Josh Lindblom signs with Brewers - 3 years / $9.125 mil [Latest: Lindblom DFAd]

[MNBrew]

....please tell me one time that we've signed a free agent TOR guy. Never? Never! So why is it going to happen now that we have the most value minded GM we've ever had?

 

12/5/1990 Teddy Higuera

.... And while Higuera was a proven ace, one of their best SPs ever, re-signing him to that 4-yr/$16M contract was seen as albatross soon after when he missed much of the duration of that contract with injuries.

 

On the front end of his career, Teddy Higuera was NOT a big-league FA. Where did the Brewers sign him from? The Mexican League. That move was a footnote in the papers, never worthy of mention on ESPN, and the farthest thing from a needle-mover.

[wibadgers23]

I like it. Very low cost. Now go get Ryu or Keuchel to round out the rotation and I’m a happy camper.

[SRB]

How many "back end" starters has Stearns picked up now that have all turned out to be extremely successful (and extremely good value) for us? Guerra, Davies, Anderson, Chacin (for one season), Miley, Gio, Lyles. Has he whiffed on a single one yet? He also did very well in picking out Houser and Peralta.

 

Maybe he knows what he's doing.

 

In contrast, Melvin used to hand out the kind of mid-tier free agent SP we can realistically afford and they were flops (Suppan, Lohse, Garza, etc.)

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Meh. Teams that make moves like this generally are looking for

a 5th starter type. We need a 2 3 4 now.

 

Who says that's not exactly what the plan is? Or that he's a reliever? I missed the press conference where Stearns annointed him the #2.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Plan to use him as a starter...not that this is a terrible move, but I really wish the Brewers would stop treating starting pitching as the redheaded step child. Cheap signings hoping it works out is not a way to build a staff. It might work for a year or possibly two, but long term, no way.

 

 

You want the Brewers to build a team the same way the Yankees do. Go watch Brad Pitt's speech to the scouts in the beginning of Moneyball. It's never going to work here. Never.

[MrTPlush]

 

In contrast, Attanasio used to hand out the kind of mid-tier free agent SP we can realistically afford and they were flops (Suppan, Lohse, Garza, etc.)

 

Fixed that for you.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Attanasio just seems like a guy who trusts his GM and if the GM begs he says yes. I'm sure they have soft payroll to work with and if something comes up it's like asking your dad for $20. He'll usually say yes. Well at least my dad.

 

I'd be really surprised if he's ever had a hard demand or a hard no on a specific player.

[BrewBalls]

I get that they can't sign the top end guys, but then dammit, trade for one. Melvin did it with Grienke, and CC, though I would like to get someone with control. I mean, I don't want to trade Hader but at this point if it brings you a PROVEN TOR starter...go for it.

 

Ok. Can you come up with a proposal of sorts that makes sense for both us and a trade partner? Any suggestions? You can't just say to trade Hader for a TOR starter, it's not that easy. Other teams like having TOR starters as well. Contending clubs aren't usually looking to trade them away, and rebuilding clubs aren't usually looking to trade theirs for relief aces with 4 years of control.

+1

I’m trying to think of a team who is looking to offload a TOR starter atm. Maybe Kluber or Price but both come with warts (i.e. coming off down seasons and are getting older) at this time. Robbie Ray, Jon Gray, Matthew Boyd are all good pitchers but none would be considered a front line “ace”.

[A Swing and A Drive]

Not a fan of this signing.

 

I don’t get it.

 

There is bargain bin shopping for a starter and then there is dumpster diving.

 

I consider this the latter.

 

If this is a bullpen only signing I could live with it.

 

I’d expect something similar out of Lindbloom that the Dbacks received from Merrill Kelly last season. Serviceable at best.

 

Rather give these innings to Peralta and Burnes personally.

Edited December 12, 2019 by A Swing and A Drive

[tigerbrew]

Attanasio just seems like a guy who trusts his GM and if the GM begs he says yes. I'm sure they have soft payroll to work with and if something comes up it's like asking your dad for $20. He'll usually say yes. Well at least my dad.

 

I'd be really surprised if he's ever had a hard demand or a hard no on a specific player.

 

I hope Stearns is not penny pinching, not signing Junior Guerra seems like penny pinching.

[clancyphile]

I get that they can't sign the top end guys, but then dammit, trade for one. Melvin did it with Grienke, and CC, though I would like to get someone with control. I mean, I don't want to trade Hader but at this point if it brings you a PROVEN TOR starter...go for it.

 

What did Greinke cost?

 

Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi.

 

Odorizzi was flipped for Wade Davis, a member of their bullpen for the 2015 World Series. Cain and Escobar started for the Royals.

