Travis Shaw to Blue Jays

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

 

Glad to hear this. Hoping for the best for Travis. Hopefully he finds his swing and can make some noise in the AL East. I'm glad he is out of the NL Central, as he's a guy I foresaw potentially figuring things out and being a thorn in the Brewers' side playing somewhere like Pittsburgh or St. Louis. I don't foresee the Blue Jays being good, but if Shaw plays well, he could be a deadline trade chip, and he's young enough to get a good deal in next year's market.

[liveforoctober]

So we traded Shaw for Smoak essentially.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

So we traded Shaw for Smoak essentially.

 

Right down to the money pretty much. A little more for Smoak, but he was substantially better than Shaw last year. Will be an interesting dynamic to compare the two in 2020.

[clancyphile]

Maybe Travis is a deadline pickup for the Crew...

[Dean Machine]

Wow. You can be historically bad and still get a $4MM dollar pay day. I don't see him turning it around. He had two stints in the minors to figure it out and was unable. He better hope he starts out hot or his confidence will all but be gone. I foresee a year like Broxton had last year where he is on 3 teams and is looking at a Minor League deal next season.

[liveforoctober]

I'm excited for the Villar/Scooter type posts that will litter this place if Shaw has a decent bounce back year and our 3rd base production struggles...

[JimH5]

Best wishes to him.

 

If he starts strong, he'll become a fan favorite.

 

Not sure what this means for Vlad, Jr, though maybe Shaw will spend more time at 1B.

[True Blue Brew Crew]

When I see the dollars handed out like this and the Keuchel deal, it just illustrates the analytical advantage the Brewers have. What Stearns is getting for his dollar compared to other teams in the game is jaw dropping. No, not every deal Stearns dishes out will work as expected. But when you're this much wiser with your money than most every other team, you'll be competitive more often than not. By having their dollars go so much further than most everyone else, it narrows the massive gap the Brewers face when it comes to available money to spend.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Wow. You can be historically bad and still get a $4MM dollar pay day. I don't see him turning it around. He had two stints in the minors to figure it out and was unable. He better hope he starts out hot or his confidence will all but be gone. I foresee a year like Broxton had last year where he is on 3 teams and is looking at a Minor League deal next season.

 

It makes sense. The guy had a track record of two very solid to excellent seasons before losing it last year. Baseball GMs aren't stupid. They see a guy who obviously has talent and had a very down year. The Broxton comparison just doesn't work. Broxton has always been an extreme swing-and-miss guy. Shaw has been much better, even going back to his time with the Red Sox

[KCBrewerfan34]

TOR had to spend their money on something.

[liveforoctober]

TOR had to spend their money on something.

 

It isn't a terrible place to spend I don't think. $4+ million is still $4+ million .. but Shaw is a lottery ticket who might have gotten Moustakas type money if last year hadn't happened. Maybe there is a flaw in his swing that developed over the last 12+ months that Milwaukee couldn't figure out? If Toronto can find it and fix it ... what a steal.

[RollieTime]

I would imagine Shaw is going to be playing first for the Blue Jays with Vlad Jr. at third. They do have a young lefty hitter in Tellez at first base too. Maybe he will become the DH with Shaw getting the first base gig.

[timpep]

I'm excited for the Villar/Scooter type posts that will litter this place if Shaw has a decent bounce back year and our 3rd base production struggles...

Scooter never had a year as bad as Shaw before we let him go. We also didn't trade him for an immediate downgrade, so the Villar comparison isn't great either.

[liveforoctober]

I'm excited for the Villar/Scooter type posts that will litter this place if Shaw has a decent bounce back year and our 3rd base production struggles...

Scooter never had a year as bad as Shaw before we let him go. We also didn't trade him for an immediate downgrade, so the Villar comparison isn't great either.

 

I fully understand I brought the names up so this is my fault ... but let's please not spiral this into that type of thread. I'm sorry x 100. Let's keep talking about Shaw!

[TJseven7]

I wanted Shaw in AAA pretty early in the process. I'm happy they didn't offer him arby.

 

Yet, this is a great move by Toronto. If he finds it, he's every bit as valuable as Moose. If he doesn't, oh well it's Toronto. Shaw is a very risky (well as risky as a short term can be) signing who could make them look like genius'. Easily could be a guy who Toronto fans forgot played for them a year or two down the road. He's a fantastic addition for a team that doesn't have high expectations. The risk of him being a black hole again for MKE was plenty enough reason for MKE to walk away.

