Ross Stripling

[TJseven7]

What would need to trade in order for something like this to come to fruition?

 

Despite the solid showing at the majors the guy LAD got from the Angels was never really highly regarded. He did well but he wasn't fawned over by "scouts." Eduardo Garcia probably gets it pretty close depending on who ranks him. Carlos Rodriguez seems to be the guy who is rated equal to him throughout.

 

It's really hard to rate our system because MKE has a lot of guys with a lot of upside who are a long way away and places have them all over the map in the MKE farm rankings.

[Warning Track Power]

I want to get my hands on both of these guys but when I look at the numbers, isn't Joc just a really expensive Eric Thames at a position that isn't a need?

 

Eric Thames 2017 - 2019: 1112 ABs, 72 HR, 161 RBI, .241/.343/.848, 118 OPS+

Joc Pederson 2017 - 2019: 1118 ABs, 72 HR, 165 RBI, .240/.331/.831, 119 OPS+

 

I would take Joc if it meant getting Stripling for the rotation, but dang if Joc isn't a Thames clone!

[sveumrules]

What would need to trade in order for something like this to come to fruition?

 

Despite the solid showing at the majors the guy LAD got from the Angels was never really highly regarded. He did well but he wasn't fawned over by "scouts." Eduardo Garcia probably gets it pretty close.

 

Yeah, kinda depends on what LAD is looking for. Do they specifically desire a MLB ready 2B/utility contact/speed prospect (Rengifo's profile), or do they just want a prospect in the 45 FV range (where FanGraphs had Rengifo graded prior to 2019)?

 

If it is the former, we don't really have anything like that, if it is the latter, a possible deal is a lot more plausible.

[TJseven7]

I want to get my hands on both of these guys but when I look at the numbers, isn't Joc just a really expensive Eric Thames at a position that isn't a need?

 

Eric Thames 2017 - 2019: 1112 ABs, 72 HR, 161 RBI, .241/.343/.848, 118 OPS+

Joc Pederson 2017 - 2019: 1118 ABs, 72 HR, 165 RBI, .240/.331/.831, 119 OPS+

 

I would take Joc if it meant getting Stripling for the rotation, but dang if Joc isn't a Thames clone!

 

One could play a passable 1b and a passable RF.

One is good in LF (I mean our best defensive LF good, by far, including the prior LF GG), passable in RF and sufferable at CF and 1b.

 

I'd say the 2 added fielding spots makes him worth being an expensive Thames. I don't want us to trade for him. I want us to get something for taking him. Like a discount on Stripling or a lottery ticket tossed in.

 

I mean if Thames could spell Cain without getting embarrassed, that makes Thames an entirely different player.

 

The other question though... why did LAA back out. Who is hurt?

[monty57]

I would be very interested in acquiring Pederson and Stripling. Who is the Brewers equivalent of Luis Rengifo? https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rengilu01.shtml

 

Luis Urias would be about the closest I can see in comparison to age, levels reached and MLB experience. After that no one is even close. ...

 

If it takes Urias to get these two, you're looking at the Medical issues and waiting in to the season? So let's turn this all upside down and bring the trade idea around to Hader for these 2 plus.

 

Thankfully, talent is more important than age, levels reached, and MLB experience. Rengifro and Urias are not at all comparable talent-wise. Rengifro is likely a guy who will have value as long as he's inexpensive, while Urias is one of the highest-rated prospects in the game, so Urias would not even be in the discussions in this trade.

 

If the Dodgers wanted someone for the 26-man, it would probably take Houser or Peralta as we don't have position players who match Rengifro's value. If they are looking at minor leaguers, it'd be more like Feliciano, Eduardo Garcia, or Carlos Rodriguez with some other pieces thrown in to even things out.

 

The Dodgers seem to be trying to cut payroll to below the "cap" level while trimming the 40-man. If they are willing to take less value back in order to reach these goals, as it appear from the proposed Angels deal, then that sounds like a value deal right up Stearns' alley.

 

A big question is the Brewers' financial/budget situation. Did the Brewers go into the offseason with a goal of cutting payroll to the current level, or did it just occur with the "value deals" available? If they felt the need to cut to the current level, would Attanasio be willing to add just under $10M to this year's payroll to make this deal happen? He's been willing to go over budget in the past for what he thought were meaningful upgrades to the team, so would this return be meaningful enough for him to spend the money?

 

Disregarding money, this seems like a steal. If you can make it budget-wise, make the deal and let the playing-time questions sort themselves out. As others have said, other than Yelich, Hiura, and probably Urias when he's healthy, no one on the roster should be guaranteed "everyday player" status.

