Is Stearns done on position players?

[Eye Black]

Article from Beyond the Boxscore, The Brewers have been busy, but they haven’t gotten better

 

The second half of the article takes a look at the position player changes. Granted some of Grandal’s projected WAR is due to his pitch framing value, but that was a big loss nonetheless.

 

I don’t think they are done yet with position player upgrades. I think there will be at least one trade to add a position player that projects for greater than 2 WAR.

[Eye Black]

Article from Beyond the Boxscore, The Brewers have been busy, but they haven’t gotten better

 

The second half of the article takes a look at the position player changes. Granted some of Grandal’s projected WAR is due to his pitch framing value, but that was a big loss nonetheless.

 

I don’t think they are done yet with position player upgrades. I think there will be at least one trade to add a position player that projects for greater than 2 WAR.

[TJseven7]

Article from Beyond the Boxscore, The Brewers have been busy, but they haven’t gotten better

 

The second half of the article takes a look at the position player changes. Granted some of Grandal’s projected WAR is due to his pitch framing value, but that was a big loss nonetheless.

 

I don’t think they are done yet with position player upgrades. I think there will be at least one trade to add a position player that projects for greater than 2 WAR.

 

Don't really agree with how they "framed" that article. Projected WAR in vs actual war out would have held more water.

 

You can project Shaw as a .9 WAR player all you want but he gave MKE -.9 last year. Saying they aren't better than they would have been if they kept all the pieces together is fine and all, but that's also far more expensive than what they have done to this point. Basically, the team can achieve a higher overall WAR in 2020 than it did in 2019 even if the 2019 roster achieves a higher overall WAR than the 2020 team does.

 

Also saying they've shaved payroll isn't the half of it. Their payroll would be quite a bit higher than 2019 if they had kept the 2019 team intact for 2020.

[TJseven7]

Article from Beyond the Boxscore, The Brewers have been busy, but they haven’t gotten better

 

The second half of the article takes a look at the position player changes. Granted some of Grandal’s projected WAR is due to his pitch framing value, but that was a big loss nonetheless.

 

I don’t think they are done yet with position player upgrades. I think there will be at least one trade to add a position player that projects for greater than 2 WAR.

 

Don't really agree with how they "framed" that article. Projected WAR in vs actual war out would have held more water.

 

You can project Shaw as a .9 WAR player all you want but he gave MKE -.9 last year. Saying they aren't better than they would have been if they kept all the pieces together is fine and all, but that's also far more expensive than what they have done to this point. Basically, the team can achieve a higher overall WAR in 2020 than it did in 2019 even if the 2019 roster achieves a higher overall WAR than the 2020 team does.

 

Also saying they've shaved payroll isn't the half of it. Their payroll would be quite a bit higher than 2019 if they had kept the 2019 team intact for 2020.

[PeaveyFury]

I think the article highlights well what Stearns said to McCalvey yesterday- that they've taken the WAR that was assigned to two players, basically, and they feel like they've improved the expected WAR of multiple different roster spots to basically have them slightly better in the rotation and worse overall because of the loss of Grandall, but one or two additional acquisitions could have them net even or slightly better.

 

I do, though, take a bit of issue with the projections for Garcia and Narvaez, which seem very low. Have the Steamer projections been altered at all to factor in the adjustment both will have going to a more hitter-friendly park?

[PeaveyFury]

I think the article highlights well what Stearns said to McCalvey yesterday- that they've taken the WAR that was assigned to two players, basically, and they feel like they've improved the expected WAR of multiple different roster spots to basically have them slightly better in the rotation and worse overall because of the loss of Grandall, but one or two additional acquisitions could have them net even or slightly better.

 

I do, though, take a bit of issue with the projections for Garcia and Narvaez, which seem very low. Have the Steamer projections been altered at all to factor in the adjustment both will have going to a more hitter-friendly park?

[brewers888]

I think the team is considerably worse as of now. Narvaez has a chance to be nearly as good as Grandal offensively but the differences defensively are huge. Right now we have nothing at third base and hopefully that will change.

 

I think we downgraded at first base, catcher, and most likely a big downgrade at third although that has yet to be determined. The Garcia signing is bleh as I see him being mediocre at best. The pitching staff looks to be around the same as last year with a rotation that just isn't good enough unless Burnes and Peralta pitch up to thir potential which I can definitely see happening.

