3rd Base Candidates

[MNBrew]

The talk here in Twins Territory is that if the Twins can actually sign Donaldson, Sano moves to 1B -- 1 lineup hole filled in a big way, 2 positions solved. He's a huge bat who rebounded last year. They're not just throwing him away. He's a big dude and some stats don't like him in the field, and granted he's no Gold Glove candidate, but he's hardly the butcher at 3B you'd think (loads of eye test time here) and, among other things, makes the charging bare-handed play really, really well.

 

I've noted it in a prior thread, but Sano at 1B isn't a no-brainer. The year they moved him to 1B because they thought his glove would play better there overall was SUCH a mess to his whole game that they moved him right back to 3B the next year.

 

I like Arraez a lot but he isn't going anywhere. He's slated to be their starting 2B and they're not giving him away any more than the Brewers would just let Hiura be pried away for a song.

[Eye Black]

I like Arraez a lot but he isn't going anywhere. He's slated to be their starting 2B and they're not giving him away any more than the Brewers would just let Hiura be pried away for a song.

I certainly wasn’t suggesting they would consider “giving him away” by any means. At one time the Twins were reportedly interested in Hader. If that is still the case the Twins could put together an enticing proposal that included Arraez and 1-2 players from their pool of nearly major league ready prospects.

 

Just a thought, as with all trade speculation of course it is very unlikely to actually happen.

 

Edit: Posted the concept in the Hader trade ideas thread.

[JosephC]

I'd still go after Seager, but if not him, I think they can get by with what they have and maybe make a play for a guy like Colin Moran at the deadline.

I was surprised to see how dreadful Moran was defensively at 3B last year. He had the second worst UZR (-8.8) at that position ahead of only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He rated worse defensively than Miguel Sano, Justin Turner, and Hunter Dozier.

 

I actually had been kicking around the Moran concept a few weeks ago when doing an "offseason plan" scenario. He is a terrible defensive player. The power aspect of his game has also been a major disappointment, although his home park really doesn't help him.

 

The things that make him interesting is that he is only 27 years old, hasn't been a bad offensive player (.277/.331/.419/.749 over the last two years) and Pittsburgh could very well be looking to move him for next to nothing as Ke'Bryan Hayes will probably be the Pirates starting third baseman in early June (likely would be earlier except for Super Two). If the Brewers were able to get him for a couple fringe prospects, I wouldn't be complaining. Possible late bloomer that would be worth making a very minor investment in IMO.

[Devinep]

Here are a couple creative options: Renata Nunez has played Mostly DH for BAL, but has An even O UZR in 77 games at 3B and hit 32 HRs with a 771 OPS

 

2 Astros who could play 3B are Yuki gurriel (126 OPS+)and aledymis Diaz (114 ops+). They don’t need both and have looked into Alvarez and Kyle tucker playing 1B.

[wntrtxn21]

Here are a couple creative options: Renata Nunez has played Mostly DH for BAL, but has An even O UZR in 77 games at 3B and hit 32 HRs with a 771 OPS

 

2 Astros who could play 3B are Yuki gurriel (126 OPS+)and aledymis Diaz (114 ops+). They don’t need both and have looked into Alvarez and Kyle tucker playing 1B.

 

By all indications Diaz is a well below avg. thirdbaseman. His arm is, at most, average and he has large negative numbers as a 3B. I doubt seriously that the Astros would part with Gurriel unless Stearns overwhelmed them, which he is very unlikely to do. Very creative thinking of Nunez. A lot of power and a decent thirdbaseman. I have no idea what it would take to get him, but it's the O's so who knows.

[fleehaw]

Here are a couple creative options: Renata Nunez has played Mostly DH for BAL, but has An even O UZR in 77 games at 3B and hit 32 HRs with a 771 OPS

 

2 Astros who could play 3B are Yuki gurriel (126 OPS+)and aledymis Diaz (114 ops+). They don’t need both and have looked into Alvarez and Kyle tucker playing 1B.

 

By all indications Diaz is a well below avg. thirdbaseman. His arm is, at most, average and he has large negative numbers as a 3B. I doubt seriously that the Astros would part with Gurriel unless Stearns overwhelmed them, which he is very unlikely to do. Very creative thinking of Nunez. A lot of power and a decent thirdbaseman. I have no idea what it would take to get him, but it's the O's so who knows.

