Lorenzo Cain opts out for remainder of 2020 season

[pacopete4]

If Cain walked away for good, I’d be okay with it. He will only be a year older next year.

[MrTPlush]

A lot of things could change in the next 6 months. Vaccine, MLB rules (e.g. do a bubble?), family situation, whatever...

 

I'd wonder more about this being Braun's last year over Cain.

 

Braun said all this made it more likely he would come back for another year. I think it now comes down to if the Brewers pick up the option or not. Originally I was expecting him to be done regardless (which Braun alluded to recently), but now I think the Brewers picking up the option may be enough for him to come back.

 

Regarding Cain, yah, I seriously doubt he gives up $35mil and quits. People talk like he has made $200mil in his career. That remaining $35mil represents 1/3 of his all time baseball earnings.

[tmwiese55]

Much easier to walk away from this prorated relative small amount in this weird situation than it is 17-18 mil if there is a normal-ish next season. Strongly doubt he does that. I also thought he looked just fine in the few games he played. And he finished last year fine after the bad start. If I could snap my fingers and be out of the contract I'd do it, but I still think h'll be a solid player.

[CheezWizHed]

If Cain walked away for good, I’d be okay with it. He will only be a year older next year.

 

If he happens to skip next year, he'll come back at 36 with nearly a 2 year layoff. That could be difficult.

[Lathund]

A lot of things could change in the next 6 months. Vaccine, MLB rules (e.g. do a bubble?), family situation, whatever...

 

I'd wonder more about this being Braun's last year over Cain.

 

Braun said all this made it more likely he would come back for another year. I think it now comes down to if the Brewers pick up the option or not. Originally I was expecting him to be done regardless (which Braun alluded to recently), but now I think the Brewers picking up the option may be enough for him to come back.

 

If the Brewers pick up the option he'll be back for sure IMO. But I think the chances of them doing so are just about non-existent.Present-day Braun is not someone you pay $15m (Or even the net $11m compared to the buyout). But with the DH likely to be in play for 2021 as well, I wouldn't rule out them coming to an agreement on a lesser contract. Perhaps incentive-laden.

[Jopal78]

As for Braun, if what he says is true about his close relationship with the owner, I'm sure he will be back next year to DH on a new one year deal.

 

The real question is if they pick up his 15 million dollar option. On the surface one would probably say there is no way they would do that. However, Braun has a 4 million dollar buyout on that option. It is going to cost the Brewers 4 million dollars to move one from Ryan Braun, which in essence reduces that option to 11 million dollars.

 

That's just about the going rate for good DH's around MLB: Edwin Encarnacion 1yr/12m, Nelson Cruz 1yr/12m, Khris Davis 16.5m/AAV amongst others.

 

Talent costs money.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

As for Braun, if what he says is true about his close relationship with the owner, I'm sure he will be back next year to DH on a new one year deal.

 

The real question is if they pick up his 15 million dollar option. On the surface one would probably say there is no way they would do that. However, Braun has a 4 million dollar buyout on that option. It is going to cost the Brewers 4 million dollars to move one from Ryan Braun, which in essence reduces that option to 11 million dollars.

 

That's just about the going rate for good DH's around MLB: Edwin Encarnacion 1yr/12m, Nelson Cruz 1yr/12m, Khris Davis 16.5m/AAV amongst others.

 

Talent costs money.

 

Agree, it's not quite as crazy as it sounds when you look around the league and see that. I don't know much about contracts, but if there is some way to rip the whole thing up, and bring him back for something $8 million, I am betting that's what they do if both parties want to go one more round.

[DHonks]

If Cain walked away for good, I’d be okay with it. He will only be a year older next year.

 

It would be his choice, but it would be a huge detriment to the team.

[wildcat2237]

If Cain walked away for good, I’d be okay with it. He will only be a year older next year.

 

It would be his choice, but it would be a huge detriment to the team.

 

I'm not so sure. He's aging, expensive, and will not have played in 1.5 years...

 

I think I'd be okay with that salary coming off the books....

[DHonks]

If Cain walked away for good, I’d be okay with it. He will only be a year older next year.

 

It would be his choice, but it would be a huge detriment to the team.

 

I'm not so sure. He's aging, expensive, and will not have played in 1.5 years...

 

I think I'd be okay with that salary coming off the books....

 

By gold glove, solid offense, inspirational teammate standards, he's a bargain. He likely will be for a few years to come

[HiAndTight]

As for Braun, if what he says is true about his close relationship with the owner, I'm sure he will be back next year to DH on a new one year deal.

 

The real question is if they pick up his 15 million dollar option. On the surface one would probably say there is no way they would do that. However, Braun has a 4 million dollar buyout on that option. It is going to cost the Brewers 4 million dollars to move one from Ryan Braun, which in essence reduces that option to 11 million dollars.

 

That's just about the going rate for good DH's around MLB: Edwin Encarnacion 1yr/12m, Nelson Cruz 1yr/12m, Khris Davis 16.5m/AAV amongst others.

 

Talent costs money.

