2019 Winter Meetings Rumors

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Padres willing to attach a prospect to rid themselves of Wil Myers

 

His stats are underwhelming, but it would probably do that guy a lot of good to get away from that cavernous park. Chance to get a potentially useful player and prospect(s) for paying Myers' big salary. He's signed for three more seasons, and turns 29 tomorrow.

[IntentionalHBP]

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[Eye Black]

I looked up one Keston Hiura scouting report on his defense.

 

Hiura’s work at second base has been described as “unspectacular” and he’s considered an average defender at the position. His decent actions and footwork help make up for a below-average arm, but he’ll be exposed on longer throws from deep in the hole. If he can’t stick at second, his arm strength limits him to either left field or first base as backup options.

 

Sounds like a third baseman to me.

 

Well! Case closed on my extremely radical position of "none of us should pretend to be smart enough to know whether the front office thinks Hiura could move to 3B or not"

I really don’t want to be in the middle of this one, but I’ll point out it has been documented Hiura maxed out throwing 77 mph across the diamond at PG events in high school (obviously prior to his elbow injury) which was considered well below average for an infielder heading to play D-1 college baseball. It is my understanding anything in the low-to-mid 80’s for a professional 3B is considered below average to fringe average. I believe an infielder playing on the left side of the diamond is expected to be able to make throws greater than 85 mph. I would be surprised if Keston had the ability to throw near that velocity.

[brewcrewdue80]

Has Gregorius ever played 3B?

 

So explain this to me please. If we signed Didi to play SS, moving Urias to 3B, would it matter where either played.

 

Didi at SS, Urias at 3B. Both still hit so does it matter where they play?

 

Urias at SS, Didi at 3B....Both still hit, so does it matter where they play?

 

If Urias doesn't have the bat to play at 3B, and he plays SS while Didi plays 3B, does it matter, they are both still in the line-up, so why does it matter that one or the other doesn't have the bat to play the 3B position?

 

10 career innings for Didi at 3b lifetime.

Meanwhile Urias has 539.2 innings at 3b. So in this idea Urias plays 3b Didi at SS. The power stats for 3b may get ignored since Hiura is plus for 2b and Didi likely plus for SS. What you would get is OB top of the order bat future from a 3b then.

Maybe I can soften the idea why Didi. Really would be on the scouts for Urias at 3b. Didi's bat essentially replaces Moustakas. Sorta.

 

The deal is a curious one to piece. Hes going to get multiple years. The interest I read has Cincy and Philly included. 2years would fit the timeline of next in the minors. 3 or 4 would mean further moves down the road to accommodate.

[sveumrules]

With the rumors we are in on Didi, what would be fair value? He’s had two years above league average OPS+. His OBP is merely adequate. His homers and lefty bat are nice. $10million per season? $12million? How is his defense?

 

Predictions for Didi were around 3/42 (MLBTR) to 3/48 (FanGraphs). Given it's been a spendier offseason than anticipated so far it will probably take more than those figures.

 

Since 2013 Didi has played 7,127 innings at SS (7th most in MLB), with a -12 DRS & a +12 UZR, so right around average glovework.

 

League average wRC+ for a SS has been steadily creeping up, here is how Didi has fared vs his fellow SS since 2013...

 

2013: 87 LgAvg SS vs 91 Didi

2014: 87 LgAvg SS vs 75 Didi

2015: 90 LgAvg SS vs 89 Didi

2016: 92 LgAvg SS vs 97 Didi

2017: 92 LgAvg SS vs 109 Didi

2018: 97 LgAvg SS vs 122 Didi

2019: 100 LgAvg SS vs 84 Didi

 

If Didi can get back into the 109-122 wRC+ range (Being a year healthier & AmFam Field playing friendly for LH pull power could help), I'd be fine going to 4/60 for his age 30-33 seasons with 8-12 WAR seeming like a pretty reasonable median outcome range for the deal.

