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1B Eric Thames to Nationals, 1-year/$4M

Ron Robinsons Beard

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Thurston Fluff ACL Brewers

Thurston Fluff

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Stearns wants flexibility, that simple. Thames can realistically only play 1B vs RHP. You can agree or disagree with how Stearns wants to build a roster, but easy to see how Thames doesn't fit.

 

Sounds about right to me. I think an overlooked part of the difference is defense.

There needs to be a King Thames version of the bible.
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sveumrules Carolina Mudcats

sveumrules

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It begs the question, which will be fun to follow this year. Is Smoak on a 1 year $5 million (or 2-year, $9.5 million) deal better than re-signing Thames for what he got? I suppose Smoak is a switch hitter and doesn't strike out as much, but I don't know.

 

That assumes we could have resigned Thames for what he got.

 

After paying the 1 million buyout instead of picking up his 7.5 million option, he might not have had interest in returning to Milwaukee at any price.

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SRB First Round Pick

SRB

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Stearns wants flexibility, that simple. Thames can realistically only play 1B vs RHP. You can agree or disagree with how Stearns wants to build a roster, but easy to see how Thames doesn't fit.

 

Smoak also has much higher upside, as witnesses by his 2017 season and former pedigree. As I recall a lot of advanced metrics and batted ball data from Smoak's 2019 suggests that he was unlucky last year and 2017 may not have been a fluke.

 

I imagine Stearns and his team are confident they bought low on Smoak, whereas with Thames what you see is pretty much what you get (a streaky guy who can kill RHP but needs to be platooned - also, it should be added, a great player to root for as a fan!)

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TURBO Nashville Sounds

TURBO

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I think that Jimmy Nelson is the only guy that we let go from last year that has yet to sign on with a different team.

 

I am still hoping we bring him in and see what he can do, even if as a bullpen guy.

"I'm sick of runnin' from these wimps!" Ajax - The WARRIORS
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wntrtxn21 Draft Eligible

wntrtxn21

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I think that Jimmy Nelson is the only guy that we let go from last year that has yet to sign on with a different team.

 

I am still hoping we bring him in and see what he can do, even if as a bullpen guy.

 

I'm wondering too why Nelson hasn't signed somewhere, unless all he can get is a minor lg. contract with a spring training invite. I think there's still a chance Stearns brings him back with a low-ball offer with a chance to make the big league roster.

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JimH5 ACL Brewers

JimH5

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This will be heartbreak when I tell my daughter. Any advice from moms or dads on the board?

 

He still gets to play baseball and you'll still get to see him on tv, but he's not on the Brewers any more. The team that won the championship wanted him more. He loved playing here, but now he gets to play with them.

 

The Brewers have a whole new group of players to watch and learn about, and maybe some of them will be as fun and good as Thames.

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owbc Carolina Mudcats

owbc

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This will be heartbreak when I tell my daughter. Any advice from moms or dads on the board?

 

I was devastated when the Brewers traded Kevin Seitzer in 1996. I cried. It turned out to be a good trade so I'm over it now.

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TJseven7 First Round Pick

TJseven7

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This will be heartbreak when I tell my daughter. Any advice from moms or dads on the board?

 

"Buck up, Karen."

 

Get her a Nats cap? My sisters kid went through a front runner phase. It was annoying, I didn't kill him. We got over it.

 

I mean the kid goes to a Brewers game vs the Nats in a Nats cap and a Brewers Thames jersey it's not like MKE is going to welcome him back poorly.

 

Kinda odd that the Nats have the 1b platoon I originally hoped for. I'm fine with where MKE is at but they thought Thames was over paid and turns out he was by 2.5 mil.

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MNBrew First Round Pick

MNBrew

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This will be heartbreak when I tell my daughter. Any advice from moms or dads on the board?

 

I was devastated when the Brewers traded Kevin Seitzer in 1996. I cried. It turned out to be a good trade so I'm over it now.

Same here. Loved that guy -- good hitter & class act.

 

Incidentally, I'm using a Kevin Seitzer Brewers Upper Deck card (in a plastic bb-card sleeve) as a bookmark right now.

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Ennder Carolina Mudcats

Ennder

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It begs the question, which will be fun to follow this year. Is Smoak on a 1 year $5 million (or 2-year, $9.5 million) deal better than re-signing Thames for what he got? I suppose Smoak is a switch hitter and doesn't strike out as much, but I don't know.

 

I can't imagine Thames was interested in coming back here once we didn't pick up the option. Even if he did though this is the complete wrong way to think about contracts. What these players do shouldn't change whether the contract was a good idea or not. Thames could get hurt and never play a game for the nats and it wouldn't make it a bad contract. Either one of them could go on to hit 30+ HR's next year as they both have proven they can do. These are like little hedge bets and you know that sometimes you win the bet and sometimes you lose it, the result doesn't change whether or not the gamble was worth it. That is why the contracts are short and small, because they are risks, not sure things.

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Ron Robinsons Beard Biloxi Shuckers

Ron Robinsons Beard

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It begs the question, which will be fun to follow this year. Is Smoak on a 1 year $5 million (or 2-year, $9.5 million) deal better than re-signing Thames for what he got? I suppose Smoak is a switch hitter and doesn't strike out as much, but I don't know.

 

I can't imagine Thames was interested in coming back here once we didn't pick up the option. Even if he did though this is the complete wrong way to think about contracts. What these players do shouldn't change whether the contract was a good idea or not. Thames could get hurt and never play a game for the nats and it wouldn't make it a bad contract. Either one of them could go on to hit 30+ HR's next year as they both have proven they can do. These are like little hedge bets and you know that sometimes you win the bet and sometimes you lose it, the result doesn't change whether or not the gamble was worth it. That is why the contracts are short and small, because they are risks, not sure things.

 

I think you are misreading my post. All I'm saying is that it is going to be fun to follow how well Smoak plays on his deal that pays him a little more than Thames ended up getting from the Nats, but less than what Thames' option was for. Nowhere did I imply that either are bad contracts, or that picking up Thames's option would have been bad. In the end, the difference in the contracts is pocket change for an MLB club.

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