Trevor Story (or other SS targets?)

[Warning Track Power]

Even if it didn't, this team isn't a Story away from being serious World Series contenders. In order for them to be serious World Series contenders, they need offensive reversions from:

 

-Yelich to healthy and 2018-2019 form

-Cain to 2018 form

-Hiura to 2019 form

-JBJ to something other than 2021 form

-Narvaez to healthy

-Wong to...what he's been this year

-Shaw to...what he's been this year

-Garcia to....what he's been this year

 

Seems like half the lineup is still questionable even with a Story rental.

I think you’d need to see some, but not all, of those things happen in order for a Story rental to make sense. If Woodruff, Burnes, and Peralta continue to appear dominant most times out then adding an impact bat to the offense could be a needle mover towards competing for [and in] the post-season. I still think back to 2011 and wonder what could’ve been if the Brewers used someone like Tyler Thornburg to headline a trade for Jose Reyes. Although again in that case the Mets were a team that didn’t appear overly motivated to move Reyes despite his expiring contract (and ultimately did not trade him), so who knows if that was even within the realm of possibilities.

 

With the pitching staff in place I think the Brewers at least need to do their due diligence in finding out what it would take for a top 5-6 that looked something like this:

 

1) Wong

2) Yelich

3) Story

4) Narvaez

5) Garcia

6) Shaw

Oh, I agree with you about doing the due diligence about acquiring significant talent given the budding of three potential aces in Woodruff, Burnes and Peralta. That lineup, if it were to play to form, could be quite solid IF, as I posted, it reverts to something it was in the past. Especially with Cain in the 7 or 8 hole. It's just a lot of ifs!

[RWeeksFan23]

reported on the athletic today that the Brewers could be a destination for Story, that could be interesting.

[Eye Black]

reported on the athletic today that the Brewers could be a destination for Story, that could be interesting.

Here’s the article:

 

Trevor Story to the Brewers? Really? Here’s how and why it just might work

 

 

The article reads less as any sort of inside information, and more as pure speculation. The proposed offer/request for Trevor Story by the Rockies beat writer is LHP Ethan Small, SS David Hamilton, and OF Corey Ray.

 

Personally I would make that deal in a heartbeat if it was the Rockies request, but I’m skeptical that would be enough for the best overall position player on the rental market.

[wibadgers23]

Does the article speculate he'd move over to 3B?

[Eye Black]

Does the article speculate he'd move over to 3B?

It mentions it’s not a perfect fit on paper, but points out the Brewers haven’t been shy about worrying less than other teams about positional designations. Compares their approach to the Dodgers of getting talent on the field and remaining flexible on specific positioning. It doesn’t state whether Adames or Story would play more 3B, but says it would likely bump Urias to a utility role for the remainder of the season (assuming everyone remains healthy).

[sveumrules]

Story to Oakland just makes too much sense. All the other contenders are mostly set at SS while the A's have gotten the second worst SS production so far this season.

 

Don't think the price will be too crazy though. Lindor is better, had a full season of control & consensus seemed to be the Mets got him for a song.

 

If Stearns & company do think the price is right, I would guess Adames goes to 3B. Willy's posted career marks of +5 DRS / -3.9 UZR since his debut in 2018, while Story has registered +33 DRS / +13.3 UZR over that same time frame.

[edfunderburk]

reported on the athletic today that the Brewers could be a destination for Story, that could be interesting.

Here’s the article:

 

Trevor Story to the Brewers? Really? Here’s how and why it just might work

 

 

The article reads less as any sort of inside information, and more as pure speculation. The proposed offer/request for Trevor Story by the Rockies beat writer is LHP Ethan Small, SS David Hamilton, and OF Corey Ray.

 

Personally I would make that deal in a heartbeat if it was the Rockies request, but I’m skeptical that would be enough for the best overall position player on the rental market.

 

I too would do this proposed trade in a heartbeat … I’m not sure the Rockies would do so. I’d love to send Ray away - maybe a change of scenery unlocks his potential … I prefer to keep Taylor. I love Hamilton’s speed, but prefer to hold on to Turang. The most difficult to trade away would be Small - but again, I prefer to hang on to Ashby.

 

Can any of the three - Adames, Story, Urias - play 1B? If so, this trade is even more appealing. And just for fun … add Huira to the trade & get Cron back to cover 1B. Short-term, that may position the Brewers for a 2021 World Series.

[adambr2]

You certainly wouldn't trade a haul for Story just to move him to 1st. None of these guys are going to have much value if any over Vogelbach at 1B.

 

With the acquisition of Adames I just don't think a trade for Story makes much sense anymore.

[Roderick]

You certainly wouldn't trade a haul for Story just to move him to 1st. None of these guys are going to have much value if any over Vogelbach at 1B.

 

With the acquisition of Adames I just don't think a trade for Story makes much sense anymore.

 

No, the article was more about putting together some clickbait. That they mentioned Manny Machado trade as a comparable as this trade, makes me question the knowledge of the Rockies writer.

[Eye Black]

That they mentioned Manny Machado trade as a comparable as this trade, makes me question the knowledge of the Rockies writer.

A half season rental of Manny Machado in 2018 is probably the closest comparable to Trevor Story this season. It’s obviously far from a perfect comparison since there are a variety of differing factors in every such situation, but it’s similar in that contending teams were trying to acquire a half season of an All-Star caliber shortstop. The Brewers reportedly finished runner-up in the Machado sweepstakes, although it was indicated after the fact that they were a distant second to the Dodgers final offer.