 

Stearns is definitely a great GM and he must see something in these players that I am missing but I just can't get excited about most of these moves besides acquiring Urias who should at the very least be a big upgrade offensively at short though the defense will probably be problematic. This GM has proven the naysayers wrong time and time again and definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt but in my opinion this dumpster diver of an offseason has been extremely disappointing so far.

[brewers888]

I think the team is considerably worse as of now. Narvaez has a chance to be nearly as good as Grandal offensively but the differences defensively are huge. Right now we have nothing at third base and hopefully that will change.

 

I think we downgraded at first base, catcher, and most likely a big downgrade at third although that has yet to be determined. The Garcia signing is bleh as I see him being mediocre at best. The pitching staff looks to be around the same as last year with a rotation that just isn't good enough unless Burnes and Peralta pitch up to thir potential which I can definitely see happening.

 

Stearns is definitely a great GM and he must see something in these players that I am missing but I just can't get excited about most of these moves besides acquiring Urias who should at the very least be a big upgrade offensively at short though the defense will probably be problematic. This GM has proven the naysayers wrong time and time again and definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt but in my opinion this dumpster diver of an offseason has been extremely disappointing so far.

[adambr2]

Why do people constantly portray the SS defense of Urias as a problem? Urias is a plus defender. He has the range and hands to handle either middle infield spot. His arm is probably better suited for 2B, but that's not unusual for a middle infielder and it's not a weak tool.

 

There's nothing about his scouting report or performance to suggest his defense at SS will be problematic.

[adambr2]

Why do people constantly portray the SS defense of Urias as a problem? Urias is a plus defender. He has the range and hands to handle either middle infield spot. His arm is probably better suited for 2B, but that's not unusual for a middle infielder and it's not a weak tool.

 

There's nothing about his scouting report or performance to suggest his defense at SS will be problematic.

[RollieTime]

Why do people constantly portray the SS defense of Urias as a problem? Urias is a plus defender. He has the range and hands to handle either middle infield spot. His arm is probably better suited for 2B, but that's not unusual for a middle infielder and it's not a weak tool.

 

There's nothing about his scouting report or performance to suggest his defense at SS will be problematic.

 

Exactly this. He has good instincts, good hands, and solid range, but his arm is probably a little weaker than you would like from the position. But the Brewers will shift to put him in the best position to normally have his feet under him to make solid throws instead of him needing to make a bunch of miraculous plays at SS. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him be a slightly above average shortstop at season’s end.

 

Plus, double play opportunities and balls in play are deceasing, reducing how many opportunities he will actually have the need to show off a cannon of an arm from the shortstop position.

 

It’s going to be awesome having Urias and Hiura up the middle for the next half decade.

[RollieTime]

Why do people constantly portray the SS defense of Urias as a problem? Urias is a plus defender. He has the range and hands to handle either middle infield spot. His arm is probably better suited for 2B, but that's not unusual for a middle infielder and it's not a weak tool.

 

There's nothing about his scouting report or performance to suggest his defense at SS will be problematic.

 

Exactly this. He has good instincts, good hands, and solid range, but his arm is probably a little weaker than you would like from the position. But the Brewers will shift to put him in the best position to normally have his feet under him to make solid throws instead of him needing to make a bunch of miraculous plays at SS. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him be a slightly above average shortstop at season’s end.

 

Plus, double play opportunities and balls in play are deceasing, reducing how many opportunities he will actually have the need to show off a cannon of an arm from the shortstop position.

 

It’s going to be awesome having Urias and Hiura up the middle for the next half decade.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I think the team is considerably worse as of now. Narvaez has a chance to be nearly as good as Grandal offensively but the differences defensively are huge. Right now we have nothing at third base and hopefully that will change.

 

I think we downgraded at first base, catcher, and most likely a big downgrade at third although that has yet to be determined. The Garcia signing is bleh as I see him being mediocre at best. The pitching staff looks to be around the same as last year with a rotation that just isn't good enough unless Burnes and Peralta pitch up to thir potential which I can definitely see happening.

 

Stearns is definitely a great GM and he must see something in these players that I am missing but I just can't get excited about most of these moves besides acquiring Urias who should at the very least be a big upgrade offensively at short though the defense will probably be problematic. This GM has proven the naysayers wrong time and time again and definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt but in my opinion this dumpster diver of an offseason has been extremely disappointing so far.