 

FWIW, the BTV website has Nunez with a value of 1. On the Brewers side, for example, Supak has a value of 1.1. Nunez (5 years of control) could also be packaged with Givens (value of 8 - 2 years of control). Again, for example, Peralta has a value of 9.4 (5 years of control).

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Here are a couple creative options: Renata Nunez has played Mostly DH for BAL, but has An even O UZR in 77 games at 3B and hit 32 HRs with a 771 OPS

 

2 Astros who could play 3B are Yuki gurriel (126 OPS+)and aledymis Diaz (114 ops+). They don’t need both and have looked into Alvarez and Kyle tucker playing 1B.

 

By all indications Diaz is a well below avg. thirdbaseman. His arm is, at most, average and he has large negative numbers as a 3B. I doubt seriously that the Astros would part with Gurriel unless Stearns overwhelmed them, which he is very unlikely to do. Very creative thinking of Nunez. A lot of power and a decent thirdbaseman. I have no idea what it would take to get him, but it's the O's so who knows.

 

FWIW, the BTV website has Nunez with a value of 1. On the Brewers side, for example, Supak has a value of 1.1. Nunez (5 years of control) could also be packaged with Givens (value of 8 - 2 years of control). Again, for example, Peralta has a value of 9.4 (5 years of control).

 

If that's what the site has him valued at, the site is wrong.

[Devinep]

Here are a couple creative options: Renata Nunez has played Mostly DH for BAL, but has An even O UZR in 77 games at 3B and hit 32 HRs with a 771 OPS

 

2 Astros who could play 3B are Yuki gurriel (126 OPS+)and aledymis Diaz (114 ops+). They don’t need both and have looked into Alvarez and Kyle tucker playing 1B.

 

By all indications Diaz is a well below avg. thirdbaseman. His arm is, at most, average and he has large negative numbers as a 3B. I doubt seriously that the Astros would part with Gurriel unless Stearns overwhelmed them, which he is very unlikely to do. Very creative thinking of Nunez. A lot of power and a decent thirdbaseman. I have no idea what it would take to get him, but it's the O's so who knows.

 

I knows Diaz wasn’t a good SS but no didn’t know The arm was such a problem. That would explain why his metrics are best at 2B. Probably not a great 3B option then. You might be right about them wanting Gurriel, but they have a AAA 3B who got to the bigs last year named Abraham toro. In his age 22 season at AAA he had a 938 OPS.

 

Is suspect Baltimore would want some young pitching for Nunez. They don’t have a starting SS so they might be the rare team that Values Arcia a bit too

[MDCrew]

Here are a couple creative options: Renata Nunez has played Mostly DH for BAL, but has An even O UZR in 77 games at 3B and hit 32 HRs with a 771 OPS

 

2 Astros who could play 3B are Yuki gurriel (126 OPS+)and aledymis Diaz (114 ops+). They don’t need both and have looked into Alvarez and Kyle tucker playing 1B.

 

By all indications Diaz is a well below avg. thirdbaseman. His arm is, at most, average and he has large negative numbers as a 3B. I doubt seriously that the Astros would part with Gurriel unless Stearns overwhelmed them, which he is very unlikely to do. Very creative thinking of Nunez. A lot of power and a decent thirdbaseman. I have no idea what it would take to get him, but it's the O's so who knows.

 

I knows Diaz wasn’t a good SS but no didn’t know The arm was such a problem. That would explain why his metrics are best at 2B. Probably not a great 3B option then. You might be right about them wanting Gurriel, but they have a AAA 3B who got to the bigs last year named Abraham toro. In his age 22 season at AAA he had a 938 OPS.

 

Is suspect Baltimore would want some young pitching for Nunez. They don’t have a starting SS so they might be the rare team that Values Arcia a bit too

 

I also like Nunez and saw him play a good bit this year. I also agree that the O’s might be a team that would have interest in Arcia. I think that both teams could match up well on deals that would benefit both sides.

[Brewcrewin07]

I still can't help but think about the Brewers currently have a gaping hole at 3B, the need for a big time middle of the order bat, and Castellanos and Donaldson are still out there.