 

Best of luck to him. Guy gave MKE 2 awesome years, went through some garbage and still delivered. I hope he finds it in Toronto but if anyone says after the fact that MKE should have kept him they are off their rocker. Guy is a complete coin flip going into 2020.

[Ennder]

My expectation for SHaw is he will hit 20+ HR. Last year really looks like the outlier in his career and I think this is a good guy to bet on for this small contract. Fans are quick to just call a guy done but the reality usually isn't that it works like that. One bad year generally is just one bad year unless there were warning signs before that. Shaw didn't have any sort of warning signs and is too young to just age out.

[brewcrewdue80]

TOR had to spend their money on something.

 

It isn't a terrible place to spend I don't think. $4+ million is still $4+ million .. but Shaw is a lottery ticket who might have gotten Moustakas type money if last year hadn't happened. Maybe there is a flaw in his swing that developed over the last 12+ months that Milwaukee couldn't figure out? If Toronto can find it and fix it ... what a steal.

 

Shaw was nontendered. He wasn't in line to make Moustakas type money with a good year last season.

Good luck to him. He'll need it away from MP.

[Tbadder]

Shaw vs. Smoak cage match throw down. True Mano y Mano. We’ll find out who is the better GM. (Secretly I’ve got my money on...)

[rcc]

I'll root for Travis over there to get back to form. With incentives he will match last year's contract. Smoak gets more and I hope both do well.

[JohnBriggs12]

I don't care what you think about who has the better ceiling, but Smoak certainly has the better floor, and the Brewers simply could not afford to start the season with a black hole in the middle of their lineup and that's what Shaw was last year. That Toronto would pay so much only proves that the Jays really know they have no chance in the AL East. If Shaw returns to his 17-18 form, he'll be July trade bait. They can afford to let him struggle into June. The Brewers couldn't.

[MadThinker88]

....

Not sure what this means for Vlad, Jr, though maybe Shaw will spend more time at 1B.

 

Yes 1B is a possibility. I could easily see Shaw being used as a wake up call for Vlad jr.. Vlad's overall D & his conditioning needs work.

 

For the sake of the game I hope Vlad jr takes the entire game of baseball seriously (not just seeing & hitting the ball) because he might be one of the all time greats. If youth (ie lack of maturity) & lack of focus prevail, the Blue Jays have another option in Shaw to cover 3B.

[KeithStone53151]

Just a reminder, Shaw wanted a fresh start. He did not want to come back to Milwaukee. The option to pay Shaw 4 million to play 1b instead of smoak did not exist because Shaw made very clear that he didn't want to be back.

[adambr2]

Just a reminder, Shaw wanted a fresh start. He did not want to come back to Milwaukee. The option to pay Shaw 4 million to play 1b instead of smoak did not exist because Shaw made very clear that he didn't want to be back.

 

Well no, not for 4M. But they could have tendered him for probably 5-6M to return regardless of what he wanted.

[KeithStone53151]

Just a reminder, Shaw wanted a fresh start. He did not want to come back to Milwaukee. The option to pay Shaw 4 million to play 1b instead of smoak did not exist because Shaw made very clear that he didn't want to be back.

 

Well no, not for 4M. But they could have tendered him for probably 5-6M to return regardless of what he wanted.

 

I guess I should have specified that once we non tendered him, he was gone. You're absolutely correct we could have tendered him a contract for a bit more.

 

I just got to thinking, I wonder where he'll play. Last I heard they have a decent 3b prospect they were going to give most of the playing time to, and then biggio at 2b. I'm not sure youd want 2018 Shaw's stat line at 1b...overall a curious move.

[reillymcshane]

Just a reminder, Shaw wanted a fresh start. He did not want to come back to Milwaukee.

I'm not sure this was true. It probably was more about Milwaukee not having the opportunity that Shaw wanted. Let's face it - we weren't going to hand him any job. If Milwaukee wanted Shaw, it was probably at a lower pay rate and the knowledge that he'd have to compete for a job. If that's the case (and I don't think Milwaukee would have offered anything but that), it's not a surprise Shaw wanted to go elsewhere. He wanted a good chance to start and reset his career. I can't blame him for that.

 

Now, perhaps I'm wrong and Shaw specifically said he didn't want to come back to Milwaukee under any circumstance. But that was likely in the context of the opportunities we had for him. In the end, I just don't think we were willing to risk having him here after last season's meltdown, and I can completely understand Shaw's desire for more playing time (and money).

 

Whatever, had had two nice seasons. Last year was just such a tanking - it's hard to fathom. I wish the guy and his family well.