Brewers Make Offers To Braun And Fielder

I don't know but I get the vibes that Prince Fielder isn't gonna be in Milwaukee for terribly long. They already have Matt LaPorta coming up quickly and he's gonna have to play first. Could we end up seeing another Mark Teixeira situation? I think that whatever team doesnt sign Tex from the group of the New York teams and Boston would probably be interested. Actually maybe not Boston because Lars Anderson is looking like a freaking beast. But I could see the Yankees being interested in Fielder to be their next great big bopper. I bet the Brewers wouldn't mind getting a guy like Jose Tabata and some pitching. Obviously its tough to project how farm systems will be in a couple years.

But maybe something like Ian Kennedy, Jose Tabata, Andrew Brackman and Dellin Betances would be tempting to Milwaukee..

Kennedy should be a legit 3 starter in the NL by then and with Gallardo and Parra that'd make for a good rotation. Brackman has a huge ceiling and the same can be said Betances, so they could end up being legit big time prospects by then. They're both quite young as well. Jose Tabata should end up being an elite outfielder prospect by then, and will be near MLB-ready. He would end up making a dominant outfield with Braun.

And considering that the Brewers have Matt LaPorta ascending quickly through the minors, he could easily replace Fielder and will end up being a big time power hitter as well, so they won't miss Fielder as much. Actually LaPorta should end up being a big reason why they'll move Fielder.

Scribble-
You obviosuly dont follow the Brewers much...Matt Laporta was turned into a Left Fielder from day 1..Scouts at Spring Training this year when Laporta was with the Brewers said that Laporta looked pretty good in the OF....obviously he is a better defensive Firstbasemen..

But he sounds like he will be an Average OFer.

Prince is a guy that seems like he wants to stay in Milwaukee Long term...he just has the wrong agent for that...plus if this Veggaterian thing does not work out for Prince he might end up being a DH at the end of the 2011 season

Yeah okay that was probably too much for Fielder. Take out one of Brackman and Betances. But then again those two guys are both extremely high-risk/high-reward, because Brackman is coming off surgury and Betances is just that kind of pitcher.

I knew that LaPorta was turned into a leftfielder, but I was assuming that Braun is going to be there long term. And Considering that I assumed that Hart was going to be their RF long term as well, that leaves first base as LaPorta's only spot on the Brewers. It never had anything to do with my doubts about LaPorta as a fielder, but I just think it'd be smarter financially to move Prince and keep the cheaper Braun and Hart and put LaPorta at first. Especially considering how much talent they could potentially get for him.

And when I was talking about the Brewers moving Fielder, I meant in a couple years, when he closes in on free agency. Of course they wouldn't move him any time soon, he still is too cheap for that.

Hart actually plays a good Center...

Many scouts this year in Spring have already said Braun is average at OF..and should be a GG in no time at all... He has great range and good arm

Braun of course will make mistakes this year, but his range is really good and thats only being in the OF for 3 months..

and Scribble I agree with you...Fielder will probably be moved..and it will probably take place after the 2009 season...2 years before free agency..

Braun would be moved over to Right Field because he has a Strong arm...

They are trying Laporta in Right as well..but his arm is much weaker then Braun's..

And I dont think the OF defense will be bad...Hart and Braun are great athletes and can fly..I think with Braun once he gets the reads off the bat better he will be a very good oFer..

In fact some see him as being the Center Fielder because of his speed

There will of course be choices to make...

Hardy or Hall are expendable with a SS prospect that the Brewers have who is 20..he is playing at triple A this year..hits for a good average, no power, and his OBP sucks...but he has been working on that and did very well in Spring this year.

His Defense is already considered top tier MLB ready..his name is Escobar..

They could move Hardy to 3rd and trade Hall or Trade Hardy..

Fielder is expendable because of Laporta, BUT Fielder is the team leader
Fielder would land a Miggy type haul in prospects.

This June draft will go a long ways to making some choices to because 6 picks in the first 2 rounds will rebuild the farm system.

But I agree Scribbs...there are things that will happen.

But at least we have an Owner that has said he will spend money..and that milwaukee can sustain a 100 million dollar payroll.

"For all you Corey Hart fans, here's a fun stat: Hart struck out 26 times in 67 spring training at-bats. Ewwwwwww."

Heres a fun fact for every fan ever: Spring Training stats mean horseshit. Look at his '07 numbers if you want to see something of value.

Wasn't the problem with Braun that he couldn't aim his throws from third, even though he had a great arm? erbacaine, do you think that he would be able to aim his throws better if they're across the whole field, rather than just across the diamond?

And I just gotta think that Fielder is gonna go for the money, rather than for the love of Milwaukee. Especially with Boras. It'd make sense to move him after '09, when his value is sky high and he'll still have 2 years before free agency so his value will be maximized like Cabrera. I'm assuming you plan to move LaPorta to first finally when they "inevitably" move Fielder, correct?

Also Ward- Corey Hart had a .290+ average last season 20/20 player and was not a full time starter until June..

Yeah metafrantic-
I think he meant they had him 7 years total..since he was brought up in May last season...
But he will be a free agent after the 2013 season

Braun will not be gold glove in no time, that's just a joke. That outfield would be horrendous defensively, but could be great offensively.

"But maybe something like Ian Kennedy, Jose Tabata, Andrew Brackman and Dellin Betances would be tempting to Milwaukee.."

I don't think you've been paying attention - the days of the Yankees trading their farm for a single super-expensive player are gone (I hope).

Cardsrule, while I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, you're omitting the fact that while Pujols did have 33 more RBI's, 3 more HR's and 21 more Runs, he also had 139 more at-bats. Braun had a better HR/AB rate, he stole 15 bases (Pujols had one), and while Braun's OBP was significantly lower, his SLG was significantly higher. Plus, his BA was only .005 lower; that's only 3-5 hits difference. Purely offensively speaking, it's legitimate to argue that Braun had a better year than Pujols did in 2001. But I agree that when defense is considered, Pujols's rookie year was better.

It's all moot anyway; Ted Williams had a better rookie year than either of them.

1939: .327/434/.609, 565 AB, 31 HR, 145 RBI, 131 Runs, 44 2B, 11 3B, 107 BB to 64 K

"He's an elite middle of the order hitter who isn't just a hit or miss guy like Howard. He's actually a good hitter that uses the whole field."

Key word: "IS". Trading four close to major league minimum guys for a 7 years, $15-22M per year contract (what it would take to sign him) that might not be worth it by the end (if his knees go out) is a Yankees-of-five-years-ago move. I think Kennedy could surprise, and be better than a NL-3rd starter.

Maybe it'd make more sense for them to go after someone like Hanley Ramirez, but the fact is they're gonna need to address this fairly soon.