[JohnBriggs12]

Considering what the small market Reds payroll is going into this season, the Brewers should have plenty of room to make this deal. Sure the Reds have a significantly larger television market when you include places like Louisville and Indianapolis but Brewers have outdrawn the Reds by substantial margins in recent years. It's not like they'd be taking on contracts that will hinder them down the road.

[monty57]

Considering what the small market Reds payroll is going into this season, the Brewers should have plenty of room to make this deal. Sure the Reds have a significantly larger television market when you include places like Louisville and Indianapolis but Brewers have outdrawn the Reds by substantial margins in recent years. It's not like they'd be taking on contracts that will hinder them down the road.

 

That's possible, but it's never safe to assume anything. There are a lot of people who drive fancy cars and live in big houses that end up in bankruptcy.

 

I didn't like it when Attanasio used to interfere in baseball decisions, signing a slew of over-the-hill pitchers, but I've never doubted his mind for money. He seems to have realized that he hired the GM to make the baseball decisions, so if the Brewers do make a move for Stripling/Pederson, I will assume that Stearns thinks it will really help the team on the field and Attanasio feels it will not hurt them financially.

[TURBO]

Has there been a credible rumor that has Joc and Striping coming to Milwaukee? Lots of discussion based on nothing if not...

[monty57]

Has there been a credible rumor that has Joc and Striping coming to Milwaukee? Lots of discussion based on nothing if not...

 

No rumor, it just looks like the Dodgers are trying to cut some payroll and need to trim some 40-man space. If they're going to give away talent to make that happen, it might be nice if the Brewers could benefit.

 

Really, it's probably nothing more than something to fill the dead air until we start hearing news out of spring training :-)

[Warning Track Power]

Has there been a credible rumor that has Joc and Striping coming to Milwaukee? Lots of discussion based on nothing if not...

No, but it sure does make a lot of sense to me if the Dodgers are looking to cut payroll.

 

Obviously they are interested in moving Pederson. Their OF should be set with Betts, Bellinger and Pollock. Utility players Chris Taylor has a 2 year $13.4 million deal and Kike Hernandez has 1 year at $5.9 million. Pederson makes $7.75m and Stripling makes $2.1m for a total of $9.85m. I wonder if they would take Gamel at $1.4m, the $8.45m of savings and maybe a low level prospect to complete a deal? Thought being they let Taylor be the utility IF and either move Kike or let him walk after the season and replace him with Gamel.

[TJseven7]

Has there been a credible rumor that has Joc and Striping coming to Milwaukee? Lots of discussion based on nothing if not...

 

As everyone is saying, no.

 

However, we do actually know Joc and Stripling are on the block. That's plenty to know and I really hope MKE is involved. Stripling would be a heck of a get for our questionable rotation. Even if Anderson and Stripling can split a season and hit their usual numbers. That would be the 2 we are looking for. Takes a lot of pressure off Lauer Lindblom and Houser.

[brewcrewdue80]

I would be very interested in acquiring Pederson and Stripling. Who is the Brewers equivalent of Luis Rengifo? https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rengilu01.shtml

 

Luis Urias would be about the closest I can see in comparison to age, levels reached and MLB experience. After that no one is even close. ...

 

If it takes Urias to get these two, you're looking at the Medical issues and waiting in to the season? So let's turn this all upside down and bring the trade idea around to Hader for these 2 plus.

 

Thankfully, talent is more important than age, levels reached, and MLB experience. Rengifro and Urias are not at all comparable talent-wise. Rengifro is likely a guy who will have value as long as he's inexpensive, while Urias is one of the highest-rated prospects in the game, so Urias would not even be in the discussions in this trade.

 

If the Dodgers wanted someone for the 26-man, it would probably take Houser or Peralta as we don't have position players who match Rengifro's value. If they are looking at minor leaguers, it'd be more like Feliciano, Eduardo Garcia, or Carlos Rodriguez with some other pieces thrown in to even things out.

 

The Dodgers seem to be trying to cut payroll to below the "cap" level while trimming the 40-man. If they are willing to take less value back in order to reach these goals, as it appear from the proposed Angels deal, then that sounds like a value deal right up Stearns' alley.

 

A big question is the Brewers' financial/budget situation. Did the Brewers go into the offseason with a goal of cutting payroll to the current level, or did it just occur with the "value deals" available? If they felt the need to cut to the current level, would Attanasio be willing to add just under $10M to this year's payroll to make this deal happen? He's been willing to go over budget in the past for what he thought were meaningful upgrades to the team, so would this return be meaningful enough for him to spend the money?

