JBJ exercises player option for 2022 season

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Look, I get it, we are stuck with him, and it would be stupid to cut him now, but I would give him a very short leash, and if he hasn't produced something offensively by the end of May, I'd cut him loose and eat the salary.

 

We can't afford to keep him on, waiting the entire season for the good JBJ. By that time the damage has been done.

 

Give him a shot at the 4th or 5th OF, and see where that leads, but please, for the love of God, don't count on him as a starter or a guy that will give us meaningful at bats.

 

This is a perfect way of looking at it I think. Bradley has notoriously been a slow starter in his career. He better find a way to fix that next spring, or he's gonna be out of a job.

[sveumrules]

People in this thread welcoming him back, saying he is a gold glove finalist, etc.

 

He is/was a bust.

 

What kind of rebound can we hope for? A guy who might hit .210?

 

He is crap on a cracker, I'd like to out and out cut him to be honest. I can't sit through another season of watching him hit, I just can't.

 

I'd rather give Ray a shot, he can't be any worse than what we had to endure last season from JBJ.

 

He's an extremely inconsistent player who has had great seasons and bad seasons. Last season was the worst of his career. To confidently declare that he will not be better in 2021 makes little sense given the lack of any major injury. There's reason to be optimistic.

 

To confidently say there is reason to be optimistic makes little sense given the putrid year he had last season.

 

There is reason to be optimistic (can't possibly be as bad as last year) or pessimistic (was historically awful last year).

 

Maybe the pessimistic viewpoint is more likely to come to fruition in whatever version of the 2022 timeline we ultimately end up experiencing, but past performance only informs the likelihood of future performance, it doesn't guarantee anything.

 

As an example, take JBJ himself. In 2014 he posted a 49 OPS+ over 423 PAs. In 2015 he posted a 119 OPS+ over 255 PAs.

[areacodes]

Look, I get it, we are stuck with him, and it would be stupid to cut him now, but I would give him a very short leash, and if he hasn't produced something offensively by the end of May, I'd cut him loose and eat the salary.

 

We can't afford to keep him on, waiting the entire season for the good JBJ. By that time the damage has been done.

 

Give him a shot at the 4th or 5th OF, and see where that leads, but please, for the love of God, don't count on him as a starter or a guy that will give us meaningful at bats.

 

Is there anybody out there expecting his role to be anymore than what you just stated?

[Thurston Fluff]

Unless there's a minor league player forcing their way on the roster JBJ should remain with the team no matter how he's hitting. He plays great defense and can run the bases well enough to have value as the last man on the bench type. The last man on the roster isn't going to be paid more than league minimum. I don't think you can find someone who hits well enough and near as well on defense for league minimum.

[TURBO]

Unless there's a minor league player forcing their way on the roster JBJ should remain with the team no matter how he's hitting. He plays great defense and can run the bases well enough to have value as the last man on the bench type. The last man on the roster isn't going to be paid more than league minimum. I don't think you can find someone who hits well enough and near as well on defense for league minimum.

 

...and that line of thinking right there is a problem.

[StearnsFTW]

Unless there's a minor league player forcing their way on the roster JBJ should remain with the team no matter how he's hitting. He plays great defense and can run the bases well enough to have value as the last man on the bench type. The last man on the roster isn't going to be paid more than league minimum. I don't think you can find someone who hits well enough and near as well on defense for league minimum.

 

...and that line of thinking right there is a problem.

 

I mean, it depends on what you have for 5th OF options. If you have a better minor leaguer that's ready (seems unlikely at this point), then yeah, cut him. But you're paying him anyway, and he's fine as a 5th OF who sees few AB and plays great defense.

[adambr2]

Unless there's a minor league player forcing their way on the roster JBJ should remain with the team no matter how he's hitting. He plays great defense and can run the bases well enough to have value as the last man on the bench type. The last man on the roster isn't going to be paid more than league minimum. I don't think you can find someone who hits well enough and near as well on defense for league minimum.

 

...and that line of thinking right there is a problem.

 

Yeah...I mean there is a line where baserunning and defense can't overcome a bad enough bat. By this logic Keon Broxton should have still been with the team all these years.

