Brewers sign Brett Anderson to a one year deal

[Eye Black]

I don't think we should discount the possibility that the Brewers might actually be better than other teams when it comes to unlocking pitching success in veterans. They have a significant amount of data on these pitchers that have thrown 100's of MLB innings. Maybe they have a plan for utilizing various parts of Anderson's current repertoire while developing a new usage pattern or other possible tweaks.

 

Let's take a look at the pitcher Charlie Morton was during his career with the Pirates.

 

Charlie Morton through Age 31 season...

 

[pre]ERA G IP ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W

4.54 158 875.2 84 4.12 1.443 9.6 0.7 3.4 6.3 1.86[/pre]

 

After a year with the Phillies he went to the Astros where he started throwing his curveball nearly 30% of the time.

 

Since he threw his first pitch for the Astros as a 33 year old his numbers are as follows...

 

[pre]ERA G IP ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W

3.24 88 508.1 131 3.26 1.141 7.2 0.8 3.0 10.7 3.50[/pre]

 

I promise I am not predicting, or even suggesting, that Brett Anderson is going to make a Charlie Morton type developmental leap in his 30's. My point is more that the Brewers may actually know what they are doing when it comes to getting the most out of these types of solid, but non-premier starting pitchers.

 

In case you are curious, here are Brett Anderson's numbers through Age 31...

 

[pre]ERA G IP ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W

4.05 188 997.1 102 3.91 1.335 9.6 0.9 2.4 6.2 2.56[/pre]

[MrTPlush]

One thing kind of ignored so far it seems:

 

Stearns is constructing an atrocity of a defense so far and just signed one of the biggest contact pitchers there is. To me it is an interesting selection for the team because of that. We will see what is stuck at 3B and 1B, but I doubt they are great defenders. (Please note the SO FARs, as there is offseason and players left).

 

I will hold out hope for a bigger rotation addition that pushes one of these guys to the bullpen. As it seems though Stearns is not much of a guy to invest in the rotation...so that is unlikely. Guess we will see if it works out this year, surely didn’t last year.

 

I think these iffy starter additions are a sign they expect Hader/Suter/Knebel/Peralta/Burnes to be an elite pen and rely heavy on it.

 

How is making the playoffs deemed not working out?

 

Because I believe there are 25 guys on a roster (more than that make an impact every year I suppose). Just because a a bunch of them did, doesn’t mean all 25 were automatically a success. I guess Travis Shaw worked out? We made the WC game.

 

I didn’t say the team didn’t work out, I was speaking purely towards the opening day rotation. He made great additions, but let’s not ignore we could have had Lyles and Gio the entire season etc. He constructed a poor rotation to start the season, it just wasn’t good. He gave young unproven guys a chance and 2/3 were total flops.

 

All I am saying is I hope he constructs a rotation this year that is actually good from the start and we don’t lose countless games for months trotting out 7 ERA pitchers until we give up on them and/or use assets to replace them.

[clancyphile]

I don't think we should discount the possibility that the Brewers might actually be better than other teams when it comes to unlocking pitching success in veterans. They have a significant amount of data on these pitchers that have thrown 100's of MLB innings. Maybe they have a plan for utilizing various parts of Anderson's current repertoire while developing a new usage pattern or other possible tweaks.

 

Let's take a look at the pitcher Charlie Morton was during his career with the Pirates.

 

Charlie Morton through Age 31 season...

 

[pre]ERA G IP ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W

4.54 158 875.2 84 4.12 1.443 9.6 0.7 3.4 6.3 1.86[/pre]

 

After a year with the Phillies he went to the Astros where he started throwing his curveball nearly 30% of the time.

 

Since he threw his first pitch for the Astros as a 33 year old his numbers are as follows...

 

[pre]ERA G IP ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W

3.24 88 508.1 131 3.26 1.141 7.2 0.8 3.0 10.7 3.50[/pre]

 

I promise I am not predicting, or even suggesting, that Brett Anderson is going to make a Charlie Morton type developmental leap in his 30's. My point is more that the Brewers may actually know what they are doing when it comes to getting the most out of these types of solid, but non-premier starting pitchers.

 

In case you are curious, here are Brett Anderson's numbers through Age 31...

 

[pre]ERA G IP ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W

4.05 188 997.1 102 3.91 1.335 9.6 0.9 2.4 6.2 2.56[/pre]

 

Which is why my beef is that the deal is only for one year.

