Brewers sign Brett Sullivan

[clancyphile]

It's easy to understand the disappointment when guys like this are signed.

 

As a fan, it is really easy to understand why this type of signing doesn't make anyone giddy with excitement.

 

Sadly, I have just become numb to this kind of signing, mostly because we need these kind of players, and then there is the more repetitive reason:

 

- This is what we do.

 

If people are still expecting to sign the top shelf guys, for literally hundreds of millions of dollars, then those same people will continue to be disappointed.

 

Brewers facts of life.

 

I was not expecting a big signing for a mega deal. I get it. Honestly, I'd rather see the front office come up with a way to retain at least some of Burnes/Adames/Woodruff/Hader down the road if they do have to offer some megabucks deal.

 

But Sullivan and Maile are/were not the best of options when the Crew had prospects of their own. Hummel (pre-trade) was producing and could have been an option if they wanted a third catcher. Fry has a similiar record of production, and again, could play catcher.

 

So why go out and sign those free agents? Why not roll with our prospects?

[sveumrules]

So why go out and sign those free agents? Why not roll with our prospects?

 

Because neither Hummel nor Fry are likely more than emergency/3rd catchers at the MLB level.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

It's easy to understand the disappointment when guys like this are signed.

 

As a fan, it is really easy to understand why this type of signing doesn't make anyone giddy with excitement.

 

Sadly, I have just become numb to this kind of signing, mostly because we need these kind of players, and then there is the more repetitive reason:

 

- This is what we do.

 

If people are still expecting to sign the top shelf guys, for literally hundreds of millions of dollars, then those same people will continue to be disappointed.

 

Brewers facts of life.

 

I was not expecting a big signing for a mega deal. I get it. Honestly, I'd rather see the front office come up with a way to retain at least some of Burnes/Adames/Woodruff/Hader down the road if they do have to offer some megabucks deal.

 

But Sullivan and Maile are/were not the best of options when the Crew had prospects of their own. Hummel (pre-trade) was producing and could have been an option if they wanted a third catcher. Fry has a similiar record of production, and again, could play catcher.

 

So why go out and sign those free agents? Why not roll with our prospects?

 

Because the way the Brewers view their #3 catcher, he is an emergency guy who needs to be able to actually catch should there be an injury. Hummel and Fry aren't catchers. They have caught. There is a difference.

[TURBO]

Every team makes signings like these. I don't know why anyone would waste an ounce of brain space to even think about them.

 

Which is why I actually said that we need guys like this in my post...

 

I think he was questioning your "easy to understand the disappointment" line. Getting mad about signing a guy like Brett Sullivan is akin to getting upset because your Hungry Man salisbury steak meal doesn't taste like a perfectly grilled ribeye. Why would it even cross your mind that it would?

 

 

I'm not mad, or upset... Like I said, we need guys like this, nothing more than depth or filler...

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

I'm not mad, or upset... Like I said, we need guys like this, nothing more than depth or filler...

 

I know you're not. My point was more rhetorical in nature.

[brewers888]

There isn't one person who cares either way about signings like this. The frustration comes from watching free agency from the sidelines while the big money teams make signings. We have a limited window with two ace starters getting close to free agency and we need an impact bat really two if we are going to win that elusive world series.

[ClosetBrewerFan]

The Brewers are providing very little to talk about other than this, so I'll keep this thread going. Not that I want to make a big deal out of this because I agree this is nothing to get worked up over. Baseball Prospectus says Sullivan is a bottom of the barrel pitch framer. This data is from 2018 and 2019 but he was near the bottom both years. https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/sortable/index.php?cid=4199650

It seems he may have improved somewhat in 2021 as his "framing runs" was 1.2 whereas it had been negative for the rest of his career. Fry had a Framing Runs of 1.0 combined between AA/AAA in as many chances. I have no idea how reliable this stat is, but have found very little on either of these as far as defensive ability. Fry was listed as the Brewers 41st prospect last year by Fangraphs and they rated him with a 40/45 fielding and 50 throw as a catcher. So I don't think it is accurate to say Fry is bad defensively and there is no proof I could find that Sullivan is better at defense than Fry.

 

Brett appears to be bat first "utility" type C/OF/maybe 1b/3b ... basically the same guy David Fry is. His main value to the team is he is lefthanded, has options left, and owns a catchers mask. Fry is RH so maybe that was why they signed him. Or maybe the Brewers think they can keep both Sullivan and Fry this way by hoping Fry does not get selected in the Rule 5. They could have just protected Fry from the Rule 5 draft instead of signing Sullivan but obviously they know more than me. I'll trust the Brewers on this one. What do I know? I'm ranting about which 3rd catcher they should have on the 40 man roster. Man, I'm dying for some real Brewers news this offseason

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