[JohnBriggs12]

People in this thread welcoming him back, saying he is a gold glove finalist, etc.

 

He is/was a bust.

 

What kind of rebound can we hope for? A guy who might hit .210?

 

He is crap on a cracker, I'd like to out and out cut him to be honest. I can't sit through another season of watching him hit, I just can't.

 

I'd rather give Ray a shot, he can't be any worse than what we had to endure last season from JBJ.

 

So you are upset that there are fans grasping at the idea of a silver lining in what was an inevitable situation with him exercising his option? Come on dude, you are better than that.

 

If JBJ shows up next spring and looks the same as he did this year, I doubt the leash is going to be very long. But he's a sunken cost regardless, so might as well bring him back and see if he can provide any value to offset his cost. But yeah, right now at least, this looks like one of the rare "misses" of the Stearns era.

 

I see what your saying. But the situation is similar to Suppan in 2010. Suppan was by any measure one of the worst starting pitchers in the game in 2009, a 5.29 ERA, a 5.69 FIP and 1.695 WHIP. But he had a long record of average production and they owed him $12.5 million in 2010 so he had a job entering 2010. They gave him 31 innings in 2010 to prove what everyone already knew. He was worse than he was in 2009. I have no issue keeping Bradley for now, but I anticipate them adding some outfield offense, and once that happens they should not hesitate simply cutting him.

[Roderick]

I haven't given up hope that he can get to hitting .230-.240 and provide GG defense when playing. Right now I am assuming the platoon with Taylor in RF (maybe Taylor gets some starts against righties) until one or the other shows me they earned more and/or less time. Plus you know Cain is going to miss lots of time, and him playing CF with a bad bat is at least more forgivable.

[monty57]

He turns 32 at the beginning of next season. Past his prime, but there's reason to believe that he's not totally washed up. His career averages are .230/.311/.394/.705. I don't think anyone should (or does) expect a lot from him, but if he can post a high-.600's OPS with great defense, he's got some value. Not $9.5M worth of value, but he could be a decent 4th/5th OF.

 

I can't believe that they'd go into the season penciling him into a platoon in RF, getting roughly 80% of the starts. I'd think that with the current roster, you'd see Yelich, Cain, and Taylor as the starters with Bradley getting starts as needed to give guys rest, noting that the Brewers tend to use their subs more than most teams.

 

I wish they didn't have to pay him next year (or really for the next several years because of deferred money), and I also wish that Ray would take a big step forward and force his way onto the MLB roster. Since we do have to pay him, and since Ray hasn't shown himself worthy of even a backup role at the MLB level, I can only hope that Bradley "bounces back" and gives the Brewers something for the money they're paying him.

[sveumrules]

In an effort to get somewhat of an idea what JBJ's odds of returning to a respectable offensive player might be, I looked back at the 20 full seasons from 2000 through 2019 which contained a total of 5,473 individual player seasons with at least 300 plate appearances. Of those 5,473 individual player seasons only 49 posted a wRC+ below 50 in a single season. Of those 49 players, 20 rebounded to what I would consider "respectable" levels in their subsequent season...

 

13 Escobar | 642 PAs | 49 wRC+

14 Escobar | 620 PAs | 93 wRC+

 

11 Inge | 303 PAs | 49 wRC+

12 Inge | 331 PAs | 80 wRC+

 

05 Guzman | 492 PAs | 48 wRC+ 

(Guzman Did Not Play in 2006)

07 Guzman | 192 PAs | 123 wRC+

 

07 Kennedy | 306 PAs | 47 wRC+

08 Kennedy | 365 PAs | 81 wRC+

 

15 Zunino | 386 PAs | 47 wRC+

16 Zunino | 192 PAs | 117 wRC+

 

00 Lansing | 548 PAs | 47 wRC+

01 Lansing | 382 PAs | 74 wRC+

 

02 Uribe | 618 PAs | 46 wRC+

03 Uribe | 343 PAs | 71 wRC+

 

14 JBJ | 423 PAs | 46 wRC+

15 JBJ | 255 PAs | 123 wRC+

 