[Devinep]

I still can't help but think about the Brewers currently have a gaping hole at 3B, the need for a big time middle of the order bat, and Castellanos and Donaldson are still out there.

 

Why does it matter that Castellanos is out there? They already have enough OF and their hole is at 3B. And no he’s not a 3B just like Braun isn’t

[RollieTime]

I still can't help but think about the Brewers currently have a gaping hole at 3B, the need for a big time middle of the order bat, and Castellanos and Donaldson are still out there.

 

I do still hold out a sliver of hope for someone like Castellanos, but we would definitely have a good bat or two on the bench everyday, which isn’t a bad thing. Unless of course you make him the everyday third baseman.

 

I don’t see them bringing in Castellanos to play him at third, but anything is possible. Even if he was going to predominantly play the outfield where we already have 4 quality players including Braun, I suppose you could just bring him in and figure it out later once injuries happen. If we remain generally healthy all year, we could move Braun to first full time and have Avisail become the 4th outfielder that will get 400+ at bats anyway? Yelich, Cain, and Castellanos in the outfield with Garcia getting ~100 starts for off days and injuries. Castellanos could possibly see some time at first as well, opening up playing time for Garcia if one of Braun or Smoak goes down. That could probably work.

 

It would be nice to have a big bat in the middle of the lineup with Yelich and Hiura. Having that much depth on the roster to field a quality lineup even if a couple guys are missing from injury or just receiving a maintenance day wouldn’t be a bad thing at all. It would allow us to have some nice pinch hitting options later in games as well.

 

I would be all for a Castellanos signing. The playing time will sort itself out later.

[MadThinker88]

Right it's a long shot. I thought maybe because he had a down year they might sour on him.

 

Yes JRam had a rough 12 month stretch (from later in 2018 into 2019).

But if you dig into the numbers/ splits you can see he had turned it around in July & August before he broke his hamate bone in August. He still pushed himself to make it back in late Sept & went yard twice in the 1st game back.

 

With more control (in comparison) & at a reasonable cost for that control, JRam would cost more in a deal to acquire than Lindor..

[Brewcrewin07]

I still can't help but think about the Brewers currently have a gaping hole at 3B, the need for a big time middle of the order bat, and Castellanos and Donaldson are still out there.

 

Why does it matter that Castellanos is out there? They already have enough OF and their hole is at 3B. And no he’s not a 3B just like Braun isn’t

 

Because I'm concerned about not having enough lineup protection for Yelich above all else. They still need a big bat. No question about it. If you can get a guy like him, you do it, and figure out positions/playing time later. I don't worry about defense so much with all the shifting etc that goes on now days. You make it work. Bat always plays.

[brewerfan82]

I still can't help but think about the Brewers currently have a gaping hole at 3B, the need for a big time middle of the order bat, and Castellanos and Donaldson are still out there.

 

Why does it matter that Castellanos is out there? They already have enough OF and their hole is at 3B. And no he’s not a 3B just like Braun isn’t

 

Because I'm concerned about not having enough lineup protection for Yelich above all else. They still need a big bat. No question about it. If you can get a guy like him, you do it, and figure out positions/playing time later. I don't worry about defense so much with all the shifting etc that goes on now days. You make it work. Bat always plays.

So you're saying you're cool with Andujar at 3rd

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I still can't help but think about the Brewers currently have a gaping hole at 3B, the need for a big time middle of the order bat, and Castellanos and Donaldson are still out there.

 

Why does it matter that Castellanos is out there? They already have enough OF and their hole is at 3B. And no he’s not a 3B just like Braun isn’t

 

Because I'm concerned about not having enough lineup protection for Yelich above all else. They still need a big bat. No question about it. If you can get a guy like him, you do it, and figure out positions/playing time later. I don't worry about defense so much with all the shifting etc that goes on now days. You make it work. Bat always plays.

 

That's pretty much where I'm at too. If they aren't going to pony up 4 years and $100 million for Donaldson, I would roll with the next best bat on the free agent market in Castellanos, and simply deal with his defense at 3B. He's not Braun-level bad there. I think they could make it work with the shifts, and the Brewers seem pretty adept at getting their infielders to the point where they are competent out there. I do believe that Castellanos's bat would make this lineup one of the best in the NL, and the guy is only 27.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

So you're saying you're cool with Andujar at 3rd

 

I'd be down with that. Just not sure I want to give up the best reliever in baseball for him as the centerpiece.