 

Not even two years later, the Brewers dealt Greinke for Hellweg, Pena, and Segura.

 

Segura was okay, and helped the Crew land Chase Anderson and Isan Diaz. The former did okay with the Crew. The latter helped bring Yelich.

 

Then there's what CC Sabathia cost for three months.

 

Trading for the TOR starter is arguably more expensive than signing one in free agency. It's a different form of paying out, but it also matters.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Not a fan of this signing.

 

I don’t get it.

 

There is bargain bin shopping for a starter and then there is dumpster diving.

 

I consider this the latter.

 

If this is a bullpen only signing I could live with it.

 

I was initally in the same boat when I heard he wanted to come back stateside. I encourage you to do some reading up on Lindblom.

 

https://theathletic.com/1359416/2019/11/08/how-josh-lindblom-and-his-family-found-hope-in-korea-this-is-not-the-place-to-come-end-your-career/

 

https://calltothepen.com/2019/11/05/josh-lindblom-back-mlb-free-agency-radar/

 

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/rangers/2018/11/07/traded-for-michael-young-former-ranger-lindblom-top-pitcher-in-korea/

 

https://notanotherbaseballblog.wordpress.com/2019/08/21/an-interesting-off-season-awaits-josh-lindblom/

 

Also multiple reports that teams like the Astros, Dodgers and Rays were interested in signing him. This isn't a dumpster dive like signing a guy like, say, Chris Tillman. Sure, it may not work out, but this has the potential to be a very nice move.

[JosephC]

Data obtained by MLBTR puts his four-seamer at a hefty 2610 RPM this past season, while his splitter (where less spin is better) would also rank quite well among big league hurlers at 1200 RPM. The KBO ball isn’t the exact same as the MLB ball, so the carryover might not be exact, but Lindblom’s ability to spin the ball is something that could be of genuine intrigue to a Major League club.

 

 

I wonder if spin rate really means anything? It always gets thrown out when talking about someone like Verlander, but is there any real correlation between spin rate and success?

 

I just did a quick search at Baseball Savant, and if I am using the search engine correctly, the MLB pitcher with the highest spin rate on 4-seam fastballs in MLB last year (minimum 300 pitches) was CORBIN BURNES at a remarkable 2656 rpm. #2 = Jose Leclerc, #3 = Mike Minor, #4 = Lucas Sims, #5 = Felipe Vazquez. There are some big names near the top....#8 = Verlander, #11 = Cole, #12 = Darvish...but there is a Phil Maton or a Jesse Biddle mixed in with every good name on the list.

 

There are a ton of fields in the search engine so I could very well be screwing something up.

[Brewcrewin07]

I get that they can't sign the top end guys, but then dammit, trade for one. Melvin did it with Grienke, and CC, though I would like to get someone with control. I mean, I don't want to trade Hader but at this point if it brings you a PROVEN TOR starter...go for it.

 

What did Greinke cost?

 

Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi.

 

Odorizzi was flipped for Wade Davis, a member of their bullpen for the 2015 World Series. Cain and Escobar started for the Royals.

 

Not even two years later, the Brewers dealt Greinke for Hellweg, Pena, and Segura.

 

Segura was okay, and helped the Crew land Chase Anderson and Isan Diaz. The former did okay with the Crew. The latter helped bring Yelich.

 

Then there's what CC Sabathia cost for three months.

 

Trading for the TOR starter is arguably more expensive than signing one in free agency. It's a different form of paying out, but it also matters.

 

What kind of teams TYPICALLY go deep in the playoffs and win the World series?? Teams with the best pitching staffs, right??

[patrickgpe]

Not a fan of this signing.

 

I don’t get it.

 

There is bargain bin shopping for a starter and then there is dumpster diving.

 

I consider this the latter.

 

If this is a bullpen only signing I could live with it.

Ok, if it doesn’t work out, pretty sure the brewers can write off that salary and move on. This isn’t exactly the same financial risk as signing say Eric Gagne.

[FVBrewerFan]

Like most tools, spin rate can be over-emphasized. When you don't have areliable 2nd pitch, let alone 3rd or 4th, spin rate won't save you

[SRB]

I like it. Very low cost. Now go get Ryu or Keuchel to round out the rotation and I’m a happy camper.

 

Bring in Ryu and re-sign Thames. First team in MLB history with three former KBO MVPs!!!

[Ennder]

What kind of teams TYPICALLY go deep in the playoffs and win the World series?? Teams with the best pitching staffs, right??