 

Disregarding money, this seems like a steal. If you can make it budget-wise, make the deal and let the playing-time questions sort themselves out. As others have said, other than Yelich, Hiura, and probably Urias when he's healthy, no one on the roster should be guaranteed "everyday player" status.

 

I mean when comparing the two it is as similar as it gets. Age. Height weight position played. Urias has more games played in the minors. .830OPs to .765OPS career. But arguably Rengifro had a better rookie season. Statcast has both 86.7MPH exit velocity. Urias 1% less ks. But less barrels/hard hit balls but overall Id say within 5% of being identical statcast batters. Maybe defense or ability at SS gives him the better rankings. Maybe the rush up by Angels never led to Rengrifo getting prospect hype? Urias is the closest in value to him facts.

[TJseven7]

If that's the case then LAD was completely ripping off LAA. They were winning the value of the trade despite the cash dump they worked in.

[BrewBalls]

Since Stearns has focused on upgrading the roster 1-26 this offseason he should be all over a trade involving Stripling and Pederson. Stripling adds more depth and upside to the rotation/bullpen (depending on where he’s placed) and Pederson is a significant upgrade over Gamel who can start the season in AAA.

 

Like others I’m not sure what the motive is from the Dodgers perspective but I’m guessing it’s not just a straight salary dump but a way to add some more prospects to an already loaded farm system. I’m curious if a package of Lutz and Rasmussen would get it done. Neither need to be added to the 40 man roster. If this isn’t an issue I could see them being interested in guys like Wahl, Black and Feyereisen instead of Rasmussen.

[monty57]

I mean when comparing the two it is as similar as it gets. Age. Height weight position played. Urias has more games played in the minors. .830OPs to .765OPS career. But arguably Rengifro had a better rookie season. Statcast has both 86.7MPH exit velocity. Urias 1% less ks. But less barrels/hard hit balls but overall Id say within 5% of being identical statcast batters. Maybe defense or ability at SS gives him the better rankings. Maybe the rush up by Angels never led to Rengrifo getting prospect hype? Urias is the closest in value to him facts.

 

Urias had a slow start to his MLB career, I'll give you that, but he had a far superior minor league career, and was ranked the #31 prospect in all of baseball by BA and #16 by MLB.com, while Rengifo was the Angels #10 rated prospect. I don't believe he made any "top 100" lists, but I'm not a BA subscriber, so please correct me if I'm wrong. That .830 OPS vs .765 OPS over thousands of PA is significant.

 

Prospects do fail, and not every MLB player was a top-ranked prospect, but at this point in time, I don't think they're comparable value-wise unless you put a much heavier weighting on Urias' 302 MLB PA than his thousands of MiLB PA. Rengifo didn't have a good rookie year either, with 406 PA, .238 avg / .321 OBP / .364 SLG / .685 OPS, so it's not like he had a breakout campaign that shot his value up.

 

Urias is a top prospect who struggled in his first taste of the majors. Rengifo is a young guy with some minor league success who will be given a shot to prove himself as long as he's playing at league minimum.

 

Most people here were happy that we were able to get Urias for Grisham. I'd guess that people would have been upset if we had traded Grisham for Rengifo.

[KeithStone53151]

Has there been a credible rumor that has Joc and Striping coming to Milwaukee? Lots of discussion based on nothing if not...

 

I haven't seen any, but it's fun to discuss. We've talked about potential trades that make way less sense than this. Look no further than the Kris Bryant thread.

[MrTPlush]

Where in a heck is Joc Pederson playing? He would have been a nice target pre-Garcia...but not really now. He cannot play a goof CFer so I don't see him all that useful.

 

Stripling? Yah, I wouldn't mind that. I think he is a pretty good player...somewhat underrated.

[KeithStone53151]

Where in a heck is Joc Pederson playing? He would have been a nice target pre-Garcia...but not really now. He cannot play a goof CFer so I don't see him all that useful.

 

Stripling? Yah, I wouldn't mind that. I think he is a pretty good player...somewhat underrated.

 

I tend to agree on Pederson, but I also think he'd be a lot better in CF than Garcia. Miller Park is a smaller CF than Dodgers Stadium and he's played some CF for them. But again I agree, once we got Garcia this simply didn't make sense...unless of course he can play SS or 3B and nobody knows it.