[Eye Black]

I've been thinking for years that Stearns was just waiting to snag a TOR starting pitcher, but perhaps it's just not in his organizational philosophy to do that? Maybe this is just what we can expect - picking up solid if unspectacular and undervalued starting pitchers that can pitch well enough to keep the team in games. I mean, this is starting to be a trend now. We basically replaced Chase Anderson and Zach Davies with left-handed versions of those guys. I think that's just the team's philosophy when it comes to starting pitching. The "name" guys just aren't worth it.

The only "upper tier" pitchers I can even remember this front office being verifiably linked to are Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish. I am probably forgetting someone else... maybe? After the reportedly near miss on the Quintana trade I always assumed they would go after some other established starter in the (near) future, yet here we are.

[TJseven7]

I get adding an arm but how many backend of the rotation arms do we need. And when do we address the front end?

 

Well let's clear something up before I answer this. 4 ERA guys aren't back end of the rotation but if you are going to call them back end of the rotation.

 

How many do we need. 6-7 and we currently have Houser Lindblom Anderson Lauer, if you want to count Burnes/Suter/Peralta as option 7 8 9 I'm good with that.

We need 2 more.

 

When do we address the front end? Woodruff is all you need if he can be a 3.5 guy and he is trending that way.

 

I had this money earmarked for Gio or Rich Hill. It'll be interesting to see where they go and what they get. Brett Anderson is an interesting option and if he can stay healthy he's basically a left handed Chase Anderson with a better FIP, for 1.5-3.5 mil cheaper, and we get Chad Spanberger.

 

I'd say that's coming out ahead.

[TJseven7]

Brett Anderson has a little more of an injury history, and wasn't as solid at the beginning of his career as Miley, but also wasn't nearly as terrible as Miley was before his time as a Brewer. But the two of them compare pretty favorably stuff and makeup wise.

 

My biggest beef is that this was just a one-year deal. I'd have gone two years with a club option, maybe even three.

 

Again, you assume players would except a foolish deal for them to accept. Club option, right. Why sign a 5/3 when you can get a 5/1 that could be a 7 when you believe your last year wasn't a fluke.

On the flip side, why would MKE sign a multiple year deal on a 32 year old pitcher who is injury prone.

 

Players tend to bet on themselves.

Well run franchises are adverse to risk.

 

You are beefing about fairy tale scenarios.

[Eye Black]

Which is why my beef is that the deal is only for one year.

I can't wait until a year from now when we have a thread bemoaning the fact that Anderson just signed a 3 year, $40 million deal elsewhere.

[liveforoctober]

One thing kind of ignored so far it seems:

 

Stearns is constructing an atrocity of a defense so far and just signed one of the biggest contact pitchers there is. To me it is an interesting selection for the team because of that. We will see what is stuck at 3B and 1B, but I doubt they are great defenders. (Please note the SO FARs, as there is offseason and players left).

 

I will hold out hope for a bigger rotation addition that pushes one of these guys to the bullpen. As it seems though Stearns is not much of a guy to invest in the rotation...so that is unlikely. Guess we will see if it works out this year, surely didn’t last year.

 

I think these iffy starter additions are a sign they expect Hader/Suter/Knebel/Peralta/Burnes to be an elite pen and rely heavy on it.

 

How is making the playoffs deemed not working out?

 

Because I believe there are 25 guys on a roster (more than that make an impact every year I suppose). Just because a a bunch of them did, doesn’t mean all 25 were automatically a success. I guess Travis Shaw worked out? We made the WC game.

 

I didn’t say the team didn’t work out, I was speaking purely towards the opening day rotation. He made great additions, but let’s not ignore we could have had Lyles and Gio the entire season etc. He constructed a poor rotation to start the season, it just wasn’t good. He gave young unproven guys a chance and 2/3 were total flops.

 

All I am saying is I hope he constructs a rotation this year that is actually good from the start and we don’t lose countless games for months trotting out 7 ERA pitchers until we give up on them and/or use assets to replace them.

 

I thought last year's strategy was fairly obvious. Spend money to build a lineup, take the risk with the pitching staff. We didn't have money to do both. Your criticism of the opening day rotation is valid, but if you were in Stearns' shoes and it seems you opinion is you would have spent money on a rotation piece... you would have likely sacrificed either Grandal or Moustakas to do so. Would that have turned out different/better?

