Jackie Bradley Jr.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

we could arguably have the best defense in baseball

 

I can't imagine having the best defense in baseball with Yelich in LF, Hiura at 1B, a position he has never played, and Narvaez at catcher.

That doesn't scream "best" to me.

Have we improved from last year defensively?

Yes, assuming Cain hasn't lost a step.

I don't really put Shaw into the category of an elite defender.

 

Have we improved offensively?

Probably, assuming Yelich and Hiura's acts last year won't be repeated.

Shaw is a wild card. We have no idea where he will be offensively.

We still have Arcia unless Urias overtakes him.

 

This reads like a poem, but nothing rhymes.

 

It's a haiku!

[Eye Black]

we could arguably have the best defense in baseball

 

I can't imagine having the best defense in baseball with Yelich in LF, Hiura at 1B, a position he has never played, and Narvaez at catcher.

That doesn't scream "best" to me.

Have we improved from last year defensively?

Yes, assuming Cain hasn't lost a step.

I don't really put Shaw into the category of an elite defender.

 

Have we improved offensively?

Probably, assuming Yelich and Hiura's acts last year won't be repeated.

Shaw is a wild card. We have no idea where he will be offensively.

We still have Arcia unless Urias overtakes him.

If you believe in the Fielding Bible's defensive runs saved stat, then generally if you can get elite defense from 2-3 positions you'll rank in the top 5 across baseball (for team defensive runs saved). Of course that's barring sticking with a historically bad defender at some other positions for an entire season.

 

The Cardinals ranked 1st in defensive runs saved last season and 4th the year before that. A huge part of that was Kolten Wong who accounted for nearly a quarter of the Cardinals total defensive runs saved the past two seasons.

 

The Brewers finished 2nd in baseball in 2018 on defensive runs saved and that included Travis Shaw at 3B, a position that the Brewers were a very solid +15 defensive runs saved at for the year (CF led the Brewers in 2018 with 29 runs saved). Both Cain and Wong have historically been elite in terms of defensive runs saved. Also notable, according to defensive runs saved Arcia hasn't been a particularly strong defender.

 

Click here for the Fielding Bible's Defensive Runs Saved by Team (data provided from 2003 through 2020)

 

Here is a look at total defensive runs saved since 2018 among current Brewers (for those with >400 innings played):

 

[pre]Name Innings Total Runs Saved

Lorenzo Cain 2401.1 41

Kolten Wong 2489 40

Manny Pina 1195.2 16

Travis Shaw 2073.2 10

Luis Urias 949 8

Luke Maile 874 7

Orlando Arcia 2539 5

Tim Lopes 461.1 3

D. Robertson 1282.2 -1

Derek Fisher 663.2 -2

Jace Peterson 905.2 -2

Avisail Garcia 1989.2 -4

Pablo Reyes 428.2 -6

D. Vogelbach 577.2 -6

Billy McKinney 846.1 -6

C. Yelich 2793.1 -7

Keston Hiura 1085 -13

Omar Narvaez 1755 -31[/pre]

 

 

Cain and Wong rank 4th and 5th in all of baseball over that time frame (2018-2020). Only Matt Chapman (66), Nick Ahmed (50), and Mookie Betts (44) rank ahead of them.

 

Interestingly, Jackie Bradley Jr. does not rank high in defensive runs saved. He's credit for a total of just 4 over the past three seasons.

[Lathund]

To add to the above, as it doesn't inclde framing; Narvaez went from one of the worst, to the very best framer in baseball in 2020. A shorter season, and seeing more of the same umpiring crews, could have an impact on that. At the same time, pitch framing is a metric that stabilizes very fast due to the sheer amount of pitches seen, so while it may very well be the case that he wasn't truly the best defensive catcher in the game, it at least tells us without a doubt he improved considerably. And framing is a coachable skill, so it's not unheard of. Contreras made a similar leap as well.

 

Anyway, yes the Brewers are significantly improved on defense. Shaw is very much not a flashy defender, but is very effective. Cain (Even if he loses a step) and Wong are gold glovers. Piña is an excellent defender. Urias looks very good. We don't know how good Hiura will be at 1B, but with throwing being his main issue I can't imagine he'll be worse than at 2B. Either way, you have a couple of GGs in up the middle positions, while the only bad (1B) and potentially below average (LF and RF) defenders are at the three least important defensive positions.

