Guess this is about the level of name we would hear... Randy Winn

[splitterpfj]

I would deal for Winn, absolutely, he fits what the team is looking for. I have no idea what the Giants would want, but I like hearing this.

[danzig6767]

I wouldn't be upset with acquiring Winn

 

16 million over two years does sound pricey at first, but it's 2007 and eight million a year doesn't buy alot anymore. If Winn is overpaid, it isn't by much in todays baseball salary structure.

[dadofandrew]

I'll second Colby. He's a nice player, and he fits the needs of the Brewers well, 1-2 years, good defense, decent OBP, "professional hitter", able to play CF as well (I mention this just because if Hart and the LF can play CF, the Crew can then carry a pair of corner OF's as reserves). He also runs well and is a switch-hitter, two likely preferences of Doug.

 

One thing people seem to be forgetting is Lofton would want to have to play here. I have no idea, but it seems likely he may well have plenty of other options and have no interest.

 

I think I said Winn would be a great CF stopgap when Hall went down, but had no interest in the Crew having a $16M reserve. As a LF, they could do a lot worse. He'd also fit in nicely in the #2 hole, in a world where batting order matters.

 

By the way, Winn's numbers resemble Dave Dejesus, who many teams are after. Now, Dave is younger and cheaper, but Winn might have real value, as he can play CF. If the Giants are not full out rebuilding, I think Vargas and a prospect of decent stature, like Escobar for sure and probably many others (including a plethora of OF kids) might well do it.

[MNBrew]

Another thought: Does Mench for Winn make any sense?

 

Vargas or whatever other "surplus" SPs could still be dealt for other assets, but that would take care of what to do with Kevin Mench if the Giants would take him.

 

Just an idea.

[trwi7]

Another thought: Does Mench for Winn make any sense?

The only thing that Mench has going for himself over Winn is that he's younger.

[mothershipconnection]

I'm not necessarily against the idea of getting Winn, but he's at an age and salary where I wouldn't want to see anything but what basically amounts to a salary dump. Maybe Gross and Jackson, or other guys who could be serviceable players but from a surplus position.

I just don't think Winn has much positive value at his age and salary.

[ILuvDaBush]

Ned for Winn? Anyone?

[Scooter1027]

I'm not necessarily against the idea of getting Winn, but he's at an age and salary where I wouldn't want to see anything but what basically amounts to a salary dump. Maybe Gross and Jackson, or other guys who could be serviceable players but from a surplus position.

I just don't think Winn has much positive value at his age and salary.

 

I agree with MSC here. I wouldn't have a problem with Winn, he'd be a solid stopgap player who would look nice hitting between Weeks and Braun. However, I have to think that the Giants are not in a great position of power when dealing him. He's getting up there in age (although he's just a kid for SF), and he's not cheap. I do not relish the thought of giving too much for him. I think (without looking back) that the original poster suggested something involving Parra and/or Gamel? No thanks, too much young talent for a $16 million, 2 year slightly above average stopgap LFer. But perhaps a servicable big leaguer (like a Gross, or a Vargas) and a 2nd tier prospect, and I'd be reasonably happy. I just don't know if SF would bite on that. I hope Melvin doesn't get too desperate to fill that spot too quickly (like I feel he may have with the bullpen at the trade deadline this past year).

[Oldcity]

I'll agree with most here. Vargas and ZachJack? Sure. Capuano and Gamel? No way.

 

You could do better, but you could also do worse.

[danzig6767]

Of all the countless rumors or trade proposals made on here, the Brewers acquiring Winn strikes me as one with a fairly decent chance of happening if the Giants don't ask for to much.

 

Winn really fits alot of the things Melvin seems interested in. High batting average along with decent enough walk rate to keep an OBP that would fit well in the number two spot. Good defensive corner outfielder that also can play center for awhile if needed. Not really a stolen base threat, but has pretty good speed when on the base paths. While i'm not one to care alot about strikeouts, Melvin brings it up quite a bit and Winn make contact.

 

Some are making a big issue of Winn's contract, but i have a hard time saying 16 million over two years is some really excessive amount for a very solid everyday player. If San Fran is really looking to move Winn and their asking price is reasonable, wouldn't surprise me a bit to see this go down.

[Madtown Bomber]

The more I think about this, is Dave Bush considered young? A Dave Bush and say a TGJ for Winn and a reliever?

[endaround]

Bush is worth much more than Winn. An average to better starter in his prime under arby for three years has huge value.

