Kolek planning to go pro
I understand this, but I don’t think Baumgarner is that guy. His advanced stats have him more of a mid rotation guy and he’s been benefitting from his home park. They could go after a mid-level FA and get similar results without giving up any prospects.
Does that even matter? Who would you rather have on the mound in the playoffs? Peralta or Bumgarner? Seems like a pretty easy question.
No way I'd trade Burnes, Woodruff or Peralta for Bumgarner, but I'd make the trade for Corey Ray. Quality pitching is just too difficult to find.
Brewers sign Grandal. 1 year, $18.25 million
Very little downside to this. If he's worth it, you get first shot at resigning him or (more likely), you get a shot at recouping the QO pick they'll lose this year
And I guess the difference is that for me, this isn't the question. I think we've been unduly influenced by the "now or never" 2011 run and the traditional model of trading prospects for 162 games of guys to get you over the hump. This Brewers roster doesn't look like a "1 or 2 year window" type team to me. They have 4 years of Yelich, Cain, and Arcia, 3 years of Shaw, and host of controllable #2/3-long reliever type pitchers in Nelson, Burnes, Woodruff, Peralta, Hader. Whether or not that looks like a WS contender can be debated, but if you think they're really good, they will be good for years. If you think they were smoke and mirrors last year and are destined for regression, then they're more than a 2019 Madison Bumgarner away. Either way, its tough for me to get excited about the idea of trading controllable mid-tier starting pitching for MadBum.My opinion above is also completely colored by this. His peripherals are plummeting, and he hasn't pitched more than 130 big league innings in two years, after going over 1,000 between 2011-2016 - plus another 100 playoff innings during that stretch. While his playoff runs were historic, I don't think anyone would be excited about a MadBum trade in "Player-A vs Player-B" blind resume test.
I actually think the starting rotation is very underrated for Milwaukee. My hope is they bring Miley back. If they do that there is a lot of depth there. Chacin, Nelson, Anderson, Woodruff, Burnes, Davies, Miley, Peralta.
2b is still a black hole
Only until Hiura and/or Dubon show up. Perez/Saladino/Spangenberg might be enough for a few months.
I think that the problem with filling the 2B hole is not wanting to commit to more than one year on a deal with anyone simply because Hiura and Dubon are waiting in the wings.I'm guessing one or both to get on the big club and to hold down the position as the primary starter by year's end.
Maybe he won't win the Cy Young. Maybe, over 162, he pitches like a 3 starter. Ok that's fine. The bottom line is this:HE IS ONE OF THE BEST POSTSEASON PITCHERS IN MLB HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!If your goal is to have a long term run of success like the Dodgers, without winning anything, fine, think long term. If the goal is to bring Milwaukee its first World Series Championship, Bumgarner is the guy you want pitching in the postseason.
No, they aren't a one year window team. But why waste a prime year? If he costs you Ray and Peralta, to me that is a no brainer...Teams can get too caught up in looking long term. When you are in your window, and have a chance to win, you need to take it. You need to blow through the salary cap like Boston. Or trade Gleyber Torres. The Brewers are a team that could contend for the World Series. Their one obvious weakness is their SPs, especially in the playoffs. He isn't a massive commitment in years or dollars, I think he is an absolutely perfect fit for the Brewers. And I can't imagine being gun shy about acquiring him for Freddy Peralta.
Still holding out hope for Marwin Gonlzalez. Can hold down 2B until kids are ready to come up and then can play the role he did for Houston as a super UT. Also, as a switch hitter provides even versatility.
I don't understand what you're saying here. Is the argument that he pitches like a #3 starter until the playoffs, at which point the Brewers would count on him to morph back into a superhero? Because trading Peralta and Ray for a guy that pitches to #3 numbers, when the Brewers already have #3/4 depth, is not fine. To Wades' point, the optimistic view is guys like Lester, Verlander, and even Hamels, who all pitched a bunch of innings, declined, and then bounced back after trades. But MadBum's mid-decade playoff success doesn't make this a no brainer. I'm not selling the farm for Hunter Pence either.The opportunity cost of trading prospects isn't just that you're mortgaging the future. Even if you view prospects as nothing but trade capital, it restricts your ability to make future deals. Take Moose - pretty decent production: .256 avg, 8 bombs, a clutch postseason hit, lineup protection, clear L/R splits. But that cost Brett Phillips, who at the time was the team's #10 prospect. Was 64 games of Moose worth the #10 prospect? A good debate to be had, and that's acknowledging that Phillips was blocked and I couldn't care less about never seeing him on the big league roster. But maybe he could have been a part of this MadBum deal and we wouldn't be talking about Corey Ray. This year, due to the Claudio deal and Grandal signing, the Brewers have 2 picks in the top 100. Again, that's fine, but this adds up. Fangraphs already puts Mil's farm system at #22 in the majors. Most publications had it 4-8 pre-2017. The Brewers have already been priced out of Kluber. What if Washington turns seller and deals Strasburg? What if Zack Wheeler repeats his 2018 and is available at the deadline?
If that is the comparison you make. Well, I don't know what to tell you. Other than maybe watch more baseball. Bumgarner would have had the best ERA on the Brewers last year - by quite a bit (except Miley, nut he threw 50 more innings). 2nd best in K/9, best in K/BB. I think you are being either hyperbolic or ignorant here.
Grandal almost sent the Brewers to the WS last year. He gets another shot at it this year. I hope he succeeds.