 

Didi 2017-19: 1483 PAs | 108 wRC+ | 9.8 fWAR | 8.5 bWAR

Moose 2017-19: 1817 PAs | 110 wRC+ | 7.2 fWAR | 7.6 bWAR

[SRB]

I looked up one Keston Hiura scouting report on his defense.

 

Hiura’s work at second base has been described as “unspectacular” and he’s considered an average defender at the position. His decent actions and footwork help make up for a below-average arm, but he’ll be exposed on longer throws from deep in the hole. If he can’t stick at second, his arm strength limits him to either left field or first base as backup options.

 

Sounds like a third baseman to me.

 

Well! Case closed on my extremely radical position of "none of us should pretend to be smart enough to know whether the front office thinks Hiura could move to 3B or not"

I really don’t want to be in the middle of this one, but I’ll point out it has been documented Hiura maxed out throwing 77 mph across the diamond at PG events in high school (obviously prior to his elbow injury) which was considered well below average for an infielder heading to play D-1 college baseball. It is my understanding anything in the low-to-mid 80’s for a professional 3B is considered below average to fringe average. I believe an infielder playing on the left side of the diamond is expected to be able to make throws greater than 85 mph. I would be surprised if Keston had the ability to throw near that velocity.

 

The Brewers front office has data on his actual arm strength in 2019/2020. Actually I think MLB has this data through Statcast but doesn't publish it. Which is a long way of saying that the front office knows whether they think Hiura could move to 3B or not. We on Brewerfan.net do not, plain and simple.

 

Acting like it is outlandish to think that they might possible try to move Hiura to 3B (a fairly common move in MLB) is itself outlandish.

[MrTPlush]

Just because it is a spendier offseason doesn’t mean everyone will be. Some flashy names have gotten nice contracts...I’m sure it will even out and of course some will get way less than anticipated. Just how the game goes.

 

Im not sure where Didi fits into that, but I would assume he will get more.

[Eye Black]

The Brewers front office has data on his actual arm strength in 2019/2020. Actually I think MLB has this data through Statcast but doesn't publish it. Which is a long way of saying that the front office knows whether they think Hiura could move to 3B or not. We on Brewerfan.net do not, plain and simple.

 

Acting like it is outlandish to think that they might possible try to move Hiura to 3B (a fairly common move in MLB) is itself outlandish.

I don’t think anyone here is suggesting they know more than the front office, but I think it’s fair to question his arm strength based on what we do know (and have seen). Also, if we weren’t allowed to speculate on things we didn’t have as much info as the front office on this would be a pretty boring place to frequent. Lastly, I am not even saying it’s impossible, but we’ve also never seen any indication that they think he is a viable third baseman.

 

Edit: Statcast does publish average velocities for MLB catchers (listed under the “Arm” category at this Link), obviously catchers are throwing without the benefit of a hop towards their target. As SRB mentioned, I am certain Statcast has that data for all fielders, but they are seemingly selective about sharing that data unless it’s used to show the velocity of some insane throw from the outfield.

[MNBrew]

Ramon Flores? Keston at 3b?

 

This thread has gone off the rails.

 

And yes, 3B is more challenging defensively than 2B

Can we get Rymer Liriano again, too? That was one idiotic pair of OF acquisitions I don't look back on fondly...

 

I'm sure you meant Wilmer Flores, but I couldn't resist responding.

[brewcrewdue80]

A blurb on Gerrit Cole from mlbtr.

Expectations are that Cole will indeed go past the $300MM mark, per the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, who names nine years and $324MM as “not a bad over/under” for Cole’s next deal

 

Remember the Pirates scored Joe Musgrove, Colin Moran +2 others when they traded Cole in 2018. Ouch.

[adambr2]

I looked up one Keston Hiura scouting report on his defense.

 

Hiura’s work at second base has been described as “unspectacular” and he’s considered an average defender at the position. His decent actions and footwork help make up for a below-average arm, but he’ll be exposed on longer throws from deep in the hole. If he can’t stick at second, his arm strength limits him to either left field or first base as backup options.

 

Sounds like a third baseman to me.