16 Revere | 375 PAs | 46 wRC+

17 Revere | 308 PAs | 76 wRC+

 

14 Drew | 300 PAs | 45 wRC+

15 Drew | 428 PAs | 76 wRC+

 

02 Belliard | 317 PAs | 42 wRC+

03 Belliard | 505 PAs | 87 wRC+

 

16 Ahmed | 308 PAs | 42 wRC+

17 Ahmed | 178 PAs | 76 wRC+

 

01 Wilson | 425 PAs | 39 wRC+

02 Wilson | 586 PAs | 69 wRC+

 

17 Engel | 336 PAs | 39 wRC+

18 Engel | 463 PAs | 68 wRC+

 

08 Vizquel | 300 PAs | 37 wRC+

09 Vizquel | 195 PAs | 69 wRC+

 

03 Womack | 364 PAs | 35 wRC+

04 Womack | 606 PAs | 94 wRC+

 

00 Gonzalez | 407 PAs | 35 wRC+

01 Gonzalez | 561 PAs | 77 wRC+

 

00 Castilla | 354 PAs | 35 wRC+

01 Castilla | 581 PAs | 93 wRC+

 

00 Bush | 325 PAs | 33 wRC+

01 Bush | 291 PAs | 88 wRC+

 

15 Rivera | 319 PAs | 32 wRC+

16 Rivera | 207 PAs | 71 wRC+

[brewcrewdue80]

Well you can always hope for a good season when a guy will be a FA the next. Ala Avisail Garcia. Watch JBJ bat over 200 next season and have a 5+WAR season so they can cash in on the next contract.

[monty57]

Well you can always hope for a good season when a guy will be a FA the next. Ala Avisail Garcia. Watch JBJ bat over 200 next season and have a 5+WAR season so they can cash in on the next contract.

 

And we'd have a bunch of posters who would forget all about 2021, and would be hoping he'd exercise his half of the 2023 mutual option: "Paying him $12M instead of the $8M buyout is only an extra $4M, so it's a no-brainer."

 

Avi Garcia is a great example. A year ago he was a horrible signing, and now people would double this year's salary to get him to stay. It's amazing how much twelve months can change one's mind.

 

If I had to guess, I'd say that Garcia will be a little worse next year than this year, and JBJ will be better next year than this year. But Garcia probably won't be a Brewer so my hope is just that Bradley can live up to his contract for at least one of the two years he'll be here. I'd say "and then we can move on," but he'll be on the books for quite a while after he's gone.

[Thurston Fluff]

Unless there's a minor league player forcing their way on the roster JBJ should remain with the team no matter how he's hitting. He plays great defense and can run the bases well enough to have value as the last man on the bench type. The last man on the roster isn't going to be paid more than league minimum. I don't think you can find someone who hits well enough and near as well on defense for league minimum.

 

...and that line of thinking right there is a problem.

 

Look at the line just before that. It's a sunk cost and there is little reason to spend limited resources replacing a 25th man on the roster.

[clancyphile]

They have to pay him for 2022, no matter what. It makes almost no sense to not bring him in, see if he can play a day or two a week and see if he can do SOMETHING to put his awful 2021 behind him. If he can't, if he continues to be suck-city, then so be it. You cut him, and pay him and move on and probably find a scrap heap guy at minimum wage who's going to suck but maybe hit .215 with a little power or something. As it is now, they HAVE to pay him, so there's no harm other than using the last roster spot to see if he can be something more than 2021 JBJ, and that's usually someone like Pablo Reyes or Daniel Robertson, so like I said, there's no harm in seeing if he can turn it around.

 

Bring him in, and see what happens. They have Yelich-Cain-Taylor. A defense-first 4th outfielder is NOT ideal, but it could be useful.

 

Garcia shows that rebounds can happen. I wouldn't be surprised if Bradley moved more towards the mean of his career. Not a world-beater, but not a total bust.

 

In any case, give him and Corey Ray long looks in spring training. I'm hoping the latter could emerge as a left-handed Keon Broxton (plus defense, power, and speed), but Garrett Mitchell is forcing his way up, there are some other prospects who could emerge as well...