 

There is no method that generally works. What studies have shown was that not being weak in hitting or pitching is the biggest key. If you are good at one and bad at the other you don't tend to have a chance. Being decent at one and good at the other is about even between pitching and hitting. If you look at the teams with the best pitching in the past 10 years most of them did not go to the world series.

 

Last year the best pitching teams in the AL/NL were the Dodgers and Rays. Nats were 13th.

In 2018 it was the Dodgers and Astros. The Red Sox were 8th (Brewers were 5th).

2017 was Dodgers and Indians. Houston was 11th.

2016 was Cubs and Nats so this was a case where it held true.

2015 was St Louis and Houston. Royals were 10th

[brewerfan82]

I get that they can't sign the top end guys, but then dammit, trade for one. Melvin did it with Grienke, and CC, though I would like to get someone with control. I mean, I don't want to trade Hader but at this point if it brings you a PROVEN TOR starter...go for it.

 

What did Greinke cost?

 

Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi.

 

Odorizzi was flipped for Wade Davis, a member of their bullpen for the 2015 World Series. Cain and Escobar started for the Royals.

 

Not even two years later, the Brewers dealt Greinke for Hellweg, Pena, and Segura.

 

Segura was okay, and helped the Crew land Chase Anderson and Isan Diaz. The former did okay with the Crew. The latter helped bring Yelich.

 

Then there's what CC Sabathia cost for three months.

 

Trading for the TOR starter is arguably more expensive than signing one in free agency. It's a different form of paying out, but it also matters.

 

What kind of teams TYPICALLY go deep in the playoffs and win the World series?? Teams with the best pitching staffs, right??

No one is arguing with you that it wouldn't be great to have a TOR starter. But your constant empty complaining about it isn't very productive. If you have some sort of realistic plan for them to obtain this player I'm sure everyone would be quite interested to hear it.

[jonescm128]

I get that they can't sign the top end guys, but then dammit, trade for one. Melvin did it with Grienke, and CC, though I would like to get someone with control. I mean, I don't want to trade Hader but at this point if it brings you a PROVEN TOR starter...go for it.

 

What did Greinke cost?

 

Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, Jeremy Jeffress, and Jake Odorizzi.

 

Odorizzi was flipped for Wade Davis, a member of their bullpen for the 2015 World Series. Cain and Escobar started for the Royals.

 

Not even two years later, the Brewers dealt Greinke for Hellweg, Pena, and Segura.

 

Segura was okay, and helped the Crew land Chase Anderson and Isan Diaz. The former did okay with the Crew. The latter helped bring Yelich.

 

Then there's what CC Sabathia cost for three months.

 

Trading for the TOR starter is arguably more expensive than signing one in free agency. It's a different form of paying out, but it also matters.

 

What kind of teams TYPICALLY go deep in the playoffs and win the World series?? Teams with the best pitching staffs, right??

 

Obviously pitching matters but you don't need Aces up and down the starting rotation to be successful. The 2014 and 2015 Royals had no "Ace" on their team and neither did the 2018 and 2019 Brewers. All you care about are names. There are many ways to be a successful pitcher.

[brewmann04]

If they can i would Take a Flyer on Walker.

[DuWayne Steurer]

What kind of teams TYPICALLY go deep in the playoffs and win the World series?? Teams with the best pitching staffs, right??

 

If you're not happy with this signing, you're free to state that, but Homer already asked you to stop bringing this argument into every thread. Thanks.

[StearnsFTW]

Meh. Teams that make moves like this generally are looking for

a 5th starter type. We need a 2 3 4 now.

 

You hit the nail on the head. The Brewers in regards to pitching sign guys that would normally be back end of rotation guys and make them amongst their top starters. NOT a sustainable strategy.

 

185 wins in 2 seasons.

 

I think it's possible that Steans and Counsell are smarter than you.

 

I like the signing. Minimal "risk".

 

I quote the word risk because there really isn't any risk here at all.

[wallus]

This signing doesn't stop us from doing anything else. Not sure how someone could be upset by it. I guess I could see underwhelmed?

[Brewcrewin07]

What kind of teams TYPICALLY go deep in the playoffs and win the World series?? Teams with the best pitching staffs, right??

 

If you're not happy with this signing, you're free to state that, but Homer already asked you to stop bringing this argument into every thread. Thanks.

 

I will just stop posting then...It's not the same argument, but I guess if I don't conform to all the others here, I get "singled" out. Most here are totally comfortable with the Brewers off season so far, I guess they are allowed to be. I'm not, because I don't care for small time thinking, I never have, never will(and not just as it relates to the Brewers, but life in general), but because I don't agree with the Brewers small time thinking, I'm the guy that takes all the bullets, I get it.