[brewcrewdue80]

Urias had a slow start to his MLB career, I'll give you that, but he had a far superior minor league career, and was ranked the #31 prospect in all of baseball by BA and #16 by MLB.com, while Rengifo was the Angels #10 rated prospect. I don't believe he made any "top 100" lists, but I'm not a BA subscriber, so please correct me if I'm wrong. That .830 OPS vs .765 OPS over thousands of PA is significant.

 

Prospects do fail, and not every MLB player was a top-ranked prospect, but at this point in time, I don't think they're comparable value-wise unless you put a much heavier weighting on Urias' 302 MLB PA than his thousands of MiLB PA. Rengifo didn't have a good rookie year either, with 406 PA, .238 avg / .321 OBP / .364 SLG / .685 OPS, so it's not like he had a breakout campaign that shot his value up.

 

Urias is a top prospect who struggled in his first taste of the majors. Rengifo is a young guy with some minor league success who will be given a shot to prove himself as long as he's playing at league minimum.

 

Most people here were happy that we were able to get Urias for Grisham. I'd guess that people would have been upset if we had traded Grisham for Rengifo.

 

I see Urias as having had time and experience to garner the prospect rating, he had results to. Just take this bit for granted. 2018 he was MLB's #27 prospect at least from midseason and beyond. The writeup:

Scouting grades: Hit: 70 | Power: 45 | Run: 50 | Arm: 55 | Field: 60 | Overall: 55

 

Signed out of the Mexican League in December 2013, Urias has since developed into one of the more accomplished hitters in the Minor Leagues. The California League's youngest everyday player on Opening Day in 2016, Urias went on to win the circuit's batting title and MVP award at age 19, and then garnered Double-A Texas League All-Star honors in 2017 before a standout turn in the prestigious Arizona Fall League.

Urias stands out as much for his approach and plate discipline as he does for his pure hitting ability. He has an advanced knowledge of the strike zone as well as excellent pitch recognition, a combination that netted him the Texas League's top on-base percentage (.398) in 2017, and has resulted in more walks (153) than strikeouts (135) in four professional seasons. Urias' bat-to-ball skills are impressive, and he produces hard line drives across the entire field with a compact, level swing. His raw power, meanwhile, is better than his numbers suggest, though Urias' should be a consistent source of extra-base hits thanks to his knack for pounding the gaps. Urias has solid arm strength and can get the job done at shortstop, but he offers more upside at second base, where he's a plus defender and has spent the bulk of his pro career.

Urias proved plenty capable at shortstop in 2017, first in Double-A and then in the Arizona Fall League, and should continue to see some time there moving forward. His ultimate defensive home, however, is likely second base, where he profiles as an above-average defender with good range and arm strength. Overall, Urias has the ingredients to hit atop a lineup while manning a middle-infield position for a long, long time.

 

He played all 120 games that season at AAA

.296/.398/.447/.845 batting line. 67/109 BB/Ks in 450ABs.

 

Rengifo in 2018 had this writeup for the Angels as their #10 prospect:

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 35 | Run: 55 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 45

 

Rengifo originally signed with the Mariners in March 2014 as the Venezuelan showed improvement on both sides of the ball as an amateur. He spent his first two summers in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic before making his United States debut in the rookie-level Arizona League in 2016, then jumped to full-season ball in 2017. The Rays got him from the Mariners in August of that season, but his time with Tampa was short-lived as he was shipped to the Angels in March to complete the C.J. Cron trade.

The switch-hitting Rengifo has a short, compact swing from both sides of the plate, with feel for the barrel that enables him to produce consistent contact. He shows some pop from the left side of the plate, albeit mostly to the gaps, but offers little in the way of power as a righty, with very good plate discipline allowing his hit tool to play up. Rengifo's above-average speed makes him a threat on the basepaths, and he's improved his basestealing efficiency to maximize that tool.

Defensively, Rengifo has already played a number of positions, mostly in the middle infield, though he has seen time at third and even in the outfield. He has the range, quickness and arm for the left side of the infield and the Angels had him playing shortstop during his first season in the organization, though his versatility could come in handy in the future

 

Now Rengifo started 2018 at A+ ball for 41 games: .323/.426/.466/.892 27/22 BB/Ks in 161AB

Followed with AA promotion for 40 games: 305/.420/.477/.897 23/22 BB/Ks in 151AB

Followed with AAA promotion for 46games: .274/.358/.421/.779 25/31 BB/Ks in 190AB.