[Brewcrewin07]

This is the way i see it...why would you trade the best reliever in baseball for a centerpiece 3B, when you could keep Hader, sign a better bat in Castellanos, no worse defensively, is still only 27 years old(so comfortable easily going 4-5 year deal with him) and keep Hader when all Castellanos would cost you is $$(which you have) that does far more to improve the team now and the next few years, then trading Hader for a guy you HOPE will be as good of a bat, and would give you about the same amount of control as signing Castellanos would?? To me, it's an no brainer which way to go on that.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

This is the way i see it...why would you trade the best reliever in baseball for a centerpiece 3B, when you could keep Hader, sign a better bat in Castellanos, no worse defensively, is still only 27 years old(so comfortable easily going 4-5 year deal with him) and keep Hader when all Castellanos would cost you is $$(which you have) that does far more to improve the team now and the next few years, then trading Hader for a guy you HOPE will be as good of a bat, and would give you about the same amount of control as signing Castellanos would?? To me, it's an no brainer which way to go on that.

 

I don't think one has anything to do with the other, though. Andujar is very cheap for the next few years. He has a lot of value. I just think if you are trading Hader, it's for a legit, proven, complete major league bat or legit blue chip prospect. Andujar is neither of those things. I'd love to have that upside bat in the lineup, just not as the main piece coming back in a Hader deal.

[mattyo]

This is the way i see it...why would you trade the best reliever in baseball for a centerpiece 3B, when you could keep Hader, sign a better bat in Castellanos, no worse defensively, is still only 27 years old(so comfortable easily going 4-5 year deal with him) and keep Hader when all Castellanos would cost you is $$(which you have) that does far more to improve the team now and the next few years, then trading Hader for a guy you HOPE will be as good of a bat, and would give you about the same amount of control as signing Castellanos would?? To me, it's an no brainer which way to go on that.

 

1) Because Stearns doesn't have the $$ for it - (In this scenario, Attanasio is cutting budget and doesn't want any other big contracts)

 

OR

 

2) Because the Brewers internally do not value Castellanos as someone worth what he is projected to make in this market - 4 yr/ $60 mil.

 

 

I get your point, and its a frustrating one, but one that comes with being a fan of one of the smallest markets in a rich market's league.

[TURBO]

Castellanos is not a 3B. The attitude that Stearns can sign anyone and turn them into whatever position he wants them to be is ridiculous.

[Brewcrewin07]

Castellanos is not a 3B. The attitude that Stearns can sign anyone and turn them into whatever position he wants them to be is ridiculous.

 

He's played over 4400 innings(527 games) in his career at 3B(54 errors). His career fielding % at 3B is .955. That 's good enough for me. His bat makes up for that IMO.

[StearnsFTW]

Except he wants to play outfield.

[Devinep]

Castellanos is not a 3B. The attitude that Stearns can sign anyone and turn them into whatever position he wants them to be is ridiculous.

 

He's played over 4400 innings(527 games) in his career at 3B(54 errors). His career fielding % at 3B is .955. That 's good enough for me. His bat makes up for that IMO.

 

You might be right that his bat can make up for his D, but fielding % isn’t at all an accurate way to measure defense.

[Brewcrewin07]

Castellanos is not a 3B. The attitude that Stearns can sign anyone and turn them into whatever position he wants them to be is ridiculous.

 

He's played over 4400 innings(527 games) in his career at 3B(54 errors). His career fielding % at 3B is .955. That 's good enough for me. His bat makes up for that IMO.

 

You might be right that his bat can make up for his D, but fielding % isn’t at all an accurate way to measure defense.

 

It's accurate enough for me. Whatever i choose to use, is what it will be. Back when I played baseball, we didn't have all these fancy metrics to "measure" things. They weren't necessary. You could tell a good ball player when you saw one. Why that isn't still true today, I'm not sure, but sometimes, we saturate ourselves so much in analytics now that it becomes over kill.