Brewers acquire Eduardo Escobar from Diamondbacks

[reillymcshane]

Nice pick up.

 

I would have preferred Gallo, but this was solid. Especially for the price.

[Lathund]

Switch hitter who plays multiple positions, which is nice. More of a trade that gives the lineup more depth than one that straight up makes it better, as offensively it's not an upgrade on Urias. But I've also said it before that the Brewers starting lineup is fine offensively, and that it's the plate appearances going to the players beyond that which has hurt. Escobar is a big step up from Shaw or Reyes, so I do like it.

 

I was actually curious to see what Hummel could've done, and figured him seeing time at 1B was a prelude to that. But I'd also much rather lose him than giving up a Mitchell/Turang/Small/Ashby type of player for our offensive acquisitions. Ciprian has had a nice start to his DSL career, but it's so incredibly hard to predict anything with the DSL guys. If he turns out to be a good player many years down the line, then good for him and the Dbacks. When in any kind of "win now" mode the players who are 4-5 years away from having an impact can't be hugged too closely. Keep the aforementioned guys who could have an impact while Woody/Burnes/Hader etc are still here, trade from the lower minors.

[JosephC]

Let me just say that I'm a big fan of Clancy's ratings and hopefully he will keep them coming. When he was all hot over Brent Suter....I just wonder how many Brewer prospects the experts had rated higher at the time and what percentage of those guys are already out of professional baseball. You never know, which is why it is so refreshing to see some people thinking out of the box.

[CheeseheadInQC]

I was wondering if they were showcasing Hummel for a trade with him playing catcher again and then some first base recently.

[timpep]

I'm excited to see Hummel get some playing time at the MLB level, I was hoping he'd get a shot at first in Milwaukee this year but they obviously went in other directions. I doubt Escobar puts up better numbers than Urias going forward, but the bench got a lot better.

[Eye Black]

Escobar has 4 home runs in his 54 career at bats at Miller Park/AmFam Field.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

This is a good trade for the Brewers. Adds some depth - switch hitter with pop. He hits LH better than RH but not dramatically so. Not ideal platoon for Urias (though Urias is about even this year). Gives Counsell some options.

 

Hummel has hit well in AAA but the Brewers seemed intent on not giving him an opportunity. Feels like another Garrett Cooper situation. I hope he does well, but not too well.

 

Alberto Ciprian (not to be confused with 2018 draftee Albert Cipion) has been crushing it in the DSL this year as an 18 year old 3b. I dont know what he signed for or when he signed but I dont think it was a significant amount. Clearly a lottery ticket and hats off to Arz if they pick a winner with him. We wont know for years on him.

 

Seems like a light cost for a serviceable versatile infielder. Maybe now we don't have to see Pablo Reyes in Milwaukee anymore.

[Brewcrewin07]

I mean this is a start...I have a feeling this is it for their bat acquisitions, it shouldn't be, but it likely will be. But the lesson here is after all the teeth gnashing and worrying people do about giving up prospects, you never have to give up as much as you think they have to.

[SRB]

Excellent acquisition considering the cost. Probably the best 3B being shopped outside of Bryant/Donaldson.

 

Not sure about merely replacing Pablo Reyes. I expect he will be the everyday 3B and Urias will become a very good superutility guy.

 

Escobar's 2.0 fWAR this season would rank third on the team behind Narvaez and Adames.

Edited July 28, 2021 by SRB

[pacopete4]

I’m a fan of this. We didn’t give up the house. We got a good baseball player that shouldn’t affect the ability to play Urias and/or Tellez. This is a win as it gets us even deeper on the infield. Now get after it Eduardo!

[folly412]

Hummel could be productive, but he's not really even sniffing our top 20 prospects. Can't complain about "giving up the farm". This is less than I would have expected to rent Escobar.

[LouisEly]

I think he'll see time in the OF, especially with Yelich out for the next 9 days.

 

Doubt that Urias is going anywhere; he's the 3B for next year.

 

Poor Clancy, put all that effort into the top prospect list and then Hummel doesn't make it past the trade deadline.

[brewerfan82]

Nice pickup! As others have mentioned, it doesn't move the needle a ton when we're at full strength, but this is a great depth move to protect against injury and slumps moving forward. It also means we'll have another nice PH option off the bench (whether that's Escobar or Urias on most nights), along with whatever OF's aren't in the lineup that night.

 

I'd like to see one reliever (or #3-4ish SP, moving Houser to RP) added still. At that point you have to be pretty happy with all the acquisitions DS/Arnold have made (incl. Adames, Tellez, and Strickland). Anything else is gravy (and potentially a lot of gravy).