 

 

I love Braun...but I'm not sure he's in that class.

Cruz .311/.392/.639 1.031 41 HR's in 120 games(his average for the past 5 seasons)

Davis signed coming off a 48 HR season and 4 straight 40+HR seasons.

Encarnacion is a bit closer, but still has been quite a bit more productive in recent seasons.

 

 

And then there's the financial impact Covid is having on all sports and is inevitably going to have on the Brewers.

 

I would love to see Braun back next year, but I would guess if the number is the 11 million, it'll be Mark A who makes that call. I just can't see Stearns devoting that much to a declining hitter for what would be at least in part sentimental reasons.

 

But I hope it happens.

[HiAndTight]

A lot of things could change in the next 6 months. Vaccine, MLB rules (e.g. do a bubble?), family situation, whatever...

 

I'd wonder more about this being Braun's last year over Cain.

 

 

Agreed. 6 months from now we might have herd immunity...we might have a vaccine as mentioned. There should be far fewer variables.

 

I understand him opting out...but I'd be really surprised if he opted out again next year(he was willing to play this year until ~20 Marlins came down with Covid and the series was cancelled vs the Cards).

 

I wonder if there is any chance he opts back in if by some miracle MLB looks like they have this somewhat under control and don't experience any more significant hiccup's? That seems to be incredibly unlikely and I don't know if there is some "opt in" deadline or if there is if that passed as I only know of one case of someone opting back in.

 

But if the Brewers are battling for a playoff spot and really struggling in CF and Cain wants to re-join the team, can he come back?

[MrTPlush]

Cain can not return to the team. He is out for the remainder.

[djoctagone]

I wonder if there is any chance he opts back in if by some miracle MLB looks like they have this somewhat under control and don't experience any more significant hiccup's [sic]? That seems to be incredibly unlikely and I don't know if there is some "opt in" deadline or if there is if that passed as I only know of one case of someone opting back in.

 

But if the Brewers are battling for a playoff spot and really struggling in CF and Cain wants to re-join the team, can he come back?

no.

 

any player who wanted to opt back in to his team's club player pool had to do so by 1 august.

 

i believe that it's possible, however, if that player were released from his contract and became a free agent, that he would be eligible to sign with any other team and be added to their cpp.

 

and from what i've gathered, i'm pretty sure that if the brewers traded cain (players on the restricted list can be assigned to another club via an approved transaction), he could join that new team's cpp. we know that clubs may only trade players in their cpp, but we also know that a player who spent time in his team's cpp but was later removed was allowed to be traded and assigned to his new team's cpp. but, i'm not certain on this possibility.

 

but, i say with certainty that cain cannot return to playing for the brewers in 2020. he is done. he is forfeiting salary and service time with his decision.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

As for Braun, if what he says is true about his close relationship with the owner, I'm sure he will be back next year to DH on a new one year deal.

 

The real question is if they pick up his 15 million dollar option. On the surface one would probably say there is no way they would do that. However, Braun has a 4 million dollar buyout on that option. It is going to cost the Brewers 4 million dollars to move one from Ryan Braun, which in essence reduces that option to 11 million dollars.

 

That's just about the going rate for good DH's around MLB: Edwin Encarnacion 1yr/12m, Nelson Cruz 1yr/12m, Khris Davis 16.5m/AAV amongst others.

 

Talent costs money.

 

 

I love Braun...but I'm not sure he's in that class.

Cruz .311/.392/.639 1.031 41 HR's in 120 games(his average for the past 5 seasons)

Davis signed coming off a 48 HR season and 4 straight 40+HR seasons.

Encarnacion is a bit closer, but still has been quite a bit more productive in recent seasons.

 

 

And then there's the financial impact Covid is having on all sports and is inevitably going to have on the Brewers.

 

I would love to see Braun back next year, but I would guess if the number is the 11 million, it'll be Mark A who makes that call. I just can't see Stearns devoting that much to a declining hitter for what would be at least in part sentimental reasons.

 

But I hope it happens.

 

IDK what it would cost. But is Braun interested, at 37, in going somewhere else for 1 year? I'm sure someone would take him, but he probably has a pretty short of places he's willing to go. That might make it hard for him to get picky about the money.

[tmwiese55]

Think the only spots he'd play are LA. Angels have no room for a DH. LAD, might not have DH. But if they do they seem to have better options to rote in and out there. You'd think a compromise of some kind could be had. He's got 4 no matter what, so instead of 11 more he takes like 10 total. Something of that nature to meet in the middle.

[HiAndTight]

I wonder if there is any chance he opts back in if by some miracle MLB looks like they have this somewhat under control and don't experience any more significant hiccup's [sic]? That seems to be incredibly unlikely and I don't know if there is some "opt in" deadline or if there is if that passed as I only know of one case of someone opting back in.

 

But if the Brewers are battling for a playoff spot and really struggling in CF and Cain wants to re-join the team, can he come back?

no.

 

any player who wanted to opt back in to his team's club player pool had to do so by 1 august.

