Brewers Get Munson off Waivers; DFA Mike Jones

[TerraceReserved]

For what it's worth, Munson had a 72 OPS+ last year and Estrada had a 79 OPS+. So in his 130 AB Munson wasn't much worse than Estrada on offense last year.

[thablingster]

Color me underwhelmed. Although, this is kind of like how we claimed Closser last year so eh. He can't be much worse than Miller, although he probably won't be that much better, either.

[DHonks]

one idea most are missing is that if--for some reason--a team claimed Jones, they could put him on the 60 day DL to open 2008, since he'll likely miss most of the year. He will be eating up big league pay, not big league space

[1992casey]

kgbaseball mentioned the 60 day DL thing in reply #24. Of course, any team paying Mike and handing out major league service time would have to consider that for its investment to pay off, he'd either have to be on the 2009 25-man roster or it'd risk losing him, too.

 

As far as the Munson acquisition, I think it's worth a big yawn. Jones is the bigger news here.

[RockCoCougars]

Wow, the only guy in the majors that Estrada may be able to take in a foot race.... That said, he has to be better defensively than Estrada.. can't be any worse, that's for sure.

[jackalope02ca]

I suspect we'll find out down the line that Jones is done.

 

As for Munson, who cares, what's the big deal. Doug obviously sees something in him that many of us don't. He's also easily removed if something better comes along.

 

I think we've been spoiled a bit lately in that Parra looks like he has successfully recovered from his arm surgery. The vast majority don't and I strongly suspect Jones is falling into the group that doesn't.

 

Hopefully Mike can do well in whatever he ends up doing down the road. Regardless it was obvious that he was going to have to be eventually exposed to waivers anyways. This gives him a head start at finding a team for next year if he isn't done.

[MNBrew]

I still hope Jones ends up re-signing with the Brewers, however long his odds may be of a) returning to full pitching health, and b) pitching in the majors.

 

Once (or if) he's healthy again, I'm guessing Jones is at best an AA pitcher with a lot of time and minor-league games ahead of him before he'd have any chance at the majors. Any team wanting him for their 40-man roster will have to put him on their 25-man roster, period, without more than a 30-day rehab assignment in the minors, and that won't be nearly enough. So for anyone who'd sign him and then keep him on their 60-day DL, they're still likely going to lose him on waivers if he proves he still has any potential.

 

So I'm hoping that all means it's just not worth the roster space for another team to claim him. And I'd totally love it if he'd clear waivers and re-sign a minor-league contract with the Brewers, return to pitching health and get a good half-season-plus in in AA and maybe AAA, doing well enough to give the Brewers something to think about for '09. Geez, wouldn't that amount to really, really long odds!

[logan82]

If Jones does get to the majors I would guess it is in a DeLaRosa situation where he isn't quite good enough to be there, but good enough where you don't want to send him to AAA and lose him.

[Cracked Bat Collector]

Munson is WOAH SOLVDD

[Brian the Automator]

Munson = another body.

 

It's not a bad idea to have these kinds of people around in S/T should you have a rash of injuries. At least I hope that's the thinking here. He's not the worst backup catcher in the world, but there aren't too many worse ones.

[twobrewers]

Munson is WOAH SOLVDD

I have seen this several times on this board. I have been reading here for almost 2 years now - and I have no idea what this means/stands for. Any help?

 

Thanks in advance.

[cruiserx43]

Check out the archives for Lou Palmisano.

[valpocrewsader]

Munson is WOAH SOLVDD

I have seen this several times on this board. I have been reading here for almost 2 years now - and I have no idea what this means/stands for. Any help?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Once upon a time a forum member proclaimed our catching woe to be solved by starting a thread with the grammatically-disastrous title "catching WOAH SOLVDD". This is that thread.

[colbyjack]

Mike Jones has had a nasty, nasty injury history. Even if he does walk, is the organization losing that much? I suspect they'll find a way to keep him, as they have been incredibly patient and loyal to him and he really has nothing to gain as a minor league free agent.

 

As for Munson, he still has plenty of upside. His MLB stints haven't been the greatest, but he hit .283/.368/509 in AAA this past year and .250/.351/.469 at AAA in 2006. He has a patient eye and a powerful bat (he was supposed to be Detroit's 1B of the future when they drafted him third overall in 1999). Doug Melvin has had some luck plucking guys off the scrap heap in the past, as the timing of this move and the initial reaction reminds me a lot of when Scott Podsednik was claimed and added to the 40-man five years ago. I'm intrigued by this move for that reason alone.