 

Additionally, hand to heart what were you expecting from Chacin when the season started? I don't believe you would have said released mid season due to performance. If Chacin pitches as we were expecting him to, last year has more chapters.

[TJseven7]

Which is why my beef is that the deal is only for one year.

I can't wait until a year from now when we have a thread bemoaning the fact that Anderson just signed a 3 year, $40 million deal elsewhere.

 

Guy's coming off a great year. He looks around and sees Gausman get 10 mil and Roark get 12/2. He was better than them last year. Clearly his market didn't develop the same way or he wouldn't have taken this offer.

 

I can see why he would want a prove it deal. He does 2019 again and he could get nearly double what MKE paid him.

 

But hey, I'm sure if we dangled some shiny beads in front of him and his agent that they'd sign off on a multi year team friendly deal. Suckers.

[BrewBalls]

It's upsetting because it's a waste of a 40 man roster spot that should be going to a better player.

Tyler Saladino says “hi”

[superfly]

I get adding an arm but how many backend of the rotation arms do we need. And when do we address the front end?

 

Woodruff is a top of the rotation arm and I think Houser will surprise people this year (if he didn't last year). Everyone just wants the big name.

 

For example, take these two pitchers:

 

Pitcher A 195 IP / 3.96 ERA / 3.48 FIP / 1.259 WHIP / 9.0 K9 / 2.3 BB9

Pitcher B 111 IP / 3.72 ERA / 3.88 FIP / 1.240 WHIP / 9.5 K9 / 3.0 BB9

 

Pitcher A is Zack Wheeler and he just signed a $118 million contract

Pitcher B is Adrian Houser and he will make about $600k this year

 

Stop listening to ESPN and MLB Network. They only talk about the big names and lead you to believe that signing those guys is the only way to build a good rotation. It's not.

 

111 innings not all of which are starter innings doesn’t mean anything. Houser looks promising but there’s a reason Wheeler got what he did. Teams looking to win now pay up, those in rebuild or cheap take a gamble on the unproven. Otherwise you go into seasons with small sample sizes on Corbin Burnes and have your entire season screwed up.

 

What time will division champ T shirts be for sale?

[BrewBalls]

It's upsetting because it's a waste of a 40 man roster spot that should be going to a better player.

Tyler Saladino says “hi”

[MrTPlush]

I thought last year's strategy was fairly obvious. Spend money to build a lineup, take the risk with the pitching staff. We didn't have money to do both. Your criticism of the opening day rotation is valid, but if you were in Stearns' shoes and it seems you opinion is you would have spent money on a rotation piece... you would have likely sacrificed either Grandal or Moustakas to do so. Would that have turned out different/better?

 

Additionally, hand to heart what were you expecting from Chacin when the season started? I don't believe you would have said released mid season due to performance. If Chacin pitches as we were expecting him to, last year has more chapters.

 

My complaint last year was the lack of experience and stability. Which doesn’t need to cost a ton of money. While everyone said Anderson (Chase) sucked and wanted to dump him pre 2018 I told people he would easily end up one of the Top 5 guys come season end. There was so much inexperience someone was destined to fail and Anderson (a reliable starter) would take someone’s place.

 

The problem this year is we don’t have that. Suter would be the closest thing ready to step in. Personally I would like three pieces considered reliable/experienced. Woodruff is one, Lauer is another, and preferably the third would be a solid mid rotation guy. I really don’t think Brett Anderson is that.

 

All I am saying is I hope it ends up a little better. I don’t have a huge problem rolling the dice and then fixing in July...but consistently that is wasting resources and costing wins. It is very troublesome when they end up like Peralta/Burnes/Chacin and throw BP.

 

There is offseason left and money to spend. We will see what they do. They may still add to the rotation or dramatically improve the offense.

[areacodes]

The Brewers are done signing FA starters this season and you guys all know it.

 

5 spots left on 40man and we still need:

 

3 1B/3B

1 RP

1 corner OF

 

Nope. Nobody knows that at all... even you.

 

There are plenty of players who could be jettisoned off of the 40 man roster. And even if they are done with FA signings for a pitcher, there is always the trade option as well.

 

I’d say it is more likely we add more starters than adding none.