 

i believe that it's possible, however, if that player were released from his contract and became a free agent, that he would be eligible to sign with any other team and be added to their cpp.

 

and from what i've gathered, i'm pretty sure that if the brewers traded cain (players on the restricted list can be assigned to another club via an approved transaction), he could join that new team's cpp. we know that clubs may only trade players in their cpp, but we also know that a player who spent time in his team's cpp but was later removed was allowed to be traded and assigned to his new team's cpp. but, i'm not certain on this possibility.

 

but, i say with certainty that cain cannot return to playing for the brewers in 2020. he is done. he is forfeiting salary and service time with his decision.

 

 

Ok, appreciate you letting me know. I just saw that Markakis had opted back in(I believe that was on the 29th) so I wasn't certain how this worked.

 

That sucks, but I'm sure he spent a lot of time thinking about it, so I'm sure he was pretty resolute in his decision. He could have been placed on the 15 day or taken a leave if he wasn't sure, so it was unlikely he would have come back in any event.

 

 

I really liked the Trent Grisham trade, but damn...it'd be nice to have him back at the moment. I'm still glad they made the deal on balance, but I don't think Urias is going to make the big impact this year, it'll most likely be next year(and he COULD be a big time stud).

[HiAndTight]

Think the only spots he'd play are LA. Angels have no room for a DH. LAD, might not have DH. But if they do they seem to have better options to rote in and out there. You'd think a compromise of some kind could be had. He's got 4 no matter what, so instead of 11 more he takes like 10 total. Something of that nature to meet in the middle.

 

 

I'm sure he'd be interested in joining a SD team that's just starting to bust out. They don't really have much of a DH. The Giants absolutely LOVE players like Ryan Braun...AZ seems to be sorta half in and half out of trying to win.

 

For a year though...I could see him going to any number of places that have a chance to win. He doesn't need to just go somewhere he already owns a home.

 

I would think winning a World Series would be the most important thing to Braun at this point. If that's the case...SD looks like the most best option for next year and hell, I don't think we're a far fetched choice either. I love the cheap guys that Stearns brought in this past year on 1 year deals with club options. I think our pitching situation looks better than it has in....honestly I can't think of a time outside of when we THOUGHT we'd have Yo, Sheets and Greinke for a full year.

 

 

Anyway, I just don't think it's hard to imagine Braun being willing to play for a contender outside of LA or Milwaukee. It was different when he was closer to his MVP year and had the ability to refuse trades and could help any team, but I see a lot of potential options if he wants to spend one more year trying to get a ring.

[djoctagone]

I wonder if there is any chance he opts back in if by some miracle MLB looks like they have this somewhat under control and don't experience any more significant hiccup's [sic]? That seems to be incredibly unlikely and I don't know if there is some "opt in" deadline or if there is if that passed as I only know of one case of someone opting back in.

 

But if the Brewers are battling for a playoff spot and really struggling in CF and Cain wants to re-join the team, can he come back?

no.

 

any player who wanted to opt back in to his team's club player pool had to do so by 1 august.

 

i believe that it's possible, however, if that player were released from his contract and became a free agent, that he would be eligible to sign with any other team and be added to their cpp.

 

and from what i've gathered, i'm pretty sure that if the brewers traded cain (players on the restricted list can be assigned to another club via an approved transaction), he could join that new team's cpp. we know that clubs may only trade players in their cpp, but we also know that a player who spent time in his team's cpp but was later removed was allowed to be traded and assigned to his new team's cpp. but, i'm not certain on this possibility.

 

but, i say with certainty that cain cannot return to playing for the brewers in 2020. he is done. he is forfeiting salary and service time with his decision.

i guess there's always negotiating . . . isan diaz was able to opt back in.

[djoctagone]

lorenzo cain never discussed opting back in for the season with david stearns.

[djoctagone]

lorenzo cain has been activated from the restricted list. how will taking nearly a full season off from playing affect him moving forward?

[TURBO]

I wonder if he is just done?

 

If the virus is still full strength in February/March (which it likely will be), why would we think he'll come back in 2021?

 

I really wish we had stayed away from Garcia, and it would look pretty nice having a gold glover Grisham on this squad in 2021 to replace Cain. But hey, we got Urias, who couldn't even pass up Arcia offensively.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I think Cain will be back this year, mostly because money. He was willing to pass on the 60-game prorated season, but he's not going to say no to a 162 games at his salary. Although I am starting to wonder if the Brewers might be hoping that he does opt out ...

[sveumrules]

I think Cain will be back this year, mostly because money. He was willing to pass on the 60-game prorated season, but he's not going to say no to a 162 games at his salary. Although I am starting to wonder if the Brewers might be hoping that he does opt out ...

 

Yup, big difference between walking away from 5.5 million when there were a lot more unknowns & a Cardinals breakout in your backyard versus walking away from 16 million.

 

I'd peg Cain for a wRC+ in the 90s & something like 15 defensive runs saved in 2021 which comes out to around 3 WAR...or, perfectly cromulent production for his salary.