 

Well! Case closed on my extremely radical position of "none of us should pretend to be smart enough to know whether the front office thinks Hiura could move to 3B or not"

 

I'm not sure where you are trying to go with this. None of usknow that they aren't thinking of moving Ryan Braun back to 3B for 2020, either. But we have strong evidence that it will never happen.

 

That same evidence exists for Hiura at 3rd, too. Numerous scouting reports have limited him based on his arm strength. He was a DH in college, he's almost certain to struggle to field hard hit balls down the line and you simply cannot have a liability for an arm at 3rd. I don't know what you are expecting Statcast to tell you that we haven't already seen in scouting reports. His arm strength is below average. I thought that was obvious just from the eye test, personally.

 

I'll almost never say "this will never happen", but yes, I personally think that Hiura has about the same chance to see meaningful innings at 3rd base for us as Ryan Braun does.

[sveumrules]

Hiura got 45/50 glove & 45/45 arm grades from FanGraphs prior to 2019 compared to 50/55 glove & 50/50 arm grades for Urias.

 

Keston has played 1,945 innings all at 2B in his professional career. Urias has 2,000+ innings at SS & 500+ innings at 3B in his professional career.

 

If one of the two were to play 3B in 2020 it looks likely that Urias would be better equipped to do so.

[adambr2]

It's really a shame that Kris Bryant plays for the Cubs because he would be an absolute perfect trade target for the Brewers. Huge righty bat at a position of need, can play the OF, 2 years of control at probably 40M.

[Eye Black]

Yankees are reportedly trying to unload J.A. Happ, who is owed $17 million this season with a vesting option for 2021 if he makes 27+ starts (or 165+ IP), in part to help them fit Cole in their payroll.

If they were willing to trade the back end of their rotation by attaching LHP Jordan Montgomery in order to move J.A. Happ’s contract then it would be a very intriguing possibility for the Brewers to consider.

[Warning Track Power]

It's really a shame that Kris Bryant plays for the Cubs because he would be an absolute perfect trade target for the Brewers. Huge righty bat at a position of need, can play the OF, 2 years of control at probably 40M.

I said this in a different thread but I wish Stearns would get cute with Hader and have a deal in place with a team like the Dodgers, who in turn, could make a deal for Bryant only to turn around and flip Bryant to the Brewers for Hader.

 

What I wouldn’t give to see Cubs fans see Bryant in Brewers navy and yellow.

[Devinep]

Ramon Flores? Keston at 3b?

 

This thread has gone off the rails.

 

And yes, 3B is more challenging defensively than 2B

Can we get Rymer Liriano again, too? That was one idiotic pair of OF acquisitions I don't look back on fondly...

 

I'm sure you meant Wilmer Flores, but I couldn't resist responding.

 

In my original post he responded to I recommended a Ramon Flores/Brock holt platoon. I definitely meant Wilmer Flores. In the HOF thread I did the same thing when I said Tom Raines should be in the HOF and I meant Harold baines.

[SRB]

Hiura got 45/50 glove & 45/45 arm grades from FanGraphs prior to 2019 compared to 50/55 glove & 50/50 arm grades for Urias.

 

Keston has played 1,945 innings all at 2B in his professional career. Urias has 2,000+ innings at SS & 500+ innings at 3B in his professional career.

 

If one of the two were to play 3B in 2020 it looks likely that Urias would be better equipped to do so.

 

Urias is a plus defender at 2B, Hiura was a defensive liability there in his first season.

 

For the record, I do not even want them to move Hiura, but if they are actually going to sign Gregorious the logical conclusion is that they are least considering moving Hiura to 3B.

[SRB]

I don’t think anyone here is suggesting they know more than the front office, but I think it’s fair to question his arm strength based on what we do know (and have seen). Also, if we weren’t allowed to speculate on things we didn’t have as much info as the front office on this would be a pretty boring place to frequent. Lastly, I am not even saying it’s impossible, but we’ve also never seen any indication that they think he is a viable third baseman.