 

2019 season Rengifo had 27starts in AAA and was promoted to the Angels rookie team for the season. That is less than 120 starts combined for Rengifo in AA and AAA than Urias just in 2018 alone at AAA. Urias went on for 73more games in 2019 at AAA(no doubt for a Super 2 clock stoppage) He should be well prepared. He has 540 games played in the minors compared to 437(124 at Foreign Rookie) I think if Rengifo completed a full season in 2019 at AAA his real value as a prospect would be known.

Super rushed vs. long term experience at the upper levels. but overall result for rookie 2019=similar. Age, Experience, MLB Results = clone at the moment. We'll see how this grades out over time, and it will likely be right that Urias turns out the better overall player. It seems amazing that we got him And Lauer for Davies and Grisham. 70grade hitting they had Urias in 2018. Please turn true. Certainly not via Statcast last season.

[Warning Track Power]

Where in a heck is Joc Pederson playing? He would have been a nice target pre-Garcia...but not really now. He cannot play a goof CFer so I don't see him all that useful.

I think this all depends on Braun and whether he gets the majority of his playing time at 1B or OF. If Braun plays a majority of the time at 1B, Joc Pederson as the 4th OF getting two starts a week against RHP and providing days off to Cain, wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Much better than giving those starts to Mat Gamel.

 

If taking Pederson and figuring out the roster crunch got the Brewers Stripling I think it's worth it.

[RollieTime]

I have a hard time believing that the Brewers would not be interested in a Pederson/Stripling trade. This is one of those moves I feel like Mark would have no issue with and knows that getting those two guys would be a pretty significant upgrade to the roster.

 

Whether the Dodgers have much interest in what we have to offer, we shall see. But I definitely think that Stearns is looking into this.

 

There will be plenty of at bats to go around. I think the playing time dilemma here is way overstated. Having one of Braun, Garcia, Cain, Pederson, and even Yelich on the bench to come in later in games in a big situation or when a reliever is required to face 3 batters and can’t be pulled, is definitely not a bad thing to have. Cain, Braun, and Yelich will all have 15+ days off during the season. With Braun more around the 50 mark. Pederson could easily fit on this roster and get 400+ at bats even with Garcia on the roster. Injuries are inevitable as well where we should be happy to have someone like Garcia and Pederson to get significant time instead of guys like Perez, Saladino, and Gamel.

 

I’ve seen people in the past also mention using the 26th roster spot on a 3rd catcher so we can use Pina to pinch hit sometimes. Which do you prefer. Pina pinch hitting and needing to use a roster spot on Freitas as a third catcher or Pederson/Braun/Garcia as a pinch hitter and not wasting a third spot on a catcher? Not saying this is what most people want. Just that it was mentioned by some earlier in the offseason.

 

I would rather have a great bat or two off the bench every day than guys struggling to hit the Mendoza line like we’ve been accustomed to recently.

[Warning Track Power]

I have a hard time believing that the Brewers would not be interested in a Pederson/Stripling trade. This is one of those moves I feel like Mark would have no issue with and knows that getting those two guys would be a pretty significant upgrade to the roster.

 

Whether the Dodgers have much interest in what we have to offer, we shall see. But I definitely think that Stearns is looking into this.

 

There will be plenty of at bats to go around. I think the playing time dilemma here is way overstated. Having one of Braun, Garcia, Cain, Pederson, and even Yelich on the bench to come in later in games in a big situation or when a reliever is required to face 3 batters and can’t be pulled, is definitely not a bad thing to have. Cain, Braun, and Yelich will all have 15+ days off during the season. With Braun more around the 50 mark. Pederson could easily fit on this roster and get 400+ at bats even with Garcia on the roster. Injuries are inevitable as well where we should be happy to have someone like Garcia and Pederson to get significant time instead of guys like Perez, Saladino, and Gamel.

 

I’ve seen people in the past also mention using the 26th roster spot on a 3rd catcher so we can use Pina to pinch hit sometimes. Which do you prefer. Pina pinch hitting and needing to use a roster spot on Freitas as a third catcher or Pederson/Braun/Garcia as a pinch hitter and not wasting a third spot on a catcher? Not saying this is what most people want. Just that it was mentioned by some earlier in the offseason.

 

I would rather have a great bat or two off the bench every day than guys struggling to hit the Mendoza line like we’ve been accustomed to recently.

Completely agree and all of this focuses only on the Joc Pederson side of the trade without even mentioning the benefit of adding Ross Stripling to the rotation. While already 30, Stripling he of the career 3.51 ERA/3.60 FIP in 387 IP, isn't a free agent until after the 2022 season. Adding that arm would certainly create even more depth and certainty into the rotation.

