those first two aren't gonna happen, but there is still a ton of pitching available.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

I heard Gerrit Cole checked out the Domes in September and loved it so much he's taking a 50% MKE discount.

[TURBO]

I'm on the wait and see bandwagon, however, with so many people banging the "there is plenty of time, there is no need to panic, it's early" drum, what will all of them say if we miss out and are stuck with a guy like Trumbo at 1B and Todd Frazier at 3rd? (Those are just examples, not specifically mentioning those guys because I think they are the guys we will sign)

 

What if we get no front line starting pitchers (highly likely no matter what camp you are in) and are stuck with a rotation of 4 and 5 type starters outside of Woodruff?

 

No matter what anyone says, even if saying for the 1000th tiime that it is still early in the offseason, we might still be severely disappointed in what takes the field for our beloved Brewers on opening day 2020.

[A Swing and A Drive]

I heard Gerrit Cole checked out the Domes in September and loved it so much he's taking a 50% MKE discount.

 

Lol, but we STILL can't afford him.

[TURBO]

If the Brewers had made this deal with him, I would be pretty frightened.

Even if over the contract he performs to what his best seasons thus far have shown, I wouldn't want to pay him that much. Nevermind if he's hurt or ineffective or really goes down the tubes.

 

agreed, that contract could cripple us if he doesn't work out. glad it wan't us taking that risk.

[JimH5]

I would have liked to see him in a Brewers uniform, but it's clear that the Phillies are in a win now mode and aren't as concerned about salary. Hope that the Brewers will find quality pitching that fits within their budget.

 

Same exact post, two different threads within an hour, both relevant and accurate....

 

Not sure if I should feel good about the active FA market early in the off season, or start to feel the doom and gloom of being a small market team....

 

Your feelings are valid, even the negative ones. Mine are, too. And even the posters who remind us of the date and who want to correct us when we post disappointment/doubt/anger...their feelings are also valid.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I'm on the wait and see bandwagon, however, with so many people banging the "there is plenty of time, there is no need to panic, it's early" drum, what will all of them say if we miss out and are stuck with a guy like Trumbo at 1B and Todd Frazier at 3rd? (Those are just examples, not specifically mentioning those guys because I think they are the guys we will sign)

 

What if we get no front line starting pitchers (highly likely no matter what camp you are in) and are stuck with a rotation of 4 and 5 type starters outside of Woodruff?

 

No matter what anyone says, even if saying for the 1000th tiime that it is still early in the offseason, we might still be severely disappointed in what takes the field for our beloved Brewers on opening day 2020.

 

That's a lot of pessimistic "what ifs" LOL

 

If we get to February, or the free agent market moves at lightning speed and things get picked over by January, then you worry. Now? Nope.

[tmwiese55]

I'm on the wait and see bandwagon, however, with so many people banging the "there is plenty of time, there is no need to panic, it's early" drum, what will all of them say if we miss out and are stuck with a guy like Trumbo at 1B and Todd Frazier at 3rd? (Those are just examples, not specifically mentioning those guys because I think they are the guys we will sign)

 

What if we get no front line starting pitchers (highly likely no matter what camp you are in) and are stuck with a rotation of 4 and 5 type starters outside of Woodruff?

 

No matter what anyone says, even if saying for the 1000th tiime that it is still early in the offseason, we might still be severely disappointed in what takes the field for our beloved Brewers on opening day 2020.

 

And with the rules tweaks our September tricks/magic seem to be a lot more difficult going forward to cover for a blah pitching staff.

[MrTPlush]

I am not too concerned. They didn't hype up some uniforms to fill it with garbage, they don't have a bunch of money just to sit on it, and they didn't make the postseason two years in a row to put together a 3rd place roster now.

 

I think people forget the big time guys have to sign before the guys in our wheelhouse will even sign. With the big deals getting handed out already guys in the middle of the pack will wait for even more juicy deals by the big time players to be inked.

 

I never understand the concern that the entire field of players is going to be picked and we are left with nothing...when does that ever happen. If it does clearly we didn't want any of them. Signing guys before the winter meetings is a good sign you paid more than you should have.

[walleye]

I'm not addressing this to anyone specifically in this thread, but I just find it remarkable that a GM who has brought winning baseball back to Milwaukee, made the playoffs in consecutive seasons and has averaged, yes averaged over 90 wins per season the last 3 years has not earned even a little bit of the benefit of the doubt from some. Moose and Grandal go off the board and some other FAs outgain their projections in free agency and it's just mass panic from some.

 

It's early December. There are so many free agents without a home especially after the arbitration deadline. I love the trade we made with the Padres. The winter meetings are coming. There will probably be more trades to be made. It's a fun time of year and I can't wait to see what DS has in store for the 2020 team.

When you lose 1/3 of the starters on your team there is going to be doubt as to the credibility and competitiveness of the future of your beloved team. I get it we are a small market team but the fans have supported this team through attendance and apparel etc as if it was one of the Largest markets in baseball.

 

I think it should be noted, yet again, that it is still extremely early in the offseason. I think a little patience is certainly in order.

 

 

It may be early by calendar standards however the market has been very robust compared to past years and stops for no team. And yes there is the trade market however unlike past years when we could deal from a surplus of young talent in the minors this year that is lacking and all we have to deal is from in the roster which in turn Create another area of concern.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I am not too concerned. They didn't hype up some uniforms to fill it with garbage, they don't have a bunch of money just to sit on it, and they didn't make the postseason two years in a row to put together a 3rd place roster now.