 

So he deserves the benefit of the doubt, but he sucks? Woof.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I think the team is considerably worse as of now. Narvaez has a chance to be nearly as good as Grandal offensively but the differences defensively are huge. Right now we have nothing at third base and hopefully that will change.

 

I think we downgraded at first base, catcher, and most likely a big downgrade at third although that has yet to be determined. The Garcia signing is bleh as I see him being mediocre at best. The pitching staff looks to be around the same as last year with a rotation that just isn't good enough unless Burnes and Peralta pitch up to thir potential which I can definitely see happening.

 

Stearns is definitely a great GM and he must see something in these players that I am missing but I just can't get excited about most of these moves besides acquiring Urias who should at the very least be a big upgrade offensively at short though the defense will probably be problematic. This GM has proven the naysayers wrong time and time again and definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt but in my opinion this dumpster diver of an offseason has been extremely disappointing so far.

 

So he deserves the benefit of the doubt, but he sucks? Woof.

[82brewcrew82]

I think the team is considerably worse as of now. Narvaez has a chance to be nearly as good as Grandal offensively but the differences defensively are huge. Right now we have nothing at third base and hopefully that will change.

 

I think we downgraded at first base, catcher, and most likely a big downgrade at third although that has yet to be determined. The Garcia signing is bleh as I see him being mediocre at best. The pitching staff looks to be around the same as last year with a rotation that just isn't good enough unless Burnes and Peralta pitch up to thir potential which I can definitely see happening.

 

Stearns is definitely a great GM and he must see something in these players that I am missing but I just can't get excited about most of these moves besides acquiring Urias who should at the very least be a big upgrade offensively at short though the defense will probably be problematic. This GM has proven the naysayers wrong time and time again and definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt but in my opinion this dumpster diver of an offseason has been extremely disappointing so far.

 

So he deserves the benefit of the doubt, but he sucks? Woof.

The poster didn't say that. I don't happen to agree with the post at all really, but that isn't what was said. No, I do not believe they are done with position players. I think they still make a move to cover third. I'll reserve my opinion until I see the whole result but in my opinon being disappointed with this off-season is a very short sighted view.

[82brewcrew82]

I think the team is considerably worse as of now. Narvaez has a chance to be nearly as good as Grandal offensively but the differences defensively are huge. Right now we have nothing at third base and hopefully that will change.

 

I think we downgraded at first base, catcher, and most likely a big downgrade at third although that has yet to be determined. The Garcia signing is bleh as I see him being mediocre at best. The pitching staff looks to be around the same as last year with a rotation that just isn't good enough unless Burnes and Peralta pitch up to thir potential which I can definitely see happening.

 

Stearns is definitely a great GM and he must see something in these players that I am missing but I just can't get excited about most of these moves besides acquiring Urias who should at the very least be a big upgrade offensively at short though the defense will probably be problematic. This GM has proven the naysayers wrong time and time again and definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt but in my opinion this dumpster diver of an offseason has been extremely disappointing so far.

 

So he deserves the benefit of the doubt, but he sucks? Woof.

The poster didn't say that. I don't happen to agree with the post at all really, but that isn't what was said. No, I do not believe they are done with position players. I think they still make a move to cover third. I'll reserve my opinion until I see the whole result but in my opinon being disappointed with this off-season is a very short sighted view.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I think the team is considerably worse as of now. Narvaez has a chance to be nearly as good as Grandal offensively but the differences defensively are huge. Right now we have nothing at third base and hopefully that will change.

 

I think we downgraded at first base, catcher, and most likely a big downgrade at third although that has yet to be determined. The Garcia signing is bleh as I see him being mediocre at best. The pitching staff looks to be around the same as last year with a rotation that just isn't good enough unless Burnes and Peralta pitch up to thir potential which I can definitely see happening.

 

Stearns is definitely a great GM and he must see something in these players that I am missing but I just can't get excited about most of these moves besides acquiring Urias who should at the very least be a big upgrade offensively at short though the defense will probably be problematic. This GM has proven the naysayers wrong time and time again and definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt but in my opinion this dumpster diver of an offseason has been extremely disappointing so far.