[Thurston Fluff]

One thing kind of ignored so far it seems:

 

Stearns is constructing an atrocity of a defense so far and just signed one of the biggest contact pitchers there is. To me it is an interesting selection for the team because of that. We will see what is stuck at 3B and 1B, but I doubt they are great defenders. (Please note the SO FARs, as there is offseason and players left).

 

I will hold out hope for a bigger rotation addition that pushes one of these guys to the bullpen. As it seems though Stearns is not much of a guy to invest in the rotation...so that is unlikely. Guess we will see if it works out this year, surely didn’t last year.

 

I think these iffy starter additions are a sign they expect Hader/Suter/Knebel/Peralta/Burnes to be an elite pen and rely heavy on it.

 

How is making the playoffs deemed not working out?

 

Because I believe there are 25 guys on a roster (more than that make an impact every year I suppose). Just because a a bunch of them did, doesn’t mean all 25 were automatically a success. I guess Travis Shaw worked out? We made the WC game.

 

I didn’t say the team didn’t work out, I was speaking purely towards the opening day rotation. He made great additions, but let’s not ignore we could have had Lyles and Gio the entire season etc. He constructed a poor rotation to start the season, it just wasn’t good. He gave young unproven guys a chance and 2/3 were total flops.

 

All I am saying is I hope he constructs a rotation this year that is actually good from the start and we don’t lose countless games for months trotting out 7 ERA pitchers until we give up on them and/or use assets to replace them.

 

Outside of September the first month of the season, when the staff sucked rocks, was probably the best month of the season. I fail to see how you can argue we lost all those games when we in fact didn't lose many games early in the season. When we started to lose more game it was due to injury not how the rotation was constructed. Going further the rotation was built on the cheap because they spent money elsewhere. As it turns out that wasn't such a bad idea because we still managed to get into the playoffs despite a fairly significant number of key injuries. It also wasn't like we got lucky and had a bunch of career years to bail us out. There was probably more disappointing performances than better than expected ones. The way the team was constructed, not just the starting rotation, worked. You can't just look at the weakest link and blame all the losses on that. The team was built with an eye to how it would work as a whole not as a bunch of separate parts.

[liveforoctober]

I thought last year's strategy was fairly obvious. Spend money to build a lineup, take the risk with the pitching staff. We didn't have money to do both. Your criticism of the opening day rotation is valid, but if you were in Stearns' shoes and it seems you opinion is you would have spent money on a rotation piece... you would have likely sacrificed either Grandal or Moustakas to do so. Would that have turned out different/better?

 

Additionally, hand to heart what were you expecting from Chacin when the season started? I don't believe you would have said released mid season due to performance. If Chacin pitches as we were expecting him to, last year has more chapters.

 

My complaint last year was the lack of experience and stability. Which doesn’t need to cost a ton of money. While everyone said Anderson (Chase) sucked and wanted to dump him pre 2018 I told people he would easily end up one of the Top 5 guys come season end. There was so much inexperience someone was destined to fail and Anderson (a reliable starter) would take someone’s place.

 

The problem this year is we don’t have that. Suter would be the closest thing ready to step in. Personally I would like three pieces considered reliable/experienced. Woodruff is one, Lauer is another, and preferably the third would be a solid mid rotation guy. I really don’t think Brett Anderson is that.

 

All I am saying is I hope it ends up a little better. I don’t have a huge problem rolling the dice and then fixing in July...but consistently that is wasting resources and costing wins. It is very troublesome when they end up like Peralta/Burnes/Chacin and throw BP.

 

There is offseason left and money to spend. We will see what they do. They may still add to the rotation or dramatically improve the offense.

 

I appreciate this response. I do wish we would have had Gio from the onset last year as well. Cheers man, go Brewers.

[BrewBalls]

I thought last year's strategy was fairly obvious. Spend money to build a lineup, take the risk with the pitching staff. We didn't have money to do both. Your criticism of the opening day rotation is valid, but if you were in Stearns' shoes and it seems you opinion is you would have spent money on a rotation piece... you would have likely sacrificed either Grandal or Moustakas to do so. Would that have turned out different/better?

 

Additionally, hand to heart what were you expecting from Chacin when the season started? I don't believe you would have said released mid season due to performance. If Chacin pitches as we were expecting him to, last year has more chapters.

