Ryan Braun

[KurtRussell]

According to Trevor Plouffe on today's "Talkin' Baseball" podcast, Braun told him he was interested in coming back in July, but only for the Brewers.

 

With the JBJ signing, I'd guess only a major injury makes that happen now.

[trwi7]

There's really no point in bringing him back, especially in July. He's not going to want to go to the minors but we're not going to want to throw him in against major league pitchers after not seeing live pitching in almost a year. Plus, old, injured, no defensive value.

[adambr2]

I really thought there would be a DH this year in the NL, but it doesn't look like it.

 

The fact that the MLBPA and MLB could not find common ground on something they both literally want speaks to how terrible the relationship is between the two sides.

[Warning Track Power]

I loathe the DH and think baseball should go to 8 batters if they do not think pitchers should hit. Something about a dude sitting all game only to hit just irritates me.

 

However, being a realist and understanding the DH is never going away and my previous idea will never come to pass, if there is ever a time to implement a DH for another season this is it. 60 games at 9 innings each in 2020 was 540 innings. 162 games at 9 innings is 1,458 innings. Teams already have enough to worry about with stretching pitchers arms out to accommodate 1,000 extra innings, let alone pitchers hitting and potentially getting hurt there.

 

Oh yes...and if it means Ryan Braun is back in 2021, bring back the DH.

[brewcrewdue80]

I loathe the DH and think baseball should go to 8 batters if they do not think pitchers should hit. Something about a dude sitting all game only to hit just irritates me.

 

However, being a realist and understanding the DH is never going away and my previous idea will never come to pass, if there is ever a time to implement a DH for another season this is it. 60 games at 9 innings each in 2020 was 540 innings. 162 games at 9 innings is 1,458 innings. Teams already have enough to worry about with stretching pitchers arms out to accommodate 1,000 extra innings, let alone pitchers hitting and potentially getting hurt there.

 

Oh yes...and if it means Ryan Braun is back in 2021, bring back the DH.

 

Whoa. I never thought of reducing to 8 batters for lineup, but I think that is a great idea. This would create more PAs to the stars in baseball. Or maybe to compensate you reduce games to 8 innings to speed it up while 8 batters keeps PAs around normal over a full season. Obviously you'd hurt a small pool of players but over time I think it'd correct itself. DH has been around forever for me, it's something young players know they could fall back on. What happens over a decade when 8-10yr olds grow up in a sport where providing defense skills matter as much as offense skills, or else there's no place for you in MLB.

[Jopal78]

If Braun wants to come back in July for the stretch run, I’m sure he’ll be back. When he’s healthy, which he should be in July, he’s still better than the 26th man on anyone’s roster.

[MrTPlush]

So the rest of the team is going to work hard all spring, earn their spot, and 37 year old Braun is just going to trot in to take a spot in July? No thanks, we can do better now (just signed Bradley Jr.) and there will be much better options in July on the trade market (I would imagine). The only reason people would want him is purely based on name. If this was some other guy looking for a job after taking half a season off the majority of the board would balk at a 37 year old, injury prone, poor defense, average offensive player.

 

Maybe if he wants to come back for league minimum and the trade market is dead.

[pacopete4]

Based on the name? The man has been the most clutch Brewer in all their history and I'm sure he would be more than capable of providing quality at-bats as a 26th man / injury replacement down the stretch if we are in it. This isn't youth sports. I don't care about feelings. Put your best roster out there and win.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I mean, he's definitely not "just a name". He's probably still got plenty of pop. If he's starting once or twice a week and is the main RH pinch hitter, I wouldn't have a problem with Brauny coming into the fold in July or August if he thinks he's ready. He probably wouldn't even have a problem swinging into Appleton for a week or so to get game ready.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

Actually think if you removed "the name" from the equation some people would be more open to the idea. Like if he was just random vet they pulled off the streets in midseason. Braun was a really, really good hitter in 2019. He had 500 ABs that season. It's not like this is Bartolo Colon. I agree that he would almost definitely be better than their worst bat off the bench.

 

This way he skips ST, skips most of the season, doesn't break down, and gets to see if they are any good when/if he comes back. I couldn't care less about some other pro ballplayer "working hard all year" and getting bounced. If you suck, you suck.

 

We brought in Curtis Granderson in '18 and got like 20 decent games out of him.