[Eye Black]

This acquisition also helps keep Bob Nightengale’s stellar track record intact.

 

[brewerfan82]

I mean this is a start...I have a feeling this is it for their bat acquisitions, it shouldn't be, but it likely will be. But the lesson here is after all the teeth gnashing and worrying people do about giving up prospects, you never have to give up as much as you think they have to.

No one was worried that Escobar was going to cost too much... this was exactly the reasonable move most people were always on board with, going all the way back to this past offseason.

[tmwiese55]

Nice, for that cost I'll take it over paying out a ton for a bigger name. Biggest thing to me is it covers them in case of injury to pretty much anyone on the IF. Kind of eliminates the need for guys like Shaw or Reyes getting a meaningful at bat going forward.

 

I just ran through his bball reference and looks like he's never played 1B. Listed at only 5'10. He has dabbled in the OF but it's been a couple years. I'd expect him to get up to speed at 1B though and be the vs lefties player at 1B (I think someone just posted he's better vs lefties). Plus get a couple starts a week elsewhere around the IF.

Edited July 28, 2021 by tmwiese55

[umphrey]

I was hoping for a bigger splash but I’ll take it. I also feel like Hummel is the next Aguilar/Cooper. But I am happy to trade him away for help in 2021.

[Eye Black]

Can’t believe we traded our top prospect for Escobar

Good stuff. Almost spit out my drink!

I’m not sure Hummel was even the top prospect included in this deal.

[folly412]

From McCalvy:

 

the Brewers plan to use him at first base against lefties.

 

Wonder if a team is going to take the risk on Hiura or if he's soon to be headed to Nashville for the rest of the year.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Nice, for that cost I'll take it over paying out a ton for a bigger name. Biggest thing to me is it covers them in case of injury to pretty much anyone on the IF. Kind of eliminates the need for guys like Shaw or Reyes getting a meaningful at bat going forward.

 

I just ran through his bball reference and looks like he's never played 1B. Listed at only 5'10. He has dabbled in the OF but it's been a couple years. I'd expect him to get up to speed at 1B though and be the vs lefties player at 1B (I think someone just posted he's better vs lefties).

 

 

He's better vs lefties yeah. Over his career his splits are pretty benign. He's definitely not a liability vs. right handed pitchers.

[JosephC]

Price seems about right. Escobar has been a 2 WAR player through 2/3rds of the season, so he projects to 1 WAR for the remainder of the year. Makes 7.5 million this season, so roughly 2.5 million the rest of the way. 1 WAR * 9 million per WAR = 9 million in value - 2.5 million = 6.5 million in surplus value. I have role-player prospects (generally speaking, players that fall in the #11-#25 range on a team's top prospect list, depending on how strong the organization is) worth 5.5 million and fringe prospects worth 2.2 million. So I have 4.4 million going back as I have the two prospects as both fringe guys. However, it's not crazy to think the Diamondbacks may have elevated Hummel a bit higher on their board. Seems like a pretty solid deal for both sides.

[JosephC]

From McCalvy:

 

the Brewers plan to use him at first base against lefties.

 

Wonder if a team is going to take the risk on Hiura or if he's soon to be headed to Nashville for the rest of the year.

 

Nashville. It would be a crazy sell low on Hiura is Stearns were to deal him now.

[rickh150]

What’s not to like about this one? Kinda like picking up KRod in 11.

- Not involving top prospect

- Fills a need

- Picking up an all star

- Becomes best power on team

- Switch hitter, ta boot

- Affordable cost (2.4ish million)

- And……Terrified of cats.

https://www.mlb.com/cut4/eduardo-escobar-is-terrified-of-cats

[rickh150]

From McCalvy:

 

the Brewers plan to use him at first base against lefties.

 

Wonder if a team is going to take the risk on Hiura or if he's soon to be headed to Nashville for the rest of the year.

 

Nashville. It would be a crazy sell low on Hiura is Stearns were to deal him now.

 

 

Agreed. He could still be a player. Let him dominate AAA.

[PeaveyFury]

I mean this is a start...I have a feeling this is it for their bat acquisitions, it shouldn't be, but it likely will be. But the lesson here is after all the teeth gnashing and worrying people do about giving up prospects, you never have to give up as much as you think they have to.

No one was worried that Escobar was going to cost too much... this was exactly the reasonable move most people were always on board with, going all the way back to this past offseason.

 

Yep. If it’s a lesson in anything, it’s that the Brewers were always going to make some moves to make the team better, and that lesser moves can and do make the team better. Which is what most people have been saying all along, as you noted.