Brewers acquire John Axford (Not a bump, this actually happened today) Latest- "Significant Structural Damage to Elbow"

[liveforoctober]

This looks like a one-and-done deal for Axford. Fastball at 94-95, straight as a string and a very poor breaking ball. Certainly not bad for a 38 yr. old, but not MLB material.

 

'Very poor breaking ball'... he threw one curve that was slapped into right field. Every other pitch was a fastball.

[adambr2]

If the Jays really thought Axford could come in and help their pen, they would have had him doing that rather than selling him for $1.

 

I think people had too high of expectations for what we are/were going to get from Axford. He is here for very short-term coverage while the pen is depleted, and he happened to get into the game last night because it was 6-0. Anything beyond that is a gravy best case scenario.

[pacopete4]

He definitely threw too many fastballs last night. Needed to mix in other pitches for strikes.

[Fear The Chorizo]

If the Jays really thought Axford could come in and help their pen, they would have had him doing that rather than selling him for $1.

 

I think people had too high of expectations for what we are/were going to get from Axford. He is here for very short-term coverage while the pen is depleted, and he happened to get into the game last night because it was 6-0. Anything beyond that is a gravy best case scenario.

 

I don't think it's that simple given the timing - the Jays would have had to make room on their 40 man for him, which would mean jettisoning someone else off it. Right now that roster is full, plus they have quite a few arms on the 60 day IL that will require roster juggling if/when they return. It's not that they didn't think Axford could potentially help them at some point in the big leagues, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten so many appearances in AAA over the past few weeks - they likely didn't want to force that roster move without another pitching injury requiring it, particularly right after the trade deadline.

 

For the Brewers, it was still a smart move because it was an opportunity to add a veteran to their 40 man while they are dealing with widespread COVID-related absences to their bullpen. It didn't work out with Axford mowing down the side and it looks like he probably injured himself, but it was worth a shot to the Brewers because it cost literally nothing to try in terms of prospect capital, roster space, and cash (well, 1$).

[Outlander]

It may very well end up costing them Axford's salary the rest of the year if the injury is serious but yes it was a fairly low risk move that doesn't appear will pay off. Stearns had not ties to Axford, he felt it was the best move during a time when the team was in dire need of some right handed pitching depth.

[owbc]

He definitely threw too many fastballs last night. Needed to mix in other pitches for strikes.

 

His fastball was always straight as a string. He's not good. He wasn't good in the last 100 innings he pitched for the Brewers in 2012 and 2013.

 

It feels like some people here aren't in on the joke. We borrowed him for a couple days to deal with our COVID issues so we didn't have to burn an option of one of our AAA pitchers. There was no expectation that he would be on the Brewers for more than a week or two. He's probably going to be back in the Blue Jays' minor leagues by the middle of the month, which would have been the case even if he had pitched a scoreless inning last night.

 

I'm bummed it didn't work out for him, it would have been great to see him finish the game last night.

[bork]

But every AAA pitcher on the 40 man has already burned an option for 2021. The real issue is that most of them are lefties and they needed a righty. Yardley is one of the few righties and he hasn't been good this year.

[jerichoholicninja]

Stearns said they were in discussions to acquire him before the deadline. Maybe he was brought in now just to get through COVID but they had their eye on him for a while. Having said that I doubt he pitches again because of whatever his injury is. His first couple batters were fine. The two hits weren't hit hard and he was throwing strikes. Then something broke and the velocity dropped and he couldn't throw strikes.

[Outlander]

This wasn't about options. Stearns felt Axford was the right person for the unique situation they are in. Really not a lot of right handed to choose from in the minors with Lindblom who has been good in the minors but not so good in the majors, Yardley who shouldn't really have a 40 man spot and Barker who they have never shown confidence in.

 

Edit: Bettinger as well but he just started on the 30th.

[PeaveyFury]

In a lot of ways, bringing him in last night was a disservice to both him and his potential usefulness for the team. Right off a plane and very little time to work with the catchers and pitching/bullpen coaches. Not a guarantee that it would have been better results-wise if that had been delayed a couple of days, but it certainly would have set him up better for the possibility of success.

[igor67]

There's something to that, but he is a vet and I'm sure the plan going in was not to use him unless there is a blowout. It can get tricky too if you wait to long to use a new player. I did enjoy watching the crowd reaction, which is about the loudest I've ever heard in a 6-0 game in the 9th inning.