[monty57]

Well, they don't officially sign. That's why the MLB is okay with it. Turner could've signed elsewhere during that period of time if he wanted to.

 

I'm sure there was very little chance of this happening, but it would have been awfully funny if someone had swept in with a big offer and the Dodgers lost Turner because they were playing games with their 40-man roster.

[monty57]

Click here for the Fielding Bible's Defensive Runs Saved by Team (data provided from 2003 through 2020)

 

Here is a look at total defensive runs saved since 2018 among current Brewers (for those with >400 innings played):

 

[pre]Name Innings Total Runs Saved

Lorenzo Cain 2401.1 41

Kolten Wong 2489 40

Manny Pina 1195.2 16

Travis Shaw 2073.2 10

Luis Urias 949 8

C. Spangenberg 855.2 7

Luke Maile 874 7

Orlando Arcia 2539 5

Tim Lopes 461.1 3

D. Robertson 1282.2 -1

Derek Fisher 663.2 -2

Jace Peterson 905.2 -2

Avisail Garcia 1989.2 -4

Pablo Reyes 428.2 -6

D. Vogelbach 577.2 -6

Billy McKinney 846.1 -6

C. Yelich 2793.1 -7

Keston Hiura 1085 -13

Omar Narvaez 1755 -31[/pre]

 

 

Cain and Wong rank 4th and 5th in all of baseball over that time frame (2018-2020). Only Matt Chapman (66), Nick Ahmed (50), and Mookie Betts (44) rank ahead of them.

 

Interestingly, Jackie Bradley Jr. does not rank high in defensive runs saved. He's credit for a total of just 4 over the past three seasons.

 

I hope Yelich can just forget 2020 ever happened. Outside of an all-around horrible 2020 (offense and defense), and 115.2 innings in center field in 2018, Yelich has been a decent fielder. He's no Cain or Bradley, but hopefully he won't be a bad defender as a corner outfielder going forward.

 

Hiura was never a good second baseman. He's moving to an easier defensive position that is on the same side of the infield that he's used to, so I have hopes that he can be a decent defender at first base. He's being replaced at second by one of the best defenders in the league.

 

Narvaez is the opposite of Yelich. I hope he forgets everything except 2020 when it comes to defense, as he seemed to take a big step forward from being a horrible defender to being around league average to slightly positive defense.

 

Garcia is a good corner OF, who was playing out of position in CF last year. Replace that with Gold Glover Cain, and put Garcia back in RF, and they should both bring positive defense in 2021.

 

I look forward to this season, and one of the things I'm most looking forward to is seeing our defense. Maybe I'm just an optimist, but I think it could be pretty good.

[pacopete4]

Well, they don't officially sign. That's why the MLB is okay with it. Turner could've signed elsewhere during that period of time if he wanted to.

 

I'm sure there was very little chance of this happening, but it would have been awfully funny if someone had swept in with a big offer and the Dodgers lost Turner because they were playing games with their 40-man roster.

 

I'm actually surprised this never has happened. Must be somewhat of an unwritten rule all follow.

[Jopal78]

Well, they don't officially sign. That's why the MLB is okay with it. Turner could've signed elsewhere during that period of time if he wanted to.

 

I'm sure there was very little chance of this happening, but it would have been awfully funny if someone had swept in with a big offer and the Dodgers lost Turner because they were playing games with their 40-man roster.

 

I'm actually surprised this never has happened. Must be somewhat of an unwritten rule all follow.

 

It's a matter of integrity. With all that goes into the negotiations of a contract and team's planning for the season, the career for a player agent would be quite short, if they struck deals with teams for their clients then welched on them.

[Hopper]

It seems like this isn't happening?

[Brock42]

I would be all over a deal with Bradley if it’s

structured similar to Wong’s deal but I think

he’s holding out for years/$$. Would give us

great depth, experience and defense at all 3

outfield positions plus better matchups with

him being a lefty batter.

[jerichoholicninja]

It seems like this isn't happening?

 

Doesn't seem like he's going anywhere fast.

[DR28]

Probably waiting on a big OF injury now.

[bergstein24]

Brewers sign Jackie Bradley Jr. to 2 year $24 million deal. Player option for year two.

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/03/brewers-sign-jackie-bradley-jr.html

[bergstein24]

Brewers sign Jackie Bradley Jr. to 2 year $24 million deal. Player option for year two.

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/03/brewers-sign-jackie-bradley-jr.html