With the hometown Milwaukee Brewers having been unceremoniously bumped from the Major League Baseball playoffs by the St. Louis Cardinals – who then won their 11th World Series title – I figured we could spend some time talking about something other than politics for a change.
Despite their 96 wins last season, the Brewers do have some holes to fill heading into next season, so let’s talk about what we’d like to see the Brew Crew do during the offseason.
They should tooooootally take Carlos Zambrano off the Cubs’ hands!
No but seriously, I think they’re in better shape than some people think in regards to losing Fielder. Think about it: they were prepared to pay him 12-15 mill, and Anastasio says they’re at least not cutting payroll, so that means they’ve probably got that 12-15 mill to spread around on both a 1B replacement as well as to help fill other holes in the infield/pitching staff (though honestly I think they should consider moving Hart to 1B – he’s becoming a serious liability defensively in RF, probably single-handedly cost them 1.5 games in the NLCS with his Soriano-like defense).
The main concern is the decline of the farm system that was once so productive for them. Gotta get that ship righted so they can have good replacements at the ready when they inevitably can’t pay their stars, but that’s a long-term issue.
The problem is that the Brewers aren’t really “cutting” payroll if Fielder leaves, because they’ve got players eligible for arbitration who will likely get raises, not to mention Ryan Braun’s salary will increase next season.
That being said, the Brewers absolutely need to find better alternatives at third base and shortstop than what they had last season, and contrary to what Jeff thinks I’m of the belief that Mat Gamel is an adequate replacement for Fielder. Sure, he won’t hit for Fielder’s power, but he brings other things to the table, and he won’t be a slouch at the plate.
Good points. And not being a Brewers fan I forgot about Gamel. He definitely deserves a chance – has done nothing but hit the cover off the ball in the minors, and is still barely young enough to be considered a viable prospect. He’s exactly the type of guy small market teams need to bank on striking lightning with while getting paid league minimum.
I wouldnt go crazy but they need to be competitive. Fielder is a once in a lifetime hitter, not to many people can hit 40 Hrs and drive in 130. not all long term contracts are bad see Jeter, Derek.
I think if they thought Gamel was going to be a legit Major league ready hitter, he would have been up in the lineup.
The free agent market for 3b is just as bad as the free agent market for 1B. You need to protect Braun or your wasting one of the best players in the bigs.
You’re right that not many people can hit 40 home runs and drive in 140, and that includes Prince Fielder, who in 6 seasons has hit 40 home runs only twice and who has had 130+ RBIs only once.
As for Derek Jeter’s long term contract, let’s remember we’re not talking about a guy who’s 5’11” tall and who weighs between 280-300 pounds. Players like Derek Jeter tend to age much better than players like Prince Fielder. If you’d like a sneak preview as to how Prince Fielder is likely to be playing at the end of his long term contract, take a look at Ryan Howard, whose slugging percentage, batting average, and power numbers have declined steadily since his 27th birthday.
I wouldn’t presume for a moment that I could tell Doug Melvin what to do, so this is more of what I could see him doing. McGehee and Hart are trade bait, but if they’re not shopped, then they likely stay where they’re at. I know Hart has lost a step, but it’s nothing a rigorous off season training regimen can’t fix. If he shows up to spring training out of shape, then Schafer gets his chance. But I guarantee you won’t see Hart at first base. Gamel gets his shot at first, but he’ll be on a short leash. More likely Melvin will try to find a 1B through free agency or trade. It’s quite likely the only returning regular infielder will be Weeks. Braun does not move to 3B.
In the outfield, CF will be Gomez’ position to lose. At worst he’ll platoon with Morgan.
For pitching, you’ll see the same 5 starters. We know Rodriguez is gone. Saito and Hawkins will be offered roster spots if they decide not to retire. Estrada will be shopped around; he deserves to be a starter somewhere. All the other non starting pitchers are game for trades (except Axford, duh), especially if they can pick up some lefties.
Oh, forgot one thing. They’ll dip a toe in the Reyes sweepstakes; failing that, they may try to reacquire Escobar, or even offer Betancourt a minor league deal if he doesn’t sign with another team.
I think when Milwaukee draws 3 million fans he owes it to the fans to do his best to stay in the upper echelon. I would not give up on fielder yet. Gamel is not an adequate replacement, and if you look at the free agent first basemen its a lot of junk. That is too big of a hole to leave a whole year, especially since they have the rest of the team in tact pretty much.
I would not blame him if Fielder signs a ridiculous contract like CC did but he needs to stay in a reasonable bidding. Same for Reyes.
The Brewers would be absolutely stupid to sink 20+ million dollars per year into a first baseman who’s a defensive black hole and likely won’t hold up physically through the end of the contract.
Ryan Howard is a perfect example of why the Brewers are better off using the money they’d spend on Fielder to shore up their holes at shortstop and third base.
Agreed 100%. Overpaying for long-term contracts on free agents of questionable long-term durability would be a recipe for failure.
See Cubs, Chicago or Metropolitans, New York.
The Brewers didn’t draw 3 million patrons because they made popular players moves, they did it because they built a quality team and spent wisely while doing it. They are not bound to making popular decisions, they are bound to making fiscally prudent ones. Alex Rodriguez’ contract with the Rangers doomed them to mediocrity for years and nearly bankrupted the team. It wasn’t until they unloaded that deal that they were able to rebuild the team. Doug Melvin learned a very painful lesson that I doubt he will repeat.
I don’t want the Brewers to make decisions based on popular opinion. I want them to make decisions based on what gets the franchise a world championship. You need look only over to Minneapolis to see the trouble they’ve gotten themselves into.
Rich, you couldn’t possibly be more correct.
That’s a trap that’s easy for baseball fan-dome to fall into – the trap of the “popular move”.
Yeah, I don’t care about what’s popular; I care about fielding a winning team. I strongly believe that the team that gives Prince Fielder a long-term, big money deal will end up regretting it towards the end of the deal.
I dont want Fielder back because its the “popular move” i want it back if it is the right move, because they appear to have great chemistry, the ycurrently have one of the best players in baseball and with fielder have the best 1-2 punch in the game, he is one of the best hitters in the game and there does not appear to be a viable alternative. I would not go crazy, but they need to be in the bidding.
For example, when CC was here, I thought offering him $100 mill was perfectly reasonable with market value, talent, etc… but when the yankees offered up 160 mill then let him walk was also perfectly acceptable because that was insane.
How do you know that Mat Gamel isn’t a viable alternative? I’ve long believed that Prince Fielder’s numbers have been inflated by both the stadium he plays half his games in and the fact that he bats behind Ryan Braun.
I also think they should trade Braun to the Cubs for Soriano.
Must be a Cubs fan. 🙂
Ryan Braun is the answer to the question: “If you had to start your team all over again and could only keep one player, who would that be?”
Rich, you couldn’t possibly be more correct.
But look – Soriano has way better career numbers than Braun*, and is clearly a better defensive outfielder**. That’s just science that can’t be disputed.
So I’m offering you guys a real deal, here.
*- So what if he’s played twice as long. That’s beside the point. Science.
**- Depends on your definition of the word “better”, of course.