 

Yep, those are basically my thoughts as well. David Stearns hasn't been perfect, but I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

It may be early by calendar standards however the market has been very robust compared to past years and stops for no team. And yes there is the trade market however unlike past years when we could deal from a surplus of young talent in the minors this year that is lacking and all we have to deal is from in the roster which in turn Create another area of concern.

 

The market is certainly more robust, which is great for the players, but perhaps not as great for a team like the Brewers, who took advantage of a slow market to make a couple huge value signings last year. Stearns was able to read the market quite well last year, and the Brewers reaped the benefits. I assure you that he's got a good pulse on this year's market as well.

[homer]

I'm on the wait and see bandwagon, however, with so many people banging the "there is plenty of time, there is no need to panic, it's early" drum, what will all of them say if we miss out and are stuck with a guy like Trumbo at 1B and Todd Frazier at 3rd? (Those are just examples, not specifically mentioning those guys because I think they are the guys we will sign)

 

What if we get no front line starting pitchers (highly likely no matter what camp you are in) and are stuck with a rotation of 4 and 5 type starters outside of Woodruff?

 

No matter what anyone says, even if saying for the 1000th tiime that it is still early in the offseason, we might still be severely disappointed in what takes the field for our beloved Brewers on opening day 2020.

 

I will cross that bridge when I come to it. And saying that, the Brewers might end up doing some new thing this year that looks dumb on paper but somehow works.

[brewmann04]

I don't think David can afford to wait around don't think this market is going to be very slow like last year and rather see them do 2 years with a guy like Dallas.

[dacrew101]

come on brewers do something

[wibadgers23]

I don't think David can afford to wait around don't think this market is going to be very slow like last year and rather see them do 2 years with a guy like Dallas.

 

I agree. Seems like Stearns and Mark A are gonna have to offer some multi year deals this time around if they want to get any worthwhile free agents.

[adambr2]

I'm on the wait and see bandwagon, however, with so many people banging the "there is plenty of time, there is no need to panic, it's early" drum, what will all of them say if we miss out and are stuck with a guy like Trumbo at 1B and Todd Frazier at 3rd? (Those are just examples, not specifically mentioning those guys because I think they are the guys we will sign)

 

What if we get no front line starting pitchers (highly likely no matter what camp you are in) and are stuck with a rotation of 4 and 5 type starters outside of Woodruff?

 

No matter what anyone says, even if saying for the 1000th tiime that it is still early in the offseason, we might still be severely disappointed in what takes the field for our beloved Brewers on opening day 2020.

 

Most were severely disappointed in a 2018 rotation that included Wade Miley and Jhoulys Chacin as our best starters and that team missed the World Series by one game.

 

Our severe disappointments do not always translate into actual disappointing results on the field and this again is why I think they've earned the benefit of the doubt regardless of who they do or do not add to the roster before March.

 

Who really thought that Drew Pomeranz was going to be Josh Hader 2.0 for us last year in the second half? These guys are better at their job than we are at trying to do it for them.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

The market value is being established. There is no way the Brewers get involved in that. They will sign a couple guys once it settles down and there is value in some guys that feel wronged, and guys that want shorter deals to prove themselves. Then there are the older guys who cost less and don't expect long deals.

 

I've really got no interest in the Brewers signing SPs to 6-year contracts, even if it's Sidd Finch. There is just way too much downside there for me.

[brewerfan82]

Yeah, it's not like we've missed out on any "deals" at this point. Hopefully Stearns will be rewarded for his patience again with some reasonably priced post-holiday deals.

[stoutdude04]

I'm on the wait and see bandwagon, however, with so many people banging the "there is plenty of time, there is no need to panic, it's early" drum, what will all of them say if we miss out and are stuck with a guy like Trumbo at 1B and Todd Frazier at 3rd? (Those are just examples, not specifically mentioning those guys because I think they are the guys we will sign)

 

What if we get no front line starting pitchers (highly likely no matter what camp you are in) and are stuck with a rotation of 4 and 5 type starters outside of Woodruff?

 

No matter what anyone says, even if saying for the 1000th tiime that it is still early in the offseason, we might still be severely disappointed in what takes the field for our beloved Brewers on opening day 2020.

 

Most were severely disappointed in a 2018 rotation that included Wade Miley and Jhoulys Chacin as our best starters and that team missed the World Series by one game.

 

Our severe disappointments do not always translate into actual disappointing results on the field and this again is why I think they've earned the benefit of the doubt regardless of who they do or do not add to the roster before March.

 

Who really thought that Drew Pomeranz was going to be Josh Hader 2.0 for us last year in the second half? These guys are better at their job than we are at trying to do it for them.

 

This. So much this.

 

As someone else mentioned, 2 years ago people were griping over the Brewers roster and how they weren't trying to put together a good team...yet, they made the NLCS. Last year at the deadline it was...Pomeranz...ugh(myself included), and yet, he ended up being a stud.

 

They know more than we do and are better at it than we are. I too am curious to see what they decide to do and am a little worried(from a fan standpoint), but I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Over the last 2 years they have put together a team that has been able to compete at a high level. For that, I will sit and wait.

[Roderick]

Yeah, it's not like we've missed out on any "deals" at this point.

 

Ding! Ding! Exactly which contracts would people have wanted the Brewers to match (or probably go higher to actually get them to sign here)?

 

Saying that, if there is someone that is settling into our price range, Stearns will have to be prepared to act quickly. Jordan Lyles is looking better and better every day.