 

No disagreement from me if people want to speculate that Hiura would not make a good 3B, but that is not the tenor of some of the posts in this thread. If the front office is thinking of signing Didi it means they are going to do something none of us were expecting, and personally I don't think their first choice would be to move Hiura all the way down the defensive spectrum to 1B so soon. That's all.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I don’t think anyone here is suggesting they know more than the front office, but I think it’s fair to question his arm strength based on what we do know (and have seen). Also, if we weren’t allowed to speculate on things we didn’t have as much info as the front office on this would be a pretty boring place to frequent. Lastly, I am not even saying it’s impossible, but we’ve also never seen any indication that they think he is a viable third baseman.

 

No disagreement from me if people want to speculate that Hiura would not make a good 3B, but that is not the tenor of some of the posts in this thread. If the front office is thinking of signing Didi it means they are going to do something none of us were expecting, and personally I don't think their first choice would be to move Hiura all the way down the defensive spectrum to 1B so soon. That's all.

 

I'm a fan of Hiura and I'm also a fan of doing everything possible to keep him at 2B - many of his defensive deficiencies happened while having to make longer throws from the shift where he was playing in shallow right, and with sharply hit balls or throws that he routinely didn't handle cleanly. Stone hands and an inaccurate throwing arm are not a good combo to try and play 3B at the major league level. I'm hoping an offseason of work helps Hiura settle in a bit better defensively at 2B - IMO he shouldn't be a candidate to move around the diamond.

 

His bat provides the most value with him playing defense at 2B. Keep him there.

 

Didi would be a much better candidate to slide over to 3B if they view Urias as the starting SS. Gregorius gives them positional flexibility to also play SS against righty starters (lefty hitter). I can see why Stearns is interested in him if the price is right following a subpar and injury-plagued 2019.

[Austin Tatious]

Before I started reading the posts, the first thing that popped into my head was that Hiura would move, but first base is where I went with it. His height is comparable to Princie’s. His bat would play at first and you’d relieve him from as many throws or having to turn double plays.

[A Swing and A Drive]

Just don’t think it’s in the Brewers plans to move Huira to first base.

 

Believe they are committed to him as a 2B.

[Klements Bratwurst]

Heard a report on the radio driving into work this AM that David Stearns said that we shouldn't expect any Starting Pitcher signings this week for the Brewers at the Winter Meetings due to something to the effect of that "these signings" happen more nearer Spring Training. The report went on to say that they have depth in this department. Has anyone seen this written anywhere? I don't always trust sports blurbs done in 60 seconds on the radio......

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Heard a report on the radio driving into work this AM that David Stearns said that we shouldn't expect any Starting Pitcher signings this week for the Brewers at the Winter Meetings due to something to the effect of that "these signings" happen more nearer Spring Training. The report went on to say that they have depth in this department. Has anyone seen this written anywhere? I don't always trust sports blurbs done in 60 seconds on the radio......

 

He was talking about relief pitching, not starters.

[brewmann04]

Whew I think with Claudio back and hopefully a healthy Knebel and Wahl we can wait a bit to add a bullpen arm

[True Blue Brew Crew]

Has Gregorius ever played 3B?

 

So explain this to me please. If we signed Didi to play SS, moving Urias to 3B, would it matter where either played.

 

Didi at SS, Urias at 3B. Both still hit so does it matter where they play?

 

Urias at SS, Didi at 3B....Both still hit, so does it matter where they play?

 

If Urias doesn't have the bat to play at 3B, and he plays SS while Didi plays 3B, does it matter, they are both still in the line-up, so why does it matter that one or the other doesn't have the bat to play the 3B position?

 

This is where I'm at and I've made this point in past years. If the same number of sluggers are in the lineup, what difference does it make what defensive position those bats play? If the Brewers IF slugs 80 HRs with the majority coming from 2b and SS, it's the exact same production as the typical structure where the majority come from 1B and 3B.

 

I have no earthly idea where this Hiura to 3B nonsense is coming from. If Didi Gregorius is signed, it's either him or Urias playing 3B.