[brewerfan82]

I thought about putting this in a new thread since it's broader than just Winn, but I put together a list of outfield possibilities for next season. I thought this would make for a nice little cheat sheet to get a better idea of where players stand in comparison to each other:

 

 <span style="font-weight: bold;"> Career Splits 3-Year Splits</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">
-vs- R -vs- L Overall</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">
Player Age B/T AVG/OBP/SLG AVG/OBP/SLG AVG/OBP/SLG AB/BB AB/SO $$$</span>
2007 Brewers LF's ** 2007 TOTALS ** 261/318/453 14.05 4.65
2007 Brewers CF's ** 2007 TOTALS ** 275/334/457 11.50 3.98
2007 Brewers RF's ** 2007 TOTALS ** 267/329/474 12.09 5.67
<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Player Age B/T AVG/OBP/SLG AVG/OBP/SLG AVG/OBP/SLG AB/BB AB/SO $$$</span>
LF Gross, Gabe 28 L/R 260/350/434 093/269/167 255/351/437 6.80 4.09 0.398
LF Mench, Kevin 30 R/R 255/310/420 305/361/563 266/318/445 13.88 8.72 ARB
CF Hall, Bill 28 R/R 262/310/461 270/350/484 272/335/495 10.49 3.79 4.800
CF Gwynn Jr, Tony 25 L/R 257/307/320 280/308/280 260/307/315 14.29 5.13 0.390
RF Hart, Corey 26 R/R 270/315/486 313/389/544 284/340/506 13.54 4.76 0.392
<span style="font-weight: bold;"> *** FREE AGENTS (in order of 3-year OBP) ***</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">
Player Age B/T AVG/OBP/SLG AVG/OBP/SLG AVG/OBP/SLG AB/BB AB/SO $$$</span>
LF Bonds, Barry 43 L/L 303/458/627 289/416/568 274/464/561 2.93 6.75 FA
RF Bradley, Milton 30 S/R 264/354/424 296/368/477 288/372/484 7.88 5.51 FA
CF Lofton, Kenny 41 L/L 304/375/440 284/361/373 308/371/412 9.97 9.90 FA
RF Nixon, Trot 34 L/L 289/377/498 214/307/322 266/359/397 6.98 6.30 FA
LF Jenkins, Geoff 33 L/R 288/358/525 242/313/408 274/353/474 10.01 3.77 FA
LF Floyd, Cliff 35 L/R 281/368/491 273/331/465 267/352/457 9.17 5.73 FA
CF DaVanan, Jeff 34 S/R 257/345/403 268/375/383 252/350/361 6.52 4.73 FA
CF Rowand, Aaron 30 R/R 283/343/475 289/343/448 283/344/453 16.44 5.13 FA
CF Cameron, Mike 35 R/R 246/333/434 265/363/434 259/342/461 8.57 3.70 FA
CF Jones, Andruw 31 R/R 261/335/492 269/363/515 249/341/507 7.97 4.57 FA
LF Stewart, Shannon 34 R/R 298/357/438 299/375/421 284/336/388 13.69 8.56 FA
CF Hunter, Torii 32 R/R 267/319/460 282/339/490 279/335/487 12.85 5.58 FA
RF Guillen, Jose 32 R/R 273/324/440 277/330/468 274/333/457 15.92 5.17 FA
LF Wilkerson, Brad 31 L/L 245/351/449 265/363/456 237/330/427 7.46 3.31 FA
<span style="font-weight: bold;">
*** TRADE POSSIBILITIES (in order of 3-year OBP) ***</span><span style="font-weight: bold;">
Player Age B/T AVG/OBP/SLG AVG/OBP/SLG AVG/OBP/SLG AB/BB AB/SO $$$</span>
3B Cabrera, Miguel 25 R/R 312/378/532 316/423/578 327/405/564 7.76 4.94 ARB
RF Abreu, Bobby 34 L/R 310/421/541 276/372/394 288/399/460 5.36 4.50 16.000
LF Scott, Luke 30 L/R 276/364/534 259/372/431 273/366/516 7.21 4.12 ARB
LF Catalanotto, Frank 34 L/R 299/362/464 248/332/344 289/362/445 10.15 9.35 4.000
CF Damon, Johnny 34 L/L 289/355/445 286/347/402 291/359/441 9.41 7.51 13.000
LF Church, Ryan 29 L/L 275/352/481 254/331/392 277/354/478 9.43 3.94 ARB
LF Ibanez, Raul 36 L/R 293/355/497 261/313/395 287/353/478 9.59 5.83 5.500
RF Kearns, Austin 28 R/R 257/341/445 289/409/465 259/352/441 7.75 4.34 5.000
LF Winn, Randy 34 S/R 286/344/421 289/342/441 290/346/448 12.74 7.46 8.000
LF Crawford, Carl 26 L/L 304/337/460 276/317/387 307/344/472 19.04 6.51 5.250
3B Mora, Melvin 36 R/R 284/359/436 265/353/443 277/344/428 11.15 5.73 8.000
CF Baldelli, Rocco 26 R/R 277/317/426 297/343/493 275/319/485 21.78 4.77 2.250