[PeaveyFury]

There's something to that, but he is a vet

 

But a vet who was out of baseball for 2+ years, and is working with new battery mates and coaches, throwing to batters he doesn't have a book on. I'd think an extra day or two would have helped with some of that.

[KeithStone53151]

It's hard to say whether it was a poor decision to use him right away. This isn't a 22 year old kid, he's pitched out of the bullpen for over a decade and knows how to prepare both mentally and physically. Time with the catchers probably wouldn't have mattered as the guy throws 2 pitches, it doesn't take rocket science to figure out the strategy for a guy with 2 pitches. Also his stay on the active roster was always likely to be a very short one as when our pitchers are ready to return...he'll probably get the boot unless he was impressive and lights out right away.

[TURBO]

This felt like some kind of feel good stunt when it came out, and still does.

 

Hind sight is 20/20, blah blah blah, but this was just plain dumb, and it backfired.

 

I'm not wishing ill will on the guy as far as his injury goes, but I really hope we are now done with this kind of crap, and start focusing on winning games.

[LouisEly]

No, it wasn't dumb. He got hurt which caused him to pitch poorly and that can happen to anyone. Look what he was doing in AAA before they acquired him. They scouted him.

 

And what other options did they have?

[PeaveyFury]

This felt like some kind of feel good stunt when it came out, and still does.

 

Hind sight is 20/20, blah blah blah, but this was just plain dumb, and it backfired.

 

How exactly did it backfire?

[igor67]

There was a fun element to all of this, but Stearns isn't exactly having a tough time selling tickets and in need of gimmicks like say Dean Taylor. The sheer number of transactions this season is enough to keep him busy with real work and not looking for fanbase distractions.

[sveumrules]

and start focusing on winning games.

 

They won the game last night.

 

Only one team has won more games than them all year.

 

They don't need to start focusing, just to continue.

[TURBO]

I'm going to stand by my statement.

 

It was a stunt, and it could have been costly. Yup, we won the game, but now isn't the time to pull stunts like bringing an ex closer out of retirement during a playoff push.

 

I think it was reckless and ridiculous.

[TURBO]

This felt like some kind of feel good stunt when it came out, and still does.

 

Hind sight is 20/20, blah blah blah, but this was just plain dumb, and it backfired.

 

How exactly did it backfire?

 

 

How did it not backfire, it was a joke.

 

The guy is done, we have no need for that kind of shenanigans at this point in the season.

[pacopete4]

Stunt? No. That’s a bad take. So is implying that they’re doing anything other than trying to win games in a pennant race. Was it a long shot? Sure was. But honestly, when you look at a lot of the other options, it wasn’t the worst attempt.

[PeaveyFury]

This felt like some kind of feel good stunt when it came out, and still does.

 

Hind sight is 20/20, blah blah blah, but this was just plain dumb, and it backfired.

 

How exactly did it backfire?

 

 

How did it not backfire, it was a joke.

 

The guy is done, we have no need for that kind of shenanigans at this point in the season.

 

Backfiring and not working out are two different things. The move literally didn’t hurt them at all.

 

You’ve probably noticed that the Brewers have a major issue with a situation in the bullpen right now, and it had the immense misfortune of happening after the trade deadline. They identified someone that they thought might be able to eat some outs in the meantime that they were actually able to acquire. Otherwise, enjoy the Sal Romano types, who won’t be much better….

[DuWayne Steurer]

Hopefully he's not hurt seriously, and hopefully we don't need to use him In a game again.

 

No harm no foul.

[Simba2020]

The guy didn't really deserve to be in a big league game again. Don't really care what he was doing in the minors. Hasn't been even a passable reliever since 2016 and hasn't been a good one since 2011. To have any expectations of him being anything but terrible was quite a stretch. Him getting hurt might have actually been a good thing for the Brewers as it could have burned them eventually.

[LouisEly]

The guy didn't really deserve to be in a big league game again. Don't really care what he was doing in the minors. Hasn't been even a passable reliever since 2016 and hasn't been a good one since 2011. To have any expectations of him being anything but terrible was quite a stretch. Him getting hurt might have actually been a good thing for the Brewers as it could have burned them eventually.

Tell that to Daniel Bard or Caleb Thielbar.

 

And it's the Pirates - with the exception of 2-3 guys, it's a AAA team.

 

Otherwise, enjoy the Sal Romano types, who won’t be much better….

Or Eric Yardley, or Hoby Milner, or Angel Perdomo, who were literally the only in-house options available.