 

My complaint last year was the lack of experience and stability. Which doesn’t need to cost a ton of money. While everyone said Anderson (Chase) sucked and wanted to dump him pre 2018 I told people he would easily end up one of the Top 5 guys come season end. There was so much inexperience someone was destined to fail and Anderson (a reliable starter) would take someone’s place.

 

The problem this year is we don’t have that. Suter would be the closest thing ready to step in. Personally I would like three pieces considered reliable/experienced. Woodruff is one, Lauer is another, and preferably the third would be a solid mid rotation guy. I really don’t think Brett Anderson is that.

 

All I am saying is I hope it ends up a little better. I don’t have a huge problem rolling the dice and then fixing in July...but consistently that is wasting resources and costing wins. It is very troublesome when they end up like Peralta/Burnes/Chacin and throw BP.

 

There is offseason left and money to spend. We will see what they do. They may still add to the rotation or dramatically improve the offense.

I feel you are complaining about something which was a series of unfortunate events. Having one or two of Woodruff, Burnes and Peralta struggle is a realistic possibility. Hence why Anderson was placed in the bullpen to start the season. We also have Junior Guerra in the pen too along with Houser in the minors. But once both Burnes and Peralta hit walls early, Stearns reacted quickly to resign Gio. Now on top of this they were also having major struggles from Chacin (I didn’t hear anyone complaining about he being our opening day starter). This along with losing Knebel right away is where we lost some flexibility and had to scramble to find adequate replacements (i.e. Houser, Lyles and Pomeranz). Considering how the wheels feel completely off out of the gate I would say Stearns did a superb job making adjustments on the fly.

 

Now don’t even get me started on all of the positional starters who crashed and burned. So without DS having some Miss Cleo psychic powers there is now way for him to know this many major fires would need to be put out a year following their magical 2018 run.

[BrewBalls]

I thought last year's strategy was fairly obvious. Spend money to build a lineup, take the risk with the pitching staff. We didn't have money to do both. Your criticism of the opening day rotation is valid, but if you were in Stearns' shoes and it seems you opinion is you would have spent money on a rotation piece... you would have likely sacrificed either Grandal or Moustakas to do so. Would that have turned out different/better?

 

Additionally, hand to heart what were you expecting from Chacin when the season started? I don't believe you would have said released mid season due to performance. If Chacin pitches as we were expecting him to, last year has more chapters.

 

My complaint last year was the lack of experience and stability. Which doesn’t need to cost a ton of money. While everyone said Anderson (Chase) sucked and wanted to dump him pre 2018 I told people he would easily end up one of the Top 5 guys come season end. There was so much inexperience someone was destined to fail and Anderson (a reliable starter) would take someone’s place.

 

The problem this year is we don’t have that. Suter would be the closest thing ready to step in. Personally I would like three pieces considered reliable/experienced. Woodruff is one, Lauer is another, and preferably the third would be a solid mid rotation guy. I really don’t think Brett Anderson is that.

 

All I am saying is I hope it ends up a little better. I don’t have a huge problem rolling the dice and then fixing in July...but consistently that is wasting resources and costing wins. It is very troublesome when they end up like Peralta/Burnes/Chacin and throw BP.

 

There is offseason left and money to spend. We will see what they do. They may still add to the rotation or dramatically improve the offense.

I feel you are complaining about something which was a series of unfortunate events. Having one or two of Woodruff, Burnes and Peralta struggle is a realistic possibility. Hence why Anderson was placed in the bullpen to start the season. We also have Junior Guerra in the pen too along with Houser in the minors. But once both Burnes and Peralta hit walls early, Stearns reacted quickly to resign Gio. Now on top of this they were also having major struggles from Chacin (I didn’t hear anyone complaining about he being our opening day starter). This along with losing Knebel right away is where we lost some flexibility and had to scramble to find adequate replacements (i.e. Houser, Lyles and Pomeranz). Considering how the wheels feel completely off out of the gate I would say Stearns did a superb job making adjustments on the fly.

 

Now don’t even get me started on all of the positional starters who crashed and burned. So without DS having some Miss Cleo psychic powers there is now way for him to know this many major fires would need to be put out a year following their magical 2018 run.

[wntrtxn21]

I get adding an arm but how many backend of the rotation arms do we need. And when do we address the front end?