 

So he deserves the benefit of the doubt, but he sucks? Woof.

The poster didn't say that. I don't happen to agree with the post at all really, but that isn't what was said. No, I do not believe they are done with position players. I think they still make a move to cover third. I'll reserve my opinion until I see the whole result but in my opinon being disappointed with this off-season is a very short sighted view.

 

I don't know about that. I mean, he is literally saying that Stearns has proven naysayers wrong and deserves the benefit of the doubt, then immediately goes to the dumpster diving stuff and that the moves are extremely disappointing. Wouldn't that be a pretty strong way of showing displeasure with the GM's job performance?

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I think the team is considerably worse as of now. Narvaez has a chance to be nearly as good as Grandal offensively but the differences defensively are huge. Right now we have nothing at third base and hopefully that will change.

 

I think we downgraded at first base, catcher, and most likely a big downgrade at third although that has yet to be determined. The Garcia signing is bleh as I see him being mediocre at best. The pitching staff looks to be around the same as last year with a rotation that just isn't good enough unless Burnes and Peralta pitch up to thir potential which I can definitely see happening.

 

Stearns is definitely a great GM and he must see something in these players that I am missing but I just can't get excited about most of these moves besides acquiring Urias who should at the very least be a big upgrade offensively at short though the defense will probably be problematic. This GM has proven the naysayers wrong time and time again and definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt but in my opinion this dumpster diver of an offseason has been extremely disappointing so far.

 

So he deserves the benefit of the doubt, but he sucks? Woof.

The poster didn't say that. I don't happen to agree with the post at all really, but that isn't what was said. No, I do not believe they are done with position players. I think they still make a move to cover third. I'll reserve my opinion until I see the whole result but in my opinon being disappointed with this off-season is a very short sighted view.

 

I don't know about that. I mean, he is literally saying that Stearns has proven naysayers wrong and deserves the benefit of the doubt, then immediately goes to the dumpster diving stuff and that the moves are extremely disappointing. Wouldn't that be a pretty strong way of showing displeasure with the GM's job performance?

[adambr2]

I think it's ok to be disappointed with the offseason and still have faith in Stearns. "Dumpster diver of an offseason" is probably a little much but he did mention it was just an opinion.

 

I'm kind of in that spot where I haven't loved our moves a ton but I do have a lot of trust in Stearns at this point that I don't doubt they may work out despite my doubts.

 

I loved our trades. Excited about the Lindblom signing. Nothing else we've done really excites me and I definitely see 3B as a problem. But I do fully recognize we've been pleasantly surprised with certain Stearns moves in the past that have yielded better production than expected by both experts and fans.

[adambr2]

I think it's ok to be disappointed with the offseason and still have faith in Stearns. "Dumpster diver of an offseason" is probably a little much but he did mention it was just an opinion.

 

I'm kind of in that spot where I haven't loved our moves a ton but I do have a lot of trust in Stearns at this point that I don't doubt they may work out despite my doubts.

 

I loved our trades. Excited about the Lindblom signing. Nothing else we've done really excites me and I definitely see 3B as a problem. But I do fully recognize we've been pleasantly surprised with certain Stearns moves in the past that have yielded better production than expected by both experts and fans.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I think it's ok to be disappointed with the offseason and still have faith in Stearns. "Dumpster diver of an offseason" is probably a little much but he did mention it was just an opinion.

 

I'm kind of in that spot where I haven't loved our moves a ton but I do have a lot of trust in Stearns at this point that I don't doubt they may work out despite my doubts.

 

I loved our trades. Excited about the Lindblom signing. Nothing else we've done really excites me and I definitely see 3B as a problem. But I do fully recognize we've been pleasantly surprised with certain Stearns moves in the past that have yielded better production than expected by both experts and fans.

 

This is where I'm at as well. The team has made a couple head-scratchers, that's for sure. It's also important to note that they aren't perfect on moves over the last few years, and it's more than likely that a few of these moves they've made this offseason are likely to fail. But most of the moves aren't going to be with an expectation of huge upside either. They've filled a bunch of holes with players with relatively similar grades to those they were replacing. Yeah, not exciting, but depending on what they can figure out at 3B, should be solid.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I think it's ok to be disappointed with the offseason and still have faith in Stearns. "Dumpster diver of an offseason" is probably a little much but he did mention it was just an opinion.