[Jopal78]

So the rest of the team is going to work hard all spring, earn their spot, and 37 year old Braun is just going to trot in to take a spot in July? No thanks, we can do better now (just signed Bradley Jr.) and there will be much better options in July on the trade market (I would imagine). The only reason people would want him is purely based on name. If this was some other guy looking for a job after taking half a season off the majority of the board would balk at a 37 year old, injury prone, poor defense, average offensive player.

 

Maybe if he wants to come back for league minimum and the trade market is dead.

 

First of all, as someone said it's professional baseball. IF Braun signed with the Brewers in July, the other players on the team are not going to care an iota that he wasn't playing 6 inning exhibition games with them in March.

 

Ryan Braun's slash line since 2015 (coincidentally Counsell's first full year): .279/.341/.501. You could argue nobody in baseball besides Counsell knows how to get the most out of Braun and his iffy health.

 

Who knows what will really happen, but if Braun truly intends to play this July, the Brewers would be crazy not to bring him back to help them down the stretch.

[MrTPlush]

The only way it would make sense to me is if Garcia sucks again. Then you pick up Braun to play against LHP in the OF....however even with his horrid 2020 Garcia still hit well against LHP.

 

It isn't bring back Braun or do nothing. We could simply add to the team some other way and not bring Braun back...which yes may not be a one or the other either. Just a hypothetical.

 

Not sure Granderson is a great comp. Wasn't 2018 still in the times of massive September rosters. Kind of a different situation compared to adding Braun to barely play in July through September.

 

Also when did he have interest in July baseball? Before or after the Bradley Jr. news? Will Braun really be interested in coming back to be the 5th OF and maybe play some sporadic 1B?

[MrTPlush]

So the rest of the team is going to work hard all spring, earn their spot, and 37 year old Braun is just going to trot in to take a spot in July? No thanks, we can do better now (just signed Bradley Jr.) and there will be much better options in July on the trade market (I would imagine). The only reason people would want him is purely based on name. If this was some other guy looking for a job after taking half a season off the majority of the board would balk at a 37 year old, injury prone, poor defense, average offensive player.

 

Maybe if he wants to come back for league minimum and the trade market is dead.

 

First of all, as someone said it's professional baseball. IF Braun signed with the Brewers in July, the other players on the team are not going to care an iota that he wasn't playing 6 inning exhibition games with them in March.

 

Ryan Braun's slash line since 2015 (coincidentally Counsell's first full year): .279/.341/.501. You could argue nobody in baseball besides Counsell knows how to get the most out of Braun and his iffy health.

 

Who knows what will really happen, but if Braun truly intends to play this July, the Brewers would be crazy not to bring him back to help them down the stretch.

 

This isn't what I said or even inferred. Just to be clear.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

He and his wife never really shut the door on 2021 so I think (just my guess) his deal all along was to sit back, Favre it and skip what he can, and if it looks worth it to give it one more go, cross that bridge when the time is right. I don't think JBJ had anything to do with it but might increase the chances something happens.

 

I also think some of us are still way too caught up on positions. Positions matter, but not ANYTHING like they did even 5 years ago. There are plenty of ABs to go around.

[MrTPlush]

He and his wife never really shut the door on 2021 so I think (just my guess) his deal all along was to sit back, Favre it and skip what he can, and if it looks worth it to give it one more go, cross that bridge when the time is right. I don't think JBJ had anything to do with it but might increase the chances something happens.

 

I also think some of us are still way too caught up on positions. Positions matter, but not ANYTHING like they did even 5 years ago. There are plenty of ABs to go around.

 

Between Garcia/Yelich/Cain/Garcia, yah, plenty of ABs between platooning and injuries. However, a 5th guy? At face value Braun doesn't make a ton of sense against either LHP/RHP. IF Cain is terrible offensively an OF of Yelich/Garcia/Braun could make sense against LHP. However, even during his poor 2019 Cain had an OPS close to .750 against LHP. Braun could be better against LHP compared to Garcia, but would it be enough for the defense downgrade?

 

The biggest thing would be his RH bat off the bench and the veteran experience on the bench. I am not against the idea, if it makes sense come July. I think one could probably find a better fit that helps the roster more, but maybe not.

[pacopete4]

Maybe looking around the league, or heck even just Brewer's past rosters might change your mind about finding a better fit. Heck, we hit some guy in the cleanup spot in the playoffs last season that is probably out of baseball this season.