 

Woodruff is a top of the rotation arm and I think Houser will surprise people this year (if he didn't last year). Everyone just wants the big name.

 

For example, take these two pitchers:

 

Pitcher A 195 IP / 3.96 ERA / 3.48 FIP / 1.259 WHIP / 9.0 K9 / 2.3 BB9

Pitcher B 111 IP / 3.72 ERA / 3.88 FIP / 1.240 WHIP / 9.5 K9 / 3.0 BB9

 

Pitcher A is Zack Wheeler and he just signed a $118 million contract

Pitcher B is Adrian Houser and he will make about $600k this year

 

Stop listening to ESPN and MLB Network. They only talk about the big names and lead you to believe that signing those guys is the only way to build a good rotation. It's not.

 

You should probably use Houser’s stats only as a starter so as to not have inaccurate results that are misleading.

 

Houser as a starter 80.2 IP / 4.57 ERA / 1.35 WHIP / 9.4 K9 / 3.23 BB9

[RollieTime]

$5 million plus incentives on a 1 year deal for a LHP Starter who had a 3.89 ERA last year...

 

I don’t see why this is not a great signing....

 

Did Stearns come out and announce that the Brewers 2020 rotation is now in place, and I missed it? Is it Feb 13th? Because I’m pretty sure my calendar says Dec 13th...

 

He didn't say it from this comment kind of seems that's what they are leaning

 

 

I think Stearns’ comment of “but we do think we’re making progress toward filling out a starting rotation” is interesting in that he’s stating it’s still a work in progress, but trending in the right direction.

 

Doesn’t mean they will for sure be adding anyone else, but with the comment he made, I feel like he’s still expecting another starting pitcher to be added to the mix.

[PeaveyFury]

A little surprised to see so many strong reactions. At best, he's a solid 3/4. At worst, it's a one-year deal and he's Chacin-ed by the break and they're not out much since it's a one-year deal. More likely, he's a decent 4 to fill out the back of the rotation at a very reasonable cost.

[82brewcrew82]

I've been thinking for years that Stearns was just waiting to snag a TOR starting pitcher, but perhaps it's just not in his organizational philosophy to do that? Maybe this is just what we can expect - picking up solid if unspectacular and undervalued starting pitchers that can pitch well enough to keep the team in games. I mean, this is starting to be a trend now. We basically replaced Chase Anderson and Zach Davies with left-handed versions of those guys. I think that's just the team's philosophy when it comes to starting pitching. The "name" guys just aren't worth it.

Exactly. I feel like I'm in a twilight zone episode where no one remembers that last two years.

[Jaylyn]

1) Woodruff

2) Lauer

3) Houser

4) Anderson

5) Lindblom

 

I really hope this is not the final plan to be the rotation cause that's just plain gross. I like all the cheap additions and low risk signings, but they have one guy who is a proven starter and then a bunch of guys you would expect a 90 loss team to trot out there. That just does not sound promising.

Congrats! That's the opening day rotation you just listed. I expect DS will re-sign Nelson to a high incentive contract and they're done with the starters.

[TJseven7]

 

I think Stearns’ comment of “but we do think we’re making progress toward filling out a starting rotation” is interesting in that he’s stating it’s still a work in progress, but trending in the right direction.

 

Doesn’t mean they will for sure be adding anyone else, but with the comment he made, I feel like he’s still expecting another starting pitcher to be added to the mix.

 

He's completely right in saying that too. It's filling in nicely. It's not done quite yet.

 

Woodruff is the guy

Anderson Lindblom Houser Lauer are absolutely going to get a shot to win a starting 5 spot.

2 missing pieces.

Suter Peralta Burnes are built in depth in the event people flame out.

 

I wanted Gio or Hill instead of Anderson but the difference isn't massive. Same type of guy. In my opinion they still need 2 more. Hill or Gio and a Taijan Walker does the trick. Then you shop for 1 more guy you can stash in AAA to start the year. Jimmy Nelson or Junior Guerra vol 2? That would bring us to 10-11 options before we look deeper into the minors for other fixes. 10-11 options at starting pitcher seems about the norm for them. They are 2 away from done and it doesn't require a whole lot to get there.

[DHonks]

Sounds like a classic Stearns rotation move. Fine a guy that has flaws but has seen some success, perhaps in part due to an underutilized pitch. Miley’s cutter and Chacin’s slider are perfect examples