 

I'm kind of in that spot where I haven't loved our moves a ton but I do have a lot of trust in Stearns at this point that I don't doubt they may work out despite my doubts.

 

I loved our trades. Excited about the Lindblom signing. Nothing else we've done really excites me and I definitely see 3B as a problem. But I do fully recognize we've been pleasantly surprised with certain Stearns moves in the past that have yielded better production than expected by both experts and fans.

 

This is where I'm at as well. The team has made a couple head-scratchers, that's for sure. It's also important to note that they aren't perfect on moves over the last few years, and it's more than likely that a few of these moves they've made this offseason are likely to fail. But most of the moves aren't going to be with an expectation of huge upside either. They've filled a bunch of holes with players with relatively similar grades to those they were replacing. Yeah, not exciting, but depending on what they can figure out at 3B, should be solid.

[Ennder]

I think the team is considerably worse as of now. Narvaez has a chance to be nearly as good as Grandal offensively but the differences defensively are huge. Right now we have nothing at third base and hopefully that will change.

 

I think we downgraded at first base, catcher, and most likely a big downgrade at third although that has yet to be determined. The Garcia signing is bleh as I see him being mediocre at best. The pitching staff looks to be around the same as last year with a rotation that just isn't good enough unless Burnes and Peralta pitch up to thir potential which I can definitely see happening.

 

Stearns is definitely a great GM and he must see something in these players that I am missing but I just can't get excited about most of these moves besides acquiring Urias who should at the very least be a big upgrade offensively at short though the defense will probably be problematic. This GM has proven the naysayers wrong time and time again and definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt but in my opinion this dumpster diver of an offseason has been extremely disappointing so far.

 

This is the great thing about baseball. I think all of the moves Stearns has made are a big net plus bringing in more value than what we paid for them. The only one I'm not sure of is Urias who I think might end up in AAA more than on the big league team. Good move in the long term but for 2020 I see that as the lowest impact move. This team as constructed today is about as good as last years and has a lot more financial flexibility still.

[Ennder]

I think the team is considerably worse as of now. Narvaez has a chance to be nearly as good as Grandal offensively but the differences defensively are huge. Right now we have nothing at third base and hopefully that will change.

 

I think we downgraded at first base, catcher, and most likely a big downgrade at third although that has yet to be determined. The Garcia signing is bleh as I see him being mediocre at best. The pitching staff looks to be around the same as last year with a rotation that just isn't good enough unless Burnes and Peralta pitch up to thir potential which I can definitely see happening.

 

Stearns is definitely a great GM and he must see something in these players that I am missing but I just can't get excited about most of these moves besides acquiring Urias who should at the very least be a big upgrade offensively at short though the defense will probably be problematic. This GM has proven the naysayers wrong time and time again and definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt but in my opinion this dumpster diver of an offseason has been extremely disappointing so far.

 

This is the great thing about baseball. I think all of the moves Stearns has made are a big net plus bringing in more value than what we paid for them. The only one I'm not sure of is Urias who I think might end up in AAA more than on the big league team. Good move in the long term but for 2020 I see that as the lowest impact move. This team as constructed today is about as good as last years and has a lot more financial flexibility still.

[JohnBriggs12]

In general I don't think swapping out over half of your playoff roster is a good thing. There are a lot of proven winning players that are now gone. It's not a fantasy roster. You can tell me all you want that Brett Anderson is the equal of Zach Davies, but I remember Brett Anderson not being able to handle the bright lights that come with pitching for the Cubs and I saw with my own eyes over and over again Zach Davies staring down that Cub lineup in a hostile Wrigley Field and not flinching even with his borderline stuff. Chase Anderson has baffled the Cubs time after time too. Moustakas has a World Series ring and was key man in getting the Brewers into back to back playoffs. Call him what you want, he's a winner. Grandal has been a winner wherever he's been. Hernan Perez has been a clubhouse glue guy for most of the time he was a Brewer. Eric Thames was one guy who rose to the occasion when the game was on the line.

 

On paper, they've replaced a lot if not all of the production, and have filled rotation spots with guys who appear to be similar to what they've lost, but right now, it's a collection of players, not a team. Turning this group into a team is Counsell's biggest challenge yet.