[tmwiese55]

The extra roster spot does make this an option this year. However, with 4 high paid OFs already that becomes an issue and might not really have much need other than DH, LH PH, or Sept call ups. Which, is he really going to go through all this for so little. So it kind of seems to me that he should stay in shape, take BP and then see how things play out with injuries and health to the other OFs. Can step in mid season if a need arises.

 

Another key thing for me would be if he's fine with playing in AAA or Appleton for 1-2 weeks to get some practice and rhythm back, see how he looks etc. If the Brewers are contending it's going to be a tough sell to give him several games worth of ABs as kind of practice. To me I guess its something to have in my back pocket but nothing I'd be planning on and I'd be hoping things go well enough to not need.

[MrTPlush]

Really it comes down to what would actually be a good use of our last roster spot. Is Ryan Braun really the best use of it? Somewhat unknown as it is hard to predict what will happen to the roster between now and then. To me just saying right now we would bring him back open arms doesn't make a lot of sense...we don't even know how our current players will look by then or other potential options in July.

 

With Braun you would basically bring him for one main reason, hitting against LHP...and it would likely be in mostly a bench role. Is that what we need or could we use something more out of our 26th man? Again, that could be a pretty nice acquisition in July...or maybe not the best use of a roster spot.

[RollieTime]

The Brewers also lack right handed pop in their lineup. Who outside of Hiura can you bank on to even hit 10 home runs? Cain and Pina might reach that, but outside of them, it’s just not going to happen. Especially if you’re facing a team like the Dodgers in the playoffs with their abundance of tough lefties.

 

Braun would be a nice late season addition down the stretch and into the postseason.

[MVP2110]

The Brewers also lack right handed pop in their lineup. Who outside of Hiura can you bank on to even hit 10 home runs? Cain and Pina might reach that, but outside of them, it’s just not going to happen. Especially if you’re facing a team like the Dodgers in the playoffs with their abundance of tough lefties.

 

Braun would be a nice late season addition down the stretch and into the postseason.

 

I would guess Garcia will hit more HRs than Pina or Cain. Arcia or Urias might have a shot at 10 too

[brewerfan82]

I think they can put together a pretty nice lineup against lefties. Based on the past three years vs. lefties, Hiura is actually the guy that would be in there with the worst stats, but I highly suspect those numbers will improve moving forward, giving them another very strong bat against LHP.

 

2018-20 vs. LHP:

[AKCheesehead]

I would have to think that a July or whenever Braun addition would be driven by one of two things, either massive injury or severe under-performance.

 

By under-performance I meant by those in OF/PH roles. I suppose a really long shot would be team under-performance and they bring him back for an '86 Gorman style last hurrah.

[wallus]

Only way Braun comes back is if Keston really struggles or there is a major injury.

[MrTPlush]

The Brewers also lack right handed pop in their lineup. Who outside of Hiura can you bank on to even hit 10 home runs? Cain and Pina might reach that, but outside of them, it’s just not going to happen. Especially if you’re facing a team like the Dodgers in the playoffs with their abundance of tough lefties.

 

Braun would be a nice late season addition down the stretch and into the postseason.

 

Even if they bring him in he won't be a main starter, so that won't really solve your lack of RH power in the line up because he will rarely be in the lineup. Would it give us more pop on the bench? There it would.

[Jopal78]

Really it comes down to what would actually be a good use of our last roster spot. Is Ryan Braun really the best use of it? Somewhat unknown as it is hard to predict what will happen to the roster between now and then. To me just saying right now we would bring him back open arms doesn't make a lot of sense...we don't even know how our current players will look by then or other potential options in July.

 

With Braun you would basically bring him for one main reason, hitting against LHP...and it would likely be in mostly a bench role. Is that what we need or could we use something more out of our 26th man? Again, that could be a pretty nice acquisition in July...or maybe not the best use of a roster spot.

 

There's an aggregate level of talent on each baseball team. Historically, the teams with the most aggregate talent are those who make the playoffs and advance in the playoffs.

 

If there was a player who would without a doubt increase the aggregate talent level of the Brewers, who was not only willing to sign with Milwaukee in July, but on a short term contract, why wouldn't they take him? He pinch hits every night, starts against tough left handers, and in those day games following night games were the manager seemingly likes to rest his regulars.

 

It's not as though there some extraordinary unlocked potential in the players likely competing for that 26th roster spot: Derek Fisher, Billy McKinney, Tyrone Taylor, Mark Mathias, etc.