[brewerfan82]

With that in mind, I would love to get Luke Scott for LF and then maybe platoon Gross and Hall in center.

[sbrylski]

82 - Awesome chart.

 

Winn doesn't look so hot compared to all the other guys listed. But again, it all goes back to how much we'd have to pay to get him.

 

Luke Scott, Milton Bradley, and then Kearns and Church - I think most of us would prefer these to Winn (maybe not Bradley), and I'd think they are all realistic candidates.

[brewerfan82]

Oops, forgot about Kearns! I added him and Crawford to the Trade Possibility section.

[brewerfan82]

Also, interesting to note that every single one of those guys have better 3-year-splits for OBP than our LF's produced last year and nearly all of them have better strikeout and walk rates.

[colbyjack]

Yeah, thanks a ton for putting that chart togetrher brewerfan82. That seriously could serve as the header for almost every single topic in this forum.

 

I've wanted Kenny Lofton pretty bad the past few years, and looking at that list with the splits, ratios and considering what it would take to get him, despite being one of the oldest, to me he's the perfect OF stopgap while having the skills, with some speed to boot, that would give the Brewers exactly what they stated they wanted: More walks and less Ks. Not only could he bat second, he could bat leadoff spelling Weeks from time to time.

 

Given the whole K thing, I could see why Melvin may initially shy away from hitters like Church and Scott. I don't necessarily agree with that, but that's just the sense I get from what Melvin is targeting, particularly when Winn's name was brought up yesterday.

[JohnBriggs12]

I would add Cliff Floyd to the OF FA list. Cubs declined his option a few days ago.

 

I would also include Frank Catalanotto and Raul Ibanez on trade possibilities list.

[MoneyballMan]

And it sounds like Luke Scott just became more expendable with the Astros' acquisition of Michael Bourn (I'm just repeating what I read somewhere online). I know Bourn was a pretty highly thought-of prospect a couple of years ago, but is he still? Surprised the Astros would shove Scott aside for Bourn (but I haven't spent any time comparing the two).

[TooLiveBrew]

Thanks, bf82, that's a great resource. Kearns looks better to me with each passing day, especially when you factor in his D. Any player that consistently carries an OBP appx. 100 points higher than his BA gets me very interested.

 

I think the thing that makes me know he's my favorite target is that I'd give up any of Bush/Cappy/Vargas as the main piece to land him - and I can't say that about many other (realistic) targets. Even with Church, I hesitate when considering Bush/Cappy, since their peripherals strongly suggest bounce-back in 2008. I sincerely hope DM's looking into the Nats. They seem the obvious target, since their need at SP is gargantuan.

 

If Randy Winn is going to cost us more than just a SP, I'd prefer Lofton - but I'd worry about Kenny getting too many ABs v. LHP.

[brewerfan82]

JB -- Just added Floyd, Catalanotto and Ibanez

 

Definitely good possibilities to consider! Especially with Cat's and Ibanez's salaries.

[pogokat]

anyone else interested in taking out a flier on brad wilkerson?

 

he had an awful year, but i still think he coulld be an .850 hitter with a .375 or higher ops...he'd be cheap too...

[TooLiveBrew]

did you mean .375 or higher OBP, pogo?

 

The following's from the article linked in "Next Year's Closer" thread by trwi7. Linkage

 

"We'll look at what's out there," Melvin said. "But we're not as concerned with slugging from that spot because we feel we have that at other places on the ballclub. We don't necessarily need a Carlos Lee-type in left field."

 

Sounds like any hope of an OBP guy with some pop is a long shot at this point. Probably due to high asking prices by their teams. I still hope for Church/Kearns.

[brettac1]

anyone else interested in taking out a flier on brad wilkerson?

 

Always.