 

Machado on July 18, 2018 right after the All-Star break. Especially with the All-Star Game in Denver this year, I would be very surprised if the Rockies traded Story before that game.

 

The five prospects Machado was traded for included outfielder Yusniel Diaz, righthanders Dean Kremer and Zach Pop, third baseman Rylan Bannon and second baseman Breyvic Valera. Diaz was ranked as Baseball America’s #47 overall prospect at the time of the trade and MLB Pipeline had him ranked as their #84 overall prospect. Diaz, who was the 4th best prospect in the Dodgers system at the time was the clear headliner as the only other prospects ranked among the Dodgers’ top 30 prospects at the time of the trade were Bannon (#27 Dodgers prospect by MLB Pipeline) and Kremer (#28 Dodgers prospect by MLB Pipeline).

 

Looking at that return I don’t actually think one backend top 100 prospect and a bunch of fliers is that far off from what a Story rental may cost in the end. Where the Rockies writer went wrong is he compared Ethan Small to Yusniel Diaz because they were both the fourth rated prospects in their respective organizations, but the Dodgers seemingly had a stronger overall farm system in 2018 than the Brewers do now (as evidenced by Diaz’s top 100 prospect status).

 

One tidbit that was notable from the article is the acknowledgment from the Rockies beat reporter, Nick Groke, that the Rockies fully intended to trade Story and any talk about just keeping him and taking the compensation pick is posturing on the part of their front office. Since the Rockies front office seems like a bit of a wild card, I wasn’t sure whether or not to call their bluff.

[SRB]

I'm a big fan of Adames and that trade, but we did not give up very much for him (miraculously) so I doubt he is a barrier to a Story trade that the team would otherwise make. Agreed that Story is a better defender, so it would make sense for Adames to be the one displaced.

 

It actually looks great on paper going with SS Story and 3B Adames/Urias. Career splits:

 

Adames vs RHP, .338 wOBA, 115 wRC+

Urias vs LHP, .358 wOBA, 125 wRC+

 

Even better if you assume Adames slots in as a firmly above-average defensive 3B.

[Jopal78]

Story is also making 18 million dollars, and if the Rockies are moving him at the deadline no matter what, the chances Colorado eats money on his contract is non-existent. So the question becomes does the front office have authority to take on approximately 8 million dollars in salary?

[bill hAll Star]

Story is also making 18 million dollars, and if the Rockies are moving him at the deadline no matter what, the chances Colorado eats money on his contract is non-existent. So the question becomes does the front office have authority to take on approximately 8 million dollars in salary?

 

I wouldn't say non-existent.

 

If Oakland called and offered a premium prospect if the Rockies ate half of the remaining $, they'd have to consider it, no?

 

The Rockies were running a $140-150 million payroll the last 4-5 years when it seemed like they had something with Freeland, Gray, Marquez, etc. making peanuts along with Story, Arenado, Blackmon, etc. Obviously some of that was a mirage and they made some mistakes, so I'm assuming paying $4m for a premium prospect may be worth it as they run an $80m payroll the next few years and rebuild.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Story is also making 18 million dollars, and if the Rockies are moving him at the deadline no matter what, the chances Colorado eats money on his contract is non-existent. So the question becomes does the front office have authority to take on approximately 8 million dollars in salary?

 

I wouldn't say non-existent.

 

If Oakland called and offered a premium prospect if the Rockies ate half of the remaining $, they'd have to consider it, no?

 

The Rockies were running a $140-150 million payroll the last 4-5 years when it seemed like they had something with Freeland, Gray, Marquez, etc. making peanuts along with Story, Arenado, Blackmon, etc. Obviously some of that was a mirage and they made some mistakes, so I'm assuming paying $4m for a premium prospect may be worth it as they run an $80m payroll the next few years and rebuild.

 

I'd imagine the Rockies would gladly eat all of Story's remaining contract if it meant getting premium prospect talent that was deemed MLB-ready sent back to them compared to eating none of his contract and getting marginal prospects or undeveloped high-upside talent with a higher likelihood of flaming out. Despite Adames being a Brewer, I still really like adding Story to this roster and figuring out who plays 3rd and SS once he's in the clubhouse. Having Adames at SS now actually should allow DS to use some of the other SS minor leaguers in the system with MLB talent as trade pieces this deadline if he wants.

[Jopal78]

Story is also making 18 million dollars, and if the Rockies are moving him at the deadline no matter what, the chances Colorado eats money on his contract is non-existent. So the question becomes does the front office have authority to take on approximately 8 million dollars in salary?

 

I wouldn't say non-existent.

 

If Oakland called and offered a premium prospect if the Rockies ate half of the remaining $, they'd have to consider it, no?

 

The Rockies were running a $140-150 million payroll the last 4-5 years when it seemed like they had something with Freeland, Gray, Marquez, etc. making peanuts along with Story, Arenado, Blackmon, etc. Obviously some of that was a mirage and they made some mistakes, so I'm assuming paying $4m for a premium prospect may be worth it as they run an $80m payroll the next few years and rebuild.

 

I suppose you are correct, but then you can rule out the Brewers anyways because I'm not so sure they would trade one of their premium minor leaguers (Small, Garrett, Ashby, Turang) for a straight rental of Trevor Story