 

These pieces make too much sense to not look at acquiring, even Pederson, despite Yelich, Cain and Avisail signed for the next three seasons.

[wntrtxn21]

I have a hard time believing that the Brewers would not be interested in a Pederson/Stripling trade. This is one of those moves I feel like Mark would have no issue with and knows that getting those two guys would be a pretty significant upgrade to the roster.

 

Whether the Dodgers have much interest in what we have to offer, we shall see. But I definitely think that Stearns is looking into this.

 

There will be plenty of at bats to go around. I think the playing time dilemma here is way overstated. Having one of Braun, Garcia, Cain, Pederson, and even Yelich on the bench to come in later in games in a big situation or when a reliever is required to face 3 batters and can’t be pulled, is definitely not a bad thing to have. Cain, Braun, and Yelich will all have 15+ days off during the season. With Braun more around the 50 mark. Pederson could easily fit on this roster and get 400+ at bats even with Garcia on the roster. Injuries are inevitable as well where we should be happy to have someone like Garcia and Pederson to get significant time instead of guys like Perez, Saladino, and Gamel.

 

I’ve seen people in the past also mention using the 26th roster spot on a 3rd catcher so we can use Pina to pinch hit sometimes. Which do you prefer. Pina pinch hitting and needing to use a roster spot on Freitas as a third catcher or Pederson/Braun/Garcia as a pinch hitter and not wasting a third spot on a catcher? Not saying this is what most people want. Just that it was mentioned by some earlier in the offseason.

 

I would rather have a great bat or two off the bench every day than guys struggling to hit the Mendoza line like we’ve been accustomed to recently.

Completely agree and all of this focuses only on the Joc Pederson side of the trade without even mentioning the benefit of adding Ross Stripling to the rotation. While already 30, Stripling he of the career 3.51 ERA/3.60 FIP in 387 IP, isn't a free agent until after the 2022 season. Adding that arm would certainly create even more depth and certainty into the rotation.

 

These pieces make too much sense to not look at acquiring, even Pederson, despite Yelich, Cain and Avisail signed for the next three seasons.

 

I believe if Stearns wanted a lefty bat like Pederson at $7.7M he would have kept Thames and not paid the $5M for Smoak. IF he could get Stripling with 3 years of control but had to take the one year of Pederson to make the deal, he'd do it in a heart beat. Especially if the Dodgers were doing it as a salary dump and the prospect return would be relatively light.

[Warning Track Power]

I believe if Stearns wanted a lefty bat like Pederson at $7.7M he would have kept Thames and not paid the $5M for Smoak. IF he could get Stripling with 3 years of control but had to take the one year of Pederson to make the deal, he'd do it in a heart beat. Especially if the Dodgers were doing it as a salary dump and the prospect return would be relatively light.

I hope I am wrong here but I think this will prove to be the biggest waste of money of the offseason. Smoak for 1 year $5m deal and a $1m 2021 buyout is pretty meh when the Brewers could have gotten by with Braun and some backup combination of Healy ($1m) and Logan Morrison (MiLB deal).

 

I would hope that Smoak's presence wouldn't preclude the Brewers from taking a look at Pederson especially if it meant Stripling was coming as well.

[JohnBriggs12]

I believe if Stearns wanted a lefty bat like Pederson at $7.7M he would have kept Thames and not paid the $5M for Smoak. IF he could get Stripling with 3 years of control but had to take the one year of Pederson to make the deal, he'd do it in a heart beat. Especially if the Dodgers were doing it as a salary dump and the prospect return would be relatively light.

I hope I am wrong here but I think this will prove to be the biggest waste of money of the offseason. Smoak for 1 year $5m deal and a $1m 2021 buyout is pretty meh when the Brewers could have gotten by with Braun and some backup combination of Healy ($1m) and Logan Morrison (MiLB deal).

 

I would hope that Smoak's presence wouldn't preclude the Brewers from taking a look at Pederson especially if it meant Stripling was coming as well.

 

$5 million on Smoak is not a bad gamble for a guy who in 2017 was an All Star and posted an OPS just a shade under .900 and has been playing in the tough AL East. It's not an amount that forces them to play him every day but he's one of those guys you can ride if he gets hot. Adding a guy like Pederson would give them a roster full of hitters that when hot, are very dangerous hitters. Then it's up to Counsell to ride the hot bats while not allowing the cooler bats to sit too long.