Shohei Ohtani

[Dadbauer]

The Angels are apparently now willing to listen on Ohtani offers. I for one would trade almost anything it takes to bring him in. He would immediately be the best bat in our lineup and another very good arm in our rotation. Churio, Ashby, Small, Weimer, and Turang. I would do that in a heartbeat. Not only that, but he's here throughout our window and he is an international superstar. I think he's the best player in baseball AND underrated.

[wibadgers23]

The Angels reportedly want a team’s top 4 prospects. I thought he was a free agent after this season?

[nate82]

Just now, wibadgers23 said:

The Angels reportedly want a team’s top 4 prospects. I thought he was a free agent after this season?

He has one arbitration year left so 1 more season.  He will be a free agent in 2024.  

[Dadbauer]

He has one more year of arbitration after this if I am understanding it correctly. And Our top 4 prospects aren't THAT special. Give them 5.

[Brewcrew82]

Just now, Dadbauer said:

He has one more year of arbitration after this if I am understanding it correctly. And Our top 4 prospects aren't THAT special. Give them 5.

Chourio seems pretty special to me....

[Dadbauer]

1 minute ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Chourio seems pretty special to me....

COULD be - we have to develop him first thought and our track record with bats is not so great. What could be more special than Ohtani? And who is to say that a player from Japan who gets his first taste of a successful organization in the playoffs every year wouldn't fall in love with the city of Milwaukee like another transcendent foreign superstar?

[Brewcrew82]

2 minutes ago, Dadbauer said:

COULD be - we have to develop him first thought and our track record with bats is not so great. What could be more special than Ohtani? And who is to say that a player from Japan who gets his first taste of a successful organization in the playoffs every year wouldn't fall in love with the city of Milwaukee like another transcendent foreign superstar?

I do agree that Ohtani and Soto are the two players who I would really consider emptying the farm for to go after a World Series with our current core. But, man, what Chourio is displaying these days (to say nothing of Mitchell, Frelick, Turang, etc.) is so tantalizing that it would be an almost impossible decision for me to make. Small-market teams like the Brewers really need their farm systems...

[Jim French Stepstool]

I don't think there's anyone we can afford to "empty out the farm" for, given our market situation. That's why drafting & developing is so critical for us. If you have an opportunity to grab someone like this, you need to have a deep enough system that you can make a play w/o leaving yourself barren. I really feel the best way for Milwaukee to go regarding elite trade deadline acquisitions is the pure rental, as it won't take the 4-5 prospects & the albatross of the huge contract for a couple more years isn't a factor.

  We really, really need to grow our own.

[rickh150]

7 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I don't think there's anyone we can afford to "empty out the farm" for, given our market situation. That's why drafting & developing is so critical for us. If you have an opportunity to grab someone like this, you need to have a deep enough system that you can make a play w/o leaving yourself barren. I really feel the best way for Milwaukee to go regarding elite trade deadline acquisitions is the pure rental, as it won't take the 4-5 prospects & the albatross of the huge contract for a couple more years isn't a factor.

  We really, really need to grow our own.

Every year we need young, cheaper players… every year to make this work. Trying to do a Soto/Ohtani trade is bad not just for blowing up the farm, it also means payroll is going to go way up to unsustainable amounts. 

[Robocaller]

I don't think the Angels are if full rebuild mode. If they traded Ohtani, the first thing they'd want back is Burnes.

But if they are in full rebuild mode, think bigger. Get Trout, too.  It's OK, we can have the worst minors for the next 3 years.

[Dadbauer]

7 hours ago, Robocaller said:

I don't think the Angels are if full rebuild mode. If they traded Ohtani, the first thing they'd want back is Burnes.

But if they are in full rebuild mode, think bigger. Get Trout, too.  It's OK, we can have the worst minors for the next 3 years.

I'm just going off the first tweet reporting it that says they are interested in a team's top 4 prospects. If they want major league pitching to compete now then I would do either one of Peralta/Ashby and also Houser if they wanted.

[wibadgers23]

Just for fun, would you rather give up the farm to get Soto or Ohtani?

[Ulice Payne]

7 hours ago, Robocaller said:

 

But if they are in full rebuild mode, think bigger. Get Trout, too. 

If I recall correctly, Angels selected Trout right before the Brewers draft pick.

I used to be disappointed about that, but the Brewers may have dodged a bullet there.  If the Angels can't afford to put a playoff team around Trout, how would the Brewers have done it?  I can't see the Milwaukee payroll navigating how to deal with Trout any better that the Angels.  Better for them to spread the talent across the roster instead of focused on one very talented & expensive guy. 

[brewmann04]

I don't think you can empty the Farm for a guy with 1-2 years left on their Contract.

unless you trade him at the end of his contract to replenish the farm.  

[Playing Catch]

Ohtani is, probably, the greatest player we will ever see with our own eyes. For that reason, he is worth nearly the entire franchise.

With this said, and I hesitate to even make this prediction, because it makes me sad just thinking about it... but he is double the injury risk of any other player. I believe he will flameout due to this risk. My big fear is some kind of knee injury. This would impact BOTH hitting and pitching (and baserunning, and fielding).

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, brewmann04 said:

I don't think you can empty the Farm for a guy with 1-2 years left on their Contract.

unless you trade him at the end of his contract to replenish the farm.  

And if you have someone like that, you can't trade him in the last year if you're contending for anything. You'd be killing your chances, and the fans would, in the words of the beloved Tony Dow, "go ape".

[monty57]

11 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I don't think there's anyone we can afford to "empty out the farm" for, given our market situation. That's why drafting & developing is so critical for us. If you have an opportunity to grab someone like this, you need to have a deep enough system that you can make a play w/o leaving yourself barren. I really feel the best way for Milwaukee to go regarding elite trade deadline acquisitions is the pure rental, as it won't take the 4-5 prospects & the albatross of the huge contract for a couple more years isn't a factor.

  We really, really need to grow our own.

Yes. I keep hearing "we can't waste..." First, it was Fielder, Weeks, and Braun. Then it was Braun and Yelich. Now it's Burnes, Woodruff, and Peralta. 

The thing is, we've continued to win because we haven't "emptied the farm." As long as you can continue to stock the farm, you can continue to have "windows" to win. The players change, but the team remains "continually competitive," which has been the stated goal for the Brewers. 

We have had the most successful decade+ in the history of the franchise, and we're still going strong. I'm more interested in seeing what we get back when we trade away some guys in the next couple of seasons to remain competitive for the next decade than I am in destroying our future to land one player now. 

If we were to trade for Ohtani now, we would have to trade him away this offseason. We can't empty the farm and then lose the player to free agency. That would be devastating to the Brewer franchise.

[nate82]

If the Brewers were to empty the farm for Soto or Ohtani the Brewers would then have a Marlins like fire sale in the off season.  I don't think Ohtani or Soto would improve the Brewers chances all that much in winning the WS.  

[markedman5]

Not going to happen…….mortgaging the farm for 1 year plus of Otanhi is a terrible idea……..unless of course we are ok with sucking for 5 years after he leaves.

hard pass.

 

[Robocaller]

12 hours ago, nate82 said:

If the Brewers were to empty the farm for Soto or Ohtani the Brewers would then have a Marlins like fire sale in the off season.  I don't think Ohtani or Soto would improve the Brewers chances all that much in winning the WS.  

1) boom or bust IS a way to go. Possibly the best chance to win a WS.

2) Ohtani or Soto would markedly improve the Brewers chances of winning the WS. Probably double it.

[Jopal78]

18 hours ago, monty57 said:

Yes. I keep hearing "we can't waste..." First, it was Fielder, Weeks, and Braun. Then it was Braun and Yelich. Now it's Burnes, Woodruff, and Peralta. 

The thing is, we've continued to win because we haven't "emptied the farm." As long as you can continue to stock the farm, you can continue to have "windows" to win. The players change, but the team remains "continually competitive," which has been the stated goal for the Brewers. 

We have had the most successful decade+ in the history of the franchise, and we're still going strong. I'm more interested in seeing what we get back when we trade away some guys in the next couple of seasons to remain competitive for the next decade than I am in destroying our future to land one player now. 

If we were to trade for Ohtani now, we would have to trade him away this offseason. We can't empty the farm and then lose the player to free agency. That would be devastating to the Brewer franchise.

But they actually did empty the farm. Don’t you remember the massive sell off in 2015: Gomez, Fiers, Aramis Ramirez, Gerardo Parra and Jonathan Broxton. Followed by tanking in 2016 and another sell off in July of that year: Aaron Hill, Jeremy Jeffress, Lucroy and Will Smith? 
 

The reality is the Brewers really haven’t been a draft and develop team in the last 15 years. Besides Tyrone Taylor, every other regular, and most the bench players were acquired in trades or signed as free agents.
 

Yes, Burnes, Woodruff, Suter, Williams and Ashby were drafted by the Brewers but Lauer, Houser, Hader and Peralta came over in trades. Boxberger, Gustave, Milner, Gott we’re all free agent signings. 

And the team has been pretty good using the trade and free agency method of building a roster.

The Angels aren’t going to trade Ohtani this year, and certainly not to the Brewers because their minor league talent isn’t that well regarded. 

[torts]

Remember how we "emptied" the farm for greinke and sabathia?  The franchise rebounded from that pretty well, I'd say.

[Hopper]

1 minute ago, torts said:

Remember how we "emptied" the farm for greinke and sabathia?  The franchise rebounded from that pretty well, I'd say.

and yet, we still didn't win the world series either year.

Emptying the farm back then wasn't the same talent levels we'd be emptying curently.

[endaround]

You're right, that talent was much better.

[Soupbone]

Empty the farm. Being “competitive” has brought us a great 5 years. I want a flag.