MLB HOT STOVE ‘25-‘26

[18thandWells]

He posted 3.4 and 0.6 WAR seasons the next two years then retired from baseball. So, perhaps declining to make him one of the three highest-paid players in baseball wasn't a bad idea?

His sunny disposition made up for any decline in WAR.

Lost in the PED-magic of the '98 home run chase is one of the greatest second halves by a hitter ever. Joey/Albert could rake.

[wadesworld]

Freddy gowne.

[Pakuni]

Two top 5 prospects from a good system. Could do worse.
Losing Tucker broke Steve Cohen, I guess.

https://x.com/MLB/status/2014169307731706282?s=20

[18thandWells]

Perhaps Stearns knew what he was doing when he made sure Milwaukee "threw in," Tobias Meyers in the Peralta deal.

[MUBurrow]

I love Freddy but think the Crew kind of had to deal him this offseason. Two high floor prospects, but maybe a bit lower ceiling. A good enough return imo, though I was kind of hoping lower payroll teams would be willing to overpay for the contract. Alas.

[GB Warrior]

Jett is such a Brewer. Unless Ortiz's offense rebounds, I'd expect Jett to man the spot until Made is ready. At that point, you can move Williams just about anywhere you want and he's at worst a super utility guy.

Sproat I don't have much of an opinion on, but consensus is he slots in as a #3 guy pretty quickly.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Jett is such a Brewer. Unless Ortiz's offense rebounds, I'd expect Jett to man the spot until Made is ready. At that point, you can move Williams just about anywhere you want and he's at worst a super utility guy.

Sproat I don't have much of an opinion on, but consensus is he slots in as a #3 guy pretty quickly.

Mets will be complaining today because they were high on Sproat in this years starting rotation.

[18thandWells]

The Cardinals are so back.

[tower912]

So, Brewers fans, a new enemy?  Mets engaging in the arms race insanity with the Dodgers?

[TSmith34, Inc.]

The Cardinals are so back.

This can only help. The volume of spitting on opposing players/umps/fans had taken a real dip, leading to some subpar seasons.

[Jockey]

Peralta has the lowest batting average against of any starter ever. Also the 2nd most k/9 all- time of starters.

[GB Warrior]

The Cardinals are so back.

Contract is unenforceable because he insisted on it being unwritten

[Shaka Shart]

https://nypost.com/2018/04/08/what-bad-word-made-yadier-molina-want-to-attack-a-manager/

"woke"

[Shaka Shart]

Contract is enforceable because he insisted on it being unwritten

Unwritten also works for all the untrackable stats that are claimed he was great at. Weird

[18thandWells]

I think my favorite part is the way Chipper Jones can't spell "wipe."
https://x.com/MLFootball/status/2015888646046413302/photo/1

[TallTitan34]

I'm glad the cubs have moved on from their days of Aroldis Chapman to a much more family friendly hero we can all cheer for like Reese McGuire

Family friendly hero Reese McGuire to Brewers

[Shaka Shart]

Family friendly hero Reese McGuire to Brewers

Well at least you know there won't be a jerk in the clubhouse (it'll be in the car)

[Jockey]

Brewers farm system ranked #1 in The Athletic - Keith Law, I think.

[18thandWells]

Nm.

[Jockey]

ESPN also has the Brewers at #1.

When talking about the model organizations in baseball, it's common to hear people in or out of the industry mention the Dodgers then quickly also reference the Rays, because finding regular success on a budget is obviously harder than with the biggest payroll. The Guardians also get mentioned.

This conversation is now shifting a bit to where the majority of people in the industry point to the Brewers, sometimes first depending on what part of the industry they represent. Milwaukee has been strong internationally for some time, but its recent run might be one we talk about for decades to come: Made, Jackson Chourio and Luis Pena headline the recent crop.


In the world of the draft, the Brewers are the new kings of finding later-round value, often in the high school and junior college markets, with Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, Cooper Pratt, Bishop Letson, Luke Adams and Josh Adamczewski among those finds. Their pro scouting (opposing minor leaguers) and player development (improving their own players) also have plenty of recent wins, including Andrew Vaughn, Caleb Durbin, Quinn Priester and Chad Patrick, just from their 2025 big league breakouts.

In addition to all of these avenues of talent, the Brewers tend to be adding prospects in deals -- Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat were added from the Mets for Freddy Peralta, and both made the top 100 -- rather than trading them. Put all of these players together and you can see why it was inevitable Milwaukee would take this title -- for the first time since I've been doing this.

[MU82]

Brewers farm system ranked #1 in The Athletic - Keith Law, I think.

Yes. His top 10 are:

Brewers
Dodgers
Mariners
Pirates
Guardians
Nationals
Tigers
White Sox
Orioles
Red Sox

[cheebs09]

Yes. His top 10 are:

Here's my top 10 farm systems:

Brewers
Dodgers
Mariners
Pirates
Guardians
Nationals
Tigers
White Sox
Orioles
Red Sox

Dodgers up there because every team is their farm system.

[wadesworld]

Dodgers up there because every team is their farm system.

And because they don't have to trade to get top talent onto their MLB roster.  They just wait until someone like Skubal is a free agent and give them an extra $50MM on top of what the Mets or Yankees will offer.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Dodgers up there because every team is their farm system.

They sign every free agent so they don't need to trade any of their young talent.