 

Although I would have gone for J.R. House, a named I have supported a few other places, although Munson is more likely to actually spend some time behind the plate, as House's arm is pretty much cashed. Who knows, maybe Munson's career path follows that of Phil Nevin's?

[TooLiveBrew]

Although I would have gone for J.R. House, a name I have supported a few other places...

And an awesome name at that.

[kgbaseball]

Colby, I think much of Munson's AAA success is contributed to the fact that Round Rock is very hitter friendly (as is the PCL as a whole). I think at this point, he's a AAAA player. I won't have a problem with picking him up unless he gets significant playing time at the MLB level, something he hasn't ever earned.

[TooLiveBrew]

I've always wondered, and typically doubted, but is this Thurman Munson's son?

[Fatter than Joey]

Nope

 

I remember seeing Thurman had a son at his funeral -- but it isn't Eric.

 

BTW -- Thurman caught his last game at County Stadium, a game in which Cooper had 3 jacks, I was at that game.

[LouisEly]

Horse(bleep) for horse(bleep). Jones wasn't going to see the majors in '08 if ever at all, he's out of options, and hogging up a roster space. They need to fill a couple of spots with contingency plans, and Munson is exactly that - a contingency plan in case of injury or inability to acquire anyone better. Nothing more, nothing less. As of right now, they don't have anyone else in the organization who is even a AAA-level catcher, much less a below-average ML catcher (or AAAA-level, whatever you want to call it), so if any of their catchers were to go down next year, as the roster is right now they'd be in deep doo-doo (and it would cost them a lot more than a waiver claim and a roster spot for Mike Jones to acquire one).

 

You can't stash anyone on the DL right now, and the Brewers need open 40-man roster spots to improve their team and depth to make a run at the postseason next year. Jones does neither of that for '08, probably not for '09 either, and the odds of him doing that ever are very, very slim.

 

One last point - I think the timing is actually good right now because I don't think any team is willing to take that chance on Jones prior to the Winter meetings and Rule 5 draft. Everyone wants a free roster spot or two in case the right trade or free agent comes along. The worst time to make this move is after the winter meetings because then everyone knows what they have going into spring training.

[colbyjack]

Colby, I think much of Munson's AAA success is contributed to the fact that Round Rock is very hitter friendly (as is the PCL as a whole). I think at this point, he's a AAAA player.

 

I fully recognize that the PCL is a hitters league and Round Rock is a hitter's stadium, and I also recognize that the dude is 30 and should put up the numbers he did, regardless of league and park factors. I'm not saying this move is pure gold, I'm just saying that the move intrigues me since similar moves by Melvin and co. in the past have proven to be successful, and that Munson still carries a reputation as a player with some offensive potential.

 

I won't have a problem with picking him up unless he gets significant playing time at the MLB level, something he hasn't ever earned.

 

With all do respect, that comment is exactly what I was talking about when I made the reference to Scott Podsednik. Podsednik too hadn't "earned" anything. I'm not saying Munson will turn out anywhere close as good as Podsednik, but hasn't Melvin made enough of these moves to at least earn a little of our trust that maybe he's found another diamond in the rough?

 

Ah the offseason. There aren't any moves right now for us to complain about, so this one unfortunately is taking the brunt of Brewerfan.net's collective boredome.

[1992casey]

Horse(bleep) for horse(bleep).

 

While the language rules could probably be a hair clearer about a case like this, Brewerfan asks that members not use verbiage that directly refers to a cuss. A synonym that passes muster with the cuss filter is fine.

[dadofandrew]

It should be mentioned that Munson and House's minor league numbers are pretty similar, while Munson has 1000+ AB's in the bigs, House has just a few. This could be as much because of Eric's draft status or his lefty bat, however.

 

Looking at their stats, both look to be better than Rivera and Closser. Catching is a weak spot, you're not going to pick someone up for nothing without warts.

[MNBrew]

Horse(bleep) for horse(bleep).

 

....A synonym that passes muster with the cuss filter is fine.

Col. Sherman Potter on M*A*S*H was the master of these sorts of things: "horsefeathers," "monkey muffins," etc. jump to mind first.

 

Sorry, strayed from topic. My brain was on free association mode, and Eric Munson's just not that interesting.

[RightFieldCoder]

I think the timing is actually good right now because I don't think any team is willing to take that chance on Jones prior to the Winter meetings and Rule 5 draft. Everyone wants a free roster spot or two in case the right trade or free agent comes along. The worst time to make this move is after the winter meetings because then everyone knows what they have going into spring training.

The Astros were probably thinking the same thing about Munson.

[don1481]

Well... Per JSOnline